William Thomas Garner

 Civic Leader in the City of Madison

Nickname:W. T.
Born:February 14, 1830, Alabama
Died:June 2, 1905, Madison County, Alabama
Buried:Madison Cemetery, Madison, Alabama

Notes:

•  Son of John K. & Ruth Garner both originally from Virginia. - Ancestry.com

•  Married:
     1.) Adeline Flippen in Madison County in 1854.
     2.) Laura J. Douglass in 1870 (mother of his two children) - Vintage Vignette

•  Father of:
     William T. Garner, Jr. (1872 -1902 ) He died four years before his father. "Junior apparently had married before his passing, because the 1906 probate records of W. T. Garner Senior include a sheet that shows a daughter-in-law with the name Lucy M. Garner of Athens lined out in the list of heirs."
     Kate Garner (1876-) Katie married Walter Pride - Vintage Vignette

•  He ran a general store in Madison. - Vintage Vignette

•  Confederate Soldier - Rankin

•  W. T. Garner was a Councilmen for the City of Madison from 1882-1896. - Record II

•  Court of County Commissioners (Commissioners Court) 1884 - 1886, 1886 - 1888, 1888 - 1892. - Record I

•  "The county, in January 1886, was divided into four commissioners district. W. T. Garner became the commissioner for District 4. The concept was for individual commissioners to devote more time to the particular problems of the district for which they were directly responsible. They collectively had to devote time to items of countywide interest, such as ownership and operation of the county poorhouse, now located near New Market, consisting of eight one-story log cabins, a mess hall and a caretakers house, built in 1870, on land acquired from Joseph Rice the same year." - Record II

•  W.T. Garner played an important role in forming an educational institution in the City of Madison. This is what is said about that earlier initiative: "W.T. Garner, Thomas B. Hopkins, John B. Floyd, James B. Hopkins, J.A. Humphrey and others presented to the courts their written declaration, representing and stating that they have formed themselves into a body corporate for the purpose of education and improvement of the children of said town of Madison, in the County, and for the creation of an institution known as the 'Madison Male and Female Academy Association', to be used solely for school purposes with a capital stock of Eight Hundred and Seventy Five Dollars ($875.00), divided in 36 shares at 250 per share. That said corporation now owns Lots 20 and 21 in the plat in the N.E. 1/4 of Section 17, T-4, R-2 W in the town of Madison; That on the 14th day of July 1885, said stock holders met in said town of Madison and elected the following trustees to wit: W.T. Garner, S. Doolittle, J.W. Burton, W.A. Russell, and G.W. Wise, to serve for the term of one year from that date: It is therefore ordered by the court that said Report be filed and received and a copy thereof duly certified according to law, and that said parties be duly incorporated under S 1994 of the code of 1876, it appearing that they have adopted rules and regulations for their control and management, and are fully organized according to law." - Heritage


Related Links:

•  Ancestry.com - Page owned by Kat Weddle and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/3972241/person/6964622355.)

•  Find A Grave - Page created by Jason Presley and additional photo of the tombstone by Fanniesyouraunt

•  Heritage - The Heritage of Madison County, Alabama, by The Madison County Heritage Book Committee, John P. Rankin, Chairman, page 33.

•  Rankin - Memories of Madison: A Connected Community, 1857-2007, by John Patrick Rankin, 2007, pages 100 and 122.

•  Record I - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume I, by James Record, 1970 page 159.

•  Record II - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, pages 62 and 465.

•  Vintage Vignette - Vintage Vignette by John P. Rankin


The Following Pages Link to this Page:
•  Rankin
•  Record I
•  Record II
•  Vintage Vignette