Matt and Henrietta Gardner – Heroes of Integrity

Matt Gardner was born into slavery in 1847, and freed in 1865.

By 1896 he had become a successful farmer, merchant, and community leader in Elkton.

He financed and helped build the public schools for Black youth in Giles County. 

He was also an esteemed minister for several congregations in the area.

While helping  raise eleven children, he made his 106 acre farm prosper, for which he was awarded the Governor’s Award for Farming.

See also: The Baptism

Henrietta Gardner lived from 1850 to 1940, living her entire life in and around Elkton. She was born in slavery to Amanda (Brown) Holt and a white plantation owner.

 In 1877,  she married Matt Gardner and became the good woman behind that great man and the mother of their eleven children.  She was a great cook and a great quilt maker.

Her home was more than a dwelling; it became a shrine.  All races were welcome there. 

Some went for inspiration, others for information; some went to be fed, and all benefited from having encountered Matt and Henrietta Gardner.

Matt and Henrietta received an award from Governor of Tennessee for their successful farm, one of the few African American farms to flourish to such a degree during the Jim Crow period of the American South. The Gardners were able to provide for of their 11 children as well as many neighbors from the bounty of their farm.

Matt is shown holding a bible, although he could not read. However he memorized a good portion on his own and served as a minister. The schools established by Matt Gardner made it possible for black children of Middle Tennessee to learn to read.