Bazil Gordon (1768 – 1847) emigrated from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, settling in

Falmouth, Virginia Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stafford County, Virginia, Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksb ...

in 1786 where he opened a small store. Gordon grew his business, exporting large amounts of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

from

plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

along the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He is believed to be America's first

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...

Life

In 1768, Bazil Gordon was born at Lochdougan, Kelton Parish, Scotland. He was the born to Samuel Gordon and Nicholas Brown, the daughter to John Brown; he was Samuel's youngest son. In circa 1783, Gordon, along with two of his brothers: Samuel and Alexander; his nephew (also called Samuel) immigrated to the "New World," America. Gordon and his kinsmen settled in Falmouth, Virginia where they opened a merchant's shop; the main commodity they traded was tobacco. This enterprise quickly became a success. He married Anna Campbell Knox, daughter of William Knox and Susannah Stuart Fitzhugh. The brothers' fortunes were made in large by taking advantage of the war between England and Spain, where they purchased and exported tobacco. With the fortune that Bazil Gordon made in the tobacco trade, he purchased an affluent property; Wakefield Manor, an estate located in

Rappahannock County, Virginia Rappahannock County is a county (United States), county located in the northern Piedmont region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, US, adjacent to Shenandoah National Park. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,3 ...

. Wakefield Manor would be Gordon's family's main home for multiple generations. Gordon and Anne Campbell Knox would raise their three children on this property; they had two sons and one daughter. His second son, Douglas Hamilton Gordon, was born and raised in Falmouth, Virginia and graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. In 1847, Bazil Gordon died. At the end of his life, when he had finally finished accumulating wealth, his net worth was estimated in the millions, which, for the time, was large. By 1847, no other American had recorded a financial worth over a million dollars; it is for this reason that Gordon is believed and known for being the first millionaire in America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Bazil 1768 births 1847 deaths Businesspeople from Virginia Scottish emigrants to the United States People from Falmouth, Virginia People from Dumfries and Galloway 19th-century American merchants