This information
is largely taken from a chart, The Hart Family of Canada,
compiled [in the 1950’s?] by Vernon C. P. Gaunt. It has
come to my attention that this chart is inaccurate in many
ways. Leland
Harvie, director of the Nova Scotia Genealogical Network Assn.,
also a Hart descendant, is soon to publish his book on the
Hart family, which undoubtedly will correct many previous misconceptions.
His site can be found here.
The following is
from the chart:
"The greatest emigration
England had known began when the first contingent of the Winthrop
fleet of 11 vessels, brought together at Southampton, sailed
on March 29, 1630. During the course of that year 17 vessels
carrying 1,000 passengers left for New England. Thus began
the great Puritan migration which, within ten years, was to
bring more than 20,000 colonists to America. Between 1630 and
1641, 65 ministers destined to furnish the principal leadership
of the colony arrived from England. They were all of them university
trained; two-thirds of them from Cambridge University, England.
Massachusetts intolerance was the reason for the formation
of other New England colonies, making many brave anew the hardships
of forming new settlement in the wilderness. Thus, Connecticut
colony was the direct result of rebellion in Massachusetts,
some being expelled therefrom and some leaving of their own
accord. This began in 1635 and it became a veritable exodus
the following year, following reports of the broad, rich level
meadows along the Connecticut River. Rev. Thomas Hooker, the
most eloquent of the Bay clergy found many things displeasing
in the Massachusetts system.
"The Connecticut founders
maintained the established practice of keeping the best and
wisest people in control. General colonial affairs were in
the hands of ‘freemen,’ persons chosen to ‘freemanship’ by
the General Court; these never constituted more than one-third
of the adult males. In contrast only 1708 out of 15,000 were
citizens of the Massachusetts Bay Colony."
The above reflects the prevalent
and unfortunate secular attitude toward the Puritans. They
were extremely conservative in attitudes and practices, but
also very reliant on the Lord and His leading in their lives,
and His blessing was upon their colonies because of that reliance.
Those who found that reliance restrictive did leave. And those
who rebelled consistently, and would not repent of their rebellion
when confronted, were asked to leave. Thomas Hooker did not
leave in rebellion. John Winthrop, then leader of the Puritan
colonies, felt leaders should be appointed on the basis of
their qualifications. Thomas Hooker, however, believed that
the freemen [the landholders--many signed on as indentured
servants for a pre-determined time, in order to pay their passage
to the new world, and after paying their debt they could be
admitted as freemen, and own land also] should be able to vote
for their leaders, thereby making the leaders accountable to
the people and avoiding the possibility of tyranny. Hooker
and Winthrop discussed this earnestly, and Hooker and his people
left only after Winthrop’s blessing and agreement. They
went, not to rebel, but to be an extension of the Puritans,
to settle new lands to the west, and try out their new form
of government, which was the predecessor to the democracy under
which the United States now operates. They were also the beginning
of the westward exodus, which would last until the country
was populated all the way to the Pacific Ocean, more than 200
years later.
(This view of the Puritans
comes from the book The Light and the Glory, by Peter
Marshall and David Manual, and published by Revell. This book,
and their second book, From Sea to Shining Sea, are
about the spiritual history of America.)
First Generation— We begin with two
brothers:
1. Stephen Hart,
born about 1605 at Braintree, Essex, England; died in March 1682; age
77.
2. Edmund Hart,
he is supposed to have been one of the first settlers of Dorchester,
MA, but later moved to Weymouth. His children were all girls, there were
no boys to carry the name.
Second Generation— Stephen
Hart, born about 1605,
in Braintree, Essex, England; died March 1682; age 77. In 1632 he came
to America (Massachussets Bay Colony) with the company of Puritans that
settled Braintree, MS. He was one of the 54 original settlers of Newtown
(now Cambridge), MA, and was admitted as a freeman there on May 14, 1634.
According to the chart, in 1634, he, with a Mr. Ford, founded the city
of Hartford, Conn. However, I have read other ideas on the matter. He
was a deacon of Rev. Thomas Hooker’s churches in both Cambridge
and Hartford. He later moved his family to Farmington, CT. He and his
wife were constituent members of the church there which was organized
in 1652.
His second wife was Margaret, widow of Arthur Smith, she died 1693.
1. Sarah Hart,
born in England. Married (Nov. 20, 1644) Thomas Porter. He died 1697.
Lived on the lot adjacent to Stephen.
2. Mary Hart,
born in England. Married John Lee. Lived on lot north of Stephen. Freeman
by the General Court in 1654. He died in 1690. Second marriage, Jeddich
Strong, died Jan. 5, 1692.
3. John Hart,
born in England, died 1666. Married Sarah. In 1660, was elected to a
committee to examine Thirty Mile Island. In 1666 Indians fired the homestead,
the entire family died in the fire except a son, John, who was not home
at the time.
4. Steven Hart,
died about 1689, wife unknown. Had 7 children.
5. Mehitabel Hart,
married John Cole.
6. Thomas Hart,
Captain, born 1643; died Aug. 27, 1726, in Farmington, CT; 83 years old.
Buried with military honors. Married Ruth Hawkins.
Third Generation— Thomas
Hart, born 1643; died
Aug. 27, 1726; 83 years old. Married Ruth Hawkins, born Oct. 24, 1649;
died Oct. 9, 1724; 75 years old. He was a captain, buried with military
honors. Inherited one quarter of father’s farm. Made a freeman May
1644. Justice P. for Hartford County 1698 & 1701-06. In Oct. 1702,
was appoointed to a committee to settle a line between Connecticut and
Rhode Island. He and John Hooker were the two prominent men of the town
and conspicuous in the colony. Deputy for Farmington for 13 periods between
1690-1706, speaker of General Court 1700, 1704-06. His estate comprised
2,000 acres.
1. Mary Hart,
born Dec. 5, 1666; died April 28, 1752; 86 years old. Married (Dec. 20,
1683) Samuel Newell, born 1660; died Feb. 15, 1753; 93 years old. They
had 7 children.
2. Margaret Hart,
born at Farmington; died 1735. Married (June 11, 1689) Asahel Strong
of Northampton, MA, died 1739. Rev. Cyprian Strong was a grandson.
3. Hawkins Hart,
born 1677, in Farmington; died March 24, 1735; 58 years old. Married
Sarah Roys.
4. Thomas Hart,
born March 1680; died Jan. 29, 1773; 93 years old. Married (Dec. 17,
1702) Mary Thompson, died Oct. 1763. They had 7 children.
Second marriage (Jan. 11, 1764), widowed Elizabeth Norton (he was 84
years old, she 79 years old at the time!). He was Deacon of the church
at Kensington, CT.
5. John Hart,
Rev., born April 12, 1682; died ?. Baptized April 23, 1682, entered Yale
in 1702 at Saybrook, was the second person to graduate from there. Ordained
Nov. 1707 in E. Guilford. Married (March 12, 1712) Rebecca Hubbard, died
Sept. 29, 1715.
Second marriage (Aug. 12, 1717), Sarah Bull, died Feb. 4, 1719.
Third marriage (Dec. 6, 1720), Mary Hooker.
6. Hezekiah Hart,
of Kensington, died Sept 29, 1752. Married Martha Beckley of Wethersfield,
born Oct.15, 1692; died Sept. 7, 1752; 60 years old. They had 9 children.
7. Josiah Hart,
Capt., baptized Dec. 6, 1686; died Jan. 28, 1758; 72 years old. Married
Sarah Bull, born Nov. 5, 1684; died July 1, 1737; 53 years old.
Second marriage, Lois Goodwin.
Fourth Generation— Hawkins
Hart, born 1677,
in Farmington; died March 24, 1735; 58 years old. Married (Sept.
7, 1701) Sarah Roys, born April 3, 1683; died Jan. 31, 1733;
40 years old. He represented Wallingford in the General Court
of Sessions 1714-1732.
Second marriage, Mary Street, widowed daughter of Rev. Joseph Elliot.
1. Nathaniel Hart,
born June 19, 1702 in Farmington; died Oct. 2, 1750; 48 years old. Married
Martha Lee.
2. Ruth Hart,
born Aug. 13, 1704, in Farmington. Married William Merriam of Lynn, MA,
born Feb. 12, 1697; died Oct. 5, 1751; 54 years old.
Second marriage, Edward Parker, a deacon.
3. Infant Hart,
born Sept. 6, 1706; died Sept. 12, 1706; 6 days old.
4. Hawkins Hart,
born March 1, 1708, in Wellingford; died April 17, 1756; 48 years old.
Moved to Southington. Married (Nov. 30, 1730) Susanna Merriam, his sister-in-law
[see #2 above]. She died Feb. 23, 1737. They had 10 children in 6 years!
Second marriage (April 5, 1738), Esther Grindley, born March 17, 1706,
in Farmington.
5. Sarah Hart,
born May 21, 1710, in Wellingford. Married (Oct. 16, 1730) Stephen Ives,
born March 24, 1704. They had 3 daughters.
6. Esther Hart,
born Aug. 12, 1712; died 1806; 94 years old. Married John Webb.
7. Thomas Hart,
born Sept. 29, 1714 in Wellingford; died July 12, 1801; age 87. Married
Hannah Coe, born April 1712; died Nov. 1783; 71 years old. They had 11
children.
Second marriage, Rachel Barnes.
8. Elizabeth Hart,
born 1716. Married (Nov. 13, 1738) William Jerome of Bristol, born Aug.
28, 1717; died June 1794, in Bristol; 77 years old.
9. Mary Hart,
born June 21, 1719. Married (July 1, 1741, in Farmington), Ebenezer Hawley,
born Dec. 10, 1713; died March 3, 1769; 56 years old.
10. Benjamin Hart,
born Jan. 28, 1722; died 1745; 23 years old. Married (March 1744) Phoebe
Rich. They had one child.
11. Samuel Hart, (son of Hawkin’s second wife)
born July 18, 1735; died Jan. 12, 1805; 71 years old. Married (Oct. 9,
1759 in Durham) Abridget Fowler, died Nov. 6, 1827.
Fifth Generation— Nathaniel Hart, born June 19, 1702 in Farmington; died Oct. 2, 1750;
48 years old. Married (Dec. 21, 1727) Martha Lee, born Feb. 17,
1701 in Farmington; died 1760, 59 years old.
1. Nathaniel Hart,
born Sept. 5, 1729, in Wellingford; died 1810, in Goshen, CT; 80 years
old. Married (Jan. 23, 1753) Alice Hall, born Sept. 8, 1731; died Sept.
9, 1775; 44 years old. They had 12 children.
2. Timothy Hart,
born Aug. 24, 1731. Married (May 6, 1751, in Wellingford) Phoebe Fenn,
born Feb. 12, 1735.
3. Martha Hart,
born Jan. 11, 1733, in Wellingford. Married (1752) Joseph Curtis.
4. Hawkins Hart,
born Feb. 1736; died May 26, 1824, in Berkhamstead; 88 years old. Married
(Feb. 12, 1761) Abigail Hall, born Aug. 15, 1727; died May 20, 1807,
in Wellingford; 80 years old.
5. Ebenezer Hart,
born Aug. 21, 1739. Not married. He was a farmer.
6. Josiah Hart,
born Feb. 12, 1741, in Wellingford; died 1828; 87 years old. Married
Lydia Moss.
7. Phoebe Hart,
born April 20, 1764. Married Mr. Preston.
8. Esther Hart,
married Mr. Curtiss.
Sixth Generation— Josiah
Hart, born Feb. 12, 1741,
in Wellingford, CT; died 1828; 87 years old. Married (Feb. 10, 1765)
Lydia Moss, born Feb. 22, 1741; died Dec. 25, 1809; 68 years old. Was
first at Shelburne, later sailed up coast of N.S. and found Guysborough
Harbor; he settled there on the Hollowell grant with the Atwaters. Had
a jewelry store in Halifax.
1. Rama Hart,
born Jan. 26, 1766. Married Sarah Wood, born 1753 in Saybrook, CT. She
came to Guysboro at the same time as the Harts and other Loyalists did.
2. Joseph Hart,
born July 21, 1767; died in infancy.
3. Jairus Hart,
born Feb. 17, 1769. Married (Dec. 1795) Frances Godfrey. They had 12
children.
4. Irad Hart,
born Jan. 2, 1771. Married Armenia Ingram, born 1788. They moved from
Guysboro to Margaree, Cape Breton about 1909. They had 6 children. [Evelyn
Harvie, now deceased, gave me this line of descent:]
5. Tyrus Hart,
born Jan. 13, 1773, in Wellingford, CT; died July 31, 1828; 55 years
old. Married Martha Ingraham.
6. Panthia Hart,
born Jan. 10, 1775. Married Charles Myers.
7. Lydia Hart,
born April 19, 1777. Married William Simpson.
8. Lee Hart,
born Aug. 23, 1779; died Feb. 23, 1872; 93 years old. Married (March
7, 1803) Margaret Langille, died Feb. 22, 1872; 87 years old.
9. Ithiel Hart,
born Dec. 17, 1782; died Oct. 27, 1807, struck by lightning; 24 years
old. Not married.
Senenth Generation— Tyrus Hart, born Jan. 13, 1773, in Wellingford, CT; died July
31, 1828; 55 years old. Married Martha Ingram, sister of Armenia, who
married brother Irad (#4 above). She was born 1782, died May 1826; 44
years old. The sisters’ father, Hezekiah Ingram, was also a Loyalist,
born 1753, in Saybrook, CT. Their mother was Sarah Wood. Martha died
in childbirth, with her 14th child. The story goes that Tyrus went to
Guysboro that morning (they lived three miles away in Boylston) where
he had opened a store and was building a house for the family to move
into soon. When he left that morning, there was no sign of any problem.
He came home by ferry that evening, and found Martha dead--there was
no one to help deliver the child but a neighbor. The child lived, and
was named Levi. This happened about the time Christopher Jost came to
Guysboro from Halifax, and was becoming close to the family [9 years
later he married Harriet, one of the daughters]. Tyrus asked Christopher
to be Levi’s godfather. [see Reminscences of Christopher Jost]
Tyrus died just two years after Martha did.
1. Joseph Hart,
born Sept. 28, 1801; died Jan. 30, 1890, in Guysboro, NS; 89 years old.
Married (Jan. 31, 1826) Charlotte Anne Atwater, born March 12, 1803;
died Feb. 18, 1883, 80 years old. They had 9 children.
2. William Hart,
born Jan. 11, 1803, in Manchester; died Nov. 4, 1884; 81 years old. Married
(Nov. 3, 1831) Letitia A. Whitman, born 1806, died April 19, 1886. William
learned of his mother’s death a day later, (he was out of town on
business) and saw that Tyrus was grief-stricken. He went to Halifax for
his bride, brought her back to the house he had ready for her, and took
over much of Tyrus’ responsibility as head of the family.
3. Tyrus Hart,
born Dec. 20, 1804. Married Arabella McIntosh.
4. Martha Hart,
born Aug. 10, 1805; died July 2, 1878; 73 years old. Married (1830) Spinney
Whitman.
5. Sarah Hart,
born Feb. 12, 1807; died June 7, 1869; 62 years old. Married (Jan. 27,
1835) M. W. Smith, a minister. Her grandchildren included Canada’s
first Canadian-born Governor General, Vincent Massey [he served from
1952-1959]; and his brother, actor Raymond Massey [he played Dr. Gillespie
in the old TV series, Dr. Kildare].
6. Jacob Hart,
a twin, born June 8, 1809.
7. Styles Hart,
a twin, born June 8, 1809; died Sept. 25, 1890; 81 years old. Married
(1838) Mrs. Emmeline St. Clair Marshall, born April 23, 1819; died June
22, 1886; 67 years old.
8. Elizabeth Hart,
born Oct. 18, 1813; died Nov. 25, 1905; 92 years old. Married (1841)
William G. Scott. A runaway horse upset her carriage, and she was lame,
practically bedridden, the rest of her life. Clara says, "We called
them Aunt Scott and Uncle Scott." Their granddaughter, Maude Sinclair,
married Christopher Arnaud Jost [son of Burt, son of Christopher--see The Jost Family, Third Generation],
they were second cousins.
9. Harriet Hart,
born Oct. 10, 1815; died Feb. 9, 1896; 80 years old. She was 11 years
old when her mother died. In later years, Harriet told Clara Marr that
she remembered, at nine years old, standing on a chair kneading bread
for the whole family. They had to grow up quickly to help out and raise
the younger ones. Married Christopher Jost.
10. Maria Hart,
born July 16, 1817; died Jan. 24, 1885; 68 years old. Married George
Cunningham; died 1894. They moved to Los Angeles at the same time Christopher
Francis Jost moved to Banning, CA.
11. Jairus Hart,
born March 31, 1819; died Dec. 1, 1906. Married Eliza Cook. A wealthy
merchant in Halifax, had a large ornate brick home.
12. Reuben Hart,
born Aug. 10, 1821; died Jan. 29, 1907; 86 years old. Married Grace Cunningham.
Also wealthy, and generous--helped out needs in Guysboro, especially
the church.
13. Lavinia Hart,
born May 18, 1823; died Jan. 26, 1905; 82 years old. Married Abraham
Whitman, born in Halifax, died 1894. He became a wealthy merchant in
Canso, NS, where they lived. Like "B&G Jost" store, sent
to Newfoundland for cod. They had five children:
14. Levi Hart,
born May 18, 1826; died Dec. 23, 1907; 81 years old. Christopher Jost
was his godfather [see Reminiscences
of Christopher Jost]. Married (Nov. 6, 1852) Jane Deborah Whitman,
a descendant of Miles Standish, also of Princess Annette of Netherlands.
She died March 15, 1897. Levi was a well-to-do merchant in Halifax, had
a lovely home with grass tennis courts.
Eighth Generation— Harriet Hart, born Oct. 10, 1815; died Feb 9, 1896; 80 years old.
Married (1837) Christopher Jost, born July 22, 1805, in Halifax, NS; died
March 28, 1884, in Guysboro; 79 years old. [see The Jost Family, for their descendants.]
Sources:
•Chart: The
Hart Family of Canada, compiled [in the 1950’s?]
by Vernon C. P. Gaunt for Howard D. Hart, MD, of Saskatoon,
Sask., from available material and records supplied by
Miss Lillian M. D. Hart of Sackville, NB, both descended
from Joseph Hart, brother of Harriet Hart, our grandmother.
•Dr. A. C. Jost, Guysborough:
Sketches and Essays--the dates in his book conflicted
frequently with those on the above chart. Since I used
the chart first, I arbitrarily chose to keep those dates.
•Clara Jost Marr--[in
her notes, she mentions that a John Hart had a son, Sir Eustace
Hart, born in Stratford-on-Avon, England. And that Sir Eustace
Hart married Joan Shakespeare, the sister of the William
Shakespeare. Stephen Hart, who came to the USA was one of
their grandsons. Unfortunately, I don’t know her source
for that information. However, in one biography of Shakespeare,
I find that Joan married a William Hart,
a poor hatter. Their children are listed as Thomas, Mary,
John and , but their grandchildren are not listed. So. .
.which is right? I don’t know, but I think I’ll
call the famous playwrite "Uncle Bill" from now
on! Anyone else want to try to solve the "Hart Connection?"]
•The Light and
the Glory, by Peter Marshall and David Manual.
Published by Revell.
The
Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His
deeds!
The Lord is near
to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth!
Psalm 145:17&18 (NASB)
