Dear Family,

It was so great to see you all this weekend in Phoenix, Arizona! What a fabulous time we all had.

I was literally in tears seeing family that I haven’t seen for a while and also seeing new family members and their young children. Our family continues and we have a long rich history to learn and also be proud of as we move forward.

As mentioned to you all in my little “history” moment this weekend, I wanted to peak your interest in learning more about our family. I know I may have dropped a bomb on you, regarding our name. I did this so that you all will learn more about who you are, and who we are, as a family. It is important to learn about your ancestors what they did and went through, in order for us to exist and what you can do to educate future family members. We have a story..and we need to tell it!

I will use this blog to relay to you our family history as I uncover additional historical information to share.

Let’s start with our name!

Just last month we all came together to lay another one of our elder family members to rest. Uncle Charles Wesley James was one of our first generation “James” family members. He was the youngest son of Frank James Gordon. The family consisted of Frank James, his wife Florene Love James their 11 children; Harvey, Frankie, Lonzetta, Willie Mae, Bobby, Marjorie, Lawrence, Judy, Robert, Charles, and Janet.

Our patriarch, was given the name at birth of Frank James Gordon by his mother Angie Chico and father Jackson “Jack” Gordon.

Frank James Gordon was born April 15, 1898 in Yarnaby, IT (Indian Territory of current Oklahoma).

Frank James Gordon, was only three years old when his mother registered her family to receive land during the Dawes Commission enrollment from the Chickasaw Nation. I will discuss our Great Grandmother Angie Chico, her story and their enrollment in more depth on later posts.

Many of you should have in your possession, or have least seen the actual photo our Great GrandMother Angie and family posed for the day she went to register her family for their land allotment.

Pictured: Top, left to right: Frank James Gordon, Jim Redfield (his brother), Clem Redfield (his brother/cousin. Bottom, left to right: Angie Chico (his mother), Amos Nail (his cousin) and his Grandmother Betsey Chico.

Below is Angie Chico’s enrollment card which lists her and her children and our Grandfather’s full name as Frank James Gordon. This is proof that this was his full name and it also lists his father Jackson Gordon as well on the reverse side of the card.

So what happened?? This is where the story gets a bit sketchy. As a genealogist it important to have documents and proof to prove a historical moment but unfortunately, at this time, I can only tell you what I have heard. I have asked a few older members in our immediate family as well as extended family.

I can prove that Frank James Gordon was enrolled and registered as a student in a local area school with his entire given name, during his early childhood. Apparently the name change or drop of his last name occurred in his late teens or early 20’s. The first time that I can find proof of his name change is his marriage to our grandmother Florene Love. Their marriage record lists him as Frank James marrying Florene Love.

I had the opportunity to interview a few older members in the Gordon Family and here is what has been said:

Family member #1 said:

“You mean you all don’t know the story of why your grandfather changed his name? Well, it was said that he got into some trouble. Something happened which caused him to drop his last name.”

Me: Can you tell me more?

Family member #1 – “You mean they didn’t tell you?”

Me: No!

Family member #1: “I don’t know if I should be the one to tell it, especially if I get it wrong, or don’t tell it right.”

Me: I understand, I will only write down what you know and compare it with others who I hear from.

Family Member #1: “I think there was a fight that occurred and something terrible happened as a result and your Grandfather changed his name so that he wouldn’t be caught.”

Family Member #2 said:

“The story I heard was that your Grandfather did something that he felt the family would be angry with him for. Since he knew people were angry and he felt he didn’t want them to be embarrassed by what he did, he said I will drop my name as Gordon. You will only know me as Frank James.”

Family Member #3 said:

“Something may have occurred as a result of gambling or a card game.”

So, as you can see something happened! The stories are all very similar, and I have searched local newspapers for any news story that could have resulted, but I have no documented proof to the actual situation. The other information that I can add is this, which also solidifies some of the information provided. As children, my mother, Lonzetta James Bruce says they were never allowed to bring home or play with a deck of cards. My Grandmother Florene would not allow her children to play with cards in her home. She told them bad things can happen when you play with cards. Could this be due to Grandfather Frank’s unfortunate circumstance?

There are so many possibilities of what may have occurred. Could it be that he lost an important card game after being a champion player? Could it be a fight that erupted and he lost the fight or possibly injured someone or worse? Could it be that he lost family money or other fortune in this situation? All of these are only possibilities of so many different scenarios that could have resulted.

What I do know is this! Our patriarch Frank James Gordon was a hardworking, extremely loving, father and grandfather. We all loved him dearly! He raised his family with pride! He worked hard and was a great provider for his wife and children.  Whatever happened to cause him the pain and agony he went through as a young man, we can only hold dear in our heart that he made the best decision he could at that time. I hope those of you that have the last name James carry this name with pride as he did in his life, but it is also important to know the history of what may have occurred. We all need to know we have additional family with many additional relatives that are Gordon family members.

Just like we all did this weekend, our Gordon Family has very large family reunions yearly in many locations. I hope that we will all seek to join and learn more about our true extended family, the Gordon’s!