Mills Gardner was an attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

.

Mills Gardner was born in Russellville, Ohio

Russellville, Ohio

Russellville is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States. The population was 453 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Russellville is located at ....

, the son of Seth Gardner, a captain in the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. He attended the public schools of Highland County, Ohio

Highland County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,875 people, 15,587 households, and 11,394 families residing in the county. The population density was 74 people per square mile . There were 17,583 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...

 and Rankins academy at Ripley, Ohio

Ripley, Ohio

Ripley is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River 50 miles southeast of Cincinnati. The population was 1,745 at the 2000 census.-History:...

. He clerked in a dry goods store for some years while reading the law with his uncle Judge Nelson Barrere

Nelson Barrere

Nelson Barrere was a U.S. Representative from Ohio, uncle of Granville Barrere.Born in New Market, near Hillsboro, Ohio, Barrere attended the common schools, and Hillsboro High School in 1827....

 of Hillsboro, Ohio

Hillsboro, Ohio

Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Highland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,605 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hillsboro is located at ....

 who was the last Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 candidate for governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of Ohio. He relocated to Fayette County, Ohio

Fayette County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,433 people, 11,054 households, and 7,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were 11,904 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

 in 1854 and was admitted to the bar in 1855, locating at Washington Court House, Ohio

Washington Court House, Ohio

Washington Court House is a city in Fayette County, Ohio, United States. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located approximately halfway between Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. The population was 14,192 in 2010 at the 2010 census...

 where he built up a large practice. He was prosecuting attorney of Fayette county for two terms (1855-1859).

Gardner was an original Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, casting his first vote for John C. Fremont

John C. Frémont

John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...

 in 1856 and for every nominee of the Republican party for president after that until his death. He was elected on the Republican ticket to the Ohio Senate

Ohio Senate

The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...

 in 1861. In the re-election of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 in 1864, Gardner was a presidential elector for Ohio.

During the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, when the life of the Republican party and nation was at stake, Mills Gardner took an active and prominent part in the rallying public opinion in behalf of the Union, and in exposing the opponents of the national administration, in particular Clement Vallandigham

Clement Vallandigham

Clement Laird Vallandigham was an Ohio resident of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives.-Biography:...

.

In 1865, Mills Gardner was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives

Ohio House of Representatives

The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

. In 1872 he was elected a member of the Ohio constitutional convention

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

.

He was elected to the Forty-fifth congress in 1876 from Ohio’s Third district. He declined renomination in 1878 for a second term.

Mills Gardner resumed the practice of law until his death at Washington Court House. He is interred there in Washington Cemetery.

Sources

• Taylor, William A. Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901. Columbus, Ohio: The XX Century Publishing Company, 1901.
• History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1898, 1579 pgs.