John Sylvester John Gardiner (1765–1830), aka John S. J. Gardiner, was an American Episcopal priest. He was

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts, president of Boston's Anthology Club, and active in the

Boston Athenæum The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The institution was founded in ...

Early life

Gardiner was born in

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

, to Dr. John Sylvester Gardiner (1731–1793) and Margaret Harries (1740–1786). His father served as Attorney General for the British government in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, where he spent much of his youth. He was the grandson of Silvester Gardiner. He was in educated in Boston and England, where he was a pupil of the famous Dr.

Samuel Parr Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...

. Following the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, he went back to England, only to permanently return to the United States in 1783.

Career

Gardiner was for 37 years the "best-known and most influential Episcopal" clergyman of Boston. Trained for the law, he turned to divinity and for 25 years was rector of Trinity Church, Boston. Despite this conservative bent, he was on very amiable sociable terms with his Unitarian brethren.

George Ticknor George Ticknor (August 1, 1791 – January 26, 1871) was an American academician and Hispanist, specializing in the subject areas of languages and literature. He is known for his scholarly work on the history and criticism of Spanish literature. ...

studied Latin and Greek under Gardiner's tutelage. He served as president of Boston's Anthology Club and was active in the

Personal life

Gardiner was married to Mary Howard (1774–1848), who was born in Augusta, Maine, and was the daughter of Col. William Howard and Martha Howard. Together, they were the parents of three children: * William Howard Gardiner (1797–1880), who was an 1817 graduate of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and who married Caroline Perkins (1800–1867), the daughter of prominent merchant

Thomas Handasyd Perkins Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins, also known as T. H. Perkins (December 15, 1764 – January 11, 1854), was an American merchant, slave trader, smuggler and philanthropist from a wealthy Boston Brahmin family. Starting with bequests from his grand ...

, in 1823. * Elizabeth Gardiner (b. 1798), who died young. * Mary Louisa Gardiner (1799–1862), married

John Perkins Cushing John Perkins Cushing (April 22, 1787 – April 12, 1862), called "Ku-Shing" by the Chinese, was a wealthy American sea merchant, opium smuggler, and philanthropist. His sixty-foot pilot schooner, the ''Sylph'', won the first recorded American ya ...

(1787–1862), a wealthy China opium smuggler, in 1830. The town of Belmont, Massachusetts, is named after their estate. Gardiner died in 1830 in Harrowgate,

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 ...

Descendants

He was the grandfather, through his son William, of Edward Gardiner (1825–1859), a prominent architect.

Works by Gardiner

* "Epistle to Zenas." ''Exchange Advertiser'', June 22, 1786. * ''Remarks on the Jacobiniad'' (1795)
''A sermon delivered before the Humane Society, of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.'' (1803)
* ''A sermon preached at Trinity Church, December 9, 1804, on the death of the Right Reverend Samuel Parker, D.D. Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the state of Massachusetts.'' (1804) * ''A sermon preached at Trinity Church in Boston on fast day, April 7, 1808.'' (1808; Reprinted i
The Port Folio
1808) * ''A sermon, preached before the African Society, on the 14th of July 1810: the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.'' (1810) * ''A sermon, delivered at Trinity Church, Christmas Day, December 25, 1810, on the divinity of Jesus Christ.'' (1810) * ''A discourse, delivered at Trinity Church, Boston, July 23, 1812 on the day of publick fast in Massachusetts, upon the declaration of war against Great-Britain.'' (1812) * ''Life a journey, and man a traveller: A New-Year's sermon, preached at Trinity-Church, on January 4th, 1824, and, by particular desire, delivered again on January 2, 1825.'' (1825)

Image gallery

Image:1795 Remarks on the Jacobiniad byJSJGardiner.png, Illustration from J.S.J. Gardiner's ''Remarks on the Jacobiniad'', 1795 Image:1795 Remarks on the Jacobiniad byJSJGardiner 2.png, Illustration from J.S.J. Gardiner's ''Remarks on the Jacobiniad'', 1795 Image:1805 MonthlyAnthology BostonReview.png, ''

Monthly Anthology The ''Monthly Anthology and Boston Review'' was a miscellaneous magazine published by the Anthology Club of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1804 to 1811. The more famous ''North American Review'' is generally considered to be its successor. Oliver ...

'' 1805 Image:1834 TrinityChurch Boston AmericanMagazine v1.png, Trinity Church, Summer St. (1829 building). Illustration from ''

American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge The ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' (1834–1837) was a monthly magazine based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established by a group of engravers to "give to the public a work descriptive, not merely of subjects, scen ...

References

;Notes ;Sources * Lewis P. Simpson. A Literary Adventure of the Early Republic: The Anthology Society and the Monthly Anthology. ''New England Quarterly'', Vol. 27, No. 2 (Jun., 1954), pp. 168–190. * Quincy III, Josiah, ''The history of the Boston Athenaeum, with biographical notices of its deceased founders.'' Cambridge, Metcalf and Company, 1851.

External links

WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, John Sylvester John 1765 births 1830 deaths 19th-century American Episcopal priests Clergy from Boston 18th-century American Episcopal priests Welsh emigrants to the United States