Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County,
Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with
portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States,
and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890;
page 516-517; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
James Gardner. A traveler throughout this county would be
forcibly impressed by some features of the estate owned and occupied by
the subject of this biographical sketch. In approaching it his
eyes would be attracted by the appearance of order and thorough
cultivation seen on every hand, as well as by the extent of the acreage
and the efforts that have been made to add to its original
beauty. Perhaps the most conspicuous object, however, to the
stranger would be the residence – a large building presenting the
appearance of great comfort and homelikeness and built of stone and
wood. It is so situated as to overlook the Illinois Valley for
many miles, furnishing one of the grandest views of natural scenery in
the State. From the front door one can look into Schuyler, Cass
and Mason Counties. It will be seen at a glance that the mansion
has been built many years, as there is no appearance of modern
architecture but one of great solidity and the fashion of a former
day. Inquiry elicits the information that it has stood since
1845, and was built by the father of the present owner.
Our inherited traits and the surroundings of our early lives
prefigure to a great degree of our careers. It therefore affords
no surprise to the student of human nature to find the subject of this
sketch an enterprising and orderly agriculturist, a moral, intelligent
man, and a reliable citizen, when facts in the ancestral history are
taken into consideration. The grandfather of our subject was born
in Scotland, possessed a mind of more than ordinary strength and took a
deep interest in political matters. Near the close of the
eighteenth century he was exiled from his native country on account of
his political beliefs, and sending his family to America he stole away
in the night and followed them. He settled on a farm in the
Empire State and about 1808 turned his footsteps westward, locating in
Sangamon County, this State. As he was one of the first settlers
of that county, it s probable that Gardner Township was named in his
honor.
Andrew Gardner farmed in Sangamon County until late in life,
when he came to live with his son, father of our subject, in this
county. He was industrious even in his old age and obtaining
apple seeds from St. Louis planted the first orchard in the county, on
his son’s farm. It covered twelve acres and bore large
crops. Buyers used to come from Iowa, Missouri, and the city of
Springfield, and the receipts from the sale of apples was frequently as
high as $100 per day. Mr. Gardner died here and his mortal
remains were first interred at Springfield, but in 1858 were removed to
their final resting place in the Foutch burial grounds in this county.
James Gardner, Sr., father of our subject, was born in Saratoga
County, N. Y., about the year 1800, shortly after the arrival of his
parents in America. He came to the Prairie State with them in his
boyhood and grew to manhood on the farm in Sangamon County. He
hunted quite a good deal during his youth, and when eighteen years old
began to assist the Government Surveyors, aiding them for several
years. In 1818 he crossed the Illinois River near the place where
he afterward settled and where our subject now lives. At one
time, while he was with a surveying party, the supply of tobacco gave
out and he was sent on foot to St. Louis, a distance of one hundred and
fifty miles, to get some. While on this journey he suffered so
from thirst that he was compelled to drink water from holes in which
bull frogs staid. His route to St. Louis lay through a dense
wilderness and he was guided by a compass. He remained with the
surveying party until he was competent to perform their labors and on
one occasion took the place of the leading surveyor who was sick.
In the fall of 1822 James Gardner, Sr., and Charles Gardner,
accompanied by a stranger left Sangamon County to seek a location in
this section of the State. They crossed the Illinois River at
Havana where they found three white settlers and saw no further trace
of a white men until they reached Lewistown where Ossian M. Ross had
located. They found a place to suit them on section 34, Isabel
Township, and James Gardner, Sr. built a log cabin at the foot of the
bluffs just below the mansion afterward erected. He planted corn
and melons the following spring and increased his agricultural
operations as he was able to prepare the land for crops and add to his
conveniences for cultivating it. When he first came the Indians –
Pottawatomies and Kickapoos – were numerous and would come in his
absence and take melons from his patch. They would, however,
always leave a piece of venison hanging by the door for payment.
Mr. Gardner became very familiar with the red men, learning
their language and frequently hunting with them. He was an expert
with a rifle and successful in his pursuit of various kinds of
game. His son now has the old flint-lock rifle, hunting knife,
buckskin coat and pouch which he carried on his expeditions. The
knife saved his life on several occasions, once in an encounter with a
wolf and once with a wild boar. In those days Mr. Gardner used to
grind corn in a hand mill from which to make johnnycakes. At the
time of his death which took place August 18, 1873, he was the owner of
three hundred and sixty acres in Kerton Township and was carrying on an
extensive agricultural operations. In religion he was of the old
Scotch-Presbyterian belief, strictly just in all his dealings,
intensely loyal, and careful in his observances of law and principle.
The wife of James Gardner, Sr., was known in her maidenhood as
Delilah Gray. She was born in the Buckeye State and died in
Illinois, June 17, 1853. She bore her husband two children – he
of whom we write, and Charles who died in 1852 at the age of two
years. Our subject, who was born on the homestead he now
occupies, February 17, 1850, was left motherless at a tender age, but
received from his father the kindest of care and best of
training. He was reared on the home farm and attended school in
Havana and Lewistown. The day he entered school he took his
position in the fifty-reader class, having previously been taught at
home.
Our subject follows in his father’s footsteps as an extensive
farmer and also raises considerable stock. He has spent most of
his life on the farm, his only other home having been in Havana, where
he resided three years. He has held various township offices but
is not a seeker after public honors, preferring to devote himself to
his large personal interests and the enjoyments of private life.
His vote is always case with the Republican party, as his judgment
concurs with the principles advanced by it.
A congenial companion was won by our subject January 27, 1874,
when Miss Martha E. Hukill became his wife. This lady,
intelligent, cultured and efficient in womanly duties, was born in
Isabel Township, this county, March 24, 1852. The union had been
blessed by the birth of four children – Pearl, James, Charles and Lloyd
– and the parents have sustained a grievous loss in the death of the
first two named.
