Gardner (whaling family)
Encyclopedia
The Gardner family were a group of whaler
s operating out of Nantucket, Massachusetts
from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Some members of the family gained wider exposure due to their discovery of various islands in the Pacific Ocean
. By marriage, they were related to the Coffins
, another Nantucket whaling family.
' 1828 report to the US House of Representatives
describes Capt. Edward Gardner's discovery of a 25-mile long island situated at 19°15' N, 166°32' E, with a reef at the eastern edge, while captaining the Bellona in 1823. The island was "covered with wood, having a very green and rural appearance" and was probably, Reynolds concludes, Wake Island
, placed on charts of the time by John Arrowsmith
.
(1815-18; 1818-21; 1821-22), and two on the Maria (1822-25; 1825-28). In 1818 George discovered the "Offshore Ground" (5°
to 10°S
and 105°
to 125°W
). Within two years more than fifty whaleships were cruising for sperm whales on this ground. During the first voyage on the Maria, George discovered an island in the Austral group
which he named Maria
, but has also been known as "Hull Island" and "Sands Island".
In his 1828 report, JN Reynolds credited George with the discovery of various other islands:
George died in 1838.
, which discovered Gardner Island. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican Party to the Eleventh Congress (March 4, 1809-March 3, 1811).
(Nikumaroro), in the Phoenix group
in the Pacific Ocean
.
In the mid 1820's, Gardner commanded the whaleship Ganges
, operating in the Pacific. He discovered an island in 1825, located at 4°20' S, 174°22' W, and named it "Gardner's Island". His discovery was reported in the Nantucket Enquirer, December 1827. However, contemporary Joshua Coffin is sometimes credited with the discovery.
During the United States Exploring Expedition
of 1838-1842, Charles Wilkes
identified Gardner's Island from the reported position, and confirmed its existence. Modern positioning places Nikumaroro (also known as Kimins Island) at 4°40' S, 174°31 W.
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
s operating out of Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the United States. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the coterminous Nantucket County, which are consolidated. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket...
from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Some members of the family gained wider exposure due to their discovery of various islands in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. By marriage, they were related to the Coffins
Coffin (whaling family)
The Coffin family were a group of whalers operating out of Nantucket, Massachusetts from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Some members of the family gained wider exposure due to their discovery of various islands in the Pacific Ocean....
, another Nantucket whaling family.
Edward Gardner
Jeremiah N. ReynoldsJeremiah N. Reynolds
Jeremiah N. Reynolds , also known as J.N. Reynolds, was an American newspaper editor, lecturer, explorer and author who became an influential advocate for scientific expeditions...
' 1828 report to the US House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
describes Capt. Edward Gardner's discovery of a 25-mile long island situated at 19°15' N, 166°32' E, with a reef at the eastern edge, while captaining the Bellona in 1823. The island was "covered with wood, having a very green and rural appearance" and was probably, Reynolds concludes, Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
, placed on charts of the time by John Arrowsmith
John Arrowsmith
John Arrowsmith may refer to:*John Arrowsmith , Master of Trinity College, Cambridge*John Arrowsmith , geographer and map publisher, nephew of the cartographer Aaron Arrowsmith...
.
George Washington Gardner
Born in 1778, George was given command of the whaleship Sukey in 1809. In 1811, he captained the William Penn, but the ship was captured in 1813. Later, George made three whaling voyages on the GlobeGlobe (whaleship)
-External links:*...
(1815-18; 1818-21; 1821-22), and two on the Maria (1822-25; 1825-28). In 1818 George discovered the "Offshore Ground" (5°
5th parallel south
The 5th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 5 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
to 10°S
10th parallel south
The 10th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 10 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
and 105°
105th meridian west
The meridian 105° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
to 125°W
125th meridian west
The meridian 125° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
). Within two years more than fifty whaleships were cruising for sperm whales on this ground. During the first voyage on the Maria, George discovered an island in the Austral group
Austral Islands
The Austral Islands are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific. Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely in the northwest the Tubuai Islands consisting of the Îles Maria, Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai...
which he named Maria
Îles Maria
Îles Maria or simply Maria, also known as Hull Island, is a small coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Its original name is Nororotu. The nearest land is Rimatara situated 205 km to the ESE....
, but has also been known as "Hull Island" and "Sands Island".
In his 1828 report, JN Reynolds credited George with the discovery of various other islands:
"Captain George Washington Gardner discovered the following islands, &c., which are not laid down on any of the charts: An island, north latitude 30 degrees30th parallel northThe 30th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 30 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It stands one-third of the way between the equator and the North Pole and crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....
, east longitude 144 degrees144th meridian eastThe meridian 144° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
; An island, north latitude 39 degrees39th parallel northThe 39th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 39 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
, east longitude 39 degrees39th meridian eastThe meridian 39° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
; An island, north latitude 30 degrees30th parallel northThe 30th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 30 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It stands one-third of the way between the equator and the North Pole and crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....
, east longitude 44 degrees 20 minutes; Rocks, north latitude 31 degrees31st parallel northThe 31st parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 31 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean.Part of the border between Iran and Iraq is defined by the parallel....
, east longitude 155 degrees155th meridian eastThe meridian 155° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
; An island, north latitude 37 degrees37th parallel northThe 37th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 37 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
, east longitude. On the coast of New Albion, an island, north latitude 33 degrees33rd parallel northThe 33rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 33 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....
, west longitude 119 degrees 30 minutes. On the coast of New Albion, an island, north latitude 21 degrees 55 minutes, west longitude 155 degrees 10 minutes. Maria Island, not on the charts, abounds with fish and wood, but no water; is low and dangerous. A rock, in latitude 20 degrees south20th parallel southThe 20th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 20 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
, longitude 167 degrees 45 minutes west, not on charts, nor any published list; dangerous shoals in the neighborhood. Palmyra Island is in 5 degrees 58 minutes north, and 162 degrees 30 minutes west longitude. There is a dangerous reef 30 miles north, extending E.N.E. and W.N.W., very narrow, and fifteen miles in length."
George died in 1838.
Gideon Gardner
Gideon (May 30, 1759 - March 22, 1832) was a successful shipmaster and ship owner; he is reputedly the owner of the whaleship GangesGanges (whaler)
The Ganges was a whaleship from Nantucket, Massachusetts operating in the Pacific Ocean during the mid-nineteenth century. It was probably the vessel reported to have found Gardner Island in the Phoenix group...
, which discovered Gardner Island. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican Party to the Eleventh Congress (March 4, 1809-March 3, 1811).
John Gardner
Reynolds also reported island discoveries by John Gardner, made while he was captaining the Atlantic a short time previously:"The first island, in north latitude 8 degrees 48 minutes, longitude 144 degrees 35 minutes east. The second island, in north latitude 1 degree 7 minutes, longitude 165 degrees east. The third island, a cluster, south latitude 2 degrees 15 minutes, longitude 152 degrees 5 minutes east. Also, a cluster of reefs and shoals, extending N.N.E. and S.S.W. between the latitudes of 1 degree 35 minutes and 2 degrees 15 minutes south, and longitude 153 degrees 45 minutes and 153 degrees 15 minutes east. John Weeks, second officer, saw an island in 2 degrees north, longitude 150 degrees east, one mile long, surrounded by a coral reef six miles from shore. This island is low, and abounds in cocoa nuts."
Joshua Gardner
A nineteenth century whaler, Joshua is often credited with the discovery of Gardner IslandNikumaroro
Nikumaroro, or Gardner Island, is part of the Phoenix Islands, Kiribati, in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a remote, elongated, triangular coral atoll with profuse vegetation and a large central marine lagoon. Nikumaroro is approximately 6 km long by less than 2 km wide...
(Nikumaroro), in the Phoenix group
Phoenix Islands
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs, lying in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are a part of the Republic of Kiribati. During the late 1930s they became the site of the last attempted colonial...
in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
In the mid 1820's, Gardner commanded the whaleship Ganges
Ganges (whaler)
The Ganges was a whaleship from Nantucket, Massachusetts operating in the Pacific Ocean during the mid-nineteenth century. It was probably the vessel reported to have found Gardner Island in the Phoenix group...
, operating in the Pacific. He discovered an island in 1825, located at 4°20' S, 174°22' W, and named it "Gardner's Island". His discovery was reported in the Nantucket Enquirer, December 1827. However, contemporary Joshua Coffin is sometimes credited with the discovery.
During the United States Exploring Expedition
United States Exploring Expedition
The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States from 1838 to 1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. The voyage was authorized by Congress in...
of 1838-1842, Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...
identified Gardner's Island from the reported position, and confirmed its existence. Modern positioning places Nikumaroro (also known as Kimins Island) at 4°40' S, 174°31 W.