What is in a name? I sometimes ask myself this. I was given the name Peter by my parents. It is the only name I identify with [no other name will do!] I am proud to be Peter. Furthermore, it is a christian name that runs right through my family tree, back to the very first recorded documents.
I have a name that was once common. As a defender of wonder, I have traced some of my namesakes of times gone-by. I do not care if we share DNA! I am simply interested in their story. The wonder of their lives!
This post is about Peter Gordon who was born at 19 Elbe Street, Leith on the 20th May 1862. Peter died 8 days later. He was buried in South Leith churchyard [see above].
19 Elbe Street was adjacent to a Timber yard and joiners warehouse:
A window of 19 Elbe Street [now demolished] can be seen on the left of the photograph below:
The father of Peter was Thomas Gordon, a mason, who was born in Prestonpans. Peter’s mother was Janet Helen Paterson.
The census of 1841 reveals Peter’s family: his father aged 17 and his grandfather Thomas Gordon, aged 42, a Gardener who lived and worked in Prestonpans:
This family faced terrible losses, including the death of Margaret Gordon as a consequence of cholera:
Margaret Gordon [1834-1848] would have been Peter’s aunt.
A news report from around this time:
The first outbreak of cholera in Prestonpans, February 1832:
By 1851 only one child was still at home in Prestonpans. This Peter Gordon would have been Peter’s uncle:
This Peter Gordon died in June 1856 as a result of Typhus. He was 20 years old and had only just married. He was also buried in the West Churchyard, Prestonpans:
Another of this family, Janet Gordon [Peter’s aunt, who only just lived long enough to see Peter born] died 8th July 1865 in most tragic circumstances. Aged 43 years she died in delirium tremens having aborted a baby:
No tombstones, if they were ever erected, survive to Peter’s family:
This photograph is from August 1961:
Whilst there are no tombstones to Peter’s family, Prestonpans West cemetery has some of the finest carved tombstones in Scotland:
