THOMAS W. GARDNER CEMETERY

This small family cemetery is located in No. 9 Township, Cleveland
County, NC on the east side of First Broad River and on top of a ridge
between said river and Magness Creek, a quarter of a mile east of the
old homestead of the late Richard T. Hord, now owned by his son, Geo.
C. Hord; about nine miles northwest of Shelby, and on the west side of
the road leading from Double Shoals to Lawndale and between the old
homesteads of Ham Williams and Richard T. Hord.

Owner of Cemetery: Geo. C. Hord

Approximate number of marked graves: 5
 Before 1914: 5
 After 1914: None
 Unmarked graves: 16

Earliest marked grave: William Gardner, d. Sept. 12, 1847

General condition of cemetery; The cemetery is in fair condition, being
cleaned off about once a year.

Date of survey: Jan. 26, 1939
Worker: A. G. Melton

Inscriptions:

Gardner, Olive J.
D. Sept. 19, 1847
Aged: 17 years

Gardner, Elizabeth D., daughter of Wm. & Rebecca Gardner
Aged: 16 mos.

Hoard, Nancy J., consort of E. P. Hoard
D. Aug. 8, 1854
Aged: 29 yrs., 4 mos., 7 ds.
 /
Also, four infant children buried at her head

Hord, Margaret
D. July 31, 1863
Aged: 70 years, 6 mos., 16 ds.

Gardner, William
D. Sept. 12, 1847
Aged: 46 years
(This William Gardner is the grandfather of former Gov. O. Max Gardner.
Worker, A. G. Melton.)

---------------

Geo. C. Hord, age 71, son of Richard T. Hord, owner of said property,
gives the following information as to the Hord family: Two unmarked
graves are those of his half-sister, Emily Hord Williams who was the
third wife of Audley Williams; and Harriett Hord Williams was the second
wife of Audley Williams. Also, James Hord, uncle of Geo. C. Hord and
brother of Richard T. Hoard, was buried here.

The following data by P. Cleveland Gardner, great-great grandson of
Thomas W. Gardner:

"Thomas W. Gardner was married to Miss Olive Gardner; date of his birth
is not exactly known but was probably during the Revolutionary War. He
died in 1844; his wife, Olive Martin, was born in 1780, died July 29,
1856. Tradition is that they were married on Catawba River between
counties of Lincoln and Rowan.


"They settled about three-quarters of a mile Southeast of said
graveyard, on Southeast side of Magness Creek, where they reared a
family of twelve children consisting of six sons and six daughters, as follows:

"Jerry Gardner, b. Nov. 17, 1793; [Handwritten in - Jeremiah]

"Martin Gardner, b. Nov. 17, 1793;

"Leanna Gardner, b. 1795;

Lewis Gardner, b. 1800;

"William Gardner, b. 1801, d. Sept. 12, 1847; (He was grandfather of Governor O. Max Gardner.)

"Elizabeth Gardner, d. Sept. 11, 1906

"Rebecca Gardner, b. 1805;

"Jane Gardner, b. 18___ ;

"Easter Gardner, b. 18 ____ '

"Carrie Gardner, b. 1810 (was second wife of Col. Pascal T. Grigg);

"Davie Gardner, b. 1815, d. Sept. 11, 1906 (Princess County, Miss.);

"James L. Gardner, b. 1816, d. July 31, 1862 (Peace Hospital, Raleigh,N.C.);

"Thomas W. Gardner and wife Olive Martin Gardner are buried in this
graveyard. He was a large landowner at one time, his land extended from
the old London Mineral Springs to near New Bethel Baptist Church, on
East side of the river between Double Shoals and Lawndale. The old
Lincoln-Rutherford Sate Coach Road ran just North of his home and
through his farm. A large ledge of rock on East side of the river below
Lawndale is still pointed out as the 'Gardner Rock House'."

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This cemetery is among the many Cleveland cemeteries included on the Cleveland Count WPA Cemeteries CD,
copyrighted 2008, by Ann K. Propst and Derick S. Hartshorn.
All listings and cemeteries listings were made prior to 1940 and represent the conditions of that time.
All information has been donated to the NCGenWeb Project but authors retain copyright protection under law.
It may be referenced and briefly exerpted under the universal fair use doctrine.
For a copy of the complete Cleveland County WPA Cemetery Survey CD, see http://www.hartshorn.us/CWPA.htm