David Lion Gardiner (1816-1892)

He was born at 43 Lafayette Place in New York City, the elder brother of U.S. First Lady Julia (Gardiner) Tyler. He was descended from the proprietors of Gardiner's Island which he later bought from his cousin, Lion Gardiner, to become the 13th Proprietor. He was educated at Clinton Academy in East Hampton before graduating from Princeton (1836). He was admitted to the Bar of New York in 1842 and briefly practiced as a lawyer while also serving as aide-de-camp to his brother-in-law, U.S. President John Tyler. In 1849, he went with the Gold Rush to California, eventually settling in San Diego where he went into business with fellow New Yorker John R. Bleecker as Gardiner & Bleecker, Shipping & Commission Merchants. His brother, Alexander, shipped them prefabricated houses, wagons and food from New York. They built the first stone house in San Diego on Point Loma and owned what would later become a valuable property adjoining the Sante Fe Railroad Depot. After the death of Alexander and his brother-in-law, John Beeckman, he returned to New York, living with his mother at Castleton (see images) on Staten Island, and investing in real estate on her behalf.

In 1860, he married his cousin, Sarah, daughter of David Thompson, President of the New York Life Insurance & Trust Co., through whom he inherited Sagtikos Manor at Bay Shore on Long Island. After their marriage, they lived a comfortable life in Europe, only returning to New York in 1885 where they kept a townhouse on West 57th Street. They were the parents of three children (listed). After becoming the 13th Proprietor of Gardiner's Island, their eldest son became the 14th Proprietor and their daughter became the 15th Proprietor, building the Georgian-Revival manor as seen today in 1947.