George Gardner Family Papers 1659-1900; bulk: 1820-1890 Guide to the Collection

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Sources Collection Description Related Materials Acquisition Information Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

Samuel Pickering Gardner (1767-1843), was born in Salem, Mass. to John Gardner (1731-1805) and Elizabeth Pickering (1737-1823). He graduated from Harvard College in 1786 and moved to South Carolina, where he engaged in the mercantile business with his brother John. In 1793 he moved to Boston, where he remained for the rest of his life. He maintained an office at 66 Long Wharf, then later at 15 Winter Street. He held various properties in Beverly, Wenham, and Newburyport.

In 1797, he married Rebecca Russell Lowell, daughter of Judge John and Sarah (Higginson) Lowell. They had five children who lived to adulthood: Elizabeth Pickering, Mary Lowell, John Lowell (1804-1884, m. Catherine Endicott Peabody), Sarah Russell, George (1809-1884).

John Gardner (1760-1792), was born in Salem, Mass. to John Gardner (1731-1805) and Elizabeth Pickering (1737-1823). He became a successful merchant and moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he died at age 32.

George Gardner (1809-1884) was born in Boston to Samuel Pickering and Rebecca Russell (Lowell) Gardner. He graduated from Harvard in 1829, and by 1838 was working in his brother’s mercantile business at John L. Gardner & Co. on 47 India Street. In 1848, he started his own company, George Gardner & Co., with George J. Furness on 5 Liberty Square in Boston. In 1859, Gardner partnered with his nephew, Joseph Gardner. He also owned several ships including “Grotius” 1839-1843, “Pleiades” 1840-1842, “Orlando” 1859, and “Arabia” 1864. In 1853 he inherited property from his father on Summer Street as well as shares of “Proprietors of India Wharf.” Interested in using Summer Street for commercial purposes, George Gardner built up and expanded the property. He also inherited property from his grandmother, Elizabeth Pickering Gardner (1737-1823).

He married Helen Maria Read (1819-1888) in 1838. They had four children: Helen Read, Francis Lowell (1841-1861), who attended Harvard College and died from quick illness in his junior year, Elizabeth (1843-1867, m. Charles W. Amory), and Clara.

John Lowell Gardner (1804-1884) was born in Boston, the eldest son of Samuel Pickering and Rebecca Russell (Lowell) Gardner. He graduated from Harvard in 1821, and in 1824 began his successful career as a merchant in Boston. In 1825 he was a partner in the firm of Gardner & Lowell at 23 Long Wharf with Francis G. Lowell. In 1836, John L. Gardner and his brother George formed a partnership under the name John L. Gardner & Company, with offices at 47 India Street. In 1850 he moved to State Street and in 1853 took his son George A. Gardner into the business. Largely interested in commerce in the East Indies and Russia, he traded also with Sumatra, primarily importing pepper. During his later years, he took a less active role in his merchant business and turned his attention to real estate matters in Boston and Brookline. He held properties in Salem, Boston, Brookline, and Maine.

He married Catherine Endicott Peabody in 1826. They had five children who survive into adulthood: Joseph Peabody (m. Harriet Sears Amory), George Augustus, John Lowell (m. Isabella Stewart), Julia, and Eliza Blanchard.

Sources

Archives, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Carter, Morris, Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court, 1925.

Gardner, Frank Augustine, Gardner Memorial, A Biographical and Genealogical Record of the Descendant of Thomas Gardner, Planter, Cape Ann, 1624; Salem (Naumkeag, 1626-1674), 1933

Collection Description

The George Gardner family papers consist of four boxes, one oversize box, and one volume, the bulk dating from 1820-1890. The collection is divided into four series: George Gardner papers, Gardner family papers, Amory family papers and Printed materials.

The majority of the collection consists of the personal papers of George Gardner, including personal correspondence with his family from 1831 to 1878, business correspondence pertaining to improvements to his Summer Street property, legal papers including his will, and house records consisting of architectural drawings and records pertaining to his Summer Street property. Also included are estate records of James Read, Rebecca Russell (Lowell) Gardner, and Sarah Johnson for which Gardner served as trustee, along with his own financial papers.

The collection also contains papers pertaining to the Gardner family, including family correspondence spanning from 1775 to 1842; deeds, agreements and family wills; writings; genealogical materials of the Gardner, Pickering and Lowell families; family financial papers; and diaries of Samuel Pickering Gardner, 1821-1840.

In addition to papers relating to the Gardner family, there are also papers relating to the Amory family including legal papers mainly pertaining to land disputes in the Boston area, deeds and agreements, financial papers and papers pertaining to a shipping dispute in Savannah, Georgia.

Related Materials

Gardner family papers, 1655-1959; bulk: 1820-1890.

Gardner family papers, 1772-1915.

John Lowell Gardner travel diaries, 1823.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Dr. Catherine Lastavica, May 2006

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

George Gardner family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Artifacts removed from this collection include a Francis Lowell Gardner mourning pin, Samuel P. Gardner snuff box and mourning pin, unidentified Gardner snuff box and mourning ring, and unidentified set of antique keys.