Abraham Brookins Gardner (September 2, 1819 – November 23, 1881) was a Vermont attorney and businessman who served as the 25th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1865 to 1867.
Early life and business career Abraham Brookins Gardner was born in Pownal, Vermont, on September 2, 1819.One Thousand men, published by Vermont Historical Society, 1915, page 236 He was the son of David and Eunice (Wright) Gardner. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Union College in 1842, where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. Gardner then studied law and became an attorney and business owner in Bennington, Vermont, including serving as President of the Eagle Square Manufacturing Company and the Bennington and Rutland Railroad.Centennial Catalog: New York Alpha of the Phi Beta Kappa, Union College, published by the college, 1922, page 38The Delta Upsilon Quinquennial Catalogue, published by the fraternity, 1884, page 195Gazetteer and Business Directory of Rutland County, Vt., for 1881–82, by Hamilton Child, 1882, page 44Historical Note, Eagle Square Manufacturing Company Records, Special Collections, Bailey/Howe Library, University of Vermont. Retrieved January 2, 2012
Political career A Republican, he was Register of Probate for the Bennington District from 1848 to 1857, State's Attorney from 1855 to 1857, and Vermont's Banking Commissioner from 1859 to 1860.The Massachusetts Register, published by George Adams, Boston, page 217Biographical Encyclopaedia of Vermont of the Nineteenth Century, published by Metropolitan Publishing and Engraving, Boston, pages 187 to 190
From 1860 to 1865 Gardner served in the Vermont House of Representatives, and he was Speaker from 1863 to 1865.List of Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives, published by Vermont Legislature, 2009Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1863, page 13
He was Lieutenant Governor from 1865 to 1867, and also served as a member of the Republican National Committee.History and Genealogy of the Jewetts of America, by Frederic Clarke Jewett, Volume 2, 1887, pages 738 to 739, published by Vermont Secretary of State, State Archives and Records Administration, 2011, page 11Proceedings of the First Three Republican National Conventions of 1856, 1860 and 1864, published by Charles W. Johnson, Minneapolis, 1893, page 242
Later life Gardner served in the Vermont Senate from 1870 to 1872, and in 1872 was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor as the fusion candidate of Democrats and Liberal Republican backers of Horace Greeley for President. Later in the 1870s he served as a member of the Bennington Battle Monument Commission.The Star That Set: The Vermont Republican Party, 1854–1974, by Samuel B. Hand, 2003, page 41Record, History, and Description of the Bennington Battle Monument, published by C. A. Pierce, Bennington, 1887, page 12
Death and burial Gardner died in Bennington on November 23, 1881.Necrology entry, Abraham B. Gardner, 1882 Annual Meeting Report, American Bar Association, 1883, page 164 He was buried in Old Bennington Cemetery.Bennington, Vermont Cemetery Inscriptions, Lynne M. Cassano, 1999. Retrieved January 2, 2012
Other His first name sometimes appears in records as Abram and his middle name is sometimes written as "Brooks" or "Brookings". Several of Gardner's relatives shared the Abraham B. Gardner name, including one who lived from January 6, 1858, to January 2, 1914, and was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives.Men of Vermont: An Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of Vermont, compiled by Jacob G. Ullery, 1894, pages 153 to 154Vermont Death Records, 1909–2008, Record for Abraham B. Gardner (1858–1914). Retrieved January 2, 2012
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