He was an amazing man and co-worker and I'm praying for all to have comfort during this difficult time. [87], The French-educated Isma'il Pasha greatly admired Europe as the model for excellence in everything, being an especially passionate Italophile and Francophile, saying at the beginning of his reign: "My country is no longer in Africa, it is now in Europe". A. He was first and foremost a passionate follower of Jesus Christ and lived his life in humble but firm faith, pressing on towards the upward call he felt from a young age. [100], Gordon established a close rapport with the African peoples of Equatoria such as the Nuer and Dinka, who had long suffered from the activity of Arab slave traders, and who naturally supported Gordon's efforts to stamp out the slave trade. [199] Gordon's death caused a huge wave of national grief all over Britain with 13 March 1885, being set aside as a day of mourning for the "fallen hero of Khartoum". About 2,500 people had been removed before the Mahdi's forces closed in on Khartoum. [87] Before Gordon boarded the ship at Alexandria that was to take him home, he sent off a series of long telegrams to various ministers in London full of Biblical verse and quotations that he claimed offered the solution to all of the problems of modern life. Always happy [146] Having been to all of those places and thus speaking with some authority, Gordon announced the "scandal" of poverty in Ireland could only be ended if the government were to buy the land from the Ascendency families, as the Anglo-Irish elite was known, and give it to their poor Irish tenant farmers. [19] It was said at the British HQ that, "If you want to know what the Russians are up to, send for Charlie Gordon.
Obituary | Gordon Shaffer of George, Iowa | Jurrens Funeral Homes In defiance of those instructions, after evacuating about 2,500 civilians he retained a smaller group of soldiers and non-military men. To download this photo, the file name must have less than 255 characters. The true joy of George's life were his five beloved and oftentimes spoiled grandchildren: Maeve, Emmett, Isla, Felicity, and Nixon. [241][242], The Church Missionary Society (CMS) work in Sudan was undertaken under the name of the Gordon Memorial Mission. Among his best-known works are the lengthy narratives Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage; many of his shorter lyrics in . [62] Together with Mrs. Sarah Mackley, his housekeeper, he adapted two rooms at Fort House to serve as classrooms and basic needs resource rooms for boys living on the streets. [96], A tense stand-off ensued, and though the rebels could have easily killed Gordon and his party, as Gordon wrote in a letter to his sister, the rebels were all "dumbfounded at my coming among them". [12], The American historian Byron Farwell strongly implied in his 1985 book Eminent Victorian Soldiers that Gordon was a homosexual, for instance writing of Gordon's "unwholesome" interest in the boys he took in to live with him at the Fort House, and his fondness for the company of "handsome" young men. The relief force, under the command of Gordon's old friend, Field Marshal Sir Garnet Wolseley, was not ready until November 1884. Here was one man among men who did not do what he was told, but what he believed to be right. I'm thinking of the entire family as you're celebrating the life of our beloved George. Matters then remained quiet until March 1877, when Gordon proceeded to Massawa, hoping to make peace with the Abyssinians. A second and larger expedition under Prince Hassan was sent the following year and was routed at Gura. [34], Following the successes in the 1850s in the provinces of Guangxi, Hunan, and Hubei, and the capture of Nanjing in 1853, the rebel advance had slowed. William Gordon, minister of Glenlivet, he entered Marischal College, Rick and Karen Stainthorpe. Box 297 He was 96. [84] Gordon and Gessi threatened to go to the British and Italian press if she was not released at once, a threat that proved sufficient to win the girl her freedom. [116] Faught wrote that Gordon's plans were "farsighted and humane", but Baring had no interest in Gordon's plans to suspend the interest payments.
George GORDON Obituary (2016) - Glen Innes, Auckland - The New Zealand Finally, after much prompting on Stead's part, Gordon opened up and attacked Gladstone's Sudan policy, coming out for an intervention to defeat the Mahdi. [12], Despite the popular demand to "avenge Gordon", the Conservative government that came into office after the 1885 election did nothing of the sort. [52], Instead, the Ever Victorious Army was given the task of taking the secondary cities of Yesing, Liyang, and Kitang. [225][226] Lord Kitchener kept the Mahd's skull and it was rumoured that he intended to use it as a drinking cup or ink well. What this almost certainly meant was that Gordon had unresolved homosexual inclinations which, like Kitchener, but unlike Rhodes, he kept savagely repressed. [59] Gordon disapproved of the forts he was building at the mouth of Thames to guard against a possible French invasion, regarding them as expensive and useless. [43], Gordon's breakthrough caught the rebel army off guard and caused thousands of the enemy to panic and flee. I fear that there will be treachery in the garrison, and all will be over by Christmas. A memorial service will be held in Isabella during the feast of Tabernacles in October for both Dirk and George. [35] The British arrived at a crucial time. Due to many aspects of the Taiping ideology resembling Chinese communism, the Taipings are treated sympathetically by Chinese historians who portray them as prototypical communists, with Hong Xiuquan foreshadowing Mao.
George Gordon Obituary - Temple Terrace, FL [81], In October 1871, he was appointed British representative on the international commission to maintain the navigation of the mouth of the River Danube, with headquarters at Galatz. [168] Gordon and Wolseley were good friends (Wolseley being one of the people Gordon prayed for every night), and after a meeting with Wolseley at the War Office to discuss the crisis in the Sudan, Gordon left convinced that he had to go to the Sudan to "carry out the work of God". Ye are men, not women. In his 62nd year, George Gordon passed unexpectedly into the presence of his Lord and Saviour. [142], Gordon was ordered home by London as the Foreign Office was not comfortable with the idea of him commanding the Chinese Army against Russia if war should break out, believing that this would cause an Anglo-Russian war and Gordon was told that he would be dishonorably discharged if he remained in China. [119] Gordon was met by Suleiman Zobeir, the son of Rahama Zobeir, and demanded in the name of the Khedive of Egypt that the rebels end their rebellion and accept the authority of their lord and master, telling Zobeir that he would "disarm and break them" if the rebellion did not end at once. You can then forward the email to the family or print it and give it to them personally. His beloved wife passed in June of 2019. George graduated from. If there is anything that I admire nearly as much as the superb scholarship of Zeng Guofan, it is the military qualities of this fine officer. [106], Moreover, considerable progress was made in the suppression of the slave trade. George was a wise, strong, hardworking, and unfailingly kind man. Gord was a fun-loving Uncle to five nephews and one . [166] Urban wrote: "The Pall Mall Gazette articles, in short, began a new chapter in international relations; powerful men using media manipulation of public opinion to trigger war. Earth's joys grow very dim, its glories have faded".
We played hockey together. know George was a good and faithful servant of the Lord , and our parting will only be for a little while. More importantly, I saw someone who cared deeply for the people he led, who never failed to make time for them, and practiced a patience and measured calm that I have spent 20 years attempting to replicate. [237], An identical statue by Thornycroftbut with the pedestal intactis located in a small park called Gordon Reserve, near Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia. "[260], Gordon also left a legacy in China and Sudan as well, two nations where he spent large parts of his career. He went up to Bogos and wrote to the king proposing terms.
George Gordon Obituary [177], The novelist John Buchan wrote that Gordon was so "unlike other men that he readily acquired a spiritual ascendency over all who knew him well and many who did not", but at the same time, Gordon had a "dualism", in that "the impression of single-heartedness was an illusion, for all his life his soul was the stage of conflict". He is survived by George and Jacqueline Gordon; four nieces he helped raise and home school; Kohl Gordon Conner and her girls Ruth and Faith; his brother Thor Eric Downing. [255] In 1953, the British novelist Charles Beatty published a Gordon biography, His Country was the World: A Study of Gordon of Khartoum, which focused on Gordon's religious faith, but for the first time noted what a tormented figure Gordon was: a man of deeply felt Christian convictions, full of guilt and self-loathing over his own sinfulness and inability to live up to his own impossibly high standards over what a Christian should be and desperately longing to do something to expiate his sinfulness. [172], Due to public opinion, the government dared not sack Gordon, but the Cabinet was extremely angry about Gordon's insubordination, with many privately saying if Gordon wanted to defy orders by holding Khartoum, then he only deserved what he was going to get. 2023 Christensen Salmon Generations Funeral Home. We always teased each other on and off the ice Im really going to miss you George. [191] Khartoum was surrounded by the Ansar in March 1884, but was not cut off from the outside world for a considerable time afterward. It was removed in 1958, shortly after the Sudan became independent. [172], Owing to the fact that his Turkish and Egyptian (and many Sudanese) troops were Muslim, Gordon refrained in public from describing his battle with the Mahdi as a religious war, but Gordon's diary showed he viewed himself as a Christian champion fighting against the Mahdi just as much for God as for his nation. When Gordon first arrived at the city of Galatz (modern Galai, Romania) in the Ottoman protectorate of Moldavia, he called the city "very dusty and not desirable at all as a place of residence". To plant a tree in memory of George GORDON, please visit. The Reverend Gordon Graham has taken the biblical injunction to "consider the lilies of the field" to extremes.
George Charles Gordon - Northview Funeral Chapel During his time in London, he was approached by Sir William Mackinnon, an enterprising Scottish ship owner who had gone into partnership with King Leopold II of the Belgians with the aim of creating a chartered company that would conquer central Africa, and wished to employ Gordon as their agent in Africa. It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Gordon Richard George, loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. Gordon believed in reincarnation. He doesn't want money!". [244], Charlton Heston played Gordon in the 1966 epic film Khartoum, which deals with the siege of Khartoum. After his conversation with Baring, Churchill wrote: "Of course there is no doubt that Gordon as a political figure was absolutely hopeless. Second only to his faith, was the great joy George found in his family. I wish his family peace and beautiful memories. The Mahdi is a messianic figure in Islam which tradition holds will appear at the dawn of every new (Islamic) century to strike down the enemies of Islam. [95], The Egyptian authorities had been extending their control southwards since the 1820s. The mortal enemy of the morning had become a trusted ally by night". Share. [12] Even an observer as sympathetic as Winston Churchill wrote about Gordon: "Mercury uncontrolled by the force of gravity was not on several occasions more unstable than Charles Gordon. The Aylmer Flickering Flames Hockey Club wish the entire Gordon Family our deepest sympathies during this sad time. [188] The Turkish troops at Khartoum were not part of the Ottoman Army, but rather bashi-bazouks, irregulars whom Gordon commented were good for raids, but useless for battle. So sorry and in shock! An official certificate recognizing your purchase will be included with your email receipt. [212], Gordon died on the steps of a stairway in the northwestern corner of the palace, where he and his body servant, Agha Khalil Orphali, had been firing at the enemy. [94] Because the Egyptian troops at Suakin were repeatedly defeated, a British force was sent to Suakin under General Sir Gerald Graham, which drove the rebels away in several hard-fought actions. The site lies north of the traditional site at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and is now known as "The Garden Tomb", or sometimes as "Gordon's Calvary". [123], Gordon then tried another peace mission to Abyssinia. At the beginning of 1884, Gordon had no interest in the Sudan and had just been hired to work as an officer with the newly-established Congo Free State. [43], Gordon then reorganised his force and advanced against Kunshan, which was captured at considerable loss. [253], Strachey, a member of the Bloomsbury Group of intellectuals, depicted Gordon as a ludicrous figure, a bad-tempered, deranged egomaniac with a nasty habit of knocking out Arabs whenever he was unhappy, and who led himself into disaster. A Florida man was seriously injured early Friday morning when he was struck by own vehicle after it hit a parked tractor-trailer on the exit ramp from Interstate 77 North at Turnersburg Highway.. [4] For the same services, he was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the Government of France on 16 July 1856. It was a highly dangerous job that frequently put him under enemy fire, and led to him being wounded for the first time when a Russian sniper put a bullet into him. [56] Gordon also gained the popular nickname, "Chinese" Gordon. He has written a 526-page flora of County Durham, plus a handbook on wild roses - a. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. When he and his wife started attending Summerside Church this year, I was blessed to meet him in person.
Obituary for George Gordon | Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Service Gordon started for Cairo in January 1884, accompanied by Lt. Col. J. D. H. Stewart. It arrived two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. [123] As Zobeir had broken his oath to the khedive by rebelling, Gordon had given Gessi orders to execute Zobeir, and so later that day Gessi had Zobeir and his men publicly beheaded as an example of what happened to those who broke their oaths. The columns are surmounted by carved capitals supporting a cross. [52] The Ever Victorious Army did not take part in the final offensive that ended the war with the Capture of Nanking as the "Imps", as Gordon called the Imperial Army, wanted the honour of taking Nanking, the Taiping capital, for themselves. On 2 September 1877, Gordon clad in the full gold-braided ceremonial blue uniform of the Governor-General of the Sudan and wearing the tarboush (the type of fez reserved for a pasha), accompanied by an interpreter and a few bashi-bazouks, rode unannounced into the enemy camp to discuss the situation. Send Flowers. George Gordon of Isabella, Mo died in his wife's arms at his farm August 30 and was buried that same day in the family cemetery on the farm. May God be your strength and comfort. [240], Gordon's Tomb (in fact a cenotaph), which was carved by Frederick William Pomeroy, lies in St Paul's Cathedral, London. He devoted himself fully to being a wonderful father to his three sons, Thomas, Greg, and Curtis, raising them up to be men of strong faith and good character. I shared a busride home with him a long time ago and we had the most pleasant conversation. [50] The Ever-Victorious Armywhich was inclined to lootinghad been ordered not to enter Suzhou, and only Imperial forces entered the city. He was a devoted husband and a loving, tender, and selfless man who made many friends during his lifetime. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the greatest of English poets. [43] Gordon wrote: "The great thingis to cut off their retreat, and the chances are they will go without trouble; but attack them in the front, and leave their rear open, and they fight most desperately". [203], In 1982, a documentary on Gordon's life was written and presented by the actor and historian Robert Hardy, entitled "Gordon of Khartoum". [17], During his time in the Crimea, Gordon made a number of friendships that were to last for the rest of his life, most notably with Romolo Gessi, Garnet Wolseley, and Gerald Graham, all of whom would cross paths with Gordon several times in the future. [159], On 35 November 1883, the Ansar (whom the British called "Dervishes"), as the Mahdi's followers were known, destroyed the Egyptian army of 8,000 under Colonel Hicks at El Obeid, with only about 250 Egyptians surviving and Hicks being one of the slain. E-mail: GeorgeGordonsSchoolofcommonlaw@usa.net He won legal cases in the Federal District 9th Circuit Court and the Supreme Court all based on religious free exercise. [3] He was educated at Fullands School in Taunton, Taunton School, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. [40], No monuments to Gordon exist in China today, though the British journalist Rob Stallard noted that the modest Gordon would have no doubt wanted it that way. Im so grateful that my sister and nephews had such a wonderful father-in-law and grandpa. [93], During the 1870s, European initiatives against the Arab slave trade caused an economic crisis in northern Sudan, precipitating increasing unrest. Baker met with great difficulties and managed little beyond establishing a few posts along the Nile. [152] The Spaffords had lost their home and much of their fortune in the Great Chicago Fire and then had seen one of their sons die of scarlet fever, four of their daughters drowned in a shipwreck, followed by the death of another son from scarlet fever, causing them to turn to religion as consolation for unbearable tragedy, making them very congenial company for Gordon during his stay in Jerusalem. Right up to 1914, Egypt was officially a vilayet (province) of the Ottoman Empire, but after Mohammed Ali become the vali (governor) of Egypt in 1805, Egypt was a de facto independent state where the authority of the Ottoman Sultan was more nominal than real. [93] Licurgo Santoni, an Italian hired by the Egyptian state to run the Sudanese post office, wrote about Gordon's time as Governor-General that: as his exertions were not supported by his subordinates, his efforts remained fruitless. [47] Gordon had to impose strict discipline on the Ever Victorious Army and worked hard to prevent the Army from engaging in its tendency to loot and mistreat civilians. He managed the grain elevator in Raymond until he retired manyyears ago and has lived in Raymond ever since. With Egypt under British rule, the British also inherited the problems of Egypt's colony, the Sudan, which the Egyptians were losing control of to the Mahdi. The Mahdi and his followers had been fighting a jihad since 1881 and looked forward to taking on the famous General Gordon as a chance to win glory for Allah. He was born in Fortuna, CA 75 years ago to Winton and Evelyn Chase Gordon. [206], A particular aspect of Gordon's personality that stood out was his death wish, as everyone who knew him was convinced that he wanted to die. [87] Gordon's reforming zeal made him popular with the ordinary people of the Sudan. An insurrection had broken out in Darfur province led by associates of Zobeir and Gordon went to deal with it. He was deeply loved by all who knew him and he will be dearly missed every day, with joyful anticipation of an eventual heavenly reunion. He was warm, steadfast, and peaceable. Gordon's charitable work for the boys of Gravesend led to assertions later in the 20th century that he was a homosexual. [221] In 1887, the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition under Henry Morton Stanley set out to rescue Dr. Emin Pasha, still holding out in Equatoria against the Ansar. You used to tell me darn I can't hide when I used to come to your office with an issue. After meeting his old friend, Gordon assured Li that if Russia should attack he would resign his commission in the British Army to take up a commission in the Chinese Army, an action that if taken, risked prosecution under the Foreign Enlistments Act. [232], Gordon's memory, as well as his work in supervising the town's riverside fortifications, is commemorated in Gravesend; the embankment of the Riverside Leisure Area is known as the Gordon Promenade, while Khartoum Place lies just to the south. However, in 1953 the statue, minus a large slice of its pedestal, was reinstalled on the Victoria Embankment, in front of the newly-built Ministry of Defence main buildings. Gordon personally explored Lake Albert and the Victorian Nile, pushing on through the thick, humid jungle and steep ravines of Uganda amid heavy rains and vast hordes of insects in the summer of 1876 with an average daily temperature of 95F (35C), down to Lake Kyoga. Gordon Hoekstra Apr 15, 2011 1:00 AM. He was warm, steadfast, and peaceable. I would feel so bad but he was always so patient and easy going. During this time in Khartoum, Gordon befriended Irish journalist Frank Powers, The Times (London) correspondent in the Sudan. Following the destruction of Hicks's army, the Liberal Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, decided that the Sudan was not worth the trouble it would take to keep, and that the region should be abandoned to the Mahdi. [131] Gordon's very strong religious feelings led him to devote much time and money to charity both at home and abroad and he was well-known for sticking Christian tracts onto city walls and to throw them out of a train window. Sending you my love. My heart breaks for George's family because we went through the same not too long ago with my own George.. Fri,03/03/23-11:56AM, 38 Reads.
George Gordon Obituary (1952 - 2022) - Acton, NH - Concord Monitor [208] On the evening of 24 January 1885, the Mahdi met with his generals, whose leading spokesman was his uncle Muhammad Abd al-Karim, who told him that, with the Nile low and Wolseley close, it was time to either storm Khartoum or retreat. This was a very evangelical branch of CMS and was able to start work in Sudan in 1900 as soon as the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium took control after the fall of Khartoum in 1899. In New York, Paris, and Berlin, pictures of Gordon appeared in shop windows with black lining as all over the West, the fallen general was seen as a Christ-like man who sacrificed himself resisting the advance of Islam. [219], In 1885, Gordon achieved the martyrdom he had been seeking at Khartoum as the British press portrayed him as a saintly Christian hero and martyr who had died nobly resisting the Islamic onslaught of the Mahdi. Major-General Charles George Gordon CB (28 January 1833 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and administrator. I fear I have not even tried to play battledore and shuttlecock with them. [102], Gordon had succeeded in establishing a line of way stations from the Sobat confluence on the White Nile to the frontier of Uganda, where he proposed to open a route from Mombasa. ObituaryRev. [218] In a sermon, the Bishop of Chichester stated: "Nations who envied our greatness rejoiced now at our weakness and our inability to protect our trusted servant. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1890 and then erected in Brompton Barracks, Chatham, the home of the Royal School of Military Engineering, where it still stands. [47], The Ever Victorious Army was entirely a mercenary force whose only loyalty was to money and whose men were interested in fighting only in order to gain the chance to plunder. We love you, we love you, we love you. P.O. Staveley decided to clear the rebels within 30 miles (48km) of Shanghai in co-operation with Ward and a small French force. Urban wrote that, "Newspaper readers in Bolton or Beaminister had become enraged by stories about chained black children, cruelly abducted, being sold into slave markets", and Gordon's anti-slavery efforts contributed to his image as a saintly man. [256], Another attempt to debunk Gordon was Anthony Nutting's Gordon, Martyr & Misfit (1966). If I cannot, I shall retire to the Equator and leave you with the indelible disgrace of abandoning the garrisons". [229] On 16 October 1885, the structure was unveiled; it comprises a stone base on which there are four polished red Aberdeen granite columns, about twenty feet high. The Cabinet felt highly uncomfortable with the appointment, as they had been pressured by the press to send a man who was opposed to their Sudan policy to take command there. [18] The casualties on the Allied side were quite high that day.
George Folk Obituary (1938 - 2023) - Findlay, OH - The Courier [87] After Gordon resigned, Muhammad Rauf Pasha succeeded him as governor general of Sudan. Gordon declined all honours of financial gain, writing: "I know I shall leave China as poor as I entered it, but with the knowledge that, through my weak instrumentality, upwards of eighty to one hundred thousand lives have been spared. [172] Baring disapproved of sending Gordon to the Sudan, writing in a report to London that: "A man who habitually consults the Prophet Isaiah when he is in a difficulty is not apt to obey the orders of anyone".
Charles George Gordon - Wikipedia [16], In the 19th century, Russia was Britain's archenemy, with many people in both nations seeing an ideological conflict between Russian autocracy and British democracy, and Gordon was anxious to fight in the Crimea. [93], Reflecting these realities, Gordon had to undertake much of the administrative work himself, travelling ceaselessly and constantly all over the Sudan via camel in attempts to make the bureaucracy actually obey his orders, something that occurred when he was present, but stopped as soon as he left. He will be forever cherished by his wife Gail Bowen (nee Reid). [65], Octavia Freese published a book in 1894 about his charity work and Christian beliefs. [60] Gordon's father was against his son working in Chinese service, an estrangement that had not been settled at the time of his death, and Gordon felt immense guilt that his father had died before they were reconciled. His moods were capricious and uncertain, his passions violent, his impulses sudden and inconsistent. Find an Obituary. [31] When Gordon arrived at Hong Kong, he was disappointed to learn he was "just too late for the fighting". I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers all the time. It is a bittersweet reminder of all we've lost, but it can also help us to remember all we enjoyed while they were alive. [148] Gordon was promoted to major-general on 23 March 1882. Second only to his faith, was the great joy George found in his family. George married Lola Shafer and they divorced. Please know Nancy that you and the family are in our thoughts and prayers that God would walk with you through this difficult time. [102] Faught argued that since no one else who knew Gordon in Equatoria described him in these terms, and given that Gordon's accusation that Chaill-Long was a spy for Aiyub Pasha seems to be justified, that Chaill-Long was engaging in character assassination as an act of revenge.