John Gardner

John Gardner was born to Jonathan and Elizabeth Gardner on March 19, 1736, in Salem, Massachusetts. One of nine children who made it to adult hood, he is often referred to, in town documents, as “John Gardner 3d”. His father, Johnathan, was an eminent merchant who helped make Salem famous in the eighteenth century, and like his father, John became a prosperous merchant. He was also a town Selectman, a member of various town committees, and was Captain of the First Salem Company in the First Essex Company Regiment in 1767. He served on important committees during the Revolutionary War, including the Committee of Correspondence Inspection and Safety, and advanced money to pay soldiers. John was also adeacon of the First Church in Salem, but in his old age he mostly attended the Universalist Church, where he bought a pew on the first floor.

On April 13, 1769, he married Sarah Derby, the daughter of Richard and Mary (Hodges) Derby, and they had three children: John, born August 12, 1771; Sarah, born 1773; and Richard, born August 1774. Johnathan Gardner died in 1783; a portion of his son John’s inheritance consisted of were real estate, including his father’s mansion and land at Gardner’s Corner (the northwest corner of Essex Street and Washington Square West); £600; two common rights in the Great Pasture in Salem; two pews in the Great Meeting House; and interest in Long Wharf. John’s most important land holdings were the various lots that made up Gardner Farm, on the road between Salem and Danversport, which he and his heirs continued to enlarge. Misfortune in the War of 1812 led to the loss of some property by his creditors, namely to the Salem Bank, Jonathan Hodges, Ebenezer Bickford, and William B. Dodge. John died January 3, 1816.