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I was born and raised in
small town in New Jersey, USA, called Millburn: a Scottish usage, as our
local oral history tells us. The oldest information known to local
historical records tells us that, in May of 1749, a Sir Robert Gordon owned
about 1500 acres (about 3700 hectares) of land immediately surrounding the
location of the home in which I grew up. By 1764 the ownership of Sir
Robert's land had been divided among a dozen or so smaller landowners, some
of whom were the direct ancestors of neighbors and schoolmates of mine. In
the 1764 map there is a home attributed to an "Old Squire", and another one
to a "Squire".
I visited your website,
Electric Scotland, to learn more about Clan Sutherland: in particular,
about Sir Robert Gordon (1696-1772), 4th Baronet of Letterfourie,
Sutherland, MP for Caithness (1715-1722), of the Baronetage of Nova Scotia;
and his son, Sir Robert Gordon (circa 1738-1776), 5th Baronet. Electric
Scotland offers three fascinating alternative accounts of the history of
Clan Sutherland, which, though they differ in certain details, give a fairly
consistent reckoning of the events in the time period of greatest interest
to me. It appears that the mid-eighteenth century was a critical period for
the Clan. Perhaps by coincidence, and perhaps not, the best information that
I have found suggests that one or more baronets of of Clan Sutherland might
have owned land that became, two centuries later, the New Jersey neighborhood
in which I lived the first 18 years of my life. Perhaps the Baronets sought
to diversify their holdings in an uncertain time, by investing in the New
World?
Could you direct me to any
further information about the 4th and 5th Baronets of Letterfourie? Do you
know anything of these gentlemen? If it could be determined that either or
both of the Baronets had owned land in what was then known as the New Ark
Mountain Purchase -- now called Short Hills, a neighborhood of MIllburn, New
Jersey -- it would be an exciting and important addition to the history of
the area. I have attached the oldest known archival map of the area, dating
from 1764, and also a tentative map -- a work-in-progress by Charles
McGrath, an accomplished amateur historian -- that incorporates earlier
data. "Squire" appears in the northwest part of the archival map from 1764.
The reference to Sir Robert appears in the second map, in yellow, just below
and slightly left of center; somewhat to the north is an area called "Squiertown";
most of the roads in the latter map are modern references that did not exist
in the 18th century. I grew up on White Oak Ridge Road, acknowledged to be
by far the oldest thoroughfare for miles around.
Many thanks for your kind attention to my message. I hope to hear from you
at your convenience.
Best regards
Marc Maderazzo
[Note: Since this
morning I have received, from a genealogist in New Jersey, an historical
document that refers to a property survey conducted by "a Mr.
Gordon of Gordonston in Scotland", in early 1749. The words practically
jumped off the page! On the basis of this new document it seems almost
certain that "Mr. Gordon of Gordonston" and "Sir Robert Gordon" are indeed
either the 4th or the 5th Baronet of Letterfourie. It is also of interest
that a nearby New Jersey community, Scotch Plains, was settled in November
1685 by a Thomas Gordon. It is an historical fact that a Sir Thomas Gordon
became Third Baronet of Earlston, Kirkcudbright, in 1685. As
a physicist, I tend to view serial coincidences as suggesting the
possibility of causal relationships; it will be a pleasure to try to
suss out those relationships.]
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