Robert Gardner, Jr., was born on October 12, 1819, in Kilsyth, Scotland. In 1821 he emigrated with his family to Canada, where they lived for the next twelve years. Gardner married Jane McKeown in 1841 and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1845. In the same year he made a two-week visit to Nauvoo, Illinois, where he met Brigham Young. When the Mormons were expelled from Nauvoo the following year, Gardner and his family joined them in Council Bluffs and later Winter Quarters, Nebraska. They arrived in Salt Lake City in October 1847, and Gardner and his brother built a saw mill at Warm Springs, Utah, which they soon moved to Mill Creek. In 1857 he went on a handcart mission to Canada and through Iowa and Nebraska, returning to Utah in 1858. He helped settled St. George and later moved to Pine Valley. He married at least three plural wives, Mary Ann, Cynthia, and Leonora.
From the description of Autobiography of Robert Gardner, Jr., 1884. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 658044931
