Edmund Gardner (1784 - 1875)

Born 8 Nov 1784 in Nantucket, Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Susanna (Hussey) Gardner — married 25 Aug 1807 in Nantucket, Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died 16 Sep 1875 at age 90 in New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

When he was 78 years old, Edmund wrote in his autobiography^[1] that he “was born and brought up on the Island of Nantucket.” Records, however, indicate that he was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on 8 Nov 1784.^[2] He was the youngest of 10 children born to Thomas and Anna (Worth) and he mentions that two older brothers, like his father, “followed the sea.”

Edmund first went to work on a ship in 1800 at age 16 on the sloop Dove. Although this voyage was financially unsuccessful, the experience enabled him to join the crew of the ship Union under Capt. Grafton Gardner soon after to the whaling grounds off Patagonia. He became an officer on the Union on its next voyage in 1803. With additional voyages on the Union in 1804 and 1806 Edmund reached the rank of first officer.

In 1807 he planned to take some time off from sailing to get married. He married Susanna Hussey on 25 Aug 1807^[3] when he was 22 years old. His planned time off was cut short when the owners of the Union offered him the command when the former captain declined. He sailed on his fifth voyage on the Union as captain two months shy of his 23rd birthday in September 1807.

Lost at Sea

About 12 days into this voyage, Edmund’s first as captain, the Union was in rough seas in the middle of the Atlantic when it struck a whale. The damage was too great to repair and Edmund quickly decided to abandon ship with his crew of 15 in the three smaller whaling boats. They watched the Union sink soon after at 1 a.m. It became difficult to keep the three boats together so it was decided to squeeze the crew into two. The first night on the lifeboats the weather worsened:

“it rained powerfully the lightning ran down in streams around us, and a more dismal night was never experienced by any of us and 'tis doubtful if any of the survivors have seen a more dismal night since.”

One of the boats nearly swamped. It took a week and almost out of rationed water, but Edmund was able to navigate the boats to the Azores, a group of small islands that were 350 nautical miles from where the Union sank. All survived. Edmund visited the various islands before catching a ship returning to the U.S. in March, 1808.

Passing through New Bedford, Edmund met David Coffin commander of the ship Maria and agreed to join his crew as first officer on a whaling expedition to new fishing grounds in the Pacific Ocean that lasted 21 months. He was next offered the command of the ship Winslow which sailed August 1810 for the Pacific returning in late 1811. The War of 1812 prevented any ships from leaving harbor for nearly four years.

Chewed by a Whale

Edmund’s next voyage with the Winslow sailed in July 1815. He was 31 years old. While pursuing whales off the coast of Peru in February 1816, Edmund took the place of the harpooner after he missed the whale. After harpooning the whale it caught Edmund in its jaws throwing him back into the boat, severely injured:

“I was bleeding copiously when taken on board, my shoes were quite full of blood. When on board, found one tooth had entered my head breaking in my skull, another had pierced my hand, another had entered the upper part of my right arm, the fourth had entered my right shoulder, from the shoulder to the elbow of the right arm was badly fractured, My shoulder was broken down an inch or more (where it now is), my jaw and five teeth were broken, tongue cut through, my left hand was pierced with a tooth and much broken and very painful.“

It took nearly a week to reach a port. He instructed his officers on how to treat the wounds:

“My second officer was an ingenious man. I directed him to make splints for my arm and how they should be made. My first officer prepared bandages. When all things were in readiness had some of the sailors called down to aid in setting the arm. My second officer extended the arm. I encouraged him by telling him not to be afraid to pull, that all the bones might come into their proper places. I then told my first officer to press the bones into their places. He did so and I have as straight an arm as any man.”

Edmund knew of an “old Doctor” in one of the port towns from a previous voyage and put himself under this doctor’s care. He would convalesce in Peru for several months before rejoining his ship and returning home in June 1817.

At home in Nantucket taking time to recuperate from his injuries, Edmund filled his time as an instructor teaching mathematics and navigation. During this time, he lost three young sons to whooping cough.

Balaena Voyage 1818-21

He next took command of a newly built ship Balaena and sailing in November 1818 eventually reaching the Pacific fishing grounds making a port-of-call in San Francisco. The Balaena was the first whaler to reach the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands in September 1819 where it took on supplies. He also brought home on this voyage two Hawaiian natives the first to visit the U.S. On a second voyage on the Balaena, the Hawaiians returned home and the ship pursued whales as far as Japan. Edmund next took command of the ship South America sailing in August 1823 for South Atlantic. This would be his last whaling voyage due to the falling price of whale oil. His last command would be trading voyages on the ship Phebe Ann to Brazil and then to Europe in 1825. In 1826, Edmund retired as ship captain and moved his family to New Bedford where he became a ship owner/investor and took over cooperage and candle-making businesses.

He remained in New Bedford, appearing in the 1850 U.S. Census^[4], until his death in 1875. ^[5]

Edmund updated his autobiography in 1870 adding a description of the skills required of a ship captain:

“Perhaps there's no person whose powers and skill are called into action more frequently than the commander of a South Sea Ship. He is dubbed the old man (regardless of his age) in my own got that appellation at twenty-two years. In the first place the Ship and all pertaining is under his care and direction the large number of a whaling ship's company, all of different dispositions, and all liking to have their own way, the Captain is the umpire between his Officers and between Officers and men, for they all have rights, and order and subordination must be maintained or all will fail. The next in course is the Captain must be a Physician, Surgeon, and Dentist, to keep his company in health. Then comes his many other duties as Mechanic of all things, to build a boat, make a spar for any particular place, to make a sail to fit any place where tis desired, in addition Cordage is made from single yarns and ropes made for every purpose on shipboard even for standing rigging. In addition to the before named duties of the Captain, he is always supposed to know his exact position. There are no better Navigators than some of the South Sea Whaling Captains (there are exceptions).”

Summary of Whaling Voyages

List of Capt. Edmund Gardner's whaling voyages serving as Master^[6] :

Ship	Port	Depart	Return	Destination	Oil Harvest
Union	Nantucket, MA	19 Sep 1807	8 Oct 1807	Brazil/Patagonia	—
Winslow	New Bedford, MA	1 Aug 1810	5 Feb 1812	Pacific	1200 bbl
Winslow	New Bedford, MA	7 Jul 1815	6 Jun 1817	Pacific	1350 bbl
Balaena	New Bedford, MA	10 Nov 1818	10 Jun 1821	Pacific	1500 bbl
Balaena	New Bedford, MA	30 Jul 1821	1823	Pacific	1500 bbl
South America	Nantucket, MA	1823	1824	Brazil/Patagonia	1481 bbl

Note :

The ship Union was lost at sea near the Azores; crew survived.

The Balaena was the first whaling ship to reach the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands in 1819.

Average crew size was 22 with average age of 23 (16-47).

Edmund was aged 22 when he departed on his first whaling voyage in 1807 as Captain and 39 upon return of his final voyage in 1824.

Research Notes

According to Bullard, of Edmund's twelve children, six boys died young including three that died of whooping cough the same year, 1817. There were two who died as infants prior to that. The following are the dates recorded in the Nantucket Death Record^[7] attributed to Edmund but individuals not named:

29 Sep 1811

14 May 1812

13 Jul 1817

15 Aug 1817

5 Oct 1817

The last three deaths were probably those of Thomas, Charles and Paul. The first two were infants whose names were not recorded.

Edmund was the fifth Gardner-Family owner of the Swain-Gardner Tankard manufactured by silversmith Jeremiah Dummer about 1689 and passed down through at least seven generations. He passed it down to his son Edmund B. Gardner.

Sources

1. ↑ Bullard, John M., ed. Captain Edmund Gardner of Nantucket and New Bedford: His Journal and his Family. New Hampshire:The Cabinet Press, 1958.
2. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6M-WYB : 10 February 2018), Edmund Gardner, 08 Nov 1784; citing NEW BEDFORD,BRISTOL,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873758 IT 2.
3. ↑ The Barney Genealogical Record Online Database, Nantucket Historical Association
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD9J-32P : 12 April 2016), Edmund Gardner, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; citing family 652, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.)
5. ↑ "Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N726-MTL : 22 May 2019), Edmund Gardiner, 16 Sep 1875; citing New Bedford, Massachusetts, v 274 p 129, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 960,207.
6. ↑ “The Whaling History”, database, New Bedford Whaling Museum, accessed 31 Mar 2022, entry for Edmund Gardner: WRI AM2094, https://whalinghistory.org/wri/AM2094 .
7. ↑ “Early Vital Records of Massachusetts From 1600 to 1850,” database, The Massachusetts Vital Records Project, accessed 30 Mar 2022, Nantucket Deaths, p 325-326, https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Nantucket/Nantucket/aDeathsG.shtml .

Additional sources:

• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQDC-YF4 : 15 January 2020), Edmond Gardner in entry for Mary H. Gardner, 1818.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQDB-RPB : 15 January 2020), Edmund Gardner in entry for Lydia H. Gardner, 1818.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQD1-TJJ : 15 January 2020), Edmund Gardner in entry for John H. Gardner, 1822.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6M-WBM : 15 January 2020), Edmund Gardner in entry for Edmund B. Gardner, 1822.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQD1-W9M : 15 January 2020), Edmund Gardner in entry for Anna W. Gardner, 1824.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQD1-M24 : 15 January 2020), Edmund Gardner in entry for Susan B. Gardner, 1826.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQD1-P25 : 15 January 2020), Edmund Gardner in entry for George Gardner, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, 27 Jan 1828.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQDB-FYC : 15 January 2020), Edmund Gardner in entry for Mary H. Gardner, 1830.
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHCG-BNK : 10 November 2020), Edmund in entry for Frederick L. Allen & Susan B. Gardner, 15 Jan 1856; citing Marriage, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004273857.
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHBN-Q4C : 16 August 2021), Edmund in entry for Frederick S. Allen & Susan H. Gardner, 13 Nov 1862; citing Marriage, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004279296.
• "Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2ZM-LX96 : 22 July 2021), Edmund in entry for John Girk and Mary H Gardner, 18 Mar 1867; citing New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 1,994,022.
• "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDSG-RRD : 29 May 2021), Edmund Gardner, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, 1870.
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHH9-JH2 : 10 November 2020), Edmund Gardner, 16 Sep 1875; citing Death, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004273856.
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHBV-3SK : 16 August 2021), Edmund in entry for John Girdwood, 1 Apr 1899; citing Marriage, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004279296.
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHVD-FX3 : 10 November 2020), Edmund Gardner in entry for Lydia H. Gardner Spooner, 18 Oct 1902; citing Death, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004273870.
• Bullard, John M., ed. Captain Edmund Gardner of Nantucket and New Bedford: His Journal and his Family (New Hampshire:The Cabinet Press, 1958), https://whalesite.org/anthology/bullard.htm (accessed 27 Apr 2023).

See also :

• Whaling ship Union (1793)