The Gordon and Hackett families of Wilkes County, N.C. were united through the marriage of Robert Franklin Hackett (died circa 1889) and Caroline Louise Gordon Hackett (1828-1891), who were married in 1859 after an extended and secret engagement. Robert Franklin Hackett was an 1849 graduate of Jefferson Medical College, and he practiced medicine in Wilkesboro, N.C. Caroline Gordon Hackett was a sister of Brigadier General James B. Gordon (1822-1864) and was connected with the Brown, Gywn, Lenoir, and Stokes families of North Carolina.
Robert Franklin and Caroline Hackett's son was Richard Nathaniel Hackett (1866-1923), an attorney and congressman. Richard Nathaniel was a graduate of the University of North Carolina in 1887, and he studied law under Colonel George N. Folk in Caldwell County. Richard Nathaniel established his law practice in Wilkesboro, N.C., and became a prominent figure in the local Democratic party, serving as chair of the Wilkes County Democratic Executive Committee, 1890-1923. He also served as mayor to Wilkesboro, 1894-1896. In 1906, he was elected to the 60th Congress, but he was defeated by the Republican candidate when he ran for reelection in 1908. Richard Nathaniel married Lois Long, daughter of B. F. Long of Statesville, N.C., in 1907.
Brigadier General James Byron Gordon, brother of Caroline Gordon Hackett, was a merchant, farmer, politician, and Confederate soldier born at Wilkesboro. The Gordon family was of Scottish descent and had emigrated from Scotland in 1724 to settle first in Maryland and finally in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and Wilkes County, N.C. James B. and Caroline Gordon's parents were Nathaniel Gordon and Sarah Lenoir Gwyn. After attending Emory and Henry College, James B. Gordon entered the mercantile business and supervised the family farm. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Wilkes Valley Guards. The company was reorganized to become Company B of the First North Carolina Regiment. But Gordon would later be appointed major to the First North Carolina Cavalry (Ninth North Carolina Regiment). Participating in the Seven Days' battles before Richmond (26 June-2 July 1862), the First North Carolina Cavalry served in the brigade of General Jeb Stuart, where it would remain for the remainder of the war. On 12 May 1864, Gordon's unit confronted Union General Sheridan on his drive to Richmond at Meadow Bridges near Brook Church. Just before his command was relieved late in the evening, Gordon was struck by a minie ball in the arm. Although the wound at first did not appear serious, Gordon only lived for a few days, dying in the officer's hospital in Richmond.
From the guide to the Gordon and Hackett Family Papers, , 1752-1942, (bulk 1847-1860), (Southern Historical Collection)
