Washington Gardner was a lawyer, minister, politician and Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 veteran from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Biography

Gardner was born in Morrow County, Ohio

Morrow County, Ohio

Morrow County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Shawnee people used the area for hunting purposes before white settlers arrived in the early 19th century. Morrow County was organized in 1848 from parts of four neighboring counties and named for Jeremiah Morrow, Governor of...

. He entered the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 and served in Company D, Sixty-Fifth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, from October 1861 to December 1865. He was severely wounded in action at the Battle of Resaca

Battle of Resaca

The Battle of Resaca was part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was waged in both Gordon and Whitfield counties, Georgia, from May 13 - 15, 1864. It ended inconclusively with the Confederate Army retreating. The engagement was fought between the Military Division of the...

 in Resaca, Georgia

Resaca, Georgia

Resaca is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, and Whitfield County, Georgia along the Oostanaula River. The population was 815 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Resaca is located at ....

.

After the war, he attended school at Berea, Ohio

Berea, Ohio

- History :The first European settlers were originally from Connecticut. Berea fell within Connecticut's Western Reserve and was surveyed and divided into townships and ranges by one Gideon Granger, a gentleman who served as Postmaster General under President Thomas Jefferson...

, then at Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis...

, Hillsdale, Michigan

Hillsdale, Michigan

Hillsdale is a city in the state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,305. It is the county seat of Hillsdale County, and is run as a council-manager government....

, and graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...

, Delaware, Ohio

Delaware, Ohio

The City of Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County in the United States state of Ohio. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area...

, in 1870. He studied in the school of theology at Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

, in 1870 and 1871 and graduated from the Albany Law School

Albany Law School

Albany Law School is an ABA accredited law school based in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 by Amos Dean , Amasa Parker, Ira Harris and others....

 in 1876. He was admitted to the bar

Bar (law)

Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 and commenced practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...

. He entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church

Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

, in which he served twelve years. He was commander of the Department of Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic

Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...

, in 1888. He was professor in Albion College

Albion College

Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...

, 1889–1894.

On March 20, 1894, Gardner was appointed Michigan Secretary of State

Michigan Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is the third-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan and one of four great offices of state. As the name implies, the officeholder was originally responsible for much of state government, but now the duties are similar to those of the other 47 secretaries of states...

 by Governor John T. Rich to fill the vacancy caused by the removal of John W. Jochim. He was then twice elected to the position in 1894 and 1896, serving until 1899. In 1898, he defeated incumbent Democrat Albert M. Todd

Albert M. Todd

Albert May Todd was a businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He became known as the "Peppermint King" for founding a flourishing business in peppermint....

 to be elected as a Republican from Michigan's 3rd congressional district

Michigan's 3rd congressional district

Michigan's 3rd congressional district is a United States Congressional district in Western Michigan. It consists of the counties of Barry, Ionia, and all except the northwest portion of Kent. The district is currently represented by Republican Justin Amash, the second youngest member of the house...

 to the 56th United States Congress

56th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Garret Hobart , until November 21, 1899 , vacant thereafter.* President pro tempore: William P. Frye * Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones...

. He was subsequently re-elected to the five succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1899 to March 3, 1911. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce and Labor in the 61st Congress

61st United States Congress

The Sixty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1909 to March 4, 1911, during the first two years of...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1910 to the 62nd Congress

62nd United States Congress

- House of Representatives :* Democratic : 230 * Republican : 162* Socialist : 1* Independent : 1TOTAL members: 394-Senate:* President: James S...

.

He was commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1913 and 1914. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the primary election for Governor of Michigan

Governor of Michigan

The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...

. He served as Commissioner of Pensions from March 22, 1921, to March 4, 1925. He retired from public life and died in Albion, Michigan

Albion, Michigan

Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The population was 9,144 at the 2000 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...

in 1928. He was interred in Riverside Cemetery, in Albion.

Legacy

Washington Gardner Middle School (formerly Washington Gardner High School) in Albion, Michigan, is named in his honor.

External links

Retrieved on 2008-02-14

• The Political Graveyard
• Biography at the Grand Army of the Republic
• “The HON. WASHINGTON GARDNER”, by Frank Passic, Morning Star, July 4, 1993, pg. 19