Dr. Silvester Gardiner (June 29, 1708 – August 8, 1786) was a physician, pharmaceutical merchant and land developer of

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 ...

. He is known for founding the city of Gardiner.

Early years

He was born in

South Kingstown South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, the son of William Gardiner and Abigail Remington.Hatch, 341 After studying medicine in New York,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Dr. Gardiner opened a practice in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he became a lecturer on

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

. He actively promoted inoculation for small pox, for which he proposed and established a hospital in 1761. But he made his fortune importing drugs for distribution and sale. He contributed generously to the construction of Boston's

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed ...

, where he was a

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

, and also to the compilation and publication of a

prayer book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

. But he is most remembered for his purchase and development of over 100,000 acres (400 km²) of wilderness on the Kennebec River in Maine, where he founded what is today the city of Gardiner.

Maine settlement

A proprietor of the old Plymouth Patent, his efforts to settle the territory were unceasing between 1753 and the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. He selected the location of Gardinerstown Plantation, established in 1754 at the head of navigation on the Kennebec River, at its confluence with the Cobbosseecontee Stream, which had falls to provide

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...

for industry. A millwright, carpenter and other workmen were induced to settle and build his town. He promoted

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

and land cultivation. He contributed a valuable library, and built the first Episcopal church in Pittston, from which Gardinerstown would be set off in 1760. When Gardiner moved from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

to Maine 1766, he compelled Isaac "Hazard" Stockbridge, a Black man whom he enslaved, to move with him. Stockbridge brought his free Black wife, Cooper Loring, and their children. Stockbridge used sabotage in attempts to gain freedom from Gardiner, killing one of his horses, setting fire to his home, and attempting to poison his family. Gardiner sent Stockbridge and his family to live on a remote portion the property, where he lived under little supervision until his death in 1780.

Political leanings

In 1774, Dr. Gardiner added his name to a letter addressed to

Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson, affirming his allegiance to the Loyalist cause. When the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

army evacuated Boston in 1776, Dr. Gardiner fled to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

. With few of his possessions, he then lived in Poole,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

throughout the Revolutionary War. In 1778, his name appeared in the

Massachusetts Banishment Act The Massachusetts Banishment Act, officially named the "Banishment Act of the State of Massachusetts", was passed in September 1778 "to prevent the return to this state of certain persons therein named and others who have left this state or either o ...

, and his vast landholdings were

confiscated Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...

. Even his personal collection of rare books were sold at auction. Because of an error in the confiscation of the Maine property, however, his heirs would be able to secure its return.

Death

In 1783, Dr. Gardiner spent time in

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

, and in 1784 wrote a report enumerating its resources, advocating 11 reasons for settlement. In 1785, he returned to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, where he died the following year and was buried under Trinity Church. The Christ Episcopal Church, built in 1820 beside the Gardiner common, bears his

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

Family

He married three times, first to Anne Gibbins (or Gibbons) in around 1730, with whom he had all of his children prior to her death in 1771. His second marriage was to Abigail Eppes (née Pickman) sometime prior to his departure from Boston in 1776; she died on November 3, 1780, after they moved to England. His third wife was Catherine Goldthwaite, who was about 49 years younger than him; they married in February 1785. After Gardiner's death, Catherine married W. Powell of Boston. Gardiner's first son, John Gardiner (1731-1793), was Attorney General of

Saint Christopher Island Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

and father of John Sylvester John Gardiner.Webster 1913, pp. 8-9

References

External links

Friends of Gardiner Heritage Museum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, Silvester 1708 births 1786 deaths People of colonial Maine People of colonial Massachusetts People of colonial Rhode Island Loyalists in the American Revolution from Rhode Island People from South Kingstown, Rhode Island People from Gardiner, Maine People of pre-statehood Maine Physicians from Rhode Island Physicians from Maine