Gardner, Bailey, Allen Families

THE GARDNER, BAILEY, AND ALLEN FAMILIES OF MILLER COUNTY

(Unknown publication date)

William W. Gardner was born circa 1765-70. Legend says he was born in Holland, but that has not been proven. If he was born in Europe, then he came to America as a small child, and I believe his first home was in Virginia. During that era of time, Virginia entailed all of the present state, West Virginia, and Kentucky. This was a vast region where the settlers had a variety of land to choose from, although the German and Dutch peoples moved into the western sections of this undeveloped country, tilled it, and fought for it with the same faith and stamina that had brought them from their European homes.

As a young boy of perhaps 12 or 13 years, William fought in the American Revolution. This war ended in 1783 and perhaps as a child he served this country as a young American soldier. In 1798, James Garrard, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, signed a land grant deeding 200 acres of land in Warren County, KY to William and Elinor Gardner. It states plainly in the grant that the land was situated south of the Green River in central Kentucky. It is a known, historical fact that all land south of the Green River was only given to ex-Virginia soldiers who had served in the Revolutionary War. William's land was in Warren County (today it is Barren County to the east because the county lines were extended in 1821). He settled near a small stream that today still carries his name.....Gardner's Sinking Creek. It is near Park City, Kentucky, but during William's lifetime, this area was known as Glasgow Junction.

On this land, William and Elinor Gardner, his first wife, reared six children. In my research, Elinor is a vague personality. I can find very little information about her. I only know she was born in North Carolina and was probably of German descent. There's a possibility her maiden name was Paulding. She died c/1830-35. Nothing else is known of her life nor her heritage. The children born to William and Elinor, all born in Barren County, were: Richard, Jacob, Henry Paulding, Annis, Gemimah, and Mary/Polly. Richard and Jacob married sisters, Jane and Olive Allen. Gemimah Gardner married a brother to Jane and Olive, Joel Allen. Annis married Daniel Spurlock; Polly married a Mr. Reynolds; and Henry Paulding married (1) Susannah Keath (2) Elizabeth Ann Bailey. Paulding and Elizabeth were my great, great grandparents. The Allen and Gardner families were close neighbors in early Kentucky and there were several marriages performed within these families.

In 1804, the Governor of Kentucky once again granted an additional 148 acres of land to William Gardner in Barren County. In 1817, William and Elinor sold 100 of these acres to John Brown for the sum of $6.00............During the period of time, 1804-1842, there was much buying and selling of land between the Gardners, Allens, and Baileys in Barren County. I have found they were large landholders and also had many slaves during the early to mid 19th century.

In 1835, William Gardner went south from his Sinking Creek farm and into the Buck Creek are of Barren County where he acquired himself a new wife. Elinor had died prior to 1835. His new wife was Sarah/Sally Owen, daughter of John H. and Elizabeth (Humphrey) Owen. She was a very young girl at that time and William was nearing the age of 65 years. Sally's father, John Owen, was a circuit-riding Baptist preacher in the years they lived in Kentucky. He and his wife were both natives of South Carolina. I have a copy of the marriage license for William and Sarah.(Owen) Gardner, dated 21 February 1835. Marriages in those days had to be solemnized only after a bond had been posted. the price amount to 50 lbs, English money, a substantial amount for that day.

William and Sally (Owen) Gardner reared four children: Juliann b. 1837; William Holland b. 1840; James Riley b. 1842; and Sarah A. b. 1844. In 1838, William wrote his last will and testament and had it recorded in the Barren County courthouse. I have a copy of his will and it is priceless! He allotted a portion of land to his three older sons, and each of his six older children (by Elinor) was given one slave each. The remainder of his lands, household goods, farming equipment, slaves, and his mill was awarded to his young daughter, Juliann. Three other children were born after 1838 and they also shared in his estate, but it appears that Juliann became the largest heir. William died in 1846 leaving Sally with four small children to rear alone. She never remarried and lived the rest of her life on the Sinking Creek farm. She died circa 1885. A few months earlier she had broken her hip and she never recovered from the fall.

Sally Owen Gardner was an extraordinary and unique woman. She was self-educated and during her lifetime, she sat down with her slaves and taught them to read and write. This was almost unheard of in her lifetime, but she was apparently a wonderful little lady with a generous heart.

On July 21, 1814, my great, great grandfather, Henry Paulding Gardner, was born in Barren County, KY at the homestead on Gardner's Sinking Creek. He was a son of William and his first wife, Elinor. In 1836, Henry Paulding married Susannah Keath, in neighboring Edmonson County. They were parents of two sons, William Wiley, born in 1837, and Holland born circa 1839. Susannah died, perhaps in childbirth, leaving Henry Paulding with two small children. It is believed Holland died as an infant, because no further record is found for him. On August 30, 1840, Henry married Elizabeth Ann Bailey (called Betsy), also of Barren County. She was a daughter of Julius and Lucinda (Anderson) Bailey, who were natives of Virginia. Julius was born c/1792; Lucinda/Lucy was born c/1793. They had moved westward and bought land in Barren County. the first record I could find for them in Barren County was a purchase of land they made in April 1821. This acreage contained 174 acres, referred as "being in the barrens".

In studying past history, I learned that in the Indian language, the name Kentucky means "this barren land". Elizabeth Ann was born in 1817, so I am presuming she was born in Virginia and came to Kentucky with her parents at an early age. Julius and Lucy Bailey had a large family. The names of their children I have found on record are: Elizabeth Ann m. Henry Paulding Gardner; Samantha m. John B. Stone; Sarah/Sally m. Tarleton B. Wheeler; Julius Jr. m. Neoma Jones; William W. m. Patsy Lucas; Malinda m. Albert G. Wiseman; Mary Catherine m. Joseph Hume; and Tarleton m. no record found.

Many Barren County families migrated into Miller County and settled this land in the late 1830s and early 1840s. The following are some of the families who left Barren County and settled in Miller County: Paulding and Elizabeth Bailey Gardner; Julius and Lucinda Anderson Bailey; John B. and Samantha Bailey Stone; Julius Jr. and Neoma Jones Bailey; Tarleton and Sarah Bailey Wheeler; Joel and Gemimah Gardner Allen; Daniel and Annis Gardner Spurlock; Merlin and Sally Bailey Shackelford (she was a sister to Julius Bailey Sr.); Elias Allen, who later married Mary Gardner in 1843 in Miller County; and the six orphaned children of Jacob and Olive Allen Gardner. These six children were reared in the home of their uncle, Elias Allen. I believe a family named Dickerson also originated from Barren County and came to Miller County during this same time era.

When Henry Paulding (called Paulin) and Elizabeth/Betsy Gardner moved into Missouri, they had 2 sons, William Wiley and Jacob. William, son of Susannah Keath, was born in 1837. Jacob was born in Barren County in 1841 and was only a baby when they came to Missouri. William Wiley was born in Barren Count at a place called Bell's Tavern. I researched the history of Bell's Tavern and learned it was a stagecoach stop on the old, original Louisville-Nashville road that ran directly across the county in those years. It was near the place called Glasgow Junction.

Lucy Ann Gardner was the first of their children born in Miller County. Her birthdate was 24 January 1843. Paulin and Betsy Gardner had seven more children after moving to Miller County. They were: Jemima b. 1845; Henry Paulding Jr. b. 1846; Susan E. b. 1848; Felix B. b. 1850; Mary Paradine b. 1852; John M. b. 1856; and Nellie J. b. 1859.

The following are the marriages for the children of Paulding and Betsy Gardner:

William Wiley Gardner m Louisa Wilson (1869)
Jacob Gardner m. Martha Emeline Smith (1867)
Lucy Ann Gardner m. William Harrison Smith (1863)
Jemima Gardner m. John Setser (1866)
Henry Paulding Jr. m. Mary A. Setser (sister of John Setser)
Susan E. Gardner m. James Anderson (1873)
Felix B. Gardner Sarah Hume (1871)
Mary Paradine Gardner m. William Clark (1881)
John M. Gardner m. Mary Helton (1878)
Nellie J. Gardner m. James Arendall (1879)

Daughters of Henry Paulin & Elizabeth (Bailey) Gardner

L to R: Paradine, Jemima and Lucy Gardner

In Miller County's history, there are quite a few items mentioned concerning these families. In 1843, the Big Richwoods Baptist Church was formed. Paulding/Paulin Gardner was one of the first members. Others mentioned among the first members included Mary Gardner Allen (Mrs. Elias Allen); and Daniel Spurlock (brother-in-law who married Annis Gardner). Later, in 1850, five trustees were appointed to build a new church and Paulin Gardner was one of the trustees selected. The land they agreed to purchase was a one-acre lot in eastern Iberia. A few graves were on this lot, the earliest being that of Elijah Dyer, dated 1841. This was the beginning of the Iberia Cemetery. A building of hewn logs was raised on this lot and was the first Baptist church erected in Iberia.

On February 24, 1854, the inhabitants of Congressional township school district #13, met at the home of H. Paulin Gardner and organized the township for school purposes. Four districts were established becoming Elliott, Hickory Point, Mace, and Spearman school districts.

The land that was homesteaded by the Gardner families was northwest of Iberia running from what we today know as the Gardner Branch and ran almost all the way to the Barren Fork creek. This contained many acres.....the present day farm of Bruce and Janis Williams was the original land and farm that was homesteaded by Paulin and Betsy Gardner in the early 1840s. The Bailey families settled the land on both sides of the creek running west of Iberia that was known as Bailey's Branch. It originated near the present day farm of Mrs.Vernon Keeth and ran northwest across

Highway 42 and on across the Gordon Groves farm and emptied into the Barren Fork.

The Gardner and Allen families were slave owners back in Barren County, KY and they brought several of their slaves with them into Missouri. The Baileys were non-slave owners as far as I can determine. I found no record of them owning slaves in Kentucky. They were involved in manufacturing and trades in Barren County. In Miller County records in 1869, Joel Allen owned 7 slaves valued at $4000; Elias Allen had 5 valued at $1800; Isaiah Allen had 3 valued at $2100; and Pauling Gardner owned a female slave valued at $800. In 1862, Pauling was listed as owning 2 slaves, so he must have acquired another Negro during the 2-year period. In his father's will, dated 1838, William Gardner gave Pauling a woman slave named Stephanna. He brought her into Missouri with him. The slaves at that time had no last names and usually acquired the name of the family who owned them. In later years, Paulin deeded Stephanna a few acres of land near his farm and she lived the remainder of her life there. Some land, which today lies south of the Iberia city limits, was deeded to the Allen slaves. They were using the last name of Allen at that time. I do not know how long they lived there because in later years, the land was owned by the Ferguson family.

William Wiley, oldest child of Paulin & Susannah (Keath) Gardner, served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He enlisted as a volunteer in October 1862 at Holly Springs, Mississippi. During the war, he was taken prison of war near Blakely, Alabama. He was given his freedom in April 1865. William Wiley came back to Miller County where he became a schoolteacher and educator in the schools of Miller and Maries counties. His last months of life were spent in the Confederate Soldier's Home in Higginsville, Missouri. He and his wife, Louisa, are buried in the Home's cemetery. Louisa was a daughter of Joseph and Nancy Wilson of Maries County, MO.

Lucy Ann Gardner, daughter of Paulin and his second wife, Betsy (Bailey), was born in Miller County in 1843. She married my great grandfather, William Harrison Smith of Pulaski County, MO on 1 February 1863. William Harrison Smith was a son of John Wesley and Nancy (Stinnett) Smith who were natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively.

William and Lucy Gardner Smith were parents of 11 children, all born in Miller County, including: William Daniel Smith b. 1863 m. Sally Harrison; Jemima H. Smith b.1865-died in infancy; James Paulin Smith b. 1867 m. Emma Whalen; Parthenia Minnie Smith b. 1869 m. (1) Rector Thompson (2) Paul Rees; Felix P. Smith b. 1871 m. Fannie Fike; Jessie Rosa Smith b. 1872 m. Charles Aust; John T. Smith b. 1875 m. Hester Smith (no kin); Jacob C. Smith b. 1878 m. (1) Lennie Sooter (2) Elizabeth Sooter; Charles E. Smith b. 1881 m. Molly Mayfield; Henry Franklin Smith b. 1884 m. Sarah Eliza Boyd; Grace Mae Smith b. 1886 m. (1) Henry Lollar (2) Louis May; and Myrtle Clara Smith 1889-1890.

My grandfather, Henry Franklin Smith, was the last of his family to survive and see the modern day miracles of the atomic age and space technology. In 1975, at the age of 92, he died taking with him the knowledge of his age and memories that could have enlightened my search of our heritage.

In June 1976, I made a trip to Barren County, KY where I spent a few days doing research in the county's records. This county is rich in history and folklore. There, with the assistance of another descendant of William Gardner Sr., I was able to accumulate much info through old courthouse records. I was fortunate to drive over this land and to walk the fields that were homesteaded by my ancestors over 200 years ago. Gardner's Sinking Creek is flowing across the beautiful countryside and Buck Creek is still rushing across the fields to the south and I can only say that when I departed from Barren County, I left part of my heart and soul down there in the land of my ancestors. I felt a closeness to those folks whom I will never know. It is as though I can feel what they felt; love what they loved; and I can always identify with their trials, tribulations, and most of all, the joys they experienced in their lives on that early frontier.