| Revision as of 12:55, 7 May 2007 editMilogardner (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers2,951 edits I'll happily find a second source for the gristmill product (flour) being used as currency is communities that had no cash. 1847-1857 Utah was withour cash, a point that I'll confirm.← Previous edit | Revision as of 15:18, 7 May 2007 edit undoTrödel (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Rollbackers21,484 edits restoring the text that is verifiableNext edit → | ||
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| '''Archibald Gardner''' (] — ]) was a 19th century pioneer and businessman who helped establish communities in ], Canada, ] and ], Wyoming. He was also an early leader of ]. | '''Archibald Gardner''' (] — ]) was a 19th century pioneer and businessman who helped establish communities in ], Canada, ] and ], Wyoming. He was also an early leader of ]. | ||
| As a businessman, Gardner built 36 mills, 23 in Utah, six in Canada, five in Wyoming, and two in Idaho. ]s formed the economic center of |
As a businessman, Gardner built 36 mills, 23 in Utah, six in Canada, five in Wyoming, and two in Idaho. ]s often formed the economic center of a community.{{cn}} | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| == Early life == | |||
| Gardner was born in ], ], in 1814<ref name=AGjournal> of Archibald Gardner</ref> and emigrated to ] in 1822 with his mother, Margaret Calinder, sister Mary, and brother Robert, settling in Dalhousie, eastern Ontario.<ref name=AGjournal/> There they rejoined his father and brother William, who had left Scotland a year earlier,<ref name=AGjournal/> after Robert had been imprisoned for six months in ], awaiting trail on a charge of speaking against the British by mentioning the ].<ref name=AGjournal/> | |||
| Archibald learned the skills to build and operate mills from his father,<ref name=AGjournal/> and he built his first mill at age 17<ref name=AGjournal/> in an area that became Alvinston. In total Archibald and his partners built six mills in Canada.<ref name=AGjournal/> | |||
| While in Canada, Archibald married Margaret Livington<ref name=AGjournal/> where four of their nine children were born, and one child, Archibald, died.<ref name=AGjournal/> | |||
| == In Alvinston, Ontario == | == In Alvinston, Ontario == | ||
| ⚫ | Alvinston grew up around a ] Gardner built in 1837 on the east end of the sixth concession of Brooke township. Later, Gardner built a sawmill. Interestingly, Archibald Gardner's gristmills were "built without nails. Wooden pins and mortises were used instead. All shafts, bearings, cog wheels, etc. were of wood..."<ref>, by Becky Bartholomew, ''History Blazer'', November 1995, as found May 2, 2007 on "Utah History to Go" section of utah.gov</ref> The area, a hill that faces Alvinston, was later called Gardner's Mill. Under pressure from disgruntled business associates, Gardner sold his mill to the Branan family at a reduced price and left Canada for the United States.{{cn}} | ||
| ] owes its beginning to Archibald Gardner. The hamlet grew up around a ] Gardner built in 1837 on the east end of the sixth concession of Brooke township, in an area that had been named Kent. The mill cost $33 to build. Later, Gardner also built a sawmill, producing lumber for floors, doors and window frames. | |||
| Gardner came to the locality in 1835 and found that the settlers had no mechanical means of grinding grain into flour. He dammed the ] to provide power to run two mill stones. Gardner's mill was the only ] within a radius of fifty miles. Often horses were unavailable and oxen could not be readily guided through the thick bush. Consequently, area settlers took their grain, or grist, to the mill in bags strapped to their shoulders, perhaps carrying fifty or more pounds along a blazed trail through swamps and bush. The area, a hill that faces Alvinston, was later called Gardner's Mill. The mill continued to serve the ] district until abandoned in 1874, though flour milling continued in the village until 1926. | |||
| Under pressure from disgruntled business associates, Gardner sold his mill to the Branan family at a reduced price and left Canada for the United States. At one point in his solitary journey Archibald raced across the Detroit River, jumping from one ice patch to the next in an effort to avoid his angry business partners. ] read of Archibald's escape in a Detroit newspaper and used several details in ] to describe a Southern slave escaping to freedom in Canada while being chased by an angry mob. The Detroit newspaper article is on display at a Harriet Beecher Stowe museum in western Ontario, Canada. | |||
| == Mormon pioneer == | == Mormon pioneer == | ||
| In 1845, while living in Brooke, Kent, Western District, Canada (near ]), the area that was later named Alvinston, Gardner followed the example of his family and joined the ]. His mother, father, sister and brothers had already become church members. Arriving in Utah in 1847, Gardner first attempted to build a mill near Warm Springs, but moved to Mill Creek where the water flow was greater where he claimed to have sawed the first lumber in the Salt Lake Valley.<ref name="historytogo" > from Utah.gov</ref> | |||
| === Early LDS Church membership === | |||
| In 1845, while living in Brooke, Kent, Western District, Canada (near ]), the area that was later named Alvinston, Gardner joined the ]. His mother, father, sister and brothers had already become church members. In 1846 Gardner's family and other church members chopped a road through the bush to the London Road and left their homes and businesses to join the Saints in ]. Archibald and his family arrived in ], Illinois only to find that ] and most of Nauvoo's population had left weeks earlier. Gardner described the city : “There were plenty of homes open to us. We could have brick, frame, log or stone houses without cost. The Saints had nearly all left who were able to go, and their homes were standing empty and unsold. They had been driven out and what could not readily be disposed of was left behind. Some had furniture in‑‑chairs, bedsteads, etc.” After staying three weeks to gain supplies for the longer trip west along the ], Archibald and his family caught up with the main body of the ] in ]. | |||
| === Settlement in Utah === | |||
| On 10 June 1847, Gardner left Winter Quarters for the ] with the 2nd company under the leadership of ]. In a train of 1500 people, Gardner was part of the second 100 wagons under the command of ], and was a Captain of the third ten. He traveled with his wife, children, his father and mother, brothers William and Robert, and their wives and families. Upon arriving, Gardner, and his family members, almost immediately started a temporary mill by disassembling their wagons. Archibald, Robert and William, started a permanent mill at ] in 1848, in time for the fall harvest. | |||
| === In West Jordan, Utah === | |||
| In 1859 Archibald became Bishop of a ward of about 600 members. He planned the sturdy rock church building. After many difficulties the cornerstone was laid May 15th, 1861. Many men worked for nothing; others were paid with produce. As a religious and community leader Archibald served as Bishop for 32 years. During the 1857-58 ] Archibald was a Captain in the ]. At other times Archibald was a member a group of four Bishops near ] that petitioned Brigham Young, as Governor of the ], for a trading coop in West Jordan, which assisted in creating ]. | |||
| === Business and Public Service === | |||
| As a builder and politician Archibald was the ''de facto'' head of a Utah Territorial department that oversaw the building of bridges and canals. Archibald built many bridges and canals during this period, normally being reimbursed by the Territorial legislature. However at least one 1872 tunnel and canal project was not reimbursed. During this time the ] faced a construction problem with a sagging foundation. Brigham Young requested Archibald's advise, and the temple was soon properly restored to level. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| In the 1878 Archibald was elected to a two-year term in the ]. His last term ended in 1882. | |||
| === Settlement in Wyoming === | |||
| Utah polygamy came under Federal attack in 1882 by the ]. Archibald, having married his 11th wife, Mary Larson in 1869, was forced to leave Utah and spent two months in ]. To avoid arrest by federal officers, Archibald and his 11th wife Mary eventually moved to ], building five more mills. Neil, a son from his first marriage, his wife, and Archibald's fifth wife Althea, joined Archibald there. | |||
| Archibald lived in Wyoming until 1896, until the death of Althea. Archibald returned to Salt Lake City to bury Althea in the family plot, and remained in the West Jordan area to live with his children from his first wife, although he visited Star Valley as late as 1900. Archibald built his final mill in ] at age 85. Archibald Gardner died in 1902, at age 87, and is buried in the family plot in the ]. | |||
| == Plural Marriage and Family == | |||
| In 1849 Archibald Gardner entered into ] at the urging of Brigham Young. With difficulty, he gained approval from his first wife and wed both Abigail Sprague and Mary Ann Bradford on the same day. Brigham Young was interested in assisting Abigail, and her four children, to find a husband after she and Fanny, an Indian girl, had greatly assisted in Native American translations and negotiations allowing the wagon train to safely reach Utah in 1847. The second plural wife was Archibald's original request for his first plural wife, but Brigham Young changed this plan. Fanny remained with Abigail's family and therefore she was also an Archibald Gardner family member. Abigail, Mary Ann, and Fanny are buried in the Archibald Gardner family plot in the ] cemetery. | |||
| Archibald married six other women, for a total of eleven.<ref>http://ArchibaldGardner.blogspot.com</ref> He fathered 48 children, and saw his family swell to 270 grandchildren by 1902. Archibald provided a separate home for each wife. Farms were worked by each mother and her young children. In the middle to late 1800s basic needs were food and clothing. Farming provided food for the family. Archibald's mills provided wool for weaving, and other needed items, such as wood, shingles and flour. | |||
| Archibald was a giver in life as his journal affirms on several levels. Giving was only one reason that he obtained multiple wives, as was the case with Serene Torjussen Evenson. Serena was raised in Nipe, near ]. Serena met, married and lost her husband in Risør, a sea captain, prior to leaving Norway. She also lost one child on her voyage to America. Serena arrived with 500 Scandinavian converts from of group of 680 that had left Denmark in two ships, her Denmark to England ship sinking.<ref>http://SerenaTrekWest.blogspot.com</ref> Severe hardships, including cholera, had taken the lives of 180 on this trip to Utah. Serena arrived with four young children, speaking no English. Archibald was one of several that had assisted by dropping off wood and other items during her first winter in Utah. Several suiters had asked for Serena's hand in marriage, she being described as having long, beautiful, yellow braids. But her choice was Archibald, becoming his sixth plural wife, making her home in ]. | |||
| Archibald's extended families have been graced with several well-known citizens and athletes. Mary Larsen, for example, is the great, great grandmother of ], a Gold Medal Olympic wrestler. In 1990, an Archibald Gardner reunion was held in ], with 5,000 attendees. At that time, Archibald Gardner had 10,000 descendants, with approximately 5,000 from Serena's descendants. | |||
| An earlier book on "The Life of Archibald Gardner" was in great part dictated by Archibald to Delila Hughes, a daughter. Delila's book, and the journals of Archibald, and his equally pioneering brothers, William, and Robert, provide the primary sources of this information. | |||
| == |
== Life in the West == | ||
| ⚫ | In 1859 Gardner became Bishop of a ] of about 600 members. He also was a miner and land developer and sold several mining properties. The biggest was in ], south of West Jordan, Utah that was found in 1863 while logging with a partner.<ref> from media.utah.edu.</ref> From 1878-1882 Gardner served in the ]. | ||
| On August 16, 1946, one of the stones from Gardner's mill and a plaque were erected by Ontario members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, descendants and relatives of Archibald Gardner, and the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmark Association. The stone was contributed by the Brooke and Alvinston Agricultural Society to whom it was presented by Duncan J. McEachren, who provided for its removal from the original mill site on the east bank of the Sydenham River near Alvinston. | |||
| Gardner's life is memorialized a plague in Alvinston<ref></ref> and a monument in Afton Wyoming.<ref></ref> | |||
| In 1990, a monument to Archibald Gardner was erected in the town of Afton, Wyoming. The text of that monument says in part: | |||
| :Noble, Generous, Kind and True to All | |||
| :Pioneer of 1847 | |||
| :Born at Kilsythe, Scotland Sept. 2, 1814 | |||
| :Died in Salt Lake City, UT Feb 8, 1902 | |||
| :This monument has been erected as a tribute to him in remembrance of his accomplishments as a mill builder and his lifelong dedication to helping people. He arrived in Afton in October 1889. By December he was producing flour and lumber which were badly needed by the early settlers. The water powered mills were built at the mouth of Swift Creek Canyon. His foresight helped save the settlers from starvation the following winter. This monument is not just for his work in Star Valley. He was known as the pioneer builder of the west, having built over 35 mills, many canals and bridges. He faithfully served his family, church, community and country his entire life. | |||
| ==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
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| * Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Archibald Gardner, the Miller." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 3, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1948. | * Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Archibald Gardner, the Miller." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 3, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1948. | ||
| * Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Journal and Diary of Robert Gardner." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 10, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1951. | * Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Journal and Diary of Robert Gardner." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 10, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1951. | ||
| * Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. ''Treasures of Pioneer History.'' Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1952. | |||
| * . ''Deseret News'', ]. | * . ''Deseret News'', ]. | ||
| * Furse, B. S., editor. '''A History of West Jordan.'' Salt Lake City, City of West Jordan, 1995. | * Furse, B. S., editor. '''A History of West Jordan.'' Salt Lake City, City of West Jordan, 1995. | ||
| * Hughes, Delia G. ''Life of Archibald Gardner.'' American Fork, Alpine Publishing Company, 1939. | |||
| * Warrum, Noble; Morse, Charles W.; and Ewing, W. Brown. ''Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical.'' The S. J. Clarke publishing company, 1920. | |||
| == External links == | == External links == | ||
Revision as of 15:18, 7 May 2007
Archibald Gardner (1814 — 1902) was a 19th century pioneer and businessman who helped establish communities in Alvinston, Ontario, Canada, West Jordan, Utah and Star Valley, Wyoming. He was also an early leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As a businessman, Gardner built 36 mills, 23 in Utah, six in Canada, five in Wyoming, and two in Idaho. Gristmills often formed the economic center of a community.
In Alvinston, Ontario
Alvinston grew up around a gristmill Gardner built in 1837 on the east end of the sixth concession of Brooke township. Later, Gardner built a sawmill. Interestingly, Archibald Gardner's gristmills were "built without nails. Wooden pins and mortises were used instead. All shafts, bearings, cog wheels, etc. were of wood..." The area, a hill that faces Alvinston, was later called Gardner's Mill. Under pressure from disgruntled business associates, Gardner sold his mill to the Branan family at a reduced price and left Canada for the United States.
Mormon pioneer
In 1845, while living in Brooke, Kent, Western District, Canada (near Sarnia, Ontario), the area that was later named Alvinston, Gardner followed the example of his family and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His mother, father, sister and brothers had already become church members. Arriving in Utah in 1847, Gardner first attempted to build a mill near Warm Springs, but moved to Mill Creek where the water flow was greater where he claimed to have sawed the first lumber in the Salt Lake Valley.
Life in the West
In 1859 Gardner became Bishop of a ward of about 600 members. He also was a miner and land developer and sold several mining properties. The biggest was in Bingham Canyon, south of West Jordan, Utah that was found in 1863 while logging with a partner. From 1878-1882 Gardner served in the Utah Territorial Legislature.
Gardner's life is memorialized a plague in Alvinston and a monument in Afton Wyoming.
Notes
- Gardner Mill and the Birth of Salt Lake Valley's West Side, by Becky Bartholomew, History Blazer, November 1995, as found May 2, 2007 on "Utah History to Go" section of utah.gov
- History to Go from Utah.gov
- Qquirrh Mountain from media.utah.edu.
- Alvinston History
- Afton Monument
References
- Bartholomew, Becky. Gardner Mill and the Birth of Salt Lake Valley's West Side. History Blazer, November 1995.
- Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Archibald Gardner, the Miller." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 3, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1948.
- Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Journal and Diary of Robert Gardner." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 10, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1951.
- Dedication West Jordan Church. Deseret News, 1867-08-14.
- Furse, B. S., editor. 'A History of West Jordan. Salt Lake City, City of West Jordan, 1995.
External links
- BYU Collection - Photograph
- Rootsweb.com - Geneology
- The Sprague Project - Family Information
- millpictures.com - Picture of Gardner Mill in West Jordan
- Journal (1814-1857) of Archibald Gardner
- Alvinston History