David Gardiner was the father of Julia Gardiner Tyler

Julia Gardiner Tyler

Julia Gardiner Tyler , second wife of John Tyler, was First Lady of the United States from June 26, 1844, to March 4, 1845.-Early life:...

, wife of U.S. President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 John Tyler

John Tyler

John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...

.

Life

Gardiner was a descendant of Lion Gardiner

Lion Gardiner

Lion Gardiner , an early English settler and soldier in the New World, founded the first English settlement in what became the state of New York on Long Island. His legacy includes Gardiners Island, which is held by his descendants.-Early life:...

 and lived on Gardiners Island

Gardiners Island

Gardiners Island is a small island in the town of East Hampton, New York, in eastern Suffolk County; it is located in Gardiners Bay between the two peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island. It is long, wide and has of coastline...

 in East Hampton, New York

East Hampton (town), New York

The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...

. He was educated at Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 and was a member of the New York State Senate

New York State Senate

The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

 from the 1st District from 1824 to 1827.

USS Princeton explosion

He and his daughter were invited by President Tyler for a trip on the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 aboard the USS Princeton

USS Princeton (1843)

The first Princeton was the first screw steam warship in the United States Navy. She was launched in 1843, decommissioned in 1847, and broken up in 1849....

 on February 28, 1844. As the ship neared Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon (plantation)

Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River.Mount Vernon was designated...

, it fired a cannon called the Peacemaker. It malfunctioned and exploded, killing Gardiner and others, including Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

 Abel P. Upshur

Abel P. Upshur

Abel Parker Upshur was an American lawyer, judge and politician from Virginia. Upshur was active in Virginia state politics and later served as Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of State during the Whig administration of President John Tyler...

; Secretary of the Navy

United States Secretary of the Navy

The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...

 Thomas Gilmer; Captain Beverly Kennon, Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repairs; Virgil Maxcy

Virgil Maxcy

Virgil Maxcy was an American political figure. He was born in Massachusetts, and spent his adult years in Maryland. He was killed in 1844 in a shipboard accident, when a cannon exploded aboard the USS Princeton.-Early life:...

 of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, Chargé d'Affaires to Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, 1837–42; and President Tyler's valet who had been aboard the Amistad

La Amistad

La Amistad was a ship notable as the scene of a revolt by African captives being transported from Havana to Puerto Principe, Cuba. It was a 19th-century two-masted schooner built in Spain and owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba...

; and injured 20 others.

Funeral services for the white victims were held in the East Room

East Room

The East Room is the largest room in the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is used for entertaining, press conferences, ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner...

 of the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

. Gardiner was initially interred at the Congressional Cemetery

Congressional Cemetery

The Congressional Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the final resting place of thousands of individuals who helped form the nation and the city of Washington in the early 19th century. Many members of...

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

  He was later moved to the Gardiner family plot at the South End Cemetery in East Hampton

East Hampton (village), New York

The Village of East Hampton is a village in Town of East Hampton, New York. It is located in Suffolk County, on the South Fork of eastern Long Island...

.

Tyler, whose first wife Letitia Christian Tyler

Letitia Christian Tyler

Letitia Christian Tyler , first wife of John Tyler, was First Lady of the United States from 1841 until her death.-Early Life and Marriage:...

 had died in September, 1842, consoled Julia, and they married four months later. The couple named their first child David Gardiner Tyler

David Gardiner Tyler

David Gardiner Tyler , was a U.S. Democratic Party politician.-Early life:He was born in East Hampton, New York and was the first child born to former President John Tyler and his second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler. He was named after his late maternal grandfather, David Gardiner. As a child, he...

in honor of his maternal grandfather.