GORDON MARTYRS

REMINISCENCES OF THE OLDEN DAYS IN PEI. printed in THE PIONEER newspaper in 1926, told about those who taught in the old log school— house in Tyne Valley. It included the following: Another of the teachers was George N. Gordon, while at the same time his brother, James D. Gordon, taught school at Port Hill. These men were of the sterling Gordon stock of Cascumpec and afterward became ministers of the Gospel in con- nection with the Presbyterian Church. These were the brave men who, under a stern sense of duty, tore themselves from the social and relational circumstances of their boyhood and early manhood and went forth as Missionaries of the Cross, first one and then the other to far off Erromanga, one of the New Hebrides group of islands in the Southern Pacific, north-east from Australia, and there became martyrs for the cause they loved so well.

In the WEST PRINCE GRAPHIC, September 6, 2000, Allan MacRae gave more information about George and James Gordon. They were born on a farm near Alberton, and moved a few years later to Huntley with their parents, John Gordon, Sr., and his wife, Mary Ramsay.

George Nichol Gordon was born in 1822, and James Douglas Gordon in I832. When George was in his mid—twenties he felt that God was calling him to give his life in full-time service to others. He left the family farm in Huntley and went to college. At the age of 33, he was ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. He then went to England to contin- ue a study of Medicine. In addition to his theological training and some knowledge of medicine, George was capable in several other occupations including the ability to frame a house. In London, England, he met and married Ellen Powell.

The Gordons sailed for the South Pacific and settled on the island of Erromanga in the New Hebrides. They were the first missionaries to g0 there.They learned the language and put it in writing. They translated and printed portions of Scripture. They taught the Christian faith, organized schools, visited and provided medicine for the sick.

An epidemic of measles brought to the island by white traders spread rapidly and proved fatal to many of the natives. Then came a series Of hurricanes. Hundreds of people died within a few months. Some believed the scourge of disease and death was brought upon them by the new reli- gion brought by the Gordons. During this time, Rev. Gordon never

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