A Real Challange

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rachel Monroe on July 12, 2009 at 4:04pm

GJ,
Thanks for the reply. As for the photograph the only marking on it is where it says Coal Hill Photography and that is located on the cardboard. I know that Coal Hill is a tiny town in Arkansas. Both Charles and Olive grew up, married and died in Johnson County, Arkansas. I have Charles in the 1880 census in Pittsburgh Township, Johnson County, Arkansas. He is listed as an orphan and living with the John Houston family. That is said to be the family that ended up raising Olive as their own. I cannot find Olive in 1880 though. By 1900 both Olive and Charles were married. Charles died in that same county in 1949 and Olive died sometime after that. In the various censuses he gives his parents birth place as unknown, United States, and Iowa for his mothers birth. Olive always as her parents birth places listed as unknown or United States.


GeneJ said:

Hi there Rachel,
Another good challenge. Thank you for posting the photograph. Any chance there is a photographer's mark on a part of the photograph that we can't see?
What more can you tell us about Charles and Olive. I think it would help if we could begin with them and work backwards? Do you have them both in the 1880 census? 1900? Did they remain in Arkansas? Do you know when and/or where either of them died? Perhaps when/where either or both married? Hopefully you can help place either or both Charles and Olive so that we can use your great traces to work back from the known into the unknown. --GJ

Permalink Reply by Rachel Monroe on July 21, 2009 at 5:07pm

My grandfather had the enlistment date and place written down on some papers that were found while going through his old research. I found later while looking on Ancestry.com that he was a native of Michigan and what unit he was in.

So the information is :
William H. Gardner
Company A, 1st Iowa Calvary, Private
Enlisted: 29 Dec 1863; Warren County, Iowa
Mustered out: 15 Feb 1866 Austin, TX
Native of Michigan

Permalink Reply by Rachel Monroe on July 23, 2009 at 10:11pm

I have come across that man before. He is the one that the National Archives sent me information on twice. That William Gardner is older and from New York, where as mine according to his enlistment is from Michigan. Perhaps there were two William Gardners in that unit?

Permalink Reply by Rachel Monroe on July 28, 2009 at 3:34pm

I haven't looked into any that served in Michigan. Perhaps I should.

Permalink Reply by Rachel Monroe on September 13, 2009 at 1:27am

According to Charles death certificate he was born May 20, 1869. Currently, the best date I have for Olive is September 1871.

Charles was married 4 different times. The first time was to Martha Willey on September 5th 1891 in Johnson County, Arkansas. They were both from Hunt, Johnson County, Arkansas. This is the only marriage that produced children. His other marriages were in 1905, 1914 and 1946.

Olive married Eli Clinton on 5 Dec 1888. They were both from Clarksville, Johnson County, Arkansas, but got married in Madison County, Arkansas.

The story regarding Olive staying with the Houstons is that after W.H. died one of the Houston women raised her, but they didn't want a boy so Charles was sent out and used as farm labor on different farms. I have no clue why she can't be found in 1880.

This is what my grandfather (son of Charles) wrote about W.H. "He arrived in Johnson Co., Spadra Township in 1873 with wife and 2 children. Charles Henry was born in Iowa in 1869 and Ollie was born in Iowa in 1871. William Henry's wife died in 1873 and was buried near the old John and Liza Houston place on Wire Road, east of Clarksville. William traded his ox team and covered wagon for a big black horse, bridle and saddle. He left the 2 children with the Houstons and went to look for work, he was never seen again. Many years later a man told Charles Henry Gardner of sitting on a coroner's jury on the case of a man named Gardner who had been shot from ambush in a logging camp at Big Piney"

Also I have this from my grandfather: "Charles Henry Gardner said that his father came from Iowa bringing with him a wife and two children. The wife died soon after arriving east of Clarksville. He was only four years old and sister Ollie was two. The children were left with friends Mr. John Houston. The father W.H. went to find work, but never returned.
When I was about eight years old I remember father came home from a trip to Piney Creek, east of Lamar, Arkansas. He told me that he had talked to a man there who said he had sat on a coroners jury of a man named Gardner who had been ambushed at a sawmill camp. The man apparently had become afraid of Gardner and shot him from ambush. Father believed it was his father. He said his mother was buried south of the old Clarksville Lamar highway of 1912. I suppose near Houston's place. Father remembered an old box locker with the letters William H burned in the lid."



There should be some mention of W.H's death somewhere. He wasn't really in the area long enough to leave any other paper trail. I've attached a copy of Charles first marriage.

Attachments:

• gardner-willy marriage.jpg, 154 KB

Permalink Reply by Rachel Monroe on September 13, 2009 at 12:51pm

Gene,

Thank you for all your work. Those Gardner boys are the sons of Charles. I know for awhile the sons did live with Eli and Ollie Clinton. My grandfather once said that the tree Mrs. W.H. Gardner was buried under was pointed out to him when he was a boy and he went back later to look for it but he couldn't find it. He said it was just a tree on what was the old Houston property. Unfortunately, I'm not able to check it out myself as I live nowhere near Arkansas.

Permalink Reply by Rachel Monroe on September 14, 2009 at 2:04pm

I have seen that death record for Eli Clinton, but not his obituary. I haven't been able to come across Ollie's death record or anything yet either. Thank you for sharing the information about that book. I'll have to see if I can get a hold of a copy.

I do have the 1930 Census for Charles and Ollie. They are living just a few houses away from each other in Lee, Johnson County, Arkansas.

Attachments:

• Gardner & Clinton 1930 Census.JPG, 908 KB

Permalink Reply by Rachel Monroe on September 16, 2009 at 4:40pm

I will definitely be in contact with the historical society as it sounds like that might be the way to go. There has to be some record of W.H. Gardner.