John Gardner and the Merrimack River

John Gardner was a son of Thomas and Margaret who was born at Cape Ann in pre-Conant times (1624). We have mentioned him a few times, such as for his roles in Nantucket, but he also was involved with Essex County and Massachusetts.

Gardner's map

In 1638, Gov. John Winthrop wanted a survey of the Merrimack River. Nathaniel Woodward (NEHGR, Vol. 51, 1897), a mathematician and surveyor, led the effort. John Gardner was part of the crew (Browne, G.W. (1906) "The Merrimack River: Story of its First Survey" Granite State Magazine, Vol. 1, p 133). Later, John annotated a copy of the map that was drawn using survey results.

See the image which can be found at American Indian Deeds (John's signature is on Section C) which was accessed from Salem Deeds.

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John would have been young, of apprentice age, but this had to be a good experience. Dr. Frank (1907, pg 52) wrote that he "was first mentioned in the records of the 'General Court' at Boston" when the treasurer was "ordered to pay John Gardner ... for witness charge & carrying Goodman Woodward, his instruments to Ipswich."

This crew's map was used until 1652's effort at determining the northern extent of Massachusetts.

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Note: I ran across the map while researching another topic involved with Ipswich. One intent is to gather as much as is available, and can be found, for each person of the 1st generation. Then, providing a persistent means for presentation is (will continue to be) on the table.  

Remarks: Modified: 01/17/2022

07/27/2014 - In 1638, there was a Harvard class in progress. From the viewpoint of effectiveness required for successful establishment of a community, one can, easily IMHO, ask whether John's experience might have some, a lot IMHO, advantages over the classroom discussions related to the number of angels on a pin head (sorry, had to write that)? This is an age-old argument, very much apropos to some modern problems. We expect to address this topic, and related topics, again. For now, look at Staloff's book (see preview at Google books): The Making of an American Thinking Class (oh Lord, deliver us). I have mentioned him several times in posts. I would take 100 Thomas' as backbones and brains over any intellectual as would anyone who has to deal with reality and problems that have to be HANDled.

06/06/2015 -- Given the day, an aside: Harvard contributed, relatively in size, manpower for both WWI and WWII. In some ways, it's astonishing that the likes involved currently (and their whole worldview) is supported by those who put their lives on the line daily and not by the ilk (we can discuss this from a historical view, please). ... The school has also just picked up oodles of money which has caused some controversy. None here, as the money could go toward making their upcoming 400th more pertinent to the American (and the dream for many - say, Magna Carta) experience, as a whole. ... Another aside: John Gardner, being young, may have provided the muscle for the crew, but that type of experience is missing from the lives of many who go to the supreme, supposed (similar ilk from all over the world is attracted), academic environment (say, for instance, a draft and real contributions thereby - see above). ... Finally, the view here is not colored by the fact of being an in-law to descendants of the first head (whole tale ought to be re-visited with all sides represented).

11/23/2016 -- Looking further into Dr. Frank's periodical, "The Massachusetts Magazine," we found R.A. Douglas-Lithgow as a contributor. He also wrote on Nantucket, and more.

12/12/2018 -- Fixed link to the map which came from American Indian Deeds.

01/17/2022 -- Right after the Revolution, the Head of Harvard was Samuel Webber. He was a Mathematics professor of note. Too, he did the surveying for the boundaries for the northern border (at the time) which was "recognized by the Treaty of Paris." This crucial discipline deserves more attention (search results - surveying). 

1st Governor?

This post goes along with our efforts at organizing all of the material that has been collected. For one thing, we expect to have the bibliography documented more extensively than what we have done so far. For many topics, we want to have an annals unfolding of the discussion. Gardner's Beacon, Vol. II, No. 6 - Issue, Post, is an example.

Today, I got to reading Hutchinson's work (Vol. I, Vol. II) that he finished after going back to England (as a Loyalist). He, of course, had Hubbard's manuscript which we almost lost due to fire (and riot). That would have been a real disaster for the Gardner viewpoint, as Rev. William Hubbard was the first to write (we will check this - was Cpt. Johnson, first?); and he had talked to all of the principals (Rev. William's work was published in the early 1800s over 160 years after he did his work). And, we can see how extensively Rev. William talks about the early years (as in, pre-1620 - see Gardner's Beacon, Vol. III, No. 1 - Issue, Post).

Let's look at one little item.

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If one asks the question (Who was the first Governor of Massachusetts?), the most general answer will be John Winthrop who came over in 1630. Others, who might be more considerate of specifics, will answer John Endecott since he had a Royal charter in 1629. For more information, look at Wikipedia which has a nice list of colonial governors of Massachusetts.

Now, considering Plymouth, one can add John Carver at the top. However, what about George Popham? The Popham effort was successful in many ways and was thirteen years prior to the advent of the Mayflower Compact.

Then, we get to Ferdinando Gorges who supported Popham. He, and his son, Robert, were involved with several attempts.

We must not hold that they moved locations against them. That was the reality in Virginia, too. And, the Cape Ann crew moved.

Now, speaking of which, some might say, Roger Conant. This is mentioned in the family book (note that this link goes to their discussion of what we called Margaret's house - Gardner's Beacon, Vol. II, No. 4 - Issue, Post - Note: there is no mention of Thomas Gardner). Rev. William talked about Roger's lament of being ignored (-- future post -- this quote plus the late 1800s meeting that included the noted descendants, such as William Crowinshield Endicott, Jr, Henry Cabot Lodge, and others).

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Now, in his book, Dr. Frank touches upon this, very briefly. But, in a section of Vol. II, No. 6, there is a look at the original source: Elizabeth Gardner Amory. Elizabeth's granddaughter, Dorothy Winthrop Bradford, writes about discussions with her. The image is from the book, Reared in a Greenhouse (preview mode at Google books) by Dorothy B. Wexler.

The time frame to which Elizabeth refers would be (say) post-US-Civil War. Elizabeth claims to have been the first to make this statement about the first governor. Her discussion about the matter is on page 10 (see image).

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This little example is one of many. The recent book about how "invisibles" hold the world together offers a few modern concepts that can be useful as we proceed with further analysis (more later - but, there is no shadow nor is there any lament).

Remarks: Modified: 03/02/2019

07/22/2014 - Captain Edward Johnson published, in London, in 1654. His book was redone, in Andover, MA, in 1867 (this is in the collection for the bibliography). ... How could I not mention Higginson whose comment about Endecott's house lives on?

07/23/2014 - Read a little more of the book. Interesting. Added Elizabeth to the descendants list (Wikipedia, which has a page for the Dudley-Winthrop family). This list will be getting more attention; the last exercise got rid of stale and suspect links. We will reorganize (with the intent to foster analysis and discussion) and add more descendants (we need more of Miriam's progeny, for example).

01/19/2015 -- Maine History Online: Popham and Gorges.

03/02/2019 -- We are building an index of images at our portal to truth. 

Facebook

We have started a Facebook page which is public (for now) to promote the interest. Please visit and comment. This is an informational page.

   https://www.facebook.com/ThomasGardnerofSalem

As the interest grows, we can take the matters to a private by invitation (or other type of) group. At that point, we could get more into the current genealogical studies.

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If the access, for some material, ought to be in Facebook only and not public, please let us know.

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The Forum, started in 2013 at the TGS site, is being retired.

Remarks: Modified: 07/19/2014

07/19/2014 -

Web site - reconfigure

The context has been discussed for awhile (CMS, again, Website and CMS, ...). Until a few days ago, I was mostly in research mode (quite an involved study). For one, the whole computational framework is accelerating all of the time, almost to being out of control.

To wit, if you must ask, someone using the following metaphor brings out one big issue: A generation lost in the bazaar. If one looks at the framework, it is a horrible affair with most interest following the money. What other attempts are there that look at requirements, the more universal aspects, and such. Following the buzz, the apps count, for instance, is way over 1M.

Who can grasp that? And, we're not bringing into the discussion (as of yet) things like malfeasance, mis/dis-information, and the like.

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Part of the study was getting a grip on all of the alternatives. There is a whole lot of stuff available. Many want more money than their stuff is worth. Some of the free stuff is phenomenal (see below). One can buy into someone's worldview (golden handcuffs, so to speak). One can piecemeal things.

And, the cloud? We are using some of that, yet the details related to things computational ought not be hidden too much. That leaves the wizards without oversight.

So, what the TGS, Inc. (we need an acronym) site uses now, one might characterize as about 1999. That is pre-2000 when all of the resources were going into handling the massive number of failures that were to occur (and did not, except to trivial amounts). After that, money was loosened, so the web stuff took off. Rushed forward (remember the tech crash?).

The next decade saw some interesting changes (remember FB was still small in 2008). So, there are a couple of pages at the beta site that get us up to, say, 2012.

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I had some free time and decided to see how far I could get with just HTML/CSS. The example at Gardner's Beacon(TM)'s page illustrates this a little. Of course, at some point, one has to get to code (which is everyone's right). Now, dealing with such details can be extremely tedious (downright awful, sometimes), yet real advances will have the machine do the hard stuff in a way that is verifiable (singularity thoughts, notwithstanding).

We're still alpha, as there are a lot of things that need to be considered. At some point, the site will be reconfigured using one of the newer methods. But, that will not be the end. These things will continue to (ought to) be of interest forever (there is too much at stake to pull the ostrich's move).

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Of course, in all of this, there is a major theme. What would Thomas think? Such as, how about FB's stumbling around and experimenting in questionable ways (because they could, and no one seems to grasp the issues any more)?

Remarks: Modified: 10/10/2018

07/14/2014 - Got an example banner using only HTML/CSS (but, may go to WebGL).

07/16/2014 - We pushed a lot of changes up today (not all pages are done, but the site is functional). Created a new page, devlog, that will talk "turkey" as in how a more complete view is required for truth engineering. Meanwhile, more improvements being researched. As an aside, D.A.R. recently changed their site's look (modernization that emphasizes the cover - one might say, PR view). But, when one goes to the functional aspects, things are still the same (as in, this page). Just as the cloud requires servers (services), there needs to be the intermediate frameworks that are not supported by tablet, or smaller, technologies (yet, ..., but can those devices ever be sufficient?).

07/18/2014 - Wikipedia page references (for one thing, using Vol. III, No. 2) being updated. About Us and 400ths being reworked. ... Main page changed (Beacon issues migrated to new format).

07/19/2014 - Mostly done with the reconfiguration. Now will be updating content.

07/30/2014 -- One page to go (Sources). Watch What's new and Facebook.

10/10/2018 -- In 2016, we started a new site: TGSoc.org. It is a minimal HTML/CSS start with additions of Javascript in the plans in order to be a portal. Our traditional site will handle publications and details related to our research. Our theme is culture, history and technology. Too, issues of content versus configuration will be on the table.

Gardner's Beacon, Vol. IV, No. 2

The last Gardner's Beacon (Vol. IV, No. 1) considered the times of Cape Ann, as in before, during, and after. An earlier post this year had this title: Not far from idyllic. Prior to that, there were many post dealing with Cape Ann.

We expect that topic as essential to the work to do. For instance, Thomas and Margaret and their cohorts experienced the first case, in the New World, of a free existence (that which is, in principle, the basis for the dream of America - even more so than is Winthrop's city). To be brief, the Cape Ann crew successfully lived in an environment of no church, no state, and cooperative existence of mature adults in a new, harsh milieu. There are many more characteristics to describe, such as fairness and mutual respect. Yet, there are no recorded losses of life in this time of freedom; and, there was no doubt of keeping themselves alive and healthy. The problems of loss of lives came later with the advent of more people than the resources could support.

Too, at Cape Ann, the settlers had friendly relations with the American Indians, albeit their colonial neighbors to the south may have been more problematic (to wit, Conant's peace-making). And, they were not drawn into the loose ways of the Merry Mount crew. Essentially, there was a tremendous amount of existential success demonstrated by the folks.

Yet, that was not seen by Rev. John White, at the time. Hence, we expect to revisit the whole theme, once again (scholastically).

Another source for our work will be the Massachusetts Magazine. Dr. Frank was a contributing editor during the decade-long run of this periodical. Too, he, and many others, attempted to found a continuing society at that time (early 1900s). We are, in part, motivated by that.

Then, the coming 800th of the Magna Charta is providing opportunity to consider origins. Whence came Thomas and Margaret is a fundamental notion. Too, though, Thomas' life, as a blank slate, offers an opportunity to consider what are the backbone/brain combinations required for a sustainable society/economy.

In short, there is a lot to do, and the above list of topics is nowhere near complete. For instance, the study of the spread of descendants through space and time will be an ongoing effort.

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So, we are going to pause for one issue. Now is the time to recapitulate the activities of the past few years. For instance, a lot of material has been accumulated from searches, and this will be re-organized. A whole lot of questions have been raised. These will fund research efforts.

In order to form a more perfect means, the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc. was incorporated in 2014. The By-laws will be published, soon. The thomasgardnersociety.org website will be updated.

Finally, we have a little discussion of goals. These, of course, will be set by the Board, and officers, as one would expect. However, we do have an initial set.

The issue contains some information about the Magna Charta in a timeline format. One goal is to have information in annal's format that can be updated through time. One example of this can be found in Vol. II, No. 6.

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See Vol. IV, No. 2 of Gardner's Beacon for a look at recent activity in regard to incorporation, as a non-profit, of the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc.

References:  see Sources (Current Issue)  

Remarks: Modified: 04/23/2021

07/04/2014 - This post might say, without state and church. But, it does not say God-less. ... Too, Thomas, with Stephen Bachiler, and Rev. John Wise, can be considered one of the founding fathers of the American dream.

03/02/2019 -- We are building an index via images at our portal to truth.

Incorporation details

Gardner's Beacon, Vol. IV, No. 2, will provide a recap of activities, look at some of the details of the recent incorporation, touch upon goals, and consider a timeline of the Magna Charta (there was recent celebration of the 799th anniversary of the first (of 45 or so) sealing) as it relates to the colonies.

Remarks: Modified: 08/11/2014

07/02/2014 - Kickstarter example.

08/11/2014 - The Thomas Gardner Society, Inc., a non-profit corporation, has IRS Sec. 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status dating from April 29, 2014.