CREEL-L Archives

Archiver > CREEL > 2004-08 > 1093480697


From: "pat creel" <>
Subject: Robert D.L. Gardiner & Alexandra (Gardiner) Creel Goelet -- last page
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 19:38:36 -0500


copied from The Independent, New Hamton

Heir To the Isle Dies At 93
By Kathryn Georgette

The Independent

Robert David Lion Gardiner, the last heir to carry the name of the
family that has owned Gardiner's Island since 1639, passed away at his Main
Street, East Hampton home on Monday morning. He was 93.
Mr. Gardiner was born in New York on February 25, 1911 to Robert
Alexander Gardiner and the former Nora Loftus. He attended St. George's
Prepatory School in Newport, Rhode Island, graduated from Columbia
University in 1934, then attended Yale Law School. He also served as a Navy
lieutenant during World War II.
Mr. Gardiner was living in New York and working on Wall Street, when
he and his sister Alexandra Gardiner Creel inherited the island in 1953 from
his aunt Sarah Diodati Gardiner. In 1961 he married Eunice Bailey Oakes, who
survives him. The couple never had children.
Mr. Gardiner worked for his family's real estate agency. His personal
wealth was once reportedly worth $135 million, and his holdings included a
shopping center in Islip. In addition to serving on the Suffolk County
Planning Board, he also ran as a Democratic candidate for the New York State
Senate in 1960, unsuccessfully.
Gardiner's Island, which is comprised of 3340 acres, is located off
the coast of the South Fork of Long Island in Gardiner's Bay. It was
originally obtained by Lion Gardiner, from a grant given by King Charles I,
of England, and was the first Colonial English settlement in New York State.
It is the only real estate still intact as part of an original royal grant
from the English Crown. Lion reportedly purchased the island in 1639 for "a
large black dog, some powder and shot, and a few Dutch blankets."
Robert D.L. Gardiner, who named himself "the 16th Lord of the Manor,"
long sought to solely control the future of the island, and has had a long
standing feud with niece Alexandra Creel Goelet, who now stands to inherit
sole ownership of the island.
The disagreement began in the late 1970s when the trust fund set aside
for Gardiner's Island's up-keep began to dwindle, and Alexandra Gardiner
Creel and Robert D.L. Gardiner were charged with splitting the island's
maintenance fees. Reportedly, Mr. Gardiner refused to pay his half of the
expenses, while his niece's husband, Robert Goelet, began footing the bill
for the island's expenses. While Mr. Gardiner was reportedly delinquent in
the hopes that New York State would take control of the island and deem it a
historic site, in 1980 the Creel-Goelet family took Gardiner to court and he
was barred from the island.
In 1992 the state appeals court ruled that as an heir Gardiner could
not be kept from the island, and he returned to visiting the island
regularly and holding tours once more. The reported two million dollar per
year maintenance fees continued to be paid solely by the Creel-Goelet
family.
According to a local source, Gardiner "beefed up" his summer tours to
anywhere between 20 to 30 a summer, each comprising of about a dozen lucky
individuals. The Lord of the Manor, who loved to regale visitors with the
stories of his esteemed ancestry, would begin tours in South End Cemetery in
East Hampton at the Tomb of Lion Gardiner. Next on the tour was a walk
through his Main Street manse, followed by a trip to the island aboard his
boat "The Laughing Lady." Upon reaching their destination, the groups would
have lunch before touring the expansive grounds, including the family
cemetery and the rock formation said to be the burial site for Captain Kidd'
s treasure.
Mr. Gardiner, according to a local source, used to joke that the
Goelets "don't even want my dead body here." He used to tell visitors
touring the island's cemetery, "This is where I will rest, but I hope not
too soon."
Mr. Gardiner will not be buried on the family's island, as was his
wish, but rather at the South End Cemetery, this Friday at 11 a.m. A
memorial service will be held in mid-September at Saint Luke's Episcopal
Church.

This thread: