Lion Gardiner
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| Lion Gardiner in East Hampton | |
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 The tomb of Lion Gardiner in East Hampton (village), New York was built in 1886 depicts him in recumbent effigy pose. This photo is from April 2006. |
Lion Gardiner (1599-1663) founded the first English settlement in the state of New York and his legacy includes Gardiners Island which remains in the family and is the largest privately owned island in the United States.
Gardiner was born in England in 1599; died in East Hampton, New York, in 1663. Active in the English army, he was active in settling tracts of land in Connecticut. In 1639 he purchased from the Montaukett tribe an island called by them Manchonat, which he renamed the Isle of Wight, but which has since been known as Gardiners Island which is located between the North Fork, Suffolk County, New York and South Fork, Suffolk County, New York. His son, David Gardiner, was the first white child born in Connecticut (in 1636) at Saybrook, Connecticut. 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 empowered to draft laws for Church and state.
He was buried in East Hampton (village), New York. In 1886 a recumbent effigy was erected to his memory, and his supposed grave was opened. In it, a skeleton 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 prodigy) are buried in the South End Cemetery by Town Pond.
