Lena Garth
Active in Business and Politics
Notes:
• Daughter of Horace Everett and Alice Dashiell (Jones) Garth. Lena's father was president of the Mechanics Bank of New York City. - Find A Grave
• "Lena Garth married a cousin, Winston Fearn Garth, at the residence of her father in New York City about April 1883 (they returned home to Huntsville the Friday before the "Huntsville Weekly Democrat" of April 25, 1883 announced their marriage). Winston Fearn Garth was the son of Col. William Willis Garth." - Find A Grave
• Mother of:
1.) William Willis Garth, born in Huntsville Feb 24, 1884, lived in Huntsville, AL.
2.) Alice Dashiell Garth, born in Huntsville, Feb. 10, 1887 and died in 1985. She married George Castleman Estill they lived in Miami FL.
3.) Maria Fearn Garth Inge, born in Huntsville, July 5, 1890, AL, married Francis Marion Inge, MD. They lived in Mobile, AL.
4.) Horace Everett Garth, born Nov. 29, 1905 and died March 2, 1920. - Ancestry.com
• At one time, she owned the Elks Theatre building and lot in Huntsville, having purchased it via public auction in 1913 - Find A Grave
• Lena Garth bought the Monte Sano Hotel in the early 1900s. The hotel had been closed and she renovated the mail hall and bedrooms. She used it as a summer house to escape the heat in Huntsville. - Marshall
• "She was active in the Twickenham Town Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and founded several local garden clubs." - Reeves
• 1921:"Local women convinced the city council that something had to be done about the appearance of Maple Hill Cemetery. The city responded by turning over the cemetery to a Cemetery Commission composed of Mrs. L. D. Mays, Mrs. A.W. White, Mrs. W. F. Garth, Joe J. Bradley and R. E. Spragins. Trustees Oscar Goldsmith, J. P. Cooney and Robert Murphy were appointed." - Eden
• 1924: The first garden club was founded by Mrs. W. F. Garth. - Eden
• February 4, 1937: "County Commissioners purchased the Elks Building for $20,000 from Mrs. W. F. Garth." - Eden
• Board for the Farmers Market, starting in 1927. - Record I
• "Huntsville and Madison County became staunch supporters of America's effort in the war (WWI). The first local chapter of the American Red Cross, headed by Ed Johnston, set up in the Elks building in May, 1917. The Red Cross, founded nationally by Clara Barton in 1905, was formed locally at the urging of Mrs. T. W. Pratt and Mrs. W. F. Garth, particularly." - Record II
• Mrs. W. F. Garth won the Acme Best Citizen Award (the silver loving cup.) - Record II
• Library Board 1917 - 1921. - Record II
• Reeves tells the story of Lena's brother and his disappearance. After her brother disappeared, her aging parents moved to Huntsville. - Reeves
• Decatur Daily Obituary (from Huntsville AP), Monday, January 21, 1938:
MRS. LENA GARTH DIES IN HOSPITAL
"Mrs. Lena Fearn Garth, widow of Winston F. Garth, former state senator and for years one of the most prominent figures in this section of the state, died at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore last night.
She was 77 years old.
The body will arrive here tonight.
Funeral services will be held here Wednesday afternoon.
Mrs. Garth, active in civic affairs, was especially noted for her interest in Garden Club work, being instrumental in the founding of two organizations in Huntsville.
Her survivors include two daughters, Mrs. G. C. Estill, of Miami, Fla. and Mrs. F. Marion Inge of Mobile; a son, W. W. Garth of this city; three grandsons and two granddaughters." - Find A Grave
• "Piedmont, the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Garth, was gay with lights the night of February 24, 1897. Carriages wound up the long driveway to the block at the front steps, deposited their occupants and drove around the circle to the rock on the side. Mr. and Mrs. Garth received the guests in the library. Punch, highly spiked, was served in the hall. Tables were set in the parlor and dining room. The guests wandered from room to room commenting on the beauty and charm of the hostess and the graciousness of the host. They were a couple to admire.
Mrs. Garth was a stately blonde, a Vassar graduate, a hostess whose every thought was for the comfort of her guests. No one in Huntsville had a better command of English or a keener sense of humor. Many persons, however, looked only at her dignified mien and noting the high standard which she held for all work, and behavior, considered her haughty. She required rigid observance of etiquette from her children and from those who served her. She required perfection in cleanliness in all who worked in the house, in the yard or in her garden. Sometimes she had great difficulty in training her servants to her standards.
On one occasion, for instance, she was entertaining guests at dinner when her maid, Rosetta, had been out of the cotton field only a few days. Everything went smoothly until the salad was served. Mrs. Garth then said, 'Rosetta, you have forgotten the salad oil. Go and get it.' Rosetta was gone about fifteen minutes when the door to the butler's pantry flew open and there she stood with an old rusty coal oil can on her silver waiter. Before Mrs. Garth recovered from her astonishment, Rosetta said, 'Miss Lena, you'll hav' ter 'scuse me fer bein' so long, but I had to search all ober de cellar fer dis here thing.' Mrs. Garth met such situations with resignation. She taught all who worked for her in the most patient spirit. She said she learned from them. She had an affectionate nature. Her adherence to duty was a noble trait and she devoted her life to her invalid father, her children, her husband, and her mother.
Mr. Garth was a man who loved his friends and hated his enemies. No doubt ever remained as to which category one fell into with him but both friends and enemies considered him the soul of honor. Men frequently said of him, 'His word is his bond.' He kept it even to his own hurt. He would have died for his friends or for a principle. One day a friend said, 'Mr. Garth, I believe you would help a friend even if you knew he was wrong.' 'Yes, I would,' he said. 'I would help him and then tell him what I thought of him. '
He had one of the largest trotting-horse farms in the South. His entries frequently won large purses but he neither bet on them nor on any other horse. Mr. Paul McNichol of East Liverpool, Ohio, once told this writer that he met Mr. Garth at Louisville for the first time. There he was pointed out as being a horseman who never bet. The race was sufficient in itself to him.
He was very emphatic in his speech. He told a story on himself which showed he was a good sport. When Horace, his younger son was a 'two year older',' as he put it, he heard him using profane language. Calling Rosetta to him (she had become a nurse then) he said, 'Rosetta, I want you to warn the men in the kitchen about using profane language around Horace. He is using it.' 'He don' hear it inder kitchen, Mr. Wins,' Rosetta replied, looking straight at him.
He was a graduate of Sewanee and a son of Colonel W. W. Garth and Maria Fearn Garth. Loyalty was his by both education and birth. He formed and maintained his stables as a gentleman. As a little boy he lost one eye with a pop gun; the other was gray framed in dark lashes. He wore a mustache and chewed tobacco, and smoked a pipe and cigars. He was always against prohibition in any form. He opposed the dispensary but acknowledged that Huntsville was better under it. He said that the United States never fought a just war until 1918. He opposed Woman's Suffrage and automobiles (for himself). He was an excellent conversationalist and public speaker. He had always been an active Democrat and had been honored by the Party as a delegate to conventions, county organizer, State speaker, State Senator and committeeman on the National Committee. He was a genial host, a loyal friend and an implacable enemy.
George Cooper tells a story about an experience he had with him one night. Alice, Mr. Garth's older daughter, had a visitor, Mary Farrish, whom George liked. There was to be a dance at the Twickenham Hotel so George and a friend of his from out of town asked Alice and Mary to go to the dance with them. They accepted. George and Mr. Talliche, the friend, went out for the girls in separate carriages. Everything went well until Mr. Garth accompanied the young people to the steps. When he saw the two vehicles he said, 'Do you intend to go in separate carriages?' 'Of course,' said Mr. Talliache. 'Good,' said Mr. Garth. 'You gentlemen get in the back carriage and the girls in the front one.' George meekly obeyed. When they were out of the front gate Mr. Talliche said, 'Now we can change.' 'Change if you want to,' said George, 'but little George sits just where he was put. Mr. Garth doesn't stand any foolishness.'" - Chapman
Related Links:
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Chapman
• Eden
• Horace Everett Garth (1837)
• Record I
• Record II
• Winston Fearn Garth
| Born: | October 19, 1860, Memphis, Tennessee |
| Died: | January 30, 1938, Baltimore, MD |
| Buried: | Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama |
| Daughter of: | Horace Everett Garth (1837) |
| Wife of: | Winston Fearn Garth |
Notes:
• Daughter of Horace Everett and Alice Dashiell (Jones) Garth. Lena's father was president of the Mechanics Bank of New York City. - Find A Grave
• "Lena Garth married a cousin, Winston Fearn Garth, at the residence of her father in New York City about April 1883 (they returned home to Huntsville the Friday before the "Huntsville Weekly Democrat" of April 25, 1883 announced their marriage). Winston Fearn Garth was the son of Col. William Willis Garth." - Find A Grave
• Mother of:
1.) William Willis Garth, born in Huntsville Feb 24, 1884, lived in Huntsville, AL.
2.) Alice Dashiell Garth, born in Huntsville, Feb. 10, 1887 and died in 1985. She married George Castleman Estill they lived in Miami FL.
3.) Maria Fearn Garth Inge, born in Huntsville, July 5, 1890, AL, married Francis Marion Inge, MD. They lived in Mobile, AL.
4.) Horace Everett Garth, born Nov. 29, 1905 and died March 2, 1920. - Ancestry.com
• At one time, she owned the Elks Theatre building and lot in Huntsville, having purchased it via public auction in 1913 - Find A Grave
• Lena Garth bought the Monte Sano Hotel in the early 1900s. The hotel had been closed and she renovated the mail hall and bedrooms. She used it as a summer house to escape the heat in Huntsville. - Marshall
• "She was active in the Twickenham Town Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and founded several local garden clubs." - Reeves
• 1921:"Local women convinced the city council that something had to be done about the appearance of Maple Hill Cemetery. The city responded by turning over the cemetery to a Cemetery Commission composed of Mrs. L. D. Mays, Mrs. A.W. White, Mrs. W. F. Garth, Joe J. Bradley and R. E. Spragins. Trustees Oscar Goldsmith, J. P. Cooney and Robert Murphy were appointed." - Eden
• 1924: The first garden club was founded by Mrs. W. F. Garth. - Eden
• February 4, 1937: "County Commissioners purchased the Elks Building for $20,000 from Mrs. W. F. Garth." - Eden
• Board for the Farmers Market, starting in 1927. - Record I
• "Huntsville and Madison County became staunch supporters of America's effort in the war (WWI). The first local chapter of the American Red Cross, headed by Ed Johnston, set up in the Elks building in May, 1917. The Red Cross, founded nationally by Clara Barton in 1905, was formed locally at the urging of Mrs. T. W. Pratt and Mrs. W. F. Garth, particularly." - Record II
• Mrs. W. F. Garth won the Acme Best Citizen Award (the silver loving cup.) - Record II
• Library Board 1917 - 1921. - Record II
• Reeves tells the story of Lena's brother and his disappearance. After her brother disappeared, her aging parents moved to Huntsville. - Reeves
• Decatur Daily Obituary (from Huntsville AP), Monday, January 21, 1938:
MRS. LENA GARTH DIES IN HOSPITAL
"Mrs. Lena Fearn Garth, widow of Winston F. Garth, former state senator and for years one of the most prominent figures in this section of the state, died at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore last night.
She was 77 years old.
The body will arrive here tonight.
Funeral services will be held here Wednesday afternoon.
Mrs. Garth, active in civic affairs, was especially noted for her interest in Garden Club work, being instrumental in the founding of two organizations in Huntsville.
Her survivors include two daughters, Mrs. G. C. Estill, of Miami, Fla. and Mrs. F. Marion Inge of Mobile; a son, W. W. Garth of this city; three grandsons and two granddaughters." - Find A Grave
• "Piedmont, the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Garth, was gay with lights the night of February 24, 1897. Carriages wound up the long driveway to the block at the front steps, deposited their occupants and drove around the circle to the rock on the side. Mr. and Mrs. Garth received the guests in the library. Punch, highly spiked, was served in the hall. Tables were set in the parlor and dining room. The guests wandered from room to room commenting on the beauty and charm of the hostess and the graciousness of the host. They were a couple to admire.
Mrs. Garth was a stately blonde, a Vassar graduate, a hostess whose every thought was for the comfort of her guests. No one in Huntsville had a better command of English or a keener sense of humor. Many persons, however, looked only at her dignified mien and noting the high standard which she held for all work, and behavior, considered her haughty. She required rigid observance of etiquette from her children and from those who served her. She required perfection in cleanliness in all who worked in the house, in the yard or in her garden. Sometimes she had great difficulty in training her servants to her standards.
On one occasion, for instance, she was entertaining guests at dinner when her maid, Rosetta, had been out of the cotton field only a few days. Everything went smoothly until the salad was served. Mrs. Garth then said, 'Rosetta, you have forgotten the salad oil. Go and get it.' Rosetta was gone about fifteen minutes when the door to the butler's pantry flew open and there she stood with an old rusty coal oil can on her silver waiter. Before Mrs. Garth recovered from her astonishment, Rosetta said, 'Miss Lena, you'll hav' ter 'scuse me fer bein' so long, but I had to search all ober de cellar fer dis here thing.' Mrs. Garth met such situations with resignation. She taught all who worked for her in the most patient spirit. She said she learned from them. She had an affectionate nature. Her adherence to duty was a noble trait and she devoted her life to her invalid father, her children, her husband, and her mother.
Mr. Garth was a man who loved his friends and hated his enemies. No doubt ever remained as to which category one fell into with him but both friends and enemies considered him the soul of honor. Men frequently said of him, 'His word is his bond.' He kept it even to his own hurt. He would have died for his friends or for a principle. One day a friend said, 'Mr. Garth, I believe you would help a friend even if you knew he was wrong.' 'Yes, I would,' he said. 'I would help him and then tell him what I thought of him. '
He had one of the largest trotting-horse farms in the South. His entries frequently won large purses but he neither bet on them nor on any other horse. Mr. Paul McNichol of East Liverpool, Ohio, once told this writer that he met Mr. Garth at Louisville for the first time. There he was pointed out as being a horseman who never bet. The race was sufficient in itself to him.
He was very emphatic in his speech. He told a story on himself which showed he was a good sport. When Horace, his younger son was a 'two year older',' as he put it, he heard him using profane language. Calling Rosetta to him (she had become a nurse then) he said, 'Rosetta, I want you to warn the men in the kitchen about using profane language around Horace. He is using it.' 'He don' hear it inder kitchen, Mr. Wins,' Rosetta replied, looking straight at him.
He was a graduate of Sewanee and a son of Colonel W. W. Garth and Maria Fearn Garth. Loyalty was his by both education and birth. He formed and maintained his stables as a gentleman. As a little boy he lost one eye with a pop gun; the other was gray framed in dark lashes. He wore a mustache and chewed tobacco, and smoked a pipe and cigars. He was always against prohibition in any form. He opposed the dispensary but acknowledged that Huntsville was better under it. He said that the United States never fought a just war until 1918. He opposed Woman's Suffrage and automobiles (for himself). He was an excellent conversationalist and public speaker. He had always been an active Democrat and had been honored by the Party as a delegate to conventions, county organizer, State speaker, State Senator and committeeman on the National Committee. He was a genial host, a loyal friend and an implacable enemy.
George Cooper tells a story about an experience he had with him one night. Alice, Mr. Garth's older daughter, had a visitor, Mary Farrish, whom George liked. There was to be a dance at the Twickenham Hotel so George and a friend of his from out of town asked Alice and Mary to go to the dance with them. They accepted. George and Mr. Talliche, the friend, went out for the girls in separate carriages. Everything went well until Mr. Garth accompanied the young people to the steps. When he saw the two vehicles he said, 'Do you intend to go in separate carriages?' 'Of course,' said Mr. Talliache. 'Good,' said Mr. Garth. 'You gentlemen get in the back carriage and the girls in the front one.' George meekly obeyed. When they were out of the front gate Mr. Talliche said, 'Now we can change.' 'Change if you want to,' said George, 'but little George sits just where he was put. Mr. Garth doesn't stand any foolishness.'" - Chapman
Related Links:
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by MargaretFrancis86 and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/16690020/person/20475677245.)
• Chapman - Changing Huntsville 1890-1899, by Elizabeth Humes Chapman, 1989 (originally written in 1932), pages 59-61.
• Eden - Eden of the South: A Chronology of Huntsville, Alabama, 1805-2005, by Raneé G. Pruitt, Editor, 2005, pages 139, 141.
• Find A Grave - Biographical and Genealogical information included.
• Marshall - Article titled "Some possessions of a prominent Huntsvillian to be up for auction in Pensacola" by Mike Marshall, The Huntsville Times.
• 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 249.
• 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 167, 216.
• Reeves - Hidden History of North Alabama, by Jacquelyn Procter Reeves, 2010, pages 95 - 102.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Chapman
• Eden
• Horace Everett Garth (1837)
• Record I
• Record II
• Winston Fearn Garth