David Gardiner

A graduate of Yale University and a lawyer, David became a New York State Senator. David was extremely interested in the early history of East Hampton and his family's ancestry. He authored Chronicles of East Hampton in a series of articles first published in the Sag Harbor Corrector in the early 1840's. Posthumously, they were published as a book. His daughter Julia (1820-1889) was known for her beauty. After taking the grand tour in Europe, she spent some time on the social circuit in Washington, D.C., where she caught the eye of President John Tyler. She and her father were guests aboard the U.S. Frigate Princeton when a gun fired as a salute, exploded, killing many of the prominent guests and government officials including David Gardiner. Julia and President Tyler were unharmed and shortly thereafter married.