Charles H. Gordon Biography from History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire From: Cindy Godbout - 5ofClubs@Mediaone.net Surname: GORDON Source: History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and Representative Citizens by Charles A. Hazlett, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill., 1915 Page 1220 CHARLES H. GORDON, who, since 1894 has been engaged in the un- dertaking business in Derry, and is otherwise interested in the business de- velopment of the village, was born in Sandown, this county, September 25, 1855, a son of James R. and Lucy Wells Gordon. His parents moving to Chester, N. H., when he was a mere child, he grew to maturity in that town, receiving his education in the public schools of that place. In 1874 he came to Derry, where for a time he worked in a shoe factory, but shortly after- ward he purchased a barber shop and for many years conducted this establish- ment, in fact, at the time of this writing (1914) he still owns that business, which is acknowledged to be one of the finest and best equipped barber shops in the state. Mr. Gordon, however, devotes very little of his time to the barber shop, as his ever increasing undertaking business takes up most of his time. He is also a trustee of the Nutfield Savings Bank and is a member of several fraternal societies in Derry. However, Mr. Gordon's name will probably be longer remembered for his valuable services in organizing, equip- ping and serving as chief of the first real Fire Department in Derry, practical- ly all of the present apparatus and equipment of the Derry Fire Department having been purchased while he was chief. The citizens of Derry, especially the members of the Fire Department, showed their appreciation of Mr. Gor- Page 1221 don's valuable services by presenting him with a very valuable solid gold medal at the time of the Grand Parade in Derry, October 8, 1891, in cele- bration of the opening of the Derry Water Works. Mr. Gordon was married June 28, 1880, to Miss Caroline Dearborn, a native of Chester, N. H., and a daughter of Alfred Sargent and Aseneth Willey Dearborn. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon had been children friends and com- panions and one of their most valuable possessions is an old fashioned, one- seated wooden rocking horse, in which as children they passed many a happy hour, seated side by side. It is needless to add that this same old rocking- horse recalls many happy thoughts to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon's own children, and perhaps to their grandchildren as well. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have four children living, as follows: Howard D., a resident of Chelsea, Mass., who is engaged in the automobile business in Brookline, Mass., married Evelyn Dingwell and has four children - Eleanore Isabelle, Phylis Viola, Constance and Charles Henry; Annie, the second born of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon's children, who is the wife of Dr. L. S. Downing, a prominent dental surgeon of Derry, N. H. ; Isabelle May, the third child, who is the wife of Fred A. Cardinal, night telegraph operator at Andover, and has two children - Louis Gordon and Robert James; and Lillian Frances, the youngest, familiarly known to her friends as Goldie Gordon, who resides at home with her parents. Mr. C. H. Gordon's brother, John B. Gordon, has been chief of the Haverhill, Mass., Fire Department for the past 25 years or more. ********************************************************************** * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files t other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIORto uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * *The USgenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.