Gaston was born in Henry, Illinois, in 1868. He was the son of Alexander H. Gaston and Henrietta (née Page) Gaston;[2] he was the brother of anti-tobacco crusader Lucy Page Gaston.[3]
Gaston was involved with social issues. He was founder and the U.S. director of the World Prohibition Federation; founder and honorary secretary of the International Prohibition Confederation, London, 1909;[2] as well as a spokesman for approximately 100 temperance societies, including the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League.[6] He also formed and led an organization known as the New Vigilantes whose purpose was to "challenge the power of the gangsters of New York and throughout the country ... and to place hundreds of them, as well as corrupt public and police officials, behind the bars."[7] In 1923, in search of the remains of Pocahontas, Gaston received permission from St George's Church to dig on the site of the burned down Gravesend church.[8]
Gaston received the Turkish decoration of the Lya'kat (Order of Merit).[9] He was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; as well as the founder and honorary secretary of the International Prohibition Confederation, London, 1909.[2]
^Addison, Henry Robert; Oakes, Charles Henry; Lawson, William John; Douglas Brooke Wheelton Sladen (1907). Who's who (Public domain ed.). A. & C. Black. pp. 663–. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
