Hello. I'm researching the surname GARDINER. I will tell you everything I know and if someone can help

My great grandfather John Gardiner was born in Conception Bay, Newfoundland in about 1888 as he was 23 in 1911 when he married Hilda MacDonald (the adopted daughter of Angus and Effie MacDonald) in the small village of Port Morien near Glace Bay. According to the marriage record John Gardiner was the son of John and Dinah, and the record keeper mistakingly spelled the name Gardner without the letter "I" in the name. I do not know the exact date when the Gardiner's came here from Newfoundland, but I was told by my cousin Tyrone Gardiner that it occurred at the turn of the century. About 1900 I assume.

All I know about my great grandfather John Gardiner is that he died of appendicitis attack (presumably) while working in the mines. He was a coal miner. His wife Hilda passed away on May 31st, 1977, and her obituary says that John predeceased her by 40 years... meaning his death occurred in approximately 1937. According to Hilda's obituary she is buried in Black Brook Cemetery, Port Morien. I think it's safe to assume that John is buried there as well.

John Gardiner had six children with Hilda MacDonald: Margaret Effie Gardiner, Henry Spracklin Gardiner aka Sonny, Mary Elizabeth Gardiner, George Edward Gardiner aka Babe, James Wallace Gardiner aka Tut and Joan Thelma Gardiner.

Additional facts I know about John and Hilda's children that may help. Henry was the father of Tyrone Gardiner, a famous Cape Breton boxer who was the Canadian Lightweight Champion in 1964. George Gardiner was the president of the Glace Bay Branch 3 Royal Canadian Legion at the time of his death (1971). James Gardiner (my grandfather) was the Captain of the Sydney Fire Department and he retired somewhere around 1989.

I have reached a number of blocks in the metaphorical road on this genealogical expedition. My aim is to learn more about John Gardiner and his wife Hilda MacDonald and their families. As of the current date I have been able to locate a birth record, a death record, or a census for John Gardiner and his parents John and Dinah. I can't even confirm if the appendicitis attack he took in the mines is a true story or not.

If anyone has any leads they can offer up to help me on this expedition please share. I've been searching for almost eight months with little accomplished. I would love to know more about the Gardiner's/Gardner's, and who they were before, and be able to trace the line back before they came over to Cape Breton from Newfoundland.

Thank you ahead of time, best of wishes.

Matthew