King Slayer's Court

Context: Gardners and Gardners

In this context, last time, we looked at Gardiners Island which was owned by one of the many families that came over early. Dr. Frank had Lion Gardiner on his lists. He had more families in his 1933 book than he had in 1907.

Other families have been added. The list in the "Gardners and Gardners" post (see Context) is being updated. Of late, we have been working with a member of the Gardner family of Pennsylvania to organize and publish information that ought to help throw some light on origin issues, both particular and general.

The following is a summary of what "King Slayer's Court" is all about. The recent finding of the remains of Richard III allows another look at several subjects that deal with the Gardners of London. Our interests are several. There may be a tie that is awaiting discover, even if it is further back in time. Too, history has taken a stance in this matter that may not be correct.

I’ve heard stories about William Gardiner and the King since I was a child, I’ve been researching and reading about the subject ever since. These stories were passed by my family, descendants of English traders.. Many stories, music and traditions of early families passed generation to generation, made their way down the trail with the westward expansion of North America. The Welsh Tract of West Jersey. This area is now known as the city of Philadelphia. My ancestors English traders arrived in 1682. They were masonic masons, traders and merchants..

In the early days of the web, back in the 1990’s, I approached the subject of William Gardiner on Netscape and AOL. The “King Richard” protectors screamed preposterous all the way to Bosworth Market.

However, let’s look back in retrospect over the last 30 years and see how this story has progressed. My query has gone from completely preposterous to right on target. According to studies done when Richard III’s remains were found, in 2012, the last English King to be killed in battle fell by a blow to the head delivered by Wyllyam Gardynyr, a common skinner, with a poleaxe. “Hog Wash” of 30 years ago was confirmed to be true.

I find it interesting that the stories that families have passed generation to generation on the Welsh Tract of Pennsylvania (the tales of Lords, Ladies, Kings, Great Battles and better times in England) have ultimately stood the test of time. As we enter the digital age and the information of past generations is uploaded, it seems to be painting a picture that has been left unfinished for many generations.

We live in exciting times, my friends. Even a single forgotten document, just one seemingly unimportant piece of information now scanned to the internet~? Can (should) cause us to examine everything we think we thought we knew about our history. This is the story of King Slayer’s Court. I intend to publish what I have heard; then, we will go back and provided references so as to establish the proper story.

This following lists a few facts about William and Richard Gardner that we will address further.


• William Gardiner was indeed Knighted
  
• William Gardiner was married to Ellen Tudor
  
• William Gardiner was the brother of Alderman Richard Gardiner
  
• William Gardiner was the Father of the Thomas Gardiner "King's chaplain, son and heir, born in London say 1479”
  
• Richard Gardiner was controlling  what’s now considered one of the most lucrative trade syndicates on Earth.
  
• Richard Gardiner was in possession of RIII debt, Holding Crown Jewels as collateral.
  
• Richard Gardiner was official representative of City of London to greet Henry VII
  
• The Gardiner family has a long, yet still undocumented relationship with the Royal Family.
  
• Lord John Gardiner, Baron of Kimble is current Vice Chamberlain and Captain of Yeomen of the guard.

Several items of interest come from this overview that we can pursue. An example would be the differences between views: Wikipedia (Gardiner not mentioned) vs King's Slayer Court. History is more than what is written. Too, some viewpoints never get expressed.

Remarks: Modified: 05/10/2025

12/18/2016 -- Article about the subject published in The Gardner Annals, Vol. III, No. 1.

06/20/2018 -- This will publish with a new article soon. The book will include The Gardner Annals, Volumes III and IV plus Gardner's Beach, Volumes IV through VII.

10/10/2018 -- We just printed TGA Vols III and IV (available for purchase) which contains David T. Gardner's articles about the Gardners, Bosworth, and Tudors. As well, historical author, Douglas Richardson, has William Gardner in his books (Plantagenet Ancestry, Magna Carta Ancestry and Royal Ancestry) with his marriage to Helen Tudor (see Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors & Cousins site).

05/10/2025 --  See King Slayer's Court, redux for recent information on activity. 

Gardiners Island

Context: Gardners and Gardners

One result of doing Gardner Research is that we find Gardner influences everywhere. For instance, in the times of the westward movement, a trail fork called Gardner Junction was seen by everyone heading to Santa Fe or to Oregon and other points west. That is, if the travelers took the route out of Independence, Mo, then they saw Gardner Junction. There were other trails to the north and south. Along the west coast, there is Gardiner, OR. It obtained its name from the owner (H.D. Gardiner) of the ship (barque Bostonian) that wrecked in that area.

So, one then starts to think about all things Gardner. In terms of direct Thomas of Salem descendants, we will be taking a wide-spread view, especially in relation to the expansion of the United States.

In the time of Dr. Frank, his book had a list of different families. The 1933 publication had a longer list than he provided in 1907. Too, we have added to the list for those families who, seemingly, came later in, or after, the colonial period. This will all be written up in several places. Here, we will have a category related to Gardner families (our second most-read post is Gardners and Gardners).

Also, DNA and related studies will be adding to the mix: DNA and Genealogy.

--- The Subject ---

Lion Gardiner
(source?)

While researching the provenance of a portrait (image), I ran across this story about the last Gardiner of the island.

   New York Times: Gardiner, 93, Lord of His Own Island, Dies

Gardiners Island was "reportedly" purchased by Lion Gardiner from the Montaukett tribe (their History Overview).

It has remained in the family from the colonial times until now when the sole owner is Robert's niece.

Remarks: Modified: 10/30/2018

07/16/2016 -- Added links to H.D. Gardiner and the Bostonian. We are working with David T. Gardner on the Gardiners of London. From there, we will explore threads to now plus look at origins, in general. In the U.S., we tend to not pay real attention to what was going on when the colonials came over, except, seemingly, superficially. With the upcoming 400ths, we need to correct that oversight. Too, the 200ths of the expansion will come to the forefront.

10/30/2018 -- 2nd printing of The Gardner Annals, in which are 'All things Gardner' articles. We will rewrite the article on the barque Bostonian.

04/05/2019 -- Relation of the Pequot Wars (1660) - a copy is browse-able or can be downloaded, an eye-witness account by Lion Gardiner of the Pequot Wars. Having added more text from our annals collection, we are looking at the early references to New England and the Cape Ann crew.

Gardner, KS

Earlier, we looked at places with the Gard[i]ner name. Then, we took Gardiner, OR and wrote about the person for whom the town was named, Henry Dearborn Gardiner (pg 31, v 35, no 1, TEG; pg 6, v II,n I, The Gardner Annals). That same family was the inspiration for Gardiner, ME.

So, talking of Oregon, there is a town on the trails (see next) in Kansas, named Gardner. It may have been named for Henry Joseph Gardner, Governor of Massachusetts (1855-1858) as there were many pioneers from Massachusetts in the area.

First, about the town. It was where three trails split into two: Santa Fe Trail, Oregon/California Trails. The Santa Fe Trail ended up in a city in one of the oldest areas of the U.S. The other two trails were coincident until much further west where the California Trail headed south; after going west out of Gardner for awhile, they headed up to Nebraska then west to what is now called Wyoming.

Now the Gardner was Henry Joseph Gardner who was a descendant of Richard Gardner of Woburn who is on the list provided by Dr. Frank (the Gardners and Gardners post is the most popular all time).

---

The mid-west and central parts of the country are full of displaced New Englanders. A little up the road from Gardner is Lawrence whose main drag is named Massachusetts.

Remarks:  Modified: 06/24/2022

04/02/2016 -- Map showing Gardner Junction and the split of the trails west of Gardner, KS.

08/13/2017 -- Posts on Lawrence (and surrounds): Trails West, Westward Ho, Blogging and such, Final Migration, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Kansas and Lawrence. 

10/26/2018 -- Map of Gardner Junction. 

08/07/2020 -- In this post, we are looking at two disparate spots that share a name, however there are many points in-between. Like Eudora, KS. Where "The Wakarusa meets the Kaw" is on their history site and is an example of local lore getting some attention. See "Along the Western Trails."

06/24/2022 -- Updated links to Eudora's website as topic continues to be of interest: A Ride to Kansas. 

Rachel (Gardner) Noble

Thomas' sister? We have had a few posts that mentioned Rachel, starting with Gardners and Gardners (via later modifications). In that first post, there is this: "1630 - Rachel (Gardner) Noble, (new, 01/11/2013)"

But, the earliest reference, in that same post, is this Remark: "05/05/2011 -- Did Thomas of Salem have a sister, Rachel?"

The last post dealt with origins which is a source of several research interests.

---

In a sense, we have been remiss in not starting this work earlier. Note, though, that Gardner Research is an on-going effort.

We can split this look at Rachel into two major pieces. One part would be to look at her son and his descendants. That review would also look at Rachel's parents and at her in-laws.

Then, her relationship with Thomas would be the other part.

Now, for each of these, we will collect material sufficiently to allow proper analysis. That material will be, for the most part, on-line work, in the beginning. At some point, more in-depth studies will occur, as needed. The goal is to have a coherent view that TGS, Inc. can support going forward.

--- Mentions ---

Note: this collection is being done in the spirit of brainstorming - therefore, critical responses are suspended until we have gathered enough to start our analysis. Too, no work to date is considered exhaustive and indicative that this study does not have merit. 

- Great Migration. Thomas Noble (purported son of Rachel Gardner and Thomas Noble) is mentioned twice. His son, John, married Mary Goodman. His daughter, Hannah, married John Goodman. Thomas had other children. The Goodmans were children of Richard Goodman (GBM: I to NE 1620-1633, Vols. I-III, p. 786).
- Boltwood, L.M. (1878) Family of Thomas Noble ... (says parents unknown)
- Turner, Betty () The Noble Legacy: ...Gilbert Clifford Noble ... (quotes Boltwood)
- Web page (need to find -- a long-time researcher died; her daughter talked about her mother's work - this was the first time (a few years ago - but, remember, this work started in 2009) that I saw Rachel mentioned as sister - ostensibly, there was supporting evidence - at the time, I was a newbie - sorry about that, now where is that page?)
- See Chart #5.
- 48 Charts in rootsweb include Rachel Gardner, married to Thomas with parents of Thomas and Elizabeth. For Rachel Gardner born 1608 +/- 5 years, there are 263 Charts.
- FamilyTreeCircles - with my comments.
- Blog: A long time ago! (see Whence, again)
- Noble discussions: About Rachel (1998)
- *** Oh, (three years ago) someone paid money to find out that the link is tenuous (justanswer.com)
- Kershaw family (see St. Patrick's Day 2014) - mentions Tudor, but that is via the Archbishop (and has been shown to be not true - Stephen Gardiner).
- ...
- ...
- ...
- ...

Remarks:  Modified: 02/24/2021

06/23/2015 -- In my usual mode, I'm casting a wide net to see what pops up. After seeing the lay of the land (in the virtually non-extant cyber realm), a look at real, physical (as in, they occupy space and can be seen in the sense of time) entities ensues. Notice the bullet marked "***" as, perhaps, indicative of the outcome. But, it's too early. Plenty of reasonable people are touting this. Why?

01/23/2016 -- More on Rachel and Thomas.

08/06/2016 -- More on All things Gardners.

02/24/2021 -- Updated the look. See Rachel, Again. 

Benjamin Gardner

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, descendant of Thomas and Margaret through Sarah Balch, has documented a "brick wall" (see below list, Surname Saturday - 3 Jan 2015) regarding Benjamin Gardner (ca 1720 - 1797) of Boston and Salem (MA) who was known to, and mentioned in the diary of, Rev. William Bentley. The following links summarize, briefly, what has been written so far.

• esog.org (22 Aug 2007) - Post at the Essex Society of Genealogists' site. (3/5/17 - gone stale)
• ...
• Amanuensis Monday - Excerpts from Rev:William Bentley's Diary (20 Sep 2010) - Includes references to the Rev's remarks. 
• Amanuensis Monday - A mystery from Rev. Bentley's diary (27 Sep 2010) - More references. 
• The West End Museum of Boston (12 Oct 2012) - Benjamin was a ropemaker. The post mentions that a large amount of material has been amassed about Benjamin. 
• Surname Saturday ~ HITCHINGS of Lynn, Massachusetts - In generation six, daughter, Mary Gardner, married Abijah Hitchings. 
• My Top Ten Genea-Mysteries (17 Nov 2014) - Benjamin is on the list. 
• Surname Saturday  ~ GARDNER of Salem, Massachusetts (3 Jan 2015) -- Shows line to Thomas and Margaret; also includes two generations related to Benjamin's family.  
•  ...
• Nutfield Genealogy - Gardner label - fifteen posts
• ...

---

Links added after the initial post (in chronological order by the posting). 

• Ancestry board (8 Dec 2003) -- Hitchings connection, Benjamin's daughter married into the family.  
• Ancestry board (10 Jul 2007) -- Information about the puzzle. 
• ...

---

Gardner Research has a lot of interest in how Gardner families might relate or not.  

Remarks: Modified: 03/05/2017

01/03/2015 - Note, Dr. Frank A.'s Gardner Memorial book is digitized and on-line (Hathi Trust). I have been using the 1907 book since it is digitally available. From a brief review of this later book, I can see that Dr. Frank A. made some additions related to Thomas, specifically, as one would expect given the time lapse from 1907 to 1933. So, expect comments, and articles, on differences (see the table of person in the books, side by side). The latter book, Memorial, followed George's line. The first book detailed Dr. Frank A.'s lineage and a few others. Expect an article soon with information about Nathaniel Eaton, who is in the line of Benjamin Brown Gardner.

01/06/2015 -- Verified that the links were going to the right place. Adding links as I find them during a get-acquainted set of searches.

Henry D. Gardiner

Earlier, a post (Places) mentioned that a query had arisen about the origins of Gardiner, OR. There had been a well-documented shipwreck (1850) without loss of lives and with the load being saved and the ship being salvaged for its lumber. Win-win, so to speak.


At the point where the goods were stored on land (nine miles from the wreck site), covered by the ship's tarp sails, a town arose. It was given its name since the person who had commissioned the ship's journey was named Mr. Gardiner. This loose naming was used in several stories, over the long years though there was mention of Boston as his place of business.

Much later, in 1994, an effort to document the town as a historic place resulted in a nice write up (see the "Places" post). That work identified the the owner, Henry D. Gardiner. Now, who was he? It was said that he lived in Boston.

Dr. Silvester Gardiner

namesake of

Silvester Henry Dearborn Gardiner

(source: Wikipedia) 

Too, we were told about the motivation for the shipment and a few other details, but, somehow, anything about Mr. Gardiner was never filled in.

---

We have found Henry D. Gardiner and provide a few bits about his life and times. He did live in Boston and can be found in both the 1855 Massachusetts and the 1860 US Census. His business was said to be lumber which relates to the purpose for the ship, Bostonian, being dispatched around the Cape to Oregon.

Note: A pre-fab house was aboard that was put up by George L. Snelling (who served as postmaster).

Related article: TGA, Vol. II, No. 1 (pg 6). ... See Remarks, this day, for a summary.

Remarks   11/07/2018

12/23/2014 -- Timeline of the barque Bostonian

03/17/2015 -- Snipped the details until the TEG Vol. 35, No. 2 (ESOG) article on HDG and his ships is published (May 2015). Put a comment at the Douglas County Historical Society.

Summary from the Research page:

A very recent example of research was following up on the namesake of Gardner, OR. This list summarizes activity and findings, to date.

• The Gardiner who owned the Bostonian which shipwrecked in 1850 was H.D. Gardiner (this post contains a slew of links to material that is relevant to the subject from which we are developing a series of articles). 
• H.D. married three times. Two of his wives are Thomas Gardner of Salem descendants. So, we will be expanding their tree. 



Bostonian in SF, 1850 

• The Bostonian was on the west coast due to the need to supply the gold rush (49ers). We have traced the ship's activities in the time (1848 on) prior to the shipwreck. We have the passenger list for when it left Boston. Also, see ad and its time frame (image). Then, from San Francisco, the barque went to New Zealand. Most likely, that is where it picked up the cargo that was onboard at the time of the shipwreck.  See timeline for barque Bostonian. 
• This research touches upon many aspects of those times (as in, the way things were (still are?) as an important topic for us) that we will go into. Several examples: for one, newspaper reporting that was very much flowery, judgmental, and opinionated. 
• ...

04/07/2015 -- Article submitted for review (see Timeline).

05/20/2015 -- TEG, May 2015, Vol. 35, No. 2, Pg. 31. The Gardner Annals, Vol. II, No. 1, will publish the article in the near future.

04/08/2017 -- Put in pointer to TGS, Vol II, No 1. Changed image source for Silvester.

08/17/2018 -- The 2nd wife of H.D. was Caroline B. Turner (see note this day at this post) of Maine and not Caroline C. Turner of Nantucket.

11/07/2018 -- On the image from S.F., it said August 1849 which was only one month after the ship left Boston. Obvious typo. Too, we are using this post (The Gardiner that was) to collect and show material.