Gardiner Family-In Which I Think about Being a Lady

This post begins with Elizabeth Gardiner, 7x great-grandmother, supposedly born around 1658, Easthampton, Long Island, NY to David Gardiner.  I couldn’t find records on Elizabeth for her birth or baptism dates, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist somewhere, just that the birth year can’t be confirmed here.  I did find her marriage to James Parshall in 1678 in American Marriage Records Before 1699 by William Montgomery Clemens.

Elizabeth’s father, David, was born in 1636 in Saybrook, CT but married in London.  His wife was the widow Mary Harringman supposedly, as there is a record of a marriage in the parish register from St. Margaret's in London, England.  However, from my research, I could find no proof that the David Gardiner of the parish record was my David Gardiner and according to a query on rootsweb, there are no NY records that mention even his wife’s first name. 

He died suddenly while on a trip to Hartford and he is buried there.  The inscription on the gravestone is interesting to me:

HERE LYETH THE

BODY OF MR. DAVID

GARDINER OF GARDINER’S ISLAND

DECEASED JULY 10

1689 IN THE FIFTY

FOURTH YEAR OF HIS

AGE.  WELL, SICK, DEAD

IN ONE HOURS SPACE.

ENGRAVE THE

REMEMBRANCE OF

DEATH ON THINE

HEART WHEN AS THOU

DOEST SEE HOW

SWIFTLY HOURS

DEPART

Born at Saybrook April 29 1636

The first white child born in

Connecticut

Wow.  Well. Sick. Dead. In one hour's space.  Wish I knew more of the story there.

David’s parents were Lion Gardiner and Mary Deurcant. Lion was born in England in 1599 and eventually traveled to Holland as an officer and engineer in the English Army.  He met and married Mary Deurcant, a native of Holland.  Lion, my immigrant Gardiner, arrived with his wife in 1635 and settled in Saybrook, CT, where he commanded the fort. In 1639 the family moved to Gardiner Island, purchased by Lion from the Indians, establishing the first settlement in NY.  Lion died in 1663 and is buried in Easthampton, Long Island.

Wikipedia has a very interesting page on Gardiner Island.  It’s been owned by the (my!) family for almost 375 years.  Maybe my brother has right to claim the 17^th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner’s Island—or maybe I’ll make a grab for Lady of the Manor.  Can’t wait to tell my husband he could be my consort.