William W. Gardner,

Confederate Soldier of Miller County

​(From 'Seeking ‘n Searching Ancestors', by Peggy Hake, August 1988) 
(printed in THE MILLER COUNTY AUTOGRAM-SENTINEL in, 'WINDOW TO THE PAST', Dec. 10, 2012)

​​On February 15, 1837, William Wiley Gardner (on the left) was born near the Barren/Edmonson county lines of central Kentucky . He was born near a place called ‘Bells Tavern’, a stagecoach stop on the old Louisville-Nashville road that ran north and south across both counties. 

William Wiley was the oldest child of Henry Paulding Gardner and his first wife, Susannah Keeth who married in Edmonson County 7 Jan 1836. His ancestry was of German and English descent….English through his Keath/Keeth ancestors and German/Dutch through his Gardner ancestors. His paternal grandparents were William and Elinor Gardner who lived in Barren County; his maternal grandparents were Daniel and Juda/Judith (Cannady/Kennedy) Keeth of Edmonson County.

William’s mother, Susannah, died when he was a young child, perhaps in childbirth because he had a younger brother named Hollam. Evidently Hollam did not live long because there is no record of him in later data.

On 30 August 1840, Paulin/Paulding Gardner married his second wife, Elizabeth Ann Bailey, daughter of Julius and Lucinda Bailey of Barren County . Over the years they had a large family of nine children, who were half brothers and sisters to William Wiley.
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About 1842, Paulin and Elizabeth/Betsy Gardner came by wagon train from Barren County, KY to Miller County with two children—William about 5 years old and his half brother, Jacob age 1 year. The remainder of the Gardner children were born in Miller County after 1842. His half-brothers and sisters were: JACOB b. 1841; LUCY ANN b. 1843; JEMIMA B. 1845; HENRY PAULIN JR. 1846; SUSAN E. 1848; FELIX 1850; MARY PARADINE 1852; JOHN M. 1856; and NELLIE J. 1859 (probably named Elinor for her grandmother Gardner).
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William Wiley Gardner grew to manhood in Miller County in Richwoods township. His father and step mother homesteaded several acres of prairie land northwest of Iberia in what is known today as the Fairview community. The Allen, Bailey, Shackleford, Wheeler, and Gardner families came from central Kentucky together and all homesteaded near each other in Richwoods township. They settled near the Barren Fork and Bailey creeks and reared their families in that locale. The Gardner and Allen families were slave owners; bringing several of their Negroes to Miller County , so it is no surprise when the Civil War broke out, their sympathies were with the Confederacy.

William Wiley enlisted in the Confederate States Army (CSA) at Linn Creek ( Camden County ) on 15 Sept 1861 at the age of 24 years. His commanding officers were Col. McCowan, Capt. Cunniffe, Lt. Crow, and Lt. Marnell. He enlisted in CO. E, 5th MO Reg. as an infantryman. In another affidavit, he stated he joined the Confederate Army at Holly Springs , Mississippi on 18 Oct 1862. In another record he said “in the early part of the War, I was captured near Lebanon MO (Laclede County)”, so reading between the lines, I would venture a guess that he enlisted at two different times and at two different places into the same Company and Regiment.

While serving approximately 4 years in the Confederate Army, he was captured on three occasions….once near Lebanon, MO; once at Port Gibson, Mississippi; and once at Blakely, Alabama. He served some time in a Union prison near Alton , Illinois and he fought several battles across the South including Grand Gulf and Port Gibson in Mississippi ; Franklin , Tennessee ; New Hope Church and Atlanta , Georgia . He received several battle wounds—one in the right leg at Port Gibson and once again in both legs at Franklin, Tennessee . He stated, “after the war I was paralyzed in my left side”.

He was captured as a prisoner of war at Blakely, Alabama on 9 Apr 1865 and was later paroled. On May 5, 1865, almost a month later, he was received at Camp Townsend near Vicksburg , Mississippi . A short time later, he received another parole at Jackson , Mississippi . Evidently he came home after being paroled at Jackson having spent almost four years as a soldier of the South.

William Wiley Gardner had marched through Missouri , Illinois , Tennessee , Mississippi , Alabama and Georgia , and probably other places as well. He spent some time in a Union prison…was wounded in several battles…was captured on several occasions and held as a prisoner of war. Such as this is what action novels are made of !!

After the war, Wm. Wiley married Louisa Wilson (born 25 July 1851). They married at Van Cleve in neighboring Maries County, Missouri in March 1869 when she was a young girl of 18 years and he was about 32 years old. They spent the next 52 years of life together. It was said that Wm. Wiley had a good education and taught in the country schools of Miller and Maries County until well past middle age. He and Louisa reared three sons---Willard who died at age 21; Everett, father of 4 children; and Fred, father of 2 daughters.

Late in life, he and his devoted wife, Louisa, made application to enter the Confederate Home of Missouri at Higginsville in Lafayette County . They were admitted to the Home in March 1922 and he died there just 17 days later on 23 Mar 1922. He was buried in the Home’s cemetery. Louisa lived until 9 May 1935 and was buried beside herhusband at the Home cemetery in Higginsville. He lived to reach the age of 84 years and Louisa lived to the advanced age of 84 as well.

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