James Bentley Gordon facts for kids

James Bentley Gordon (born 1750 – died 10 April 1819) was an Irish clergyman, geographer, and historian. He wrote an important book about the Irish Rebellion of 1798 shortly after it happened.

About His Life

James Bentley Gordon was born in 1750. His father, also named James Gordon, was a reverend from Neeve Hall in County Londonderry.

In 1768, James Bentley Gordon started studying at Trinity College Dublin, which is a famous university in Ireland. He finished his degree in 1772. The next year, in 1773, he became a priest in the Church of Ireland. This is a Christian church in Ireland.

In 1776, he became a tutor, which means a private teacher, for the sons of Lord Courtown. Around 1779, he tried to run a boarding school in Marlfield, County Wexford. A boarding school is where students live and study. However, this business was not very successful.

Later, in 1796, he was given a church position, called a "living," in Cannaway in County Cork. In 1799, he received another living in Killegney, County Wexford. He kept both of these church roles until he passed away.

James Bentley Gordon had a long illness that badly affected his eyesight. People said he had an unusual way of acting, which was probably because of his vision problems. As he got older, his abilities became weaker. He died on 10 April 1819.

His Family

In 1779, James Bentley Gordon married a daughter of Richard Bookey from Wicklow. They had several children together.

His oldest son, James George, joined the army. He was killed in battle at Fort Sandusky in Canada on 25 August 1813. Another son, Richard Bentley, was also a church official, known as a prebendary, in Ferns and Leighlin from 1819 to 1823. One of James Bentley Gordon's daughters married Thomas Jones, who later wrote about Gordon's life.

His Books and Writings

James Bentley Gordon was a busy writer. Here are some of the books he published:

• Terraquea, or a New System of Geography and Modern History (1790–1798, 6 volumes). This was a huge work about geography and history. He had to stop working on it for a while because of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. This was a major uprising in Ireland.
• A History of the Rebellion in Ireland in 1798 (1801; 2nd edition, with additions, 1803). He wrote this book to give a fair and balanced account of the rebellion. His goal was to help people from different backgrounds in Ireland understand each other better.
• A History of Ireland (1805; 2nd edition 1806). This book was even translated into French in 1808.
• A History of the British Islands from the earliest Accounts to the Present Time (1815).

Gordon also left behind many handwritten notes and unfinished books, called manuscripts. Many of these were meant to be continuations of his Terraquea series. A part of these was published in 1820 as An Historical and Geographical Memoir of the North American Continent. This book also included a summary of Gordon's life and ideas, written by T. Jones.

Another important manuscript he left was An Historical Memoir of the Church of Ireland. A summary of this work can be found in T. Jones's account of Gordon's life.