GORDON, Sir John, 2nd Bt. (c.1707-83), of Invergordon, Cromarty.

In 1742 Gordon succeeded to his father’s seat, attaching himself to the Prince of Wales, who in 1745 made him his secretary for Scotland at a salary of £300 p.a., later increased to £600.Gordon’s diary, J. M. Bulloch, Gordons of Invergordon, 86. With the rest of the Prince’s party, he voted with the Government till Frederick went into opposition in 1747. On the outbreak of the Forty-five, he failed in his attempts to prevent his brother-in-law, the 3rd Earl of Cromartie, and his favourite nephew, Lord Macleod, from joining the rebels, but afterwards, through the intercession of the Prince, he saved Cromartie from execution and Macleod from attainder.Corresp. of Sir John Gordon of Invergordon on the Occasion of the Rebellion, Autumn 1745, 31-32, et passim; Gordons of Invergordon, 46; Walpole to Mann, 21 Aug. 1746. In 1747, when Cromartyshire was not represented, he stood unsuccessfully, with £1,000 supplied by the Prince,Andrew Fletcher to Pelham, 21 July 1747, Newcastle (Clumber) mss. for Tain Burghs, where his brother-in-law controlled Dingwall. After the Prince’s death he lost his post but was compensated by the Princess Dowager with a pension.Gordon’s diary, 87. He subsequently attached himself to the Pelhams, who gave him a place of £400 p.a. He died 25 May 1783.