Notes for Fleming JORDAN

Thompson Family Ancestry

Surname Search Utility - GenealogyBuff.com - SSDI-Search.com - YourFamilyFacts.com - HonorStudentsArchive.com - Marriage Search Engines

Alaine's JORDAN Family Tree
Family Group Sheets
Compiled by Alaine

All Marriage & Divorce results for Jordan

Notes for Fleming JORDAN

Copy of Sketch of the JORDAN FAMILY writtent by Charles Scott Jordan (1801-1879) of Monticello, Georgia for the information of his children.

The Jordans are what used to be denominated "Buckskins", a term that was applied to such families as might e unable to trace their origin beyond the united States, which was a matter of pride in the better families to maintain their descent from the families of the old country. The Jordan family however, claimed with emphasis, to have descended from Pocohontos, or some other Indian of royal distinction and some of them felt and manifested much pride in this behalf. But it was a feeling in which I never could symphathize. The Indian character presents nothing to me to admire; the preiminent traits of which are treachery and creulty, and their habits are disgustingly filthy and revolting.

Your great grandmother Jordan was a Miss Scott, a relation of Gen. Charles Scott, after whom I was named. She was the only child of a widow by her first marriage, Your great grandfather Mathew Jordan married Miss Scott and Samuel Jordan, his elder brother married the widow Scott. By this marriage Samuel Jordan had many children - 16 or 18- none of whom I ever saw or know anything about. Their descendants must be very numerous.

My grandfather Mathew Jordan had six sons, namely: Reuben (my father), William, John, Benjamin, Fleming, and Mathew Jr. and four daughters, Judith, Elizabeth, Sarah and Mildred. But two each of the sons and daughters married, namely; Reuben and Fleming of the sons and Sarah and Mildred of the daughters.

Reuben Jordan (my father) was rather below the middle height, slightly stooped in the shoulders and remakedly handsome. his eyes were jet balck and as brilliant as diamonds. When exicted they were peculiarly strikin and penetrating in their expression. his hair was black and his skin dark. ince my recollection of him, he was much worn down by disease and exhibited the appearance of a small and rther feeble man. But in earfly life his weiht was from 160 to 170 pounds and he possessed a remarkable strenght and activity in so much hat he never met anyone in strife that could manage him. in his youthful days, fighting was a common and alsmost the only mode of settling difficulties, even among gentlemen. he had many of these encounters and always came off victorius, so that he acquired the eclet which in those days was rewarded to those who were considered invincible in the "ring". His activity was manifaest even as late as my recollection of him, shatered and indeed completely broken down as then was by age and disserge. His foot fall was as light as the tread of a cat, and I have seen him on many occasions mount a horse without touching the horse or saddle with his hands. he was fond of field sports and was considered the finest horsemen and best rifle shot in all the county. He was not of a cogitgating utnr of mind and possesses but little fondness for books. But he was nevertheless a man of fine sense and possessed in an eminent degree the qualifications of judging correctly of human nature and of determining the probable motives that would govern the actions of men under particular circumstances. it was from him that you Uncle Fleming inherited the gift that is awarded to him in this behalf. He wrote a beautiful hand and possessed great readiness and facility in arithmetical calculations. In a word he was a man designed by nature for action and not for thought and cogitation.

William Jordan died at an early age. I have often heard my father speak of him as being the finest formed and handsomest man he ever saw. he was the largest of the family and was unmatched in strenght and activity.

John Jordan entered the Army in the Revolutionary Was at the commencement and continued in it until the close of the hostilities. he entered at the age of seventeen yeas as a common soldier, but he was soon promoted and at the close of the War held a Captains commission. He was in thirty odd engagements in one of which he was wounded in the knee, which lamed him for life. he was engaged to be married soon after he returned from the army to a yound lady of great fortune and of a family of eminent distinction. A violent stgorm prevented his reaching the home of his affiance on the day appointed, the wedding was posponed and finally without any apparent cause the engaement was broken off by himself. I have read many letters to my father, frfom which I should infer that he was a man of high orderf of intellect and very considerable mental culture.

Benjamin Jordan was regarded as possessing very great business capacity and was connected with on of the largest mercantile frims that ever existed in Virginia, to wit: Irving Gault & Co.. He died when a young man from the efects of violent and sudden mental excitement. he was descending the james River in a boat and had under his cae all the books and papers belonging to the concern to which he belonged. The boatman through carelessness allowed the boat to turn across the current in one of the difficutlt passes with which the river abounds above Richmond and immediayge and certain destruction was thought to be inevitable. The effect on his feelings was such that he was strichen down in a paralitic fit, from the effect of which he died within a few days. it is proper to say that the boat was righted and the difficulty passed in sfety. many of his kleters are among my fathers papers. The style of compostion is in confimation of his having been a business man - being extremely laconic and to the point. He wrote a bod, dashing, counting room hand.

Fleming Jordan married Miss Moore, a neice of my Mother. I knew him well and spent many weeks at his house in Alabama in 1823. he had not seen me before then since I was a child. On that occasion he formed a strong attachment for me and kept up as long as he lived a regular correspondence with me. I wish I had his letters to show to you. They were written in a peculiar hand, and with much punctilliousness adn exactness. He was a very small man, with remarkabley keen and pierceing black eyes and of hansome and manly features. In his gait and bearing he was lofty and aristocratic - affecting with much pomposity the manners fo the "old Virginia gentleman". he was a passionate admirer of Gen. Jackson and on the occasion of reveiving the intelligence of the battle of new orleans he danced about the room like one that was crazy and cried for joy, exlaiming "hurrah for Old Hickory". When under the influence of drink, his mind seemed to be fixed above "Upon deeds of daring and acts of bravery. On such occasions his favorite saying was one beginning:

"Why solier, why
Why fear to die, boy
It is he, you or I"

many years ago he was travelling through the Cherokee Nation in compan with two otherf gentlemen at a time when the Indians were a good deal irfritated with the United States Government and when the notorfious half breed Chief Vann, who boasted of having spilled more human blood than waoud float a ship, held complete sway in the country. They missed their way and happened aabout nightfall to come upon a house in which Vann was holding a carnival, surrounded by a hundred or more of his peculiar friends and partizans. Vann who was amusing himself in his drundken revelry by firing pistols every minute or two from the windows of the house, saw them as they rode into the yead. He orderfed them to dismount and come in. They felt themselves compelled to obey the summons and entered the room to which they were ordered with feelings of serious and well grounded apprehensions for their safety. My Uncle from whom I herd the sotry, admitted that he felt very serously the peril in which he was placed and that he considered, unde the circumstances, tha tit would be othing amiss to strenghten his feelins 9to use his own words0 with a little "Dutch Courage". He therefore readily acceped the bottle which the Indians tendered to him. By the time he had refreshed himself he was fiercely engaged in an argument with Vann in relation to the matter of a public road which the Government of the U.S. had ordered to b e opened throught the Nation. Vann denounced the act as an usurpation with fierfce and bitter threats. On the contrary my Uncle maintained the right of the Government to make the road and assured Vann, with scorn, that indefiance of all his threats it would be done. Finally, as the quarrel grew more fierce, he signified his willingness to engage him in a fight. Such rash and provoking conduct to a man known to be so much dreaded and so badly minded as Vann was, and taht too when they were completely in his power, alarmed the companions of my Uncle withe the conveiction of certain destruction to them all. But their fears were not realized. On the contrary the conducd of my Uncel seemed to commend him to the the Indians. The old Chiefs hugged hima and testified their highest regard for him for his fearless courage.

The next morning the travellers took good care to leave before Vann awoke from his drunken slumber.

My Uncle was insensible to fear in facing such dangers which most men are apt to encouter with dread and trepidaton. But he possessed the weakness to believe implicity in the existence of ghosts and he lived in great dread of them. When he was sober, nothing could induce him to approach a burial ground after night fall. But when he was drunk his apprehensions about ghosts all disapperared. Not that he did not when in that condition believe as implicity in them as ever, but that on such occasions he would as soon sit down cozily and hold familiar chit chat with the devil himself as not. He died about the year 1830 on which the sun turned green.

Mathew Jordan, Jr. was less smart than any of the family. At an early age in his life he wasted all his property and for many years lived on the bounty of friends. He possessed good counting room qualifications and could easily have earned a living by his services as a clerk but for his dissipated habits. He died about the year 1825 at the house of your Uncle Fleming.

Judith Jordan lived to a very old age and was emarkable for her great amiability, tempered, however with a high toned aristocratic feeling. She signified her detgermination at a very early period of life never to marry and with drew from society, enver appearing in company except on particular occasions. and then always with stately reseve which she assmued for her self. Not with standing her hauty and rather repulsive manners, she possessed great kindness of feelings and bestowed her affections upon her younger relations with the fondness of a mother, She was not remarkable for smartness.

Elizabeth Jordan was engaged to be maried to a dashing and wealthy youn Scotsman by the name of irving, the leading partner of the firm which I have before mentioned. But after the appointment of the day for the wedding, he broke off the engagement and paid his address to and subsequently married her younger sister Mildred who possessed more beauty and gaiety but not a tithe of her elder sister's smartness. The cirucmstance so disgusted her with the opposity sex, tha she withdrew from socitey of the young and nverf permitted any gentlman afterwards to approach her on the subject of matrimony. She lived to a very old age, perhaps ninety years. She was a woman of extraordianry mental abilities. Her letters exhibit the highest order of intellect.

Sarah Jordan marfried a man by the name of Rose, who soon after his marfriage had the mis fortune to loose his eye sight. She is represented as not being remakable. One of her daughters married Dr. Powell, who is at present a member of Congvress from Albermrle Districk of Virginia. (Fram Mar. 4 184? to Mar 3, 1859.

Mildred Jordan was a light, frivious woman, setting the highest possible estimate upon the forms of fashinable life in which the great wealth of her husban enabled heer to indulge to the extent of her easpiration. At the death of her husban, which occured when whe was still quite youn, it was disovered that his estate was greatly shattered by some unfortunate mercantile operations in which he had rfecently engagved and whe was compelled with exteeme mortification to abatge to a very great extent her style of living. She married a second husband by the name of Rose, and his brother marfried her daughter. She left several sons, as did her sister Sarah, none of whom ever attained any notoriety.

The Jordans, I will remak in general, assumed to themselves a very high caste of aristocratic feeling, and notwithstanding their "Buckskin" origin claimed to be related to many of the most eminent families in Virginia, namely; the Cabells, the Roses, the Madisons. mu Father however, formed an exception to the feelings of the family generally in this respect. he held in complete detestation all that style of manner which is always concomitant of arfistocratic pretensions. he used to take peculiarf pleasure in mortifying what he considered the foolish notions of his sister Mrs. Irving. When he ahppened to be at her gay and fashinonable parties he would introduce he subject of dthe navigation of the James River and let it be known that he had spent much of his time upon that river as a boatman.

Charles S. Jordan (of Georgia)

Copied from; http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/j/o/r/Jack-A-Jordan-OR/BOOK-0001/0009 -0015.html

Check out the newest additions to Ancestry.com data!
(Hint: Right click on an item and open in a new window)