Carrie Gardner arrived as the first of the nine children of Eliza Murphy and Henry Bunting Gardner, born in the original family log cabin on 20 Nov 1875.
Sometime after finishing her basic schooling and passing a competency exam, she taught for a few years at Reeves School, where all the Gardners received their first education.
She suffered from a sort of melancholy that became more evident after her father refused to let her see a love interest he disliked for some unknown reason. Carrie reacted by retiring, even more, into herself. The rest of the family was quite worried. Then one lovely spring day she came out of her room and told her mother that she planned to walk to a millinery shop in Pinckney and, perhaps, buy a new trim for her hat. Her mother was so happy to see this improvement; she thought the worst of the depression was over, and everyone in the family felt relieved. Her brother, Glen, remembered waving goodbye to Carrie from the yard. He lingered, he said, and watched her until she disappeared from view. In retrospect, he realized that he had had an ominous feeling that day.
Instead of going to the hat shop, Carrie walked to the millpond in Pinckney and jumped off Nash's Bridge to drown herself. She was seen doing this by Dr. J.F. Milne and Miss Carrie Erwin (as described in the attached Pinckney Dispatch article), both of whom raced to the scene in an attempt to save Carrie. The doctor tried to resuscitate her, while Miss Erwin took the horse to the farm to alert the family. Brother Glen was still outside in the yard when Carrie Erwin brought the alarming news. He was the one who raced to the barn to hitch up the horse and buggy for his parents. Regrettably, Dr. Milne was unsuccessful in his attempts to save her. Her parents were present when she died.
Carrie died on May 11, 1900, age 24 years, 5 months, 21 days. A large drooping apple tree stood in the family yard which was in beautiful full bloom the day of her funeral. Spring was never the same again for Carrie's mother; blossom time only reminded her of that terrible loss.
Pinckney Dispatch dated 6-8-1899:
"School Picnic.
The banner picnic of the season was held on the beautiful lawn of H.B. Gardner on Friday last. Miss Carrie Gardner, teacher in district #3 invited her pupils to come to her pleasant home and enjoy the closing afternoon of the spring term.
There were about 30 present who enjoyed games for a couple of hours then were invited into the commodious rooms where music and recitations were rendered in a pleasing manner, after which a banquet was spread on the lawn and all partook of the bounteous supply that delights the eye and satisfies the appetite.
After enjoying themselves until sundown, they returned to their homes a jolly lot of little ones with their motto from Carrie, 'Success Depends on Individual Effort.'"
Carrie's legacy is that she was much loved by her parents, brothers and sisters, students and friends. Visit her sometime in Pinckney Cemetery. She was very precious to a lot of people.
*****
Carrie was my grandpa Glen Gardner's oldest sister. My Grandma Gardner wouldn't allow me to ask Grandpa about the details of Carrie's death because she had seen, the only time ever, Grandpa cry when he was telling a friend about her suicide, and Grandma didn't want that to happen to him again.
The two Gardner children who partially appear in this photo of Carrie are her siblings who grew up to be Dr. Cyrus B. Gardner, and Grace Gardner Love Runciman.
(The original photograph is a tin-type.)
Sometime after finishing her basic schooling and passing a competency exam, she taught for a few years at Reeves School, where all the Gardners received their first education.
She suffered from a sort of melancholy that became more evident after her father refused to let her see a love interest he disliked for some unknown reason. Carrie reacted by retiring, even more, into herself. The rest of the family was quite worried. Then one lovely spring day she came out of her room and told her mother that she planned to walk to a millinery shop in Pinckney and, perhaps, buy a new trim for her hat. Her mother was so happy to see this improvement; she thought the worst of the depression was over, and everyone in the family felt relieved. Her brother, Glen, remembered waving goodbye to Carrie from the yard. He lingered, he said, and watched her until she disappeared from view. In retrospect, he realized that he had had an ominous feeling that day.
Instead of going to the hat shop, Carrie walked to the millpond in Pinckney and jumped off Nash's Bridge to drown herself. She was seen doing this by Dr. J.F. Milne and Miss Carrie Erwin (as described in the attached Pinckney Dispatch article), both of whom raced to the scene in an attempt to save Carrie. The doctor tried to resuscitate her, while Miss Erwin took the horse to the farm to alert the family. Brother Glen was still outside in the yard when Carrie Erwin brought the alarming news. He was the one who raced to the barn to hitch up the horse and buggy for his parents. Regrettably, Dr. Milne was unsuccessful in his attempts to save her. Her parents were present when she died.
Carrie died on May 11, 1900, age 24 years, 5 months, 21 days. A large drooping apple tree stood in the family yard which was in beautiful full bloom the day of her funeral. Spring was never the same again for Carrie's mother; blossom time only reminded her of that terrible loss.
Pinckney Dispatch dated 6-8-1899:
"School Picnic.
The banner picnic of the season was held on the beautiful lawn of H.B. Gardner on Friday last. Miss Carrie Gardner, teacher in district #3 invited her pupils to come to her pleasant home and enjoy the closing afternoon of the spring term.
There were about 30 present who enjoyed games for a couple of hours then were invited into the commodious rooms where music and recitations were rendered in a pleasing manner, after which a banquet was spread on the lawn and all partook of the bounteous supply that delights the eye and satisfies the appetite.
After enjoying themselves until sundown, they returned to their homes a jolly lot of little ones with their motto from Carrie, 'Success Depends on Individual Effort.'"
Carrie's legacy is that she was much loved by her parents, brothers and sisters, students and friends. Visit her sometime in Pinckney Cemetery. She was very precious to a lot of people.
*****
Carrie was my grandpa Glen Gardner's oldest sister. My Grandma Gardner wouldn't allow me to ask Grandpa about the details of Carrie's death because she had seen, the only time ever, Grandpa cry when he was telling a friend about her suicide, and Grandma didn't want that to happen to him again.
The two Gardner children who partially appear in this photo of Carrie are her siblings who grew up to be Dr. Cyrus B. Gardner, and Grace Gardner Love Runciman.
(The original photograph is a tin-type.)
Carrie Gardner arrived as the first of the nine children of Eliza Murphy and Henry Bunting Gardner, born in the original family log cabin on 20 Nov 1875.
Sometime after finishing her basic schooling and passing a competency exam, she taught for a few years at Reeves School, where all the Gardners received their first education.
She suffered from a sort of melancholy that became more evident after her father refused to let her see a love interest he disliked for some unknown reason. Carrie reacted by retiring, even more, into herself. The rest of the family was quite worried. Then one lovely spring day she came out of her room and told her mother that she planned to walk to a millinery shop in Pinckney and, perhaps, buy a new trim for her hat. Her mother was so happy to see this improvement; she thought the worst of the depression was over, and everyone in the family felt relieved. Her brother, Glen, remembered waving goodbye to Carrie from the yard. He lingered, he said, and watched her until she disappeared from view. In retrospect, he realized that he had had an ominous feeling that day.
Instead of going to the hat shop, Carrie walked to the millpond in Pinckney and jumped off Nash's Bridge to drown herself. She was seen doing this by Dr. J.F. Milne and Miss Carrie Erwin (as described in the attached Pinckney Dispatch article), both of whom raced to the scene in an attempt to save Carrie. The doctor tried to resuscitate her, while Miss Erwin took the horse to the farm to alert the family. Brother Glen was still outside in the yard when Carrie Erwin brought the alarming news. He was the one who raced to the barn to hitch up the horse and buggy for his parents. Regrettably, Dr. Milne was unsuccessful in his attempts to save her. Her parents were present when she died.
Carrie died on May 11, 1900, age 24 years, 5 months, 21 days. A large drooping apple tree stood in the family yard which was in beautiful full bloom the day of her funeral. Spring was never the same again for Carrie's mother; blossom time only reminded her of that terrible loss.
Pinckney Dispatch dated 6-8-1899:
"School Picnic.
The banner picnic of the season was held on the beautiful lawn of H.B. Gardner on Friday last. Miss Carrie Gardner, teacher in district #3 invited her pupils to come to her pleasant home and enjoy the closing afternoon of the spring term.
There were about 30 present who enjoyed games for a couple of hours then were invited into the commodious rooms where music and recitations were rendered in a pleasing manner, after which a banquet was spread on the lawn and all partook of the bounteous supply that delights the eye and satisfies the appetite.
After enjoying themselves until sundown, they returned to their homes a jolly lot of little ones with their motto from Carrie, 'Success Depends on Individual Effort.'"
Carrie's legacy is that she was much loved by her parents, brothers and sisters, students and friends. Visit her sometime in Pinckney Cemetery. She was very precious to a lot of people.
*****
Carrie was my grandpa Glen Gardner's oldest sister. My Grandma Gardner wouldn't allow me to ask Grandpa about the details of Carrie's death because she had seen, the only time ever, Grandpa cry when he was telling a friend about her suicide, and Grandma didn't want that to happen to him again.
The two Gardner children who partially appear in this photo of Carrie are her siblings who grew up to be Dr. Cyrus B. Gardner, and Grace Gardner Love Runciman.
(The original photograph is a tin-type.)
Sometime after finishing her basic schooling and passing a competency exam, she taught for a few years at Reeves School, where all the Gardners received their first education.
She suffered from a sort of melancholy that became more evident after her father refused to let her see a love interest he disliked for some unknown reason. Carrie reacted by retiring, even more, into herself. The rest of the family was quite worried. Then one lovely spring day she came out of her room and told her mother that she planned to walk to a millinery shop in Pinckney and, perhaps, buy a new trim for her hat. Her mother was so happy to see this improvement; she thought the worst of the depression was over, and everyone in the family felt relieved. Her brother, Glen, remembered waving goodbye to Carrie from the yard. He lingered, he said, and watched her until she disappeared from view. In retrospect, he realized that he had had an ominous feeling that day.
Instead of going to the hat shop, Carrie walked to the millpond in Pinckney and jumped off Nash's Bridge to drown herself. She was seen doing this by Dr. J.F. Milne and Miss Carrie Erwin (as described in the attached Pinckney Dispatch article), both of whom raced to the scene in an attempt to save Carrie. The doctor tried to resuscitate her, while Miss Erwin took the horse to the farm to alert the family. Brother Glen was still outside in the yard when Carrie Erwin brought the alarming news. He was the one who raced to the barn to hitch up the horse and buggy for his parents. Regrettably, Dr. Milne was unsuccessful in his attempts to save her. Her parents were present when she died.
Carrie died on May 11, 1900, age 24 years, 5 months, 21 days. A large drooping apple tree stood in the family yard which was in beautiful full bloom the day of her funeral. Spring was never the same again for Carrie's mother; blossom time only reminded her of that terrible loss.
Pinckney Dispatch dated 6-8-1899:
"School Picnic.
The banner picnic of the season was held on the beautiful lawn of H.B. Gardner on Friday last. Miss Carrie Gardner, teacher in district #3 invited her pupils to come to her pleasant home and enjoy the closing afternoon of the spring term.
There were about 30 present who enjoyed games for a couple of hours then were invited into the commodious rooms where music and recitations were rendered in a pleasing manner, after which a banquet was spread on the lawn and all partook of the bounteous supply that delights the eye and satisfies the appetite.
After enjoying themselves until sundown, they returned to their homes a jolly lot of little ones with their motto from Carrie, 'Success Depends on Individual Effort.'"
Carrie's legacy is that she was much loved by her parents, brothers and sisters, students and friends. Visit her sometime in Pinckney Cemetery. She was very precious to a lot of people.
*****
Carrie was my grandpa Glen Gardner's oldest sister. My Grandma Gardner wouldn't allow me to ask Grandpa about the details of Carrie's death because she had seen, the only time ever, Grandpa cry when he was telling a friend about her suicide, and Grandma didn't want that to happen to him again.
The two Gardner children who partially appear in this photo of Carrie are her siblings who grew up to be Dr. Cyrus B. Gardner, and Grace Gardner Love Runciman.
(The original photograph is a tin-type.)
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