James Terry Gardiner (May 6, 1842 – September 10, 1912) was an American surveyor and engineer.

Biography

Gardiner was born in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

, the son of Daniel Gardiner and Ann Terry Gardiner. He briefly attended

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

and the

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffiel ...

. In 1863 he traveled on horseback to California with his boyhood friend,

Clarence King Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. Hay ...

. Upon his arrival in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, he worked for the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

as a civilian assistant and participated in the construction of fortifications on the coast (later named

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...

) and on

Angel Island Angel Island may refer to: *Angel Island (California), historic site of the United States Immigration Station, Angel Island, and part of Angel Island State Park, in San Francisco Bay, California * Angel Island, Papua New Guinea * ''Angel Island'' (n ...

. In the spring of 1864 Gardiner joined the California Division of Mines and Geology (predecessor of today's California Geological Survey), under the leadership of

Josiah Whitney Josiah Dwight Whitney (November 23, 1819 – August 18, 1896) was an American geologist, professor of geology at Harvard University (from 1865), and chief of the California Geological Survey (1860–1874). Through his travels and studies in the ...

. His friend King was already working with the survey as a field geologist. That summer they participated in the first scientific survey of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

high country. During the next few years he remained with the survey and traveled through much of California. In 1867 Gardiner joined the

Fortieth Parallel Survey The Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel was a geological survey made by order of the Secretary of War according to acts of Congress of March 2, 1867, and March 3, 1869, under the direction of Brig. and Bvt. Major General A. A. Humphrey ...

, led by King, and then joined the

Hayden Survey Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union Ar ...

in 1872 serving as chief topographer until 1876. Thereafter, Gardiner returned to New York where he was appointed director of the State Survey . From 1880 to 1886 he was also a member of the state board of health and was instrumental in establishing proper sewage systems throughout New York. Meanwhile, he became involved in the mining industry, writing a report on coal and iron in Colorado (1875); serving as vice-president of the coal companies belonging to the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Er ...

; and becoming president of the Mexican Coke and Coal Company in 1899. Gardiner married Josephine Rogers of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

in 1868. They had a child, Florence (Hall; 1870-1956). She died four years later and in 1881 he married Eliza Greene Doane of Albany, New York. They had five children: Mary Spring (Frazier) (1882-1920), Margaret Doane (Fayerweather)(1883-1958), Doane (1885-1933), Anne Terry (Pier)(1887-?), and Elizabeth Greene Gardiner (1890-1987). With his father-in-law, Bishop William Croswell Doane, he helped establish the community of Northeast Harbor on Cadillac Island (

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

) in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. He built a large summer home there in 1883 and named it Ye Haven. It still stands today, known as The Haven. He started a water company, and engineered roads and public utilities. He died there Sept. 10, 1912, aged 70. Mount Gardiner in

Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to King ...

was named in his honor by the California Geological Survey. The family name had been spelled Gardiner until his father dropped the “i”. James used this form until mid-life when he returned to the earlier spelling.

Notes

References

*''James Terry Gardiner''. Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936.
James Terry Gardiner
Footnote by Francis P. Farquhar, editor. ''Up and Down California in 1860-1864: The Journal of William H. Brewer''. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, James Terry American cartographers Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni 1842 births 1912 deaths Explorers of the United States California Geological Survey Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni