Rebecca (“Becky”) Cooley Gordon

Rebecca (Becky) Cooley Gordon was John and Benjamin Cooley’s sister. She was born on December 24, 1824 in Warren County, Virginia, which is also where she married her husband, James William Gordon on May 14, 1848. Together, they had four children and lived at Belle Grove, Becky tending to the house and James tending to the fields. James enlisted as a private in the 17th Infantry of the Confederate Army on May 3, 1861, but he unfortunately died from illness less than a year later on March 28, 1862, leaving Becky a widow with four young children along with her youngest brother, David Cooley, who was listed as either “idiot” or “idiotic” in the census records.

Photograph of Rebecca (“Becky”) Cooley Gordon
Becky’s application to receive pension for her husband’s service in the Confederacy

Becky’s Census Records

1850 Census Record
1860 Census Record
1870 Census Record
1880 Census Record
1900 Census Record

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