Pictured: English map of Maine and New Hampshire (c1670), where Alexander Gordon ultimately settled. The Payson Chronicle staff are Gordon’s descendants; he’s a ninth-great-grandfather of publisher Michael Olson.
From Aberdeen to Worcester: Early Life and War
Alexander Gordon was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1635, into a tumultuous period marked by political upheaval and civil war across the British Isles. As a young man he fought on the Royalist side for King Charles II in the English Civil War. On September 3, 1651, at the Battle of Worcester, Royalist forces suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarian army. Gordon was among the thousands taken prisoner in the aftermath of that conflict.
Following his capture, Gordon was held over the winter of 1651–52 at Tothill Fields, a makeshift detention area near London. Like many Scottish prisoners, he faced bleak prospects: many were executed, imprisoned indefinitely, or sold into servitude overseas. In the spring of 1652, Gordon was transported across the Atlantic to New England aboard the ship Liberty, landing in Boston as part of a large cohort of Scots prisoners of war.
Indentured Servitude in Massachusetts
Upon arrival, Gordon and his fellow prisoners were confined for a time at Watertown, Massachusetts, awaiting distribution. Gordon entered a kind of indentured servitude, a system common in the colonies where individuals bound themselves for a term in exchange for passage or room and board.
Gordon first served for over a year under John Cloyes, a boatswain on the Liberty. Although initially intended to work perhaps as a free apprentice or servant, Cloyes sold Gordon’s service to Samuel Stratton of Watertown. On April 25, 1653, Gordon signed a formal six-year contract to serve Stratton as an “apprentice” in husbandry (farming). Yet in practice this contract functioned more like forced labor: he worked without pay, could not leave without permission, and lacked basic freedoms—conditions far removed from the traditional apprenticeship Gordon had been led to expect.
This was not unique to Gordon. Many Scottish prisoners were similarly bound and sold by colonial masters eager for cheap labor. The term “apprentice” proved a legal euphemism that masked conditions closer to bondage.
The Landmark Court Case
Although Gordon’s original contract legally should have ended in 1659, he remained bound to Stratton for many years beyond that date. The injustice of his continued servitude led him to petition colonial authorities more than once. His first appeals were unsuccessful, and many such petitions by Scottish servants were dismissed by the Massachusetts courts.
The turning point came on November 3, 1663, when—with support from a Cambridge resident—Gordon brought his complaint again before the Massachusetts court. He successfully argued that his contract had expired long before and that his continued servitude was unlawful. The court agreed, releasing him from the indenture and setting him on a path to full freedom.
Though the surviving records do not always detail the exact legal rationale, Gordon’s victory set an important precedent in colonial Massachusetts. It confirmed that indentured contracts could not be arbitrarily extended beyond their agreed terms—a foundational principle in the development of more equitable labor rights in New England. His case showed that even those without status or wealth could seek justice in court against exploitative practices.
A New Start: Exeter, New Hampshire
After gaining his freedom, Gordon left Massachusetts for New Hampshire. There, along with other Scottish ex-prisoners, he became part of the effort to settle Exeter, a frontier community on the Piscataqua River.
In Exeter, Gordon worked at a sawmill owned by Nicholas Lissen. He established himself as a respected and industrious member of the fledgling town. In 1663, he married Mary Lissen, Nicholas’s daughter, and began a family that would become one of the foundational lineages of the region. Together they raised eight children and built lives as farmers and mill workers.
Gordon’s life in Exeter reflects the broader patterns of post-civil war migration and settlement in New England: individuals uprooted by conflict abroad who forged new identities and communities in America.
Legacy
Alexander Gordon died in 1697 in Exeter, leaving behind a large family and a legacy that bridges continents and cultures. His descendants include notable figures in American political and educational history, such as U.S. Representative William Gordon of New Hampshire and Adoniram Judson Gordon, founder of Gordon College in Massachusetts.
Importantly, Gordon’s legal challenge against prolonged servitude contributed to early colonial jurisprudence in Massachusetts, affirming that labor contracts had enforceable limits and helping to protect others from indefinite servitude. His story illustrates how even individuals from humble beginnings could shape legal and social norms in the developing English colonies.
In sum, Alexander Gordon’s life journey—from English Civil War battlefield to New England court and frontier settlement—is a remarkable story of resilience, justice, and contribution to colonial society. His experiences highlight the interplay between war, law, labor, and community in 17th-century America.
