#1) Most of the information I have on the Thos. Gardner family came from Cleve Gardner
and it is not proven every time. Some of this information came from Census
Records and some came from teh biography of the O. Max Gardner, former governer
and is not proven. Some of his side of the family is buried in Shelby, NC.
#2) Also in my book is a copy of the marriage bond for Thomas Garner and Olive Martin, 23 Nov 1792.
Mary Olivine Martin was a midwife and earned enough money from her own business
to purchase many acres near Lawndale which became the property of Aunt Betty and
eventually her black people.
In my book of certificates I have information of deed transfers by Olive
Gardner. Her father was supposedly Christopher Martin, according to Cleve
Gardner. In the Wm. H. Martin Cemetary is a marker for William H. Martin.
Cleve Gardner says he was brother of Olive and son of Christopher. In this
cemetary are, or were, markers for:
*E. A. Martin (sex unknown); B. 1775, D. 1817
*Joseph L. Martin; B. 11 June 1841, D. 22 August 1862
*A.G. Martin; D. 1822 - Age 95
#3) Martin Garner Cemetary No. 9 Twp, on lands of H. Dick
Spangler, about ¼ mile SE of AD Spangler residence on east side of
Shelby. Double Shoals Road in edge of woods, 7 miles NW of Shelby.
#3a) Dell Cenie Gardner:
- Other Marriages: Berry Mitcham - Married Feb 11, 1851.
The information on the Mitchum family came
from Cleve Gardner, Mitchum or Wease Fam. Bible, Lawndale. Undocumented.
#4) Buried in what W.D. Floyd calls the Gardner Cemetary. East on NC
182 out of Lawndale, R on Ball Park Rd. Go out Ball Park Rd. 1 mile
until curve to left and go R onto Power House Rd. Go 2/10 mile to
gravel road to right. There is a gate. Cemetary is top of little hill
on right side of rd. Only 2 graves readable, this and Olive J. Gardner.
#4a) Oliver Perry Gardner
- Other Marriages: Margaret Young - Married May 19, 1858
#4b) Olivine Jane Gardner
- Buried in Gardner Cemetary with William H. Gardner
#4c) Harriet Gardner
- Other Marriages: James Bostic
#4d) Nancy Ann Gardner
- Other Marriages: James Weaver
#5) Carrie married a Grigg which was the family name of
a friend of mine in Boise, Cleo Gilchrist. She has written a book about the
Grigg family. I have never pursued it as it is not my direct line.
#6) He was the youngest of the many children of Thomas Gardner.
He apparently was very close to his sister, Elizabeth, who never married, as his
oldest son, Rufus, lived with her much of the time.
He married Elvira Cornwell and sometime about the birth of his last child, she
died and there was some kind of a ruckus with the Cornwells that showed up in Court
records. Elvira is buried in the old Cornwell Cemetary on Cornwell property.
He married again to Anna Lovelace. He farmed and taught school as she did also.
He enlisted in the War between the States, at the age of around 45 and died of
disease soon after in a hospital named Peace Institute in Raleigh. It was situated
one mile from the State capitol. Eight acres of ground, it was to be a school for
girls. The Confederate government used it for hospital purposes. The school was then
moved to Charlotte. He was buried there but no one knows where that cemetary is now.
I have his War Record and also application for a pension based upon his service. This
pension was filed by his widow, Anna Lovelace. His description was given as
45 years old, 5 ft. 9½ in. tall, fair complexion with black hair and blue eyes.
From this point on much of the information about the Gardner and related families
has come from notes left by Cleveland Gardner, County Historian of Cleveland County
in the 1930's. He interviewed people, he visited cemetaries, he put down what he knew
and what he thought. Much of his information is undocumented. Where it is documented,
I have made note of it. He said James went to Hills farm 15 Jan 1858. I don't know where
that was.
#7) Elvira Cornwell Gardner...She died soon after her youngest child was
born. She is buried behind the old Cornwell property west of Lawndale. "Blessed are the
dead who die in the Lord."
In my book of certificates, I have a copy of a Supreme Court (N.C.) record involving a
deposition by Elvira Cornwell concerning a note and a warranty deed which Micajah Cornwell
denied granting to John Ramseur some property or money.
#8) Known as Uncle Duffy by my family, as this is what my father and his
cousins told me he was called. It was said he looked exacty like Rufus.
#9) In 1880 NC Census, Annie Gardner, widow of James L., age 57, is living with
Olivine Horton.
#10) Rufus Webb Gardner was 5' 5" tall, quite swarthy, with a fiery
temper and loved to give rousing, scolding talks at the church, Please Grove Baptist. He was
Deacon and a church clerk for 35 years. Neighbors used to hear him coming along the path
to church, talking to himself and mumbling about the church's financial problems.
When he married Sarah Elam, his Aunt Betty Gardner was so upset she left allt he
many acres belonging to the Gardner family to her black ex-slaves who now
have descendants living in neat brick homes all through that section near Lawndale,
Philadelphia Rd area. Dr. Elam, Sarah's father, gave Rufus and Sarah some land he had
taken as payment for a medical bill from a Cline. There they built their home and it
still stands on the road to Fallston, but is out of our hands. Aunt Betty pretty much raised
him, for some reason.
He farmed, taught school, clerked in a general store in Beam's Mill, and was
Justice of the Peace for many years. He also helped to organize his church and was
a charter member.
He was at Appomattox at the surrender, having fought valiantly. He felt the cause was right
and was willing to leave his young wife for what he believed in. He had to walk all the way
home at the end which turned out to be safer than taking the train for the train crashed,
killing and wounding a lot of men.
He was well read and a great debater as was his father. He died of Mitrol
Insufficiency. I have his War Record, Death Certificate, and Obituary in my record
books.