Robert David Lion Gardiner (1911 - 2004)

Born 25 Feb 1911 in New York New York, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Eunice Joyce (Bailey) Gardiner — married 21 Mar 1961 in New York City, New York, United States

Died 23 Aug 2004 at age 93 in East Hampton, Suffolk, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Robert Gardner [send private message]

Biography

Robert was born in New York City, New York, in 1911. He was the son of Robert Alexander and Nora (Loftus) Gardiner.^[1]

Robert graduated from Columbia University in 1934 and attended New York University Law School. He joined the U.S. Navy during World War II serving as Lieutenant and seeing action in the South Pacific. After the war, he worked for the Empire Trust Company on Wall Street.^[2][3]

He married Eunice Bailey in 1961.^[4]

Robert and Eunice Gardiner.

Robert was the self-described "16th Lord of the Manor" of Gardiner's Island in Suffolk county, New York, which he inherited together with his sister in 1953 (see list of the Lords below). Gardiner's Island is a private, 3,350-acre island located near East Hampton, New York, that has been owned by the Gardiner family since 1639.^[5][6]

Robert passed away in 2004.^[7][8]

Legacy

Robert touring Gardiner's Island.

Robert established the Robert David Lion Gardner Foundation in 1987, which primarily supports the study of Long Island history and its role in the American experience inspired by Robert's personal passion for New York history.

He provided personal tours of the island to journalists and others:

Gardiner’s Island–A Visit with Robert David Lion Gardiner (1976)

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/WPlLkk7o84k?si=4_8eqqgNOTAES-6s

THE END: A Gardiner’s Island Story (2022), Emily Sundberg

• Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/720775128

Research Notes

From Find a Grave memorial :

Burial: South End Cemetery, East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York, USA.

Family Members

Parents

Robert Alexander Gardiner 1862-1919

Nora Loftus Gardiner 1871-1955

Spouse

Eunice Joyce Bailey Gardiner 1928-2011

Siblings

Alexandra Diodati Gardiner Creel 1910-1990

Gardiner's Island Lore

Gardiner's Island.

List of Lords (and Lady) of the Manor

Proprietors of Gardiner’s Island (aka Isle of Wight), New York

1st, 1639-1663, Lion Gardiner (abt.1599-abt.1663)

2nd, 1665-1689, David Gardiner I (1636-1689)

3rd, 1689-1738, John Gardiner (1661-1738)

4th, 1738-1751, David Gardiner (1691-1751)

5th, 1751-1764, John Gardiner (1714-1764)

6th, 1764-1774, David Gardiner (1738-1774)

7th, 1774-1816, John Lyon Gardiner (1770-1816)

8th, 1825-1829, David Johnson Gardiner (1804-1829)

9th, 1833-1861, John Griswold Gardiner (1812-1861)

10th, 1861-1882, Samuel Buell Gardiner (1815-1882)

11th, 1882-1910, John Lyon Gardiner (1841-1910)

12th, 1910-1925?, Lion Gardiner (1878-1936)

13th, 1925?-1933, Jonathon Thompson Gardiner (1843-1933)

14th, 1933-1937, Winthrop Gardiner Jr. (1912-1980)

15th, 1937-1953, Sarah Diodati Gardiner (1862-1953)

16th, 1953-2004, Robert David Lion Gardiner (1911-2004)

Captain Kidd's Treasure

Capt. William Kidd's Long Island adventure was in June, 1699, just before his capture. He was on his way to Boston, where he hoped to prove his innocence of the crime of piracy. Kidd stopped at Gardiner's Island for three days. While there, he buried treasure worth about $30,000. at Cherry Harbor, a ravine between Bostwick's (Point) and the Manor House. He asked Mrs. Gardiner to have a pig roasted for him. It was done so well that he presented her with a piece of gold cloth, a small bit of which is now preserved in the East Hampton Library. That cloth came from the trousseau of the daughter of the Grand Mogul; it was on a Moorish ship captured by Kidd off the coast of Madagascar. A bag of sugar, too, was given the Gardiners by Captain Kidd. That was a great treat, sugar was hard to get and one of the few things not grown on Gardiner's Island in those days. When Kidd left the island, he promised to return for the buried treasure, and threatened John Gardiner: "If I call for it and it is gone, I will take your head, or your son's." By that time there was no doubt in Lord Gardiner's mind that his visitor was a pirate. But there was nothing he could do about it except what he subsequently did. After Kidd's arrest, Gardiner was called upon by Lord Bellomont to deliver up the buried treasure. He took it to Boston. The inventory of those bags of gold dust, bars of silver, pieces of eight, rubies great and small, diamonds, candlesticks, porringers, and so forth is still preserved; a duplicate is in the East Hampton Library. One bit of booty, they say, remained with the Gardiners. A diamond was found, accidentally left in John Gardiner's traveling bag after his return from Boston. Mrs. Gardiner gave it to their daughter Elizabeth who married the Gardiner's Island chaplain, a Mr. Green.^[9]

You can see the diamond that Robert David Lion Gardiner displays and a gold chalice which he says was buried on the island by Captain Kidd in 1699. His diamond pinky ring, which was also passed down through the family for years was also part of Kidd's loot. Here:^[10] See "Sources" for link to original Time-LIFE Magazine photo shoot.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VM35-XPK : 11 January 2021), Robert L Gardiner, 25 Feb 1911, citing Birth; 23 Aug 2004; citing Death, Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
2. ↑ "Robert Gardiner, 93, was heir to private island", (from The New York Times) The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Indiana, Wed, Aug 25, 2004 Page 19.
3. ↑ "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24P1-T3W : Sat Mar 09 02:09:35 UTC 2024), Entry for Robert David Lion Gardiner, 1948.
4. ↑ "New York, New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLSP-1B7M : 16 February 2024), Robert Gardiner and Eunice Oakes, 1961, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States;Marriage, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, from Reclaim the Records, The NYC Marriage Index (http://www.nycmarriageindex.com : 2016); citing New York City Clerk's Office.
5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Robert David Lion Gardiner," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_David_Lion_Gardiner&oldid=1213619723 (accessed April 12, 2024).
6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Gardiners Island," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gardiners_Island&oldid=1211041561 (accessed April 12, 2024).
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11419057/robert_david_lion-gardiner: accessed April 9, 2024), memorial page for Robert David Lion Gardiner (25 Feb 1911–23 Aug 2004), Find a Grave Memorial ID 11419057, citing South End Cemetery, East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York, USA; Maintained by BluMoKitty (contributor 46830270).
8. ↑ "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K9X-H8ZH : 10 February 2023), Robert David Lion Gardiner, citing Birth; New York, New York; 23 Aug 2004, citing Death, Palm Beach, Florida.
9. ↑ https://longislandgenealogy.com/pirates.html
10. ↑ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6878015/Gardiners-Island-mysterious-private-island-owned-family-380-years-Hamptons-Captain-Kidd.html

See also :

• Gardiner, Curtiss C. Lion Gardiner and his Descendants. St. Louis: A. Whipple, 1890. https://books.google.com/books?id=BvNIRAAACAAJ (accessed Apr 2024).
• Gardiner, Sarah Diodati. Early memories of Gardiner's Island (The Isle of Wight, New York). East Hampton, NY: East Hampton Star, 1947. https://archive.org/details/earlymemoriesofg00gard/ (accessed Apr 2024).
• Grant, Ellsworth S. “To the Manor Born.” American Heritage, vol. 26, no. 6, (Oct 1975). https://www.americanheritage.com/manor-born (accessed Apr 2024).
• Lamb, Martha J. “The Manor of Gardiner’s Island.” Magazine of American History, vol. 13, no. 1, (Jan 1885), pp. 1-30. https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ4TMUO4eX4C (accessed Apr 2024).
• Rattray, Jeanette Edwards. East Hampton History, Including Genealogies of Early Families. Garden City, NY: Country Life Press, 1953, 338-347. https://longislandgenealogy.com/Gardiner.pdf (accessed Apr 2024). Full book: https://books.google.com/books?id=qZAMAAAAYAAJ .
• “Gardiner’s Island–Its Haunted Legacy.” Photographs by Alfred Eisentaedt. LIFE Magazine, Time, Inc., vol. 64, no. 17, 26 (Apr 1968), p. 58. https://books.google.com/books?id=ylQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57 (accessed Apr 2024).