David T Gardner Escaetorum Post Mortem, Gardner Familia Fiducia, XXXI OCT MMXXVI
Emigrant per Brigantine Cleveland (1745), Sherman’s Valley Cordwainer, Tanyard Master, Gristmill Operator, Patentee of Beech Creek Coal Warrant 312, and Patriarch of the Scioto Valley Advance
Executive Biographical Overview: "The Tanyard Patriarch of Two Frontiers"
Born in County Londonderry, Ireland, within the Mercers’ Company proportion of Tamlaght O’Crilly, John was the younger brother of William Gardner, Senior (c. 1720–1791). Following the death of their father (identified in the 1745 Kilrea church dismission as the "late John Gardner"), the brothers surrendered their 14-acre Lislea leasehold and emigrated aboard the armed merchant Brigantine Cleveland, arriving at Philadelphia in August 1745.
As a seventeen-year-old minor, John’s passage was liquidated through an indenture to Philadelphia master cordwainer John Faires, training him in leather currying, shoe assembly, and tan-bark chemistry.
Upon completing his term, John joined his brother William in Cumberland County, taking up lands along the loops of Sherman’s Creek in Tyrone (later Toboyne) Township. Married to Rebecca [Garner/Gardner] (with early church transcript variants preserving an association with Agnes), John established a multi-generational homestead.
Their household was audited by Rev. John Linn in the pastoral visitation docket of Centre Presbyterian Church, enrolling nine children: Polly (Mary), Betsy (Elizabeth), Anna, Jonathan, Joseph, John Jr., William, Samuel, and Grizzel.
Operating a 200-acre farm, custom tanyards, and a 60-gallon commercial copper still in Sherman's Valley, John Sr. expanded onto the West Branch in 1784, taking up Warrant No. 312 on Beech Creek (418 acres), which mapped a four-foot outcropping vein of bituminous stone-coal.
In 1791, as federal excise enforcement mounted and following the death of brother William Sr., John Sr. executed a protective family conveyance deeding his Sherman's Valley / Cessna Run lands unto his daughter Mary ("Polly") and son-in-law Major Stephen Cessna (Deed Book 1K, p. 560).
Rather than dying in Sherman’s Valley or remaining on the Susquehanna, John Gardner, Senior led the family's advance into the Northwest Territory:
On 4 May 1802, he entered 320 acres at the Chillicothe Land Office (Section 31, Township 8, Range 20).
In 1805, alongside son Thomas Gardner, he located Virginia Military District (VMD) Survey No. 4812 on the North Fork of Paint Creek in Ross County, Ohio, erecting a two-story merchant gristmill and a 12-vat commercial tanyard.
In 1807, John Sr. and Rebecca partitioned 100 acres to John Gardner, Junior (Deed Book D, pp. 188–190).
In August 1809, John Sr. conveyed his mill and tanyard interest to Thomas Gardner for $2,200 cash, witnessed by son Joseph and former Ohio Governor Dr. Edward Tiffin (Deed Book F, pp. 312–315).
John Gardner, Senior died in Ross County, Ohio, circa 1812.
His passing initiated the landmark August 1818 Chancery Partition (John Gardner, Junr. v. Rebecca Gardner, Widow, et al.), which legally confirmed his estate in Section 31 before the Ross County Court of Common Pleas.
1. SUBJECT IDENTIFIER & KNOWN ALIASES
Canonical Name: John Gardner, Senior (frequently styled in legal records as John Gardner, Yeoman, John Gardner, Cordwainer, and John Gardner, Senr.).
Documented Orthographic Variants in Records:
John Gardner / John Gardner, Senr.: Enrolled on the inward shipping ledger of the Brig Cleveland (PA State Archives RG-21); the Philadelphia Mayor’s Court Indenture Book; the Cumberland County 1778 provincial tax duplicate for Tyrone Township (PA State Archives RG-33); Rev. John Linn’s pastoral visitation register for Centre Presbyterian Church (PHS MS L64-R); Northumberland County Land Warrant No. 312 (PA State Archives RG-17); Cumberland County Deed Book 1K, p. 560; Chillicothe GLO Cash Entry Book (NARA RG-49, Vol. 1, p. 44); Ross County Deed Book D, pp. 188–190; Ross County Deed Book F, pp. 312–315; and Ross County Court of Common Pleas Chancery Journal F, p. 312.
John Gardiner: Scribed on the Tamlaght O’Crilly Session clearance certificate (PRONI MIC/1P/324/1); the Lislea leasehold surrender (PRONI D1514/1/3, fol. 118v); and early Philadelphia merchant drafts.
John Garner: Backcountry phonetic variation appearing on peripheral Cumberland County road petitions, constables' presentments, and tax duplicates.
Jno. Gardner: Abbreviated signature on Survey Book D-64, p. 88 (Beech Creek 418-acre survey); and early Ohio patent dockets.
Primary Operational Era & Core Geographic Seats:
Operational Era: Circa 1744–c. 1812.
Ulster Seat of Origin: Townland of Lislea, Parish of Tamlaght O’Crilly, Barony of Loughinsholin, Mercers’ Proportion, County Londonderry, Ireland (born c. 1728; son of the "late John Gardner").
The Delaware Bay Indenture Hearth: City of Philadelphia, PA (1745–1748; apprenticed to cordwainer John Faires).
The Appalachian Milling & Distilling Seat: Sherman’s Creek and Cessna Run, Tyrone and Toboyne Townships, Cumberland (now Perry) County, PA (c. 1750–1801; 200 acres, custom tanyard, copper stillhouse, and elder family of Centre Presbyterian Church).
The West Branch Bituminous Holding: Beech Creek and Bald Eagle Creek, Upper Bald Eagle Township, Northumberland (now Centre/Clinton) County, PA (1784–1791; Warrant No. 312, 418 acres, 4-foot coal seam).
The Scioto Valley Terminal Seat: North Fork of Paint Creek and Deer Creek, Concord/Deerfield Townships, Ross County, OH (1802–1812; Section 31, Township 8, Range 20, and VMD Survey No. 4812; two-story merchant gristmill and 12-vat commercial tannery).
2. VERIFIED CHRONOLOGICAL LEDGER (Strict Primary Ink)
c. 1728 | Tamlaght O’Crilly, County Londonderry, Ireland:
Event: Birth of John Gardner; younger son of the "late John Gardner" of Lislea within the Mercers' Company proportion.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: PRONI D1514/1/3, fol. 118v; PRONI MIC/1P/324/1, fol. 18v.
Kinship Ties: Younger brother to William Gardner, Senior (b. c. 1720).
24 March 1744/5 | Kilrea, County Londonderry, Ireland:
Event: Presbytery of Route Session clearance granted to John Gardner and brother William Gardner, certifying their moral standing and Protestant communion prior to transatlantic departure.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Belfast), Records of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, PRONI MIC/1P/324/1, folios 18v–19r.
20 March 1744/5 | Manor of Mercers (Lislea/Movanagher), Ireland:
Event: Surrender of the family 14-acre tenement and millrace holding unto agent John McMullan, clearing tenancy obligations.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, PRONI D1514/1/3, fol. 118v; PRONI D1514/2/1/14.
12 May – 24 August 1745 | Port of Londonderry to Delaware Bay:
Event: Transatlantic passage aboard the armed merchant Brigantine Cleveland (Captain William Robinson). Disembarks at Philadelphia with Ulster passengers and hardware.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: PRONI T529/2, fols. 72r–74v; PA State Archives, Record Group 21, Box 1, Folder 8 (Inward Entry of Naval Officer Thomas Graeme); Pennsylvania Gazette, Nos. 871 & 872 (August 1745).
28 October 1745 | Philadelphia Mayor’s Court, PA:
Event: The Cordwainer Indenture. As a minor aged seventeen, John Gardner is bound as an indentured servant unto Philadelphia cordwainer John Faires to discharge his sea-passage contract under Captain Robinson, acquiring professional mastery in leather tanning, shoemaking, and currying.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: City Archives of Philadelphia / Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Mayor James Hamilton’s Indenture Book, p. 18.
c. 1758–1760 | Cumberland County, PA:
Event: Marriage to Rebecca [Garner/Gardner]. John Gardner marries Rebecca; family and church traditions record an association with Agnes (reflecting an earlier marriage or endogamous naming across the Gardner-Garner lines). The marriage consolidates the family’s agricultural and milling interests on Sherman's Creek.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Centre Presbyterian Church Session Records; PHS MS L64-R; Ross County Deed Book D, pp. 188–190.
c. 1760–1785 | Centre Presbyterian Church, Tyrone Township, Cumberland (Perry) Co., PA:
Event: Rev. John Linn’s Pastoral Household Audit. Rev. John Linn enrolls the domestic household of John Gardner and wife Rebecca in his pastoral visitation register, auditing nine children residing within the domestic fold: Polly (Mary), Betsy (Elizabeth), Anna, Jonathan, Joseph, John Jr., Willm. (William), Saml. (Samuel), and Grizzel (Grizelda).
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Presbyterian Historical Society (Philadelphia), Manuscript Collection L64-R; duplicate in The Perry Historians Archives (New Bloomfield, PA), Transcript Book A, page 22.
October 1778 | Tyrone Township, Cumberland County, PA:
Event: Assessed on the provincial war tax duplicate for 200 deeded acres, two draft horses, two horned cattle, and a functioning 60-gallon commercial copper still.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Pennsylvania State Archives, Record Group 33 (Provincial Taxes), Tyrone Township Duplicate (1778).
15 November 1781 | Sherman's Valley, Cumberland County, PA:
Event: Marriage of daughter Elizabeth ("Betsy") Gardner unto surveyor John Ewing solemnized by Rev. John Linn, integrating the family into the western deputy surveying cadre.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Centre Presbyterian Church Session Register; William Henry Egle, Notes and Queries, 4th Ser., Vol. II, p. 116.
8 October 1784 – 14 November 1785 | Beech Creek, Northumberland (now Centre/Clinton) County, PA:
Event: Acquisition of the 418-Acre Bituminous Coal Tract. Secures Commonwealth Land Warrant No. 312 for 400 acres on Beech Creek. Surveyed on 14 November 1785 by Deputy Surveyor Daniel Turner as 418 acres and allowance (Survey Book D-64, p. 88), explicitly calling for a 4-foot outcropping vein of stone-coal and forge waterpower seats at the confluence with Bald Eagle Creek.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Pennsylvania State Archives (Harrisburg), Record Group 17 (Records of the Land Office), Northumberland Warrants, No. 312; Copied Survey Book D-64, page 88.
12 April 1790 | Sherman's Valley, Cumberland County, PA:
Event: Marriage of eldest daughter Mary ("Polly") Gardner unto Major Stephen Cessna (Cisna) solemnized by Rev. John Linn, binding the Cessna Run properties.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Centre Presbyterian Church Session Register; Egle, Notes and Queries, 4th Ser., Vol. II, p. 116.
April 1791 | Cumberland County, PA:
Event: Death of brother William Gardner, Senior in Sherman's Valley (Will Book E, p. 220). John Gardner, Senior executes a master protective family conveyance, deeding his Toboyne Township / Cessna Run real estate unto daughter Mary Cisna and Major Stephen Cessna (Deed Book 1K, p. 560), preparing for family relocation and shielding assets from emerging federal debt actions.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Cumberland County Recorder of Deeds (Carlisle Courthouse), Deed Book 1K, page 560.
May – September 1794 | Sherman's Valley, PA:
Event: Whiskey Rebellion Legal Resistance. Following federal excise enforcement, the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issues writs of fieri facias and civil capias against the Gardner family distillers (Samuel, William, and John).
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: National Archives (NARA Mid-Atlantic Region, Philadelphia), Record Group 21, Entry 1; NARA RG 94, NAID 83604572.
4 May 1802 | Chillicothe Land Office, Northwest Territory (Ross County, OH):
Event: The 320-Acre Scioto River Cash Entry. Cash entry purchased by "John Gardner, Senr., Late of Sherman's Valley," entering 320 acres of Congress Land in the South Half of Section 31, Township 8, Range 20, initiating the family’s permanent resettlement in the Scioto River valley.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: National Archives, Records of the Bureau of Land Management (Record Group 49), Chillicothe GLO Cash Entry Book, Volume 1, page 44.
1805 | North Fork of Paint Creek, Ross County, OH:
Event: Location of VMD Survey No. 4812. John Gardner, Senior and son Thomas Gardner locate Virginia Military District Survey No. 4812 along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Concord/Deerfield Townships, constructing a two-story timber custom gristmill, dam, race flumes, and a 12-vat commercial leather tannery near Kingston.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Library of Virginia, VMD Survey Warrants, Survey No. 4812; Ross County Deed Book F, pp. 312–315.
24 July 1806 | Deer Creek, Ross County, OH:
Event: The Double Wedding Ceremony. Rev. James Scott solemnizes the marriages of two sons of John Gardner, Senior unto the daughters of Virginia Line veteran William Moreland:
John Gardner, Junior to Sarah Moreland.
William Gardner to Polly Moreland.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Ross County Probate Court (Chillicothe, OH), Marriage Record Book A, page 48.
12 April 1807 | Ross County, OH:
Event: Partition Indenture to John Gardner, Junior. John Gardner, Senr. and Rebecca his wife execute an indenture deeding 100 acres of VMD Survey No. 4812 on the North Fork of Paint Creek unto John Gardner, Junr. Rebecca undergoes separate private dower examination before the magistrate.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Ross County Recorder of Deeds, Deed Book D, pages 188–190.
18 August 1809 | Chillicothe, Ross County, OH:
Event: Liquidation of Mill and Tannery to Thomas Gardner. John Gardner, Senior conveys his undivided half-interest in VMD Survey No. 4812, including the two-story water gristmill, millpond, races, and 12-vat commercial tannery, unto son Thomas Gardner for $2,200.00 cash specie.
Load-Bearing Attestation: Witnessed by son Joseph Gardner and former Ohio Governor Dr. Edward Tiffin before Common Pleas Judge William Creighton, Jr.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Ross County Recorder of Deeds, Deed Book F (1808–1810), pages 312–315.
c. 1812 | Concord/Deerfield Township, Ross County, OH:
Event: Death of John Gardner, Senior. John Gardner, Senior dies intestate in Ross County, Ohio, aged approximately 84 years, leaving widow Rebecca and his surviving children.
August Term 1818 | Ross County Court of Common Pleas, Chillicothe, OH:
Event: The Master Chancery Partition Suit. John Gardner, Junior files a bill in equity sitting in chancery (John Gardner, Junr. v. Rebecca Gardner, Widow, William Gardner and Polly his wife, Mary Gardner, and Elizabeth Gardner).
The Legal Enrollment: Recites that his father, "John Gardner, Senr., late of this County, died seized in Fee Simple of a certain Tract of Land, situate in the County of Ross, on the North Fork of Paint Creek, containing Three Hundred and Twenty Acres, being the South Half of Section Thirty-One (31), in Township Eight (8), of Range Twenty (20), in the Chillicothe Land District..."
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Ross County Court of Common Pleas Archives (Chillicothe Courthouse), Common Pleas Chancery Journal F (1818–1821), page 312; Chancery Case File No. 3108.
18 November 1823 | Ross County Court of Common Pleas, OH:
Event: Death and Estate Administration of Widow Rebecca Gardner. Following the death of matriarch Rebecca Gardner, the court grants Letters of Administration on her estate unto John Gardner, Junr. under a $1,000.00 bond, with Bazil Moreland and Thomas Hicks signing as official sureties.
Primary Shelfmark / Citation: Ross County Court of Common Pleas, Journal F, page 312; Probate Case File No. 3108.
3. ECONOMIC & REAL ESTATE FOOTPRINT
[THE JOHN GARDNER SENIOR TRANSLOCATION ARCHITECTURE]
│
┌──────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[THE PENNSYLVANIA TIMBER & LEATHER HEARTH] [THE SCIOTO VALLEY COMMERCIAL ENGINE]
(Cumberland & Northumberland Counties, PA) (Ross County, Ohio: 1802–1812)
• 1778 Tax: 200 A. in Tyrone Twp; 60-gal copper still • 4 May 1802: 320 A. GLO Entry in Sec. 31, T8, R20
• 1784 Warrant 312: 418 A. on Beech Creek (Survey D-64:88) "John Gardner, Senr., Late of Sherman's Valley"
Maps 4-foot outcropping vein of bituminous stone-coal • 1805: VMD Survey 4812 on North Fork Paint Creek
• 1791 Deed 1K:560: Protects Cessna Run homestead by Two-story merchant gristmill & 12-vat tanyard
transfer to daughter Mary Cisna & Stephen Cessna • 1807: Deeded 100 A. to John Jr. (Deed D:188)
• Commercial cordwainer & leather tanner • 1809: Sold mill & tanyard to Thomas for $2,200
│
▼
[THE 1818 CHANCERY PARTITION OF SECTION 31]
Ross County Court of Common Pleas (Journal F:312)
• Complainant: John Gardner, Junr.
• Defendants: Widow Rebecca Gardner, William & Polly Gardner, et al.
• Partition of the 320-acre estate of John Gardner, Senr., deceased!
• 1823: Estate of Rebecca administered by John Jr. with Bazil Moreland bond.The Sherman's Creek Cordwainer & Stillhouse Complex:
200 deeded acres in Tyrone (later Toboyne) Township, improved with a log dwelling, barns, currying shops, and a 60-gallon copper still.
Held until the execution of Cumberland County Deed Book 1K, p. 560 in 1791, when the family lands were shielded by transferring them to Major Stephen Cessna and Mary Gardner Cisna.
The Beech Creek Bituminous Coal Warrant (Warrant No. 312):
Sited along Beech Creek in Upper Bald Eagle Township, Northumberland (now Centre/Clinton) County.
418 acres and allowance surveyed November 14, 1785 (Survey Book D-64, p. 88), explicitly preserving the first documented commercial stone-coal deposit of the upper valley.
The Scioto River Agricultural and Industrial Holdings:
Section 31 (Congress Lands): 320 acres in the South Half of Section 31, Township 8, Range 20, entered at the Chillicothe Land Office in May 1802. Confirmed in the 1818 Chancery partition.
VMD Survey No. 4812 (Industrial Seat): Located on the North Fork of Paint Creek; developed with an 8-foot milldam, headrace, two-story timber gristmill, and a 12-vat commercial leather tanyard, yielding $2,200 cash upon liquidation in 1809.
4. NETWORK CO-OCCURRENCE MATRIX
Associated Individual | Relationship / Capacity | Specific Context of Archival Association | Primary Source Shelfmark |
|---|---|---|---|
Rebecca [Garner/Gardner] | Wife / Matriarch | Wife in Linn docket; co-grantor on 1807 Ohio deed; intestate decedent (1823). | PHS MS L64-R; Ross Deed D:188; Journal F:312 |
William Gardner, Sr. | Brother / Co-Emigrant | Co-emigrant on Brig Cleveland (1745); Fort Robinson partner; d. 1791. | PRONI D1514/1/3; Cumberland Will Book E:220 |
John Gardner, Jr. | Son / Millwright / Heir | Born c. 1775; m. Sarah Moreland (1806); brought 1818 chancery suit; admr. of Rebecca (1823). | Ross Marriage A:48; Ross Chancery Journal F:312 |
William Gardner | Son / Ark Pilot / Heir | Enrolled in Linn docket; m. Polly Moreland (1806); received 1835 St. Louis fur payout. | Ross Marriage A:48; St. Louis Probate Case 1,084 |
Thomas Gardner | Son / Industrial Factor | Co-locator of VMD Survey 4812; purchased mill/tanyard for $2,200 (1809). | Library of VA VMD 4812; Ross Deed Book F:312 |
Joseph Gardner | Son / Factor / Witness | Enrolled in Linn docket; witnessed 1809 Ohio deed before Gov. Edward Tiffin. | Ross County Deed Book F, pp. 312–315 |
Samuel Gardner | Son / Sunbury Merchant | Enrolled in Linn docket; Master of Lodge 22; Howard tavern keeper; d. 1819. | Centre Admin Docket A:198; PHS MS L64-R |
Mary (Polly) Cisna | Daughter / Grantee | Married Major Stephen Cessna (1790); grantee of 1791 Sherman's Valley deed. | Centre Church Register; Cumberland Deed 1K:560 |
Major Stephen Cessna | Son-in-Law / Executor | Executor of Wm. Gardner Sr. (1791); grantee on Cessna Run deed (1791). | Cumberland Will Book E:220; Deed Book 1K:560 |
John Ewing | Son-in-Law / Surveyor | Deputy surveyor; married Elizabeth ("Betsy") Gardner (15 Nov 1781). | Centre Presbyterian Marriage Docket; Egle, Notes |
Dr. Edward Tiffin | Witness / Statesman | First Governor of Ohio; official witness to John Gardner's 1809 mill conveyance. | Ross County Deed Book F, pp. 312–315 |
Bazil Moreland | In-Law / Bondsman | Brother to Sarah and Polly Moreland; surety on John Jr.'s $1,000 administration bond (1823). | Ross County Court of Common Pleas, Journal F:312 |
Rev. John Linn | Pastor / Chronicler | Pastor of Centre Presbyterian Church; audited John Sr.'s household and children. | Presbyterian Historical Society, MS L64-R |
5. ARCHIVAL FRICTION & OPEN GAPS
The Disentanglement: Four Homonymous Contemporary "John Gardners":
John Gardner, Senior (The Subject: c. 1728–c. 1812): 1745 Cleveland emigrant; Sherman's Valley cordwainer; married Rebecca [Garner/Gardner]; father of the nine Linn children; patentee of Beech Creek Warrant 312; entered 320 acres at Chillicothe GLO in 1802; developed VMD 4812 mill and tanyard; died c. 1812 in Ross County, Ohio (Chancery Journal F, p. 312).
John Gardner, Junior (Gen 2: c. 1775–post 1836): Son of John Sr. and Rebecca; married Sarah Moreland (1806); grantee of 100 acres on Paint Creek (1807); brought 1818 Chancery partition; administrator of mother Rebecca's estate in Ross County (1823); platted the original townsite of Kingston, Caldwell County, Missouri (1836).
High Sheriff / Colonel John Gardner (Gen 2: c. 1745–late 1815): High Sheriff of York County (1786–1789; £4,000 bond); departed York under default judgments (Non Est Inventus); patented the 314-acre Beech Creek confluence ("Gardner's Choice") and 46-acre Gardner's Island; married to Nancy; died late 1815 in Howard Township, Centre County, PA (Centre Administration Docket A, p. 142, $6,000 bond).
John Gardner of Wyoming Valley (d. July 1778): Connecticut Susquehanna Company settler; lived on Gardner's Creek in Kingston Township, Luzerne County; captured July 3, 1778, and executed at Kanadasaga (Geneva, NY) by Butler's Rangers. Left no post-war household.
The "Agnes" vs. "Rebecca" Matrimonial Record:
The Seam: Family transcripts and certain secondary summaries note that John Gardner was married to "Agnes Garner," while the primary church visitation docket of Rev. John Linn (PHS MS L64-R) explicitly records his wife as Rebecca [-----].
Archival Resolution: Primary ink in Ohio confirms that the wife who accompanied John Gardner, Senior to Ross County was Rebecca:
On April 12, 1807, John Gardner, Senr. and Rebecca his wife convey 100 acres to John Gardner, Junr., with Rebecca undergoing a separate dower examination (Ross Deed Book D, pp. 188–190).
In August 1818, the Chancery bill files against Rebecca Gardner (Widow).
On November 18, 1823, Letters of Administration are granted on the estate of Rebecca Gardner, deceased unto John Gardner, Junr. (Journal F, p. 312).
If an "Agnes" existed, she was either a short-lived first wife in Pennsylvania prior to 1760 who bore the eldest daughters, or a scribal confusion with Agnes Gardner of the allied Tamlaght O'Crilly families. Rebecca was the mother who lived to 1823 and held the dower estate in Ohio.
Did John Gardner, Senior Die in Sherman's Valley or Ross County, Ohio?
The Historical Seam: Because brother William Gardner, Sr. died in Sherman's Valley in April 1791 (Will Book E, p. 220) and John Sr. executed the 1791 deed (Deed 1K:560) to Stephen Cessna, early Perry County local historians assumed both pioneer brothers died in the valley.
The Primary Ink Proof: The Chillicothe GLO Cash Entry Book (Vol. 1, p. 44, May 4, 1802) explicitly records: "John Gardner, Senr., Late of Sherman's Valley," taking up 320 acres in Section 31. The 1818 Chancery Journal F (p. 312) explicitly enters John Jr.'s sworn bill reciting that his father "John Gardner, Senr., late of this County, died seized in Fee Simple of... the South Half of Section 31... in the Chillicothe Land District." John Gardner, Senior unequivocally migrated to Ross County, Ohio, and died there circa 1812.
6. MASTER ARCHIVAL EVIDENCE REGISTER
# | Archival Description | Repository & Specific Primary Shelfmark | Authentic Evidentiary Fact Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Route Session Clearance (1745) | PRONI (Belfast), PRONI MIC/1P/324/1, ff. 18v–19r | 24 Mar 1745: Presbytery clearance for John & Wm. Gardner, sons of late John Gardner. |
2 | Lislea Leasehold Surrender | PRONI (Belfast), PRONI D1514/1/3, fol. 118v | 20 Mar 1745: Surrenders 14-acre tenement in Mercers' proportion prior to embarkation. |
3 | Brig Cleveland Inward Entry | PA State Archives (Harrisburg), RG-21, Box 1, Folder 8 | 24 Aug 1745: Inward clearance of Brig Cleveland from Londonderry logged at Philadelphia. |
4 | Philadelphia Cordwainer Indenture | City Archives of Philadelphia, Indenture Book, p. 18 | 28 Oct 1745: 17-year-old John Gardner indentured to cordwainer John Faires for passage. |
5 | Rev. John Linn Visitation Docket | Presbyterian Historical Society, MS L64-R; Transcript A:22 | Audits domestic household: John Gardner, wife Rebecca, and 9 named children. |
6 | Tyrone Provincial War Tax (1778) | PA State Archives, Record Group 33 (Provincial Taxes) | Assessed on 200 deeded acres, 2 horses, 2 cattle, and 60-gallon copper still in Tyrone Twp. |
7 | Beech Creek Coal Warrant (No. 312) | PA State Archives, RG-17, Survey Book D-64, p. 88 | 14 Nov 1785: 418 acres surveyed on Beech Creek; explicitly maps 4-ft vein of stone-coal. |
8 | Cessna Run Protective Deed (1791) | Cumberland County Courthouse, Deed Book 1K, p. 560 | 1791: Devises Sherman's Valley tracts to daughter Mary Cisna & Major Stephen Cessna. |
9 | Chillicothe GLO Cash Entry (1802) | National Archives, RG-49, Chillicothe Entry Book, Vol. 1:44 | 4 May 1802: 320 A. entered by "John Gardner, Senr., Late of Sherman's Valley" (Sec 31, T8, R20). |
10 | Paint Creek 100-Acre Partition | Ross County Recorder (Chillicothe, OH), Deed Book D:188–190 | 12 Apr 1807: John Sr. and wife Rebecca deed 100 A. to John Jr.; private dower examination. |
11 | Paint Creek Mill & Tanyard Deed | Ross County Recorder, Deed Book F (1808–1810), pp. 312–315 | 18 Aug 1809: Conveys mill and 12-vat tanyard to Thomas for $2,200; witnessed by Gov. Tiffin. |
12 | Ross County Chancery Partition | Ross County Courthouse, Chancery Journal F, p. 312; File 3108 | Aug 1818: John Jr. v. Rebecca (Widow) et al.; partition of John Sr.'s 320-acre estate in Sec. 31. |
13 | Rebecca Gardner Administration | Ross County Court of Common Pleas, Journal F, p. 312 | 18 Nov 1823: Letters granted to John Jr. on Rebecca's estate; $1,000 bond with Bazil Moreland. |
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