William Gordon
(Western District) Born at Tomintoul, 24th January 1808; arrived in Valladolid from Aquhorties; left for Scotland, 4th May 1829, sent to teach in Blairs, and ordained a priest at Preshome, February 1831; priest in charge at Greenock from 1852 until his death there, 15th December 1880.
| Date | Age | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jan. 1808 | Born Tomintoul | |
| 1820-1826 | 12 |
Aquhorties |
| 16 Sep. 1826 | 18 |
Arrived in the college |
| 4 May 1829 | 21 |
Left for Scotland |
| 1829-1831 | 21 |
Professor, Blairs |
| Feb. 1831 | 23 |
Ordained a priest at Preshome |
| 1831-1833 | 23 |
St Andrew's, Glasgow |
| 1833-1836 | 25 |
Greenock |
| 1836-1852 | 28 |
St Andrew's, Glasgow |
| 1852-1879 | 44 |
Greenock |
| 1879 | 71 |
Retired in ill health |
| 15 Dec. 1880 | 72 |
Died Greenock |
Civil records show that his father was James Charles Gordon, Gentleman, and his mother was Christina Stuart
Obituary of William Gordon in the Scottish Catholic Directory of 1882.
Pray for the soul of the Rev. William Gordon, who died at St. Mary’s, Greenock, on the 15th December, 1880, in the 73rd year of his age, and the 50th of his priesthood.
This venerable Priest, and ornament of the Catholic Church in Scotland, was born at Tomintoul, in the Highlands of Banffshire, on the 24th January, 1808. This locality has been remarkable for its persistent adherence to the faith since the Reformation, and has proved itself a fruitful nursery of devoted Missionaries. Mr. Gordon was a scion of the Glenbucket family, which had risked all and lost all for the restoration of the Stuarts. In his youth he was remarked for his piety and precocious talents, in consequence of which his ecclesiastical superiors requested him to enter the Seminary of Aquhorties as an aspirant to the priesthood. This he did on the 19th October, 1820, and continued his studies there till July, 1826, when he along with Messrs. James McKay, John Geddes, Angus Gillis, and Charles Grant, was sent to finish his education in the Scots College, Valladolid. A lasting friendship sprang up between him and Mr. Grant, and when the latter died in 1837, a martyr to his sacerdotal duties, Mr. Gordon delivered a most eloquent and touching oration at his funeral. The best proof of the progress which he made at Valladolid in the science of the Saints, as well as in secular knowledge, is to be found in the signal success with which the labours of his after life were crowned. The manly piety of the Spanish people made a lasting impression on his mind, and he often spoke with admiration of the marks of faith witnessed by him in Spain. He was ordained Subdeacon at Valladolid; but not having reached the canonical age required for the priesthood, he returned to Scotland in May, 1829, and was appointed Professor at Blairs College, which was opened on the 2nd of the following month. On the 4th February, 1831, he was ordained Priest by Bishop Kyle in St. Gregory’s Church, Preshome.
Bishop Scott, who was an excellent judge of character, entertained the highest idea of Mr. Gordon’s zeal and talents, and in the autumn after his ordination called him to the most laborious and important missionary field in Scotland—Glasgow and Greenock, whose Catholic population was increasing rapidly owing to emigration from Ireland. He was ultimately fixed at Greenock as assistant to the Rev. John Gordon, of Tullochallum, an eminent missionary, who through sickness and advanced age was no longer able to minister to the spiritual wants of his large and scattered flock. On the death of this holy Priest in October, 1833, Mr. Gordon received charge of the Mission. In the following year Bishop Scott left Glasgow and went to reside with him, showing thereby the great esteem in which he held the young Priest. The Bishop, who was well aware of his proficiency in theology and sacred letters, brought to Greenock the Rev. Alexander Smith, afterwards Coadjutor to Bishop Murdoch, to finish his studies under his supervision. In 1836 Mr. Gordon was transferred to St. Andrew’s, Glasgow, which had by far the largest congregation in Scotland, and of which he had the principal charge for sixteen years. To appreciate his labours in this new sphere, it must be remembered that this was at that time the only Catholic Church in Glasgow; and that out of Glasgow, in the whole Lowland part of the Western District, Priests were stationed only in Greenock, Paisley, Dumbarton, Ayr, and Newton-Stewart, one in each Mission. Nor did those numerous railways then exist that now facilitate communication. The sick were visited either by means of the old stage coach or on foot, and a journey on foot of over fifty miles was not rare at that time. During Mr. Gordon’s residence in Glasgow that city was visited by epidemics that will be memorable in its annals, and that were never equalled before or since, viz. the typhus fever of 1846-47, and the cholera of 1849-50. It was an ordinary occurrence for a Priest, during these fearful visitations, to administer the last Sacraments to over thirty persons in a single day, and it was seldom that he could count upon a night’s repose after the exhausting labours of the day. These visits to the sick were not as now confined to one parish, but extended to the whole of Glasgow and its neighbourhood for many miles around. During that time some of the Priests of St. Andrew’s never retired to rest, knowing well that it would be useless; and those who did had often to be roused from their sleep to attend pressing calls, their brethren being all absent on a similar duty. In these trying times none of the Priests, not even the youngest, were more active in discharging the duties of a good shepherd than Mr. Gordon. In 1847 he nearly gave his life for his flock, having been seized with the terrible black typhus while attending the sick. He however recovered after some weeks of prostration, and as soon as possible was seen once more at his post among the sick and dying. To give an idea of the condition of things, it may be stated that there were then five Priests attached to St. Andrew’s—Messrs. Gordon, Hanley, Kelch, Kenua, and Shaw—all of whom were laid prostrate nearly at the same time. Bishop Murdoch alone remained unscathed. Mr. Gordon’s genuine piety and devotion to his duties, his talents, and his refined manners, made him generally popular in Glasgow. His sermons and lectures drew crowds to St. Andrew’s, not only of Catholics who were proud of such a powerful advocate, but of Protestants who were attracted by his eloquence, and for many of whom he was instrumental in procuring the inestimable gift of faith. Although it is long since he left that city, his eloquent discourses are still remembered with admiration. His urbanity in bis intercourse with those outside his own Church served materially to dissipate the Anti-Catholic prejudices once so prevalent in Glasgow, and that without the sacrifice of one particle of principle. Throughout his sacerdotal life he occupied a prominent place, and when, owing to his exceptional labours and advancing years, he was no longer fitted as formerly to administer St. Andrew’s, Bishop Murdoch thought him still able to guide the second most important congregation in the Western District. He was removed in midMay, 1852, to the Mission of Greenock. The qualities that distinguished him in Glasgow made his career in Greenock equally successful, during the long period of twenty eight years that he was still destined to work in the Lord’s vineyard. On the 1st April, 1855, he ran great danger of his life. A fanatical mob, excited by an impostor of the name of Orr — styling himself the Archangel Gabriel—smashed the door and windows of the church, and broke into and robbed the presbytery. In May, 1859, he went along with Bishop Murdoch, whose friendship and intimacy he always enjoyed, to visit the Scots College, Valladolid; and after settling certain matters to the advantage of the College, they returned to Scotland in August of the same year. When the Western District was divided into Deaneries, he was chosen as Dean of the Greenock Conference; and when the Scotch Education Act came into operation, he was elected a member of the Greenock School Board, and continued in that capacity to the end of his life. No member of the Board was more respected, or had greater deference shown to his opinion. During his incumbency he purchased S. Lawrence’s Chapel and erected the school in 1857; secured a new site in Patrick Street, and built thereon one of the finest churches in Scotland (opened on 17th August, 1862) and a presbytery; razed old St. Mary’s Chapel, school, house, and lodge, and erected on their site the present magnificent schools, opened on the 1st Oct., 1878; and reared the chapel-school at Gourock, opened on the 15th July, 1880. In the last two works he had the aid of his zealous and attached senior assistant, the Rev. A. Taylor.
At last old age, combined with an amount of labour that falls to the lot of but few, began to tell on his constitution. So long ago as October, 1873, he was seized with paralysis from which he partially recovered, hut never regained his wonted activity. On Sunday the 20th July, 1879, he said Mass for the last time. He was confined to his house more or less after that, and the end was evidently fast approaching. The last rites of the church were administered to him by Mr. Taylor; and after edifying all who saw him by his piety, cheerfulness, and resignation, he passed away peacefully on the 15th December, 1880, having attained the ripe age of seventy-three. The remains of the lamented Priest were interred in a grave made within the walls of S. Mary’s, Greenock, on the Tuesday after his death, in the presence of a large congregation. The number of Priests present was probably greater than on any similar occasion in Scotland. Many personal friends attended from a distance, as well as a large number of respectable Protestants from Greenock and the neighbourhood. The Requiem Mass was celebrated by the Rev. Donald Carmichael, nephew of the deceased. The whole function was presided over by His Grace Archbishop Eyre, and the Bishop of Argyll and the Isles preached an eloquent funeral oration on the virtues of the deceased.
Dean Gordon, whether we view his long and laborious career, his varied attainments, or his successful undertakings, occupied a foremost position among the clergymen with whom he was contemporaneous, Descended from a family well known in the annals of Scotland, he inherited the polished manners of his race. By his refinement he contributed not a little to facilitate social intercourse in Glasgow, Greenock, and elsewhere, between Catholics and their neighbours to the advantage of both. He was highly respected by his brethren in the ministry, who elected him Secretary of their Friendly Society and also appointed him Procurator of the Mission Fund. He held the former office from 1838 to 1851; and the latter from 1849 to 1878, when his increasing infirmities compelled him to resign it. He was desired by Bishop Murdoch to become his Coadjutor, but from too great diffidence in his own powers he declined the burden of the episcopacy. Had he consented, it is certain that as a Bishop he would have been highly popular both with Clergy and Laity. His intellectual capacity was of a high order, and he was well versed in sacred and profane literature. He has written no original work: to do so was morally impossible for one engaged so actively as a Missionary. He managed however to bring out editions of Bishop Hay’s Works, Mumford’s Question of Questions, a Vesper Book, and some others. His library, of which he made good use, was very voluminous and contained the standard works of the best authors. His powers as a preacher were superior. In the pulpit he was dignified; his voice was clear and filled with ease St. Andrew’s Church in Glasgow; and people flocked to hear his sermons which were delivered with fluency, grace and animation. He was in great request as a preacher outside the church to which he was attached, and on special occasions such as consecrations, funerals, &c., he was often called to ascend the pulpit. Although he has left the scene of his labours, his works and his virtues will long keep his memory green.