Lion Gardiner (1599-1663)

He was born in England but his parentage remains a matter of debate. He was in the service of Prince William of Orange as "Engineer and Master of Works & Fortifications" in Holland where in 1624 he married Mary, daughter of Derek Deurcant. In 1635, he was commissioned by several English noblemen (including the Earl of Warwick. Viscount Saye & Sele, and Lord Brooke) to build a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River and to create a settlement there. Sailing from London and having endured "many great tempests" he arrived with his wife and her maid at Boston, November 28th, 1635. On May 3rd, 1639, four years after completing Fort Saybrook, he bought Gardiner's Island (that he named the Isle of Wight) off the east end of Long Island from the Montaukett chief, Wyandanch, who he supported during the Pequot War (1636-38). The purchase price was, "one large black dog, some powder and shot, and a few Dutch Blankets". The island measures nine miles long, contains about 3,300-acres, and in 1989 was valued at $125-million. It remains in the possession of the Gardiner family today and is one of the largest privately owned islands in the States. He had three children (listed).

Despite the legend thats surrounds Major Richard Smythe's acquisition of Smithtown on Long Island, the story that is popularly attributed to Smythe was in fact Gardiner's story.