August 06

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Seth William Gard 1828-1910

Seth Gard married Sarah Ulm and they had six children. In the same year that the last child was born, he married Eliza Jane Helpman Conklin -- so I assume Sarah died at or shortly after the birth of the last child. 

Photo: Seth and Eliza Gard

On the Find-A-Grave website the following notation is made on both Seth and Eliza's memorials:

"They had no children. After she died, Seth took off for California."

There are three Seth Gards in our family history. The Gard family is traced back to John Garde, born about 1539 in England. The first Seth Gard in our family was born in 1775 in New Jersey. He is the ninth generation from John Garde. Seth Gard's father, Gershom Gard, fought in the Revolutionary War. Seth Gard fought in the war of 1812. 

On the Find-A-Grave website there is a picture that is supposed to be Seth Gard (1775-1845).

I assume this is a painting, not a photograph. I have my doubts as to it really being Seth Gard born in 1775 because the haircut and suit look much more modern than that. At any rate, Seth William Gard was the grandson of Seth Gard, the 11th generation from John Garde.

The last Seth Gard in our family genealogy was a nephew of Seth William Gard. He was born in 1860 and died in 1861, age 1 year and 10 days. He was the son of George Liddle Gard. George Liddle Gard was a brother of Seth William Gard. Seth and George had a sister named Adaline Lucretia Gard. Adaline married Asa Gibson, who was the father of my great-grandmother Lora Gibson Burford (Lora > Lester > Wathada > me). That's how the Gard family is connected to our family. The Gard connection is what qualified my mother and me to become members of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).