When James Washington Gordon was born on 30 March 1849, in Fauquier, Virginia, United States, his father, Thomas Jefferson Gordon, was 28 and his mother, Mary Elizabeth Kendall, was 24. He married Tuloolah B. Evans on 11 January 1883, in Millwood, Clarke, Virginia, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. He lived in Galveston, Galveston, Texas, United States for about 12 years and United States in 1900. He died on 30 March 1921, in Palestine, Anderson, Texas, United States, at the age of 72, and was buried in East Hill Cemetery, Palestine, Anderson, Texas, United States.