Silvester Gardiner
| Silvester Gardiner | |
|---|---|
Silvester Gardiner, c. 1772, by John Singleton Copley
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| Born |
June 29, 1708 South Kingstown, Rhode Island |
| Died | August 8, 1786 (aged 78) Newport, Rhode Island, |
| Occupation | Physician, drug merchant and land developer |
| Known for | founding Gardiner, Maine |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Gibbons Love Eppes Catherine Goldthwaite |
Dr. Silvester Gardiner (June 29, 1708 – August 8, 1786) was a physician, pharmaceutical merchant and land developer of Maine.
He was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, the son of William Gardiner and Abigail Remington. After studying medicine in New York, London and Paris, Dr. Gardiner opened a practice in Boston, where he became a lecturer on anatomy. He actively promoted inoculation for small pox, for which he proposed and established a hospital in 1761. But he made his fortune importing drugs for distribution and sale. He contributed generously to the construction of Boston's King's Chapel, where he was a warden, and also to the compilation and publication of a prayer book. But he is most remembered for his purchase and development of over 100,000 acres (400 km²) of wilderness on the Kennebec River in Maine, where he founded what is today the city of Gardiner.
A proprietor of the old Plymouth Patent, his efforts to settle the territory were unceasing between 1753 and the American Revolution. He selected the location of Gardinerstown Plantation, established in 1754 at the head of navigation on the Kennebec River, at its confluence with the Cobbosseecontee Stream, which had falls to provide water power for industry. A millwright, carpenter and other workmen were induced to settle and build his town. He promoted immigration and land cultivation. He contributed a valuable library, and built the first Episcopal church in Pittston, from which Gardinerstown would be set off in 1760.
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