Lion Gardiner (1599-1663), an early English settler and soldier in the New World, founded the first
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
settlement in what became the state of
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His legacy includes
Gardiners IslandGardiners Island is a small island in eastern Suffolk County in the U.S. state of New York, located in Gardiners Bay between the two peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island. It is long, wide and has of coastline. It has been owned by the same family for nearly 400 years, and although...
which remains in the family and is the largest privately owned island in the United States.
Biography
Gardiner was born in England in 1599; died in
East Hampton, New YorkThe Village of East Hampton is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York within the Town of East Hampton, on the South Fork of eastern Long Island...
, in 1663. A military engineer in service of the Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, he was hired by the
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
Company in 1635 to oversee construction of fortifications in the new colony. He finished and commanded the Saybrook Fort at the mouth of the
Connecticut RiverThe Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through western Massachusetts and central Connecticut into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It has a...
during the
Pequot WarThe Pequot War was an armed conflict in 1634-1638 between an alliance of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, with Native American allies , against the Pequot tribe...
of 1636-1637. In 1639 he purchased from the
MontaukettThe Montaukett is an Algonquian speaking Native American tribe native to eastern of Long Island, New York. In the late 17th Century Chief Wyandanch transferred much of the land to English settler Lion Gardiner. Native relics and ruins are still visible at Theodore Roosevelt County Park just east...
tribe an island called by them Manchonat, which he renamed the Isle of Wight, but which has since been known as
Gardiners IslandGardiners Island is a small island in eastern Suffolk County in the U.S. state of New York, located in Gardiners Bay between the two peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island. It is long, wide and has of coastline. It has been owned by the same family for nearly 400 years, and although...
which is located between the
North Fork, Suffolk County, New YorkThe North Fork of Suffolk County, New York, is a peninsula in the northeast part of the county on the North Shore of Long Island. The southeast part of the county is an even longer peninsula, called the South Fork...
and
South Fork, Suffolk County, New YorkThe South Fork of Suffolk County, New York is a peninsula in the southeast part of the county on the South Shore of Long Island. All of the South Fork is an area known as the Hamptons. The shorter, more northerly peninsula is known as the North Fork....
. The original grant by which Gardiner acquired proprietary rights in the island made it an entirely separate and independent "plantation," in no way connected either with New England or New York. He was thus empowered to draft laws for Church and state.
His son, David Gardiner, was the
first white childThe birth of the first white child was a celebrated occasion across many parts of the New World. Such births are a matter of pride for many townships, and they are commemorated with plaques and monuments at the location of the event. The birth was seen as such an honor that it was at times...
born in Connecticut (in 1636) at Saybrook.
In 1660 he wrote
Relation of the Pequot Warres, which was lost among various state archives until rediscovered in 1809 and first published in 1833.
He was buried in
East Hampton, New YorkThe Village of East Hampton is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York within the Town of East Hampton, on the South Fork of eastern Long Island...
. In 1886 a recumbent effigy was erected to his memory, and his supposed grave was opened. In it, a
skeletonIn biology, a skeleton is a rigid framework that provides protection and structure in many types of animal, particularly those of the phylum Chordata and of the superphylum Ecdysozoa. Exoskeletons are external, as is typical of many invertebrates; they enclose the soft tissues and organs of the...
was found intact. It was that of a man over six feet in height, with a broad forehead and strong jaws. Gardiner (and many of his progeny) are buried in the South End Cemetery by Town Pond.
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