Mills Gardner (January 30, 1830 – February 20, 1910) was an attorney, politician and member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

from 1877 to 1879.

Biography

Mills Gardner was born in

Russellville, Ohio Russellville is a village in Jefferson Township, Brown County, Ohio, United States. The population was 542 at the 2020 census. History Russellville was laid out in 1817 by Russell Shaw, and named for him. Geography Russellville is located at ...

, the son of Seth Gardner, a captain in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. He attended the public schools of Highland County, Ohio and Rankins academy at

Ripley, Ohio Ripley is a village in Union Township, Brown County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River 50 miles southeast of Cincinnati. The population was 1,750 at the 2010 census. History Colonel James Poage, a veteran of the American Revolution, ar ...

. He clerked in a dry goods store for some years while reading the law with his uncle Judge

Nelson Barrere Nelson Barrere (April 1, 1808 – August 20, 1883) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio, uncle of Granville Barrere. Born in New Market, near Hillsboro, Ohio, Barrere attended the common schools, and Hillsboro High School in 1827. He was gradua ...

Hillsboro, Ohio Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Highland County, Ohio, United States approximately 35 mi (56 km) west of Chillicothe, and 50 miles east of Cincinnati. The population was 6,605 at the 2010 census. History Hillsboro was p ...

who was the last Whig candidate for governor of Ohio. He relocated to

Fayette County, Ohio Fayette County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 28,951. Its county seat is Washington Court House, Ohio, Washington Court House. The coun ...

in 1854 and was admitted to the bar in 1855, locating at

Washington Court House, Ohio Washington Court House (often abbreviated as Washington C.H.) is a city in Union Township, Fayette County, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located between Cincinnati and Columbus. The population grew almost 1.5% from 2010 to ...

where he built up a large practice. He was

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

of Fayette county for two terms (1855–1859). Gardner was an original

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, casting his first vote for John C. Fremont in 1856 and for every nominee of the Republican party for president after that until his death. He was elected on the Republican ticket to the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

in 1861. In the re-election of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

in 1864, Gardner was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

for Ohio. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, when the life of the Republican party and nation was at stake, Mills Gardner took an active and prominent part in rallying public opinion in behalf of the Union, and in exposing the opponents of the national administration, in particular

Clement Vallandigham Clement Laird Vallandigham ( ; July 29, 1820 – June 17, 1871) was an American politician and leader of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. He served two terms for Ohio's 3rd congressional district in the ...

. In 1865, Mills Gardner was elected to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

. In 1872 he was elected a member of the Ohio constitutional convention. He was elected to the

Forty-fifth congress The 45th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1877, ...

in 1876 from Ohio's Third district. He declined renomination in 1878 for a second term. While a public servant, Mills Gardner nevertheless owned land in Washington Court House; in 1875, he sold a new city resident the south-side lot upon which the Jacob Light House was later constructed.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

: Somerset, 1999, 411. Upon leaving office, he resumed the practice of law until his death at Washington Court House. He is interred there in

Washington Cemetery Washington Cemetery may refer to: *Washington Cemetery (Brooklyn) *Washington Cemetery (Washington Court House, Ohio) {{Disambiguation ...

References

Sources

* Taylor, William A. Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901. Columbus, Ohio: The XX Century Publishing Company, 1901. * History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1898, 1579 pgs. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Mills 1830 births 1910 deaths People from Brown County, Ohio 1864 United States presidential electors Ohio Constitutional Convention (1873) Ohio lawyers County district attorneys in Ohio Republican Party Ohio state senators Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives People from Washington Court House, Ohio 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio