Patrick Henry Gordon was born 1820,
Chesterfield Co., Virginia,
Died:01 Apr 1882,
Grand Junction, Colorado

He Married 1st:
Eliza Isabel Poteete
abt 1839 in Missouri

He Married 2d:
Caroline Elizabeth Vanover
01 Sep 1861,Wasco Co., Oregon

THE FIRST RECORDED MARRIAGE IN MESA COUNTY, COLORADO
Mesa County was barley five weeks old when Moses Graham and Rachel Gordon recorded their marriage on line one in the new county's Marriage Book. The groom was a young railroad surveyor from Iowa. Rachel, age 16, had reached the new settlement site on 8 Sept. 1881 with her father Patrick Henry Gordon and several brothers and sisters.

"The bride wore a new gown, made and brought to her by her sister who had come from California to join the family. It was a gay little dream of green, pleating of the same material at the throat and wrists. A long row of buttons extended from the high collar down the long skirt that completely obscured the high black button shoes. Though her hair still hung in a heavy black braid down her back, the bride wore hoops and a bustle in honor of the occasion."

The guest list for the wedding included only the brothers and sisters of the bride. The settlements first mayor, Justice of the Peace, Charles F. Shanks, rowed across the river (Grand) to the Gordon home and performed the ceremony. The little group stood solemnly about the fireplace during the ceremony and immediately afterwards, gathered about the campfire while the new Mrs. Graham tied an apron over her wedding gown and prepared the wedding breakfast.

Mr. and Mrs. Graham settled down to housekeeping in the cabin built by Patrick Gordon and lived there for some time before building their own home nearby.

This came out of a marriage records done by the LDS 3rd Ward, Grand Junction, Mesa, Colorado. The marriages are from 1883 to July 26 1912. They wrote this information.

The marriage took place on Orchard Mesa. The Grand River is now called the Colorado River. Rachel's father Patrick Gordon was drown after the ferry tipped over while they were chasing robbers I believe, the other person who drown was Sheriff Bob Scott. At the end of this article it list members of the family that still live in Mesa County.