Awful Gardner - Reform and Christianity

Reform and Christianity

After his release he gave up drinking and tried to reform thinking he would never see his son again if he continued his sinful ways. He attended the Revival of 1857 at New York City and found God, converted his brother Howell and the New York Times noted his transformation. He no longer went by the nickname "Awful Gardner" and he became a preacher whom many came to see. Gardner gave interviews and converted many. Jerry McAuley noted that Gardner, whom he had known as desperado, had given a powerful sermon at the Sing Sing Prison which converted many convicts, including McAuley. Gardner then began one of the first AA meetings, which was called the "Coffee and Reading Room".

Gardner was in and out of newspapers across the country. He was mistakenly thought to have been killed in 1883, but it was his brother Howell Gardner, who died from burns received in an explosion. Orville had become ill in the late 1870s, living in the Home of the Aged and Infirm as an inmate. Gardner soon made headlines in 1889 when he was sent to an Insane Asylum. He most likely died of his illness.

References: New York Times