GARDINER, Agnes 1842-1941

GARDINER, SWAN

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 2/1/2022 at 10:38:20

Mrs. Agnes Gardiner Dies; Was 99 in May

Mrs. Agnes Gardiner died at her home in Reinbeck yesterday forenoon. She was 99 years old on the 24th of last May. She was the oldest person living in Grundy county and had for many years been a resident of Reinbeck. She is an aunt of Mrs. F. U. Callaway and the Misses Dalgliesh of Grundy Center. Funeral arrangements had not been made when The Register went to press.

--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 31 July 1941, pg 12

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

Funeral Services For Oldest Grundy Woman At Reinbeck Friday

Funeral services for Mrs. Agnes Gardiner, oldest person in the county, were held in Reinbeck on Friday afternoon and services were at the Reinbeck Presbyterian church with the local pastor, Rev. Fred Sharpe, in charge. Burial was in the Reinbeck cemetery.

Was 99 Years Old
Agnes Swan was born May 24, 1842, at Ayr, Ontario, Canada. On Feb. 24, 1871, she was married to Walter Gardiner at Blantford, Ontario. They lived on a farm there. Mr. Gardiner died in 1895, and in the year 1896 Mrs. Gardiner with her family of four sons and three daughters came to Reinbeck, and settled on a half section farm just north of town, belonging to her brother, the late George Swan. She remained on the farm here until 1904, when with her daughters she came to Reinbeck to live, which place has since been her home. The sons remained on the farm.

Mrs. Gardiner was the mother of seven children. One son, Walter, died Oct. 17, 1938. Three sons and three daughters survive: William and James Gardiner, Cedar Falls, Iowa; Rev. Fletcher Gardiner, Canton, Ontario, Canada; Margaret, Bethanna and Agnes Gardiner at home. There are also 5 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

She saw much of the early day pioneer frontier life in Canada. She recalled to her family of the time when the only light the family used in the home was tallow in a saucer with a wick therein.

Mrs. Gardiner became a charter member of the United Presbyterian church at Reinbeck when it was organized in 1898, and was consistent in her attendance to all services until recent years when her hearing failed. She retained her mental faculties to a remarkable degree down thru the years.

Taken ill on New Year's eve, she has been confined to her room since that time, but able to be up daily. She was of a retiring disposition, and her life was one of devotion to her family. She is the last of her family, being preceded by one brother and two sisters and her parents.

--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 7 August 1941, pg 11