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ALEXANDER GORDON (c. 1692—c. 1754)

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Originally appearing in Volume V12, Page 249 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ALEXANDER GORDON (c. 1692—c. 1754)  , Scottish
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antiquary, is believed to have been born in Aberdeen in 1692 . He is the " Sandy Gordon " of Scott's Antiquary . Of his parentage and early
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history nothing is known . He appears to have distinguished himself in
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classics at Aberdeen University, and to in order to protect the
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European settlement at that place from have made a living at first by teaching
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languages and
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music . When still young he travelled abroad, probably in the capacity of tutor . He returned to Scotland previous to 1726, and devoted himself to antiquarian
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work . In 1726 appeared the Itinerarium Septentrionale, his greatest and best-known work . He was already the friend of
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Sir John Clerk, of Penicuik, better known as Baron Clerk (a baron of the
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exchequer); and the baron and Roger Gale (
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vice-president of the Society of Antiquaries) are the " two gentlemen, the honour of their age and country," whose letters were published, without their consent it appears, as an appendix to the Itinerarium . Subsequently Gordon was appointed secretary to the Society for the Encouragement of Learning, with an
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annual
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salary of X50 . Resigning this
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post, or, as there seems reason for believing, being dismissed for carelessness in his accounts, he succeeded Dr Stukeley as secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, and also acted for a short time as secretary to the
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Egyptian Club, an association composed of gentlemen who had visited
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Egypt . In 1741 he accompanied James Glen (after-wards governor), to South Carolina . Through his influence Gordon, besides receiving a grant of
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land in South Carolina, became registrar of the province and justice of the peace, and filled several other offices .

From his will, dated the 22nd of

August 1754, it appears he had a son Alexander and a daughter Frances, to whom he bequeathed most of his
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property, among which were portraits of himself and of friends painted by his own hand . See Sir Daniel Wilson, Alexander Gordon, the Antiquary; and his Papers in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, with Additional Notes and an Appendix of
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Original Letters by Dr David Laing (Prot .
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Soc. of Antiq. of Scot. x . 363-382) .

End of Article: ALEXANDER GORDON (c. 1692—c. 1754)
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