Posts Tagged ‘Gardner Family Reunion’

GARDNERS FIND FAMILY PHOTOS FROM THE 1800s

Tuesday, May 13th, 2014

gardner-2-001

Recently some of the Gardner family descendants found some rare photographs of their ancestors and shared them with me.  The 1870s photo featured here is of Daniel Gardner and his wife Melissa Boisseau Gardner.  Daniel along with his parents, Aaron and Betty and two brothers George and Jackson were brought to Wessyngton Plantation in 1839 by George A. Washington.  Daniel and Melissa married in Robertson County, Tennessee in 1866.  On their marriage certificate Daniel is listed with the Washington surname, on most documents thereafter he is listed as Daniel Gardner.  Daniel and Melissa are the ancestors of one of the largest families in Robertson County, Tennessee.  Each year their descendants hold a family reunion, which started in 1935.

Gardner Family to Celebrate 77th Annual Family Reunion

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

On August 20th through 21st the Gardner family will celebrate their 77th annual family reunion in Springfield, Tennessee.  The Gardners have held a reunion on the same date each year since 1935.  The Gardner family is one of the largest African American families in Robertson County, Tennessee.  I am currently working on a family tree for the reunion which includes nearly 800 direct descendants from Aaron and Betty Gardner.  Aaron and Betty along with their three sons, Daniel, George and Jackson were enslaved on the Wessyngton Plantation from 1839 to 1865.  The reunion will include a tour of the Wessyngton Plantation.

Portraits of Gardner Ancestors Revealed at 76th Gardner Family Reunion

Monday, April 11th, 2011
Daniel Gardner 1839-1911

Daniel Gardner 1829-1911

Melissa Boisseau Gardner 1838-1931

Melissa Boisseau Gardner 1838-1931

 

In August 2010 the Gardner family celebrated their 76th annual family reunion.  The festivities included a tour of Wessyngton Plantation. Aaron Gardner born 1804, his wife Betty born 1814, and their three sons Daniel Gardner 1829-1911, George Gardner 1830-1906, and Jackson Gardner Washington born 1831 were enslaved on the plantation from 1839 to 1865.  After emancipation George Gardner purchased 169 acres of land, which he willed to his nephew Will Gardner.  Daniel Gardner and his wife Melissa Boisseau Gardner were the parents of eighteen children.  Many of their descendants remain in the Robertson County area.  There are more African Americans carrying the Gardner surname than any other surname in the county. Two original portraits of Daniel and Melissa Gardner were revealed to descendants at the 76th Gardner family reunion.

Gardner Family Tours Wessyngton Plantation for 75th Family Reunion

Friday, May 29th, 2009
Gardner Family Tour at Wessyngton Plantation

Gardner Family Tour at Wessyngton Plantation

In 2008 the Gardners celebrated their 75th annual family reunion.  As part of the reunion festivities I led them on a tour of Wessyngton Plantation.   The tour included the Wessyngton mansion, Washington family cemetery, slave cemetery and a restored slave cabin.  The Gardner earliest ancestors, Aaron Gardner, his wife Betty and their three sons, Daniel, George and Jackson came to Wessyngton in the late 1830s.  There are more African Americans in Robertson County, Tennessee with the Gardner surname than any other family.