Page 58 - Crooked Letter Legends
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1830′s and named the place Dundee in honor of a town in Scotland. He later
changed to the name to Aberdeen. It was near Pontotoc where Gordon found the
land where he wanted to build his home. The location that he chose had been the
land of the Choctaw Indian chief, Chinubi and once the Indians were gone from
the area, he began building the new house.
After moving into the grand mansion, the Gordons would have one child, a
son named James. His earliest memories of Lochinvar included magnificent
parties and his personal servant, named Ebenezer. He could not remember a
time when Ebenezer had not been a part of his life. He taught James to hunt and
fish, told him stories, supervised his manners and when he was old enough,
packed his trunks and watched him leave for the University of Mississippi at
Oxford in 1851.
As the years passed, the beloved slave grew older and became known by
the respectful name of “Uncle Eb”. He remained particularly close to James
Gordon and their relationship went far beyond master and servant.
In February of 1856, James married Virginia Wiley and in December of
that year, their daughter Annie was born. From that time that she could walk,
Annie was attached to Uncle Eb. She followed him everywhere and begged him
to push her on the swings and to tell her stories. Delighted, Uncle Eb took under
his wing a new generation of Gordons.
Then came the Civil War. Robert Gordon, now too old to be involved, gave
his support and advice to James and they raised a company of Confederate
cavalry, the first from northern Mississippi. Before James Gordon left for
service, he called Uncle Eb to see him. “Take care of my family and the
plantation,” he told his mentor, “My father needs your help and I need to know
that you are here with my family. Don’t let anything happen to them and I’ll be
back home soon.” He embraced the older man and told him goodbye. This began
Uncle Eb’s role as the caretaker and guardian of Lochinvar.