WM. GARDNER
William Gardner was among the earliest settlers of Edna township, settling there in 1855, and ranks among the first settlers of the county. He had many trials and hardships to contend with, as in fact they all had. He built one of the first (if not the first) bridges across the Nodaway and built it entirely at his own expense. He hauled his first corn and other supplies from Missouri, sometimes making trips in the most inclement weather. Mr. Gardner frequently served his township as justice of the peace, clerk, etc. In a later year he sold his farm in Edna and bought another in Atlantic township, in Turkey Grove, being the place now owned by Dr. Bruington. In 1871 Mr. Gardner was elected county auditor, and was twice re-elected. He was born near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the year 1829.
Contributed by Lisa Varnes-Rex from "History of Cass County, Iowa. Together With Sketches of its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Citizens." Springfield, Ill.: Continental Historical Company, 1884, pg. 254.
