 Abt 1605 - 1689 (~ 84 years)
-
| Name |
Deacon Stephen Hart [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] |
| Title |
Deacon |
| Born |
Abt 1605 |
Braintree, Essex County, England  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
19 Sep 1689 |
Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut |
| Person ID |
I8220405349 |
Eby/Aebi and Bernethy Family |
| Last Modified |
24 Nov 2007 |
| Family 1 |
Elizabeth Sarah Symons, b. Barnstaple, Devonshire, England , d. 3 Sep 1678, Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut |
| Married |
Abt 1624 |
Probably England |
| Children |
| | 1. Sarah Hart, b. Abt 1626, d. 1697, Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut (Age ~ 71 years) |
| | 2. Mary Hart, b. Abt 1635, England or Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut , d. 10 Oct 1710, in fall from horse from Northampton to Coventry CT, over age 70 (Age ~ 75 years) |
| | 3. Mehitable Hart, b. Abt 1622, Hartford County, Connecticut , d. 16 Mar 1684, Hartford County, Connecticut (Age ~ 62 years) |
| + | 4. John Hart, b. Abt 1630, Hartford County, Connecticut , d. 15 Dec 1666, Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut (Age ~ 36 years) |
| | 5. Stephen Hart, b. 1634, Braintree, Essex County, England , d. 19 Aug 1689, Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut (Age 55 years) |
| | 6. Rachel Hart, b. Hartford County, Connecticut , d. Aft 12 Sep 1689, Hartford County, Connecticut |
| | 7. Thomas Hart, b. 24 Oct 1643, Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut , d. 27 Aug 1726, Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut (Age 82 years) |
|
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2011 |
| Family ID |
F7500745325 |
Group Sheet |
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-
| Notes |
- Deacon Stephen Hart
STEPHEN HART AND HIS DESCENDANTS By Alfred Andrews
Entire Book at thiswebsite:
http://users.rcn.com/harts.ma.ultranet/family/andrews/index.shtml
http://users.rcn.com/harts.ma.ultranet/family/harts/index.shtml
http://www.mv.com/ipusers/harts/family/harts/book/p039.html#n1
http://www.incpark.com/centralsquare/hart_genealogy.htm
--------------------------
Stephen Hart & His Descendants
http://www.mv.com/ipusers/harts/family/harts/book/index.html
DEACON STEPHEN HART, son of , and his wife, born about 1605, at Braintree, in Essex County, Eng. He came from there to Massachusetts Bay about 1632, and located for a time at (Newtown,) Cambridge, Mass; married . She died, when second he married Margaret, the widow of Arthur Smith, and daughter of . She survived Deacon Hart, and was admitted to the church in Farmington, March 17th, 1690-1. She died in 1693.
Deacon Hart and his first wife were constituent members of the church in Farmington, organized November, 1652, with Rev. Roger Newton pastor. Mr. Hart had been deacon of Rev. Thomas Hooker's church, at Cambridge, Mass., and at Hartford, Conn. He was one of the fifty-four settlers at Cambridge, Mass., was a proprietor at Hartford in 1639, and became one of the eighty-four proprietors of Farmington in 1672. In 1647 he was one of the "deputyes" of the General Court of Connecticut, at their May session. In 1653 he was appointed a Commissioner, by the General Court, for the town of Farmington, to aid the constable in impressing men into the army, then being raised.
Stephen Hart is supposed to have come from Braintree, Essex County, England, with the company that settled Braintree, Mass., and subsequently removed to Newtown, since called Cambridge, and constituted the church of which Rev. Thomas Hooker was invited from England to become their pastor. He was in Cambridge in 1632, and admitted a freeman there, May 14th, 1634. He came to Hartford with Mr. Hooker's company in 1635, and was one of the original proprietors of that place. His house-lot was on the west side of what is now called Front Street, near where Morgan Street crosses it, and there is a tradition that the town was called from the ford he discovered and used in crossing the Connecticut River at a low stage of the water, and so from Hart's Ford it soon became Hartford, from a natural and easy transition. Tradition further says that as he and others were on a hunting excursion on Talcott Mountain, they discovered the Farmington River Valley, then inhabited by the Tunxis, a powerful tribe of Indians. The meadows were probably then cleared, and waving with grass and Indian corn. Such lands were then much needed and coveted by the settlers, who soon - probably as soon as 1640 - made a bargain with the Indians, and settled among them with their cattle. They still continued, however, connected with the settlement at Hartford, attended public worship, and prehaps wintered there. until about 1645, when the town was incorporated by the name of Farmington, from the excellent farms there.* About this time Mr. Roger Newton, a student in theology with Rev. Thomas Hooker, whose daughter he married, began to preach for them, and in 1652 was ordained their pastor. Stephen Hart was one of the seven pillars of the church, and was chosen their first deacon. The other pillars were Rev. Roger Newton, pastor, John Cole (Cowles), John Bronson, Robert Porter, Thomas Judd, and Thomas Thompson.
[The following is from an email message from David E. Taylor (Nov. 21, 2003):
The first English came to Connecticut in 1633 - to Windsor. The first English in Hartford came in the fall of 1635, and the remainder of Rev. Thomas Hooker's Church came to Hartford from Newtown (later renamed Cambridge), Massachusetts Bay in the spring of 1636. Stephen Hart was one of sixteen men who spent the winter of 1635-1636 at the site of current downtown Hartford.]
[The following gives the modern, and better accepted story of how Hartford was named. This was sent to me by Kathleen Baker.
This is from a talk by Dr. Albert E. Van Dusen given at a meeting of the Connecticut Genealogy Society, 20 Jun 1970, and printed by the Society in their Ct Nutmegger, Vol 3 pg 355-373. Rev Thomas Hooker and Thomas Stone lead a group from Massachusetts Bay Colony to Ct "with a purpose to settle upon the delightful banks of Connecticut River." They had about 100 people in the party and 160 head of cattle, plus goats and swine. "There exist several theories about where they crossed the Ct River". "They called their settlement Newtown on the Connecticut River and then later changed it to Hartford. We think this was done because Thomas Stone, who was Hooker's second in command had come from Hertford, England (pronounced just the way we do Hartford)". Hartford was the last of 3 original towns settled, Windsor was first, then Wethersfield, and Hartford in 1636. Saybrook was considered a seperate Colony from the others. There were chosen 8 men to serve as officals of Hartford; Roger Ludlow, William Phelps, John Steele, William Westwood, Andrew Ward, William Pynchon, Henry Smith, and William Swain. Pynchon also established a small settlement up river at Springfield as part of the Ct settlement, but separated from the Hartford group, they didn't like the way he traded with the natives.
Dr Van Dusen is author of the book entitled, "Conecticut", published in 1961, a fully illustrated history of the state from the Seventeenth Century to the present, as well as of numerous articles and book reviews.]
Stephen Hart appears to have taken the lead in the settlement among the Indians in Farmington, and purchased a large tract on the boarder of the present town of Avon, and known to this day by the name of Hart's Farm.** He was one of the first representatives in 1647, and continued, with one exception, for fifteen sessions, until 1655, and once in 1660. In short, no man in the town was more active, influential, and useful. His house-lot, which was four or five times as large as any other, was on the west side of Main Street, in the village, opposite the meeting-house, and contained fifteen acres, extending from Mill Lane to the stone store south. This large house-lot was granted to Deacon Stephen Hart as an inducement to erect and continue a mill on the premises, to be perpetuated and kept in motion. The mill was erected originally by the Bronsons, to whom, as a consideration, was granted, viz: a tract of eighty acres, on the Pequabuk River, now known as the "Eighty Acre." The south part of this house-lot he gave to his son John, and the north part to his son Thomas. ...
gave it to his son Josiah, and it descended to the wife of Roger Hooker, his only surviving child, and to her only son, Thomas Hart Hooker, who sold it to Samuel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The principal leaders in this settlement were John Steele, William Lewis, Stephen Hart, Thomas Judd, John Bronson, John Warner, Nathaniel Kellogg, Thomas Barnes, Richard Seymour, and Thomas Gridley.
** Probably located at or near what is now called Cider Brook, on the east side of the river, and near the bridge, some three miles north of Farmington Village.
gave it to his son Josiah, and it descended to the wife of Roger Hooker, his only surviving child, and to her only son, Thomas Hart Hooker, who sold it to Samuel Dleming. The Demings and their descendants hold it to this day-1874. These lots and lands, in some respects, are the most desirable and valuable of any in the old town of Farmington. He was a representative to the General Court of Connecticut in 1647, and most of the succeeding years to 1660, from the town of Farmington. His widow, Margaret, gave her property to her sons, John and Arthur Smith, and daughter, Elizabeth Thompson. She had grand chidren-Elizabeth, John, and Ann Thompson.
Deacon Hart's Will was dated March 16th, 1682-3. He mentions the farm he formerly gave his three sons, John, Stephen, and Thomas, viz: one-half to John, one-fourth to Steven, and one-fourth to Thomas.
Item.-I give my grandson, Thomas Porter, and my son-in-law, John Cole, my plow and and meadow swamp, which was some time Andrew Warner's farm, abuts on my son Steven, their agreement to my be loved wife being fulfilled.
Item.-I give my sons, Steven and Thomas, and my daughters, Sarah Porter and Mary Lee, my Swamp Lot in the Great Swamp,* and all my uplands to be equally divided between them.
Item.-I give my grandchild, Dorothy Porter, £10.
Item.-I give my grandchild, John Lee, £3.
Item.-I give my grandchild, John Hart, my eldest son's son, £3.
Item.-I give my beloved wife, &c.
The Inventory was taken by Thomas Hart, and John Hart, Selectmen.
Isaac Moore, and Benjamin Judd, Appraisers. Taken March 31st, 1682-3.
Amount, £340 48. House and homestead, £70; land at Nod, east of river; £40.
Deacon Hart was a farmer and large land-holder, located in the village of Farmington, and was a man of great influence, and a leading character. He died March, 1682-3, aged 77 years.
HIS CHILDREN, ALL BY HIS FIRST WIFE, SECOND GENERATION.
2. Sarah, born , married Nov. 20th, 1644, Thomas Porter.
3. Mary, born , married John Lee; second, Jan. 5th, 1692, Jedediah Strong.
4. John, born , married Sarah .
5. Steven, born , wife not known.
6. Mehitabel, born , married John Cole.
7. Thomas, born 1648, married Ruth Hawkins.
[ In the book, "The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633," Volume I, A-F, (by Robert Charles Anderson, Published by Great Migration Study Project, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995) reports on Dea. Stephen's possible daughters, Rachel and Mehitabel are discussed. The report in the book presents a strong argument that the information about Mehitable above is incorrect. There was no daughter named Mehitabel, but instead Stephen had a daughter named Rachel:
"The son-in-law John Cole named in the will of Stephen Hart is stated in some sources to have married a daughter Mehitable Hart [Bassett Gen 391; Flagg 258]. but evidence taken largely from the Winthrop medical records shows that John Cole of Farmington instead married Rachel, daughter of Stephen Hart......
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John Lee of Farmington, Hartford Co, Conn and His Descendants
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/_glc_/5265/5265_351.html
Going back to the pre-Revolutionary period, Stephen Hart, father of our maternal ancestor, took part in the Pequot war of 1637, under Captain John Mason.
CHILDREN.
I. SARAH, born ..... married Nov. 20, 1644, Thomas Porter.
II. MARY, born ..... married John Lee 1658;--2d, Jan. 5, 1692, Jedediah Strong of Northampton. Died Oct. 10, 1710.
III. JOHN, born ..... married Sarah ..... Their house in Farmington was fired by the Indians in the night in Feb., 1666, and the whole familyperished except one son John, 11 years of age, who was absent from home.
IV. STEPHEN, born .... 1634. Wife not known, died at Farmington, Aug.19, 1689. His home was east of the meeting-house. His estate was inventoried at œ633-14s.
V. MEHITABEL, born ..... married John Cole.
VI. THOMAS, born .... 1643, married Ruth Hawkins.
The Harts are a numerous family and their genealogy was published in 1875.
DEACON STEPHEN HART, father of our ancestral mother--Mary Hart Lee--is supposed, from good authority, to have been born at Braintree, Essex Co., Eng., in 1606. Of his English history or parentage, we have no account. It is probable that he came to this country as early as 1630-31, and located first at Braintree, Mass., and subsequently removed to Cambridge, then called Newtowne. It is also probable that one Edmund Hart, who came out at, or about the same time, was a brother of Stephen--both were "made Freemen" on the same day at Cambridge, May 14, 1634.
The name of Stephen Hart is found on record in connection with Wm. Westwood and others, in regard to building a fence to enclose a commonfield at Cambridge, as early as 1632, and he is also represented as oneof the first 54 settlers of the town. His name is also found in the allotment of ground for cow yards in which Westwood is granted one acreand Hart half an acre, and others various amounts. On another occasion Westwood receives 5 acres and Hart 3. For building "Common Pales," (fence enclosing field) Westwood was to build 30 rods and Hart 8 rods, all of which indicates that Westwood had invested in the common stock, a much greater amount than Hart.
The fertile lands in the Connecticut Valley had begun to attract attention, and in the summer of 1635, he went through the wilderness toHartford with the Rev. Thomas Hooker's party, including Westwood andwife, John Lee and Grace Newell, inmates of Westwood's family.
It is stated, and apparently on good authority, that he was an attendant on the ministry of Mr. Hooker of Braintree, Eng., and it is a well known fact that he was one of Mr. Hooker's deacons at Cambridge and again atHartford. The church records at Hartford previous to 1682 are missing, and consequently many interesting items of early church history are lost.
At Hartford, the records show him to have been one of the original proprietors, and a home lot as assigned him on the river bank, on what is now Front street and a little north of the present foot of Morgan street, and may be easily located at the present day. Westwood's lot was about one-half larger and joined it on the south. From the fact of finding their names frequently associated, located on adjoining lots, attending the same church, about the same age, and coming from the same vicinity in England, we may infer that they were particular friends.
It is stated on good authority that Hart joined the expedition against the Pequots under Capt. Mason's command in 1637, and his name may be found in a list of names in the "Memorial History of Hartford County, "vol. 1, p. 50. In 1640 he joined a party of a few others in the settlement of Farmington. Tradition informs us, that he with others were on a hunting excursion on Talcott Mountain and discovered the TunxisValley (since known as Farmington) then occupied by the powerful Tunxistribe of Indians. It was a beautiful valley, and partially cleared, and the prolific crops revealed the fertility of the soil. The country was coveted by the hunters, but there is no evidence that they resorted to any unfair means to wrest it from the Indians. As soon as arrangements could be effected, a purchase was made and the settlement commenced. Outbreaks did, however, often occur and a few years later the house of one of Deacon Hart's sons was attacked in the dead of night, and burned, and every member of the family perished, except one son, a lad of 11years, who was absent from home.
Dea. Hart is said to have been the leading man of the settlement. The settlers still retained their connection with Hartford, attended church there and perhaps wintered there.
About 1645 the town was incorporated by the name of Farmington. Thetownship was laid out 15 miles square, the proprietors being 84 innumber, of whom he was one. When the church was organized Oct. 13, 1652,there were appointed 7 deacons, who were designated as the "7 pillars ofthe church," of which he was named as the first, and no man was more influential or active, either in the church or settlement than Dea. Hart.
He was one of the first representatives of the town in 1647, an office which he held continuously for 15 sessions (two sessions a year) with but one omission--and again in 1660. He purchased of the Indians a large tract of land three miles north of Farmington in the present town of Avonand, for 150 years, known as Hart's farm. His house lot was located on the west side of Main street opposite the meeting-house, and was four or five times as large as any other town lot, consisting of 15 acres, extending from what was known as Mill Lane on the north, to the present stone store on the south, and from Main street, west to the river. The south part of this lot he gave to his son John, and the north part to his son Thomas. A part of the lot eventually came into the possession of JohnLee and became his homestead, and may be easily located at the present time as the site of the Misses Porter's noted school for girls.
In 1653 Dea. Hart was appointed by the General Court as one of a Commission to aid the constable in impressing men into the service for an expedition against the Indians. At this time John Lee was 33 years of age and it would be a subject of interest to learn if he joined the expedition, but unfortunately the names were not preserved.
Dea. Hart was first married in England, and several of his children were born there. His wife died, when he married Margaret, widow of Arthur Smith. Dates are wanting. His son Stephen died Aug. 19, 1689, as may be seen on a rough headstone a few yards east of the monument of John Lee,on which is the following inscription: "S. H. Dec'sd ’ 55. 19: 9: 1689."
"Stephen Hart deceased Sept. 19, 1689." Probate records confirm this. Deacon Hart died in March between the 16th and 31, 1683, aged 77. His will is dated March 16, in which he says "being weak in body, etc," and his inventory is presented in court the 31st. After mentioning what hehad given to his sons John, Stephen and Thomas, he gives to his grandsonThomas Porter, and son-in-law John Cole, his plow land and meadow swamp,"their agreement to my beloved wife being fulfilled." "Item. I give to my sons Stephen and Thomas, and my daughters Sarah Porter and Mary Lee, my swamp lot in the Great Swamp, and all my uplands,to be divided equally between them..........
Lee Family Gathering Pg 112
"The leader of the settlement of Farmington appears to have been Deacon Stephen Hart, a native of Braintree, Eng., -- a man of great piety and worldly possessions, one of the original settlers of Hartford, and ancestor of a numerous family of descendants.
http://www.familytreemaker.com/_glc_/1402/1402_15.html
http://www.familytreemaker.com/_glc_/1402/1402_9.html
Genealogy and Ecclesiastical History of Farmington, Connecticut
Andrews, Alfred. Genealogy and Ecclesiastical History of Farmington,Connecticut. This book contains the Ecclesiastical history, that beginsin 1640, of a territory or part of ancient Farmington, Connecticut.
Bibliographic Information: Andrews, A.H. Chicago, Illinois, 1867.
THE Ecclesiastical history of that territory, or part of ancient Farmington, in Connecticut, lying east of Farmington mountain, bounded east by Wethersfield and Middletown, south by Wallingford, now Meriden,and extending north to what we now call (Clark Hill,) is very difficult to understand. Previous to the year 1705, the inhabitants belonged to the parish of Farmington, and attended public worship, and paid their ministerial taxes there only. Hence the early history of the few families that settled on this territory previous to that date, would be mingled with that of their brethren of the church in Farmington, and the parishioners there. A brief sketch of the settlement of that town, and the early history of that church is therefore deemed essential to the right understanding of subsequent events in their proper order. The first settlers in Farmington were from Hartford, being emigrants from Boston, Newtown, and Roxbury, Mass. They began the settlement in 1640, being fouryears only from the first in Hartford, and were probably attracted by the fine natural meadows on the (Tunxis) Farmington river. The town was incorporated in 1645.(*) The land was purchased of the Tunxis tribe of natives, a very numerous and warlike tribe, by a Comt. and in 1672divided by eighty-four proprietors, to themselves and their heirs according
Crests (of questionable ownership) http://users.rcn.com/harts.ma.ultranet/family/harts/heraldry.shtml
This one, that appears on many of the Stephen Hart web pages, is found in"A Record of the Hart Family of Philadelphia, etc., 1735 - 1920" byThomas Hart; Edited Privately for the Family; Philadelphia, PA; 1920.
The book describes the armorial bearings of this family as:
* Arms-Gu (red).
* A lion passant guardant Or (gold), in base a human heart argent (silver).
* Crest --- A dexter cubit arm holding a flaming sword; all proper.
* Motto --- "Fortiter et Fideliter" [Fortitude (or Strength) and Fidelity].
This second crest is very similar to the one above. It includes a similarlion and silver heart, as well as the same motto. This crest was submitted by Matthew Hart who received it from his grandfather, CovellHart.
http://www.incpark.com/centralsquare/hart_genealogy.htm
Hart coat of arms belonged to the Lord Mayor of London, of that name. It was granted to Stephen Hart in 1589.
The name Hart in England is very common. It seems to be taken by men who were adept at hunting the red deer (at that time called the hart). One version says the first man to receive the name Hart was a hunter for one of the early English Kings. This man was so adept at bringing in the hart (deer) that the king dubbed him Hart.
http://home.wi.rr.com/colebrook/hart.htm
[2] Deacon Stephen HART
Stephan HART. Born 25 JAN 1602, Braintree, Essex, ENG. Died MAR1683, Farmington, Hartford, CT. Son of Stephen HART and ?. Married Sarah, born 1608, Ipswich, Suffolk, ENG. He married his 1st wife named Sarah about 1624, most likely in England as he didn't come to New England until 1633 according to the reference below Married second, ABT 1679, , , CT, Margaret (___) NASH (wid Joseph) SMITH (wid Arthur) . Margaret died 1 MAR 1693/1694, , , CT.
Stephen HART, arrived in Cambridge, MA in 1632/33, moved to Hartford, then Farmington. He was original owner in Farmington, CT, owned lot 24 on original Mill Lane, he was part of the original group of men who first saw the land that would become Farmington, he was Deacon of First Church of Christ in Farmington organized 13 Oct 1652. He was also a deputy from Farmington in May 1647 to 1655, and again in 1660, he was also one of 84 original proprietors of Farmington in 1672
[REF(II)] [REF(
GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE SETTLERS OF NEW ENGLAND, 1620-1700Vol II; p 368
SPOUSE-RESIDENCE-RELIGION-DEATH by H. Trumbuld
SOURCE NOTES: BIRTH-PARENTS: (LDS Ancestral file)
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY, CT. by Edward Osgood, Publ. Boston, 1886
GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE SETTLERS OF NEW ENGLAND, 1620-1700Vol II; p 368
SPOUSE-RESIDENCE-RELIGION-DEATH by H. Trumbuld
SOURCE NOTES: BIRTH-PARENTS: (LDS Ancestral file)
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY, CT. by Edward Osgood, Publ. Boston, 1886
Hart GenealogyPrepared 23 April 1996By Heather (Robinson) Stevens
http://www.incpark.com/centralsquare/hart_genealogy.htm
Deacon Hart's Birthplace (see picture)
The photo above is the 15th century house group where Deacon Stephen Hart was born. It is located on Silent Street. Originally Silent Street was called Colyhil or Colehill Lane, then Half-Moon St (after an inn formerly there) and finally Silent Street. The last name was given because the town crier was forbidden there when the old houses were used as a hospital for the wounded during the Napoleonic wars. The only reason this structure was not torn down is because Cardinal Thomas Wolsey lived in one of them as a boy and owned the group of buildings when he was the lord chancellor of England under King Henry VIII between 1511 and 1530. Stephen Hart Sr. did not own this house, he rented it from 3 pounds a year. http://www.incpark.com/centralsquare/hart_genealogy.htm
*1. Deacon Stephen Hart, was born in Braintree, England in about 1605. He died in March 1682/83 at the age of 77 years in Farmington, Connecticut.
He sailed from London, England aboard the Lyon on about 2 June 1632. To the left is a photo of a model of the ship. It is located in the lobby of City Hall, Braintree, UK. Stephen arrived in Boston, Massachusetts possibly on Sunday 16 September 1632. It is believed by some that he may have come with a brother named Edmund. (others believed he arrived on 2 November 1631, an earlier voyage of the Lyon).
The Lyon was owned by a group of Puritan investors in London. Rev. Thomas Hooker's party, called the Braintree Company, employed the ship and her captain, Mr. William Pierce.
Stephen arrived in Massachusetts Bay and lived in Cambridge and Dorchester.
Stephen was in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1632 and was admitted a freeman there 14 May 1634. In about 1635 he came to Hartford, Connecticut (1 of 10 men). His house lot (in 1639) was on the west side of what is now called Front Street, near where Morgan Street crosses it. There is a tradition that says the town of Hartford was named from the ford he discovered and used crossing the Connecticut River at a low stage of the water. And so from Hart’s Ford it soon became Hartford by an easy and natural transition.
Tradition further says that as he and others were on a hunting excursion on Talcott Mountain, they discovered the Farmington River Valley, then inhabited by the Tunxis, a powerful tribe of Indians. The meadows were probably then cleared and waving with grass and Indian corn. Such lands were then much needed, and coveted by the settlers, who soon-probably as soon as 1640- made a bargain with the Indians, and settled among them with their cattle. They still continued, however, connected with the settlement at Hartford, attending public worship and perhaps wintering there until about 1645 when the town was incorporated by the name of Farmington, from the excellent farms there. The principal leaders in the settlement were John Steele, William Lewis, Stephen Hart, Thomas Judd, John Bronson, John Warner, Nathaniel Kellogg, Thomas Barnes, Richard Seymour and Thomas Gridley.
About this time Mr. Roger Newton, a student in theology with Reverend Thomas Hooker (whose daughter he wed), began to preach for them, and in 1652 was ordained their pastor. Stephen Hart was one of the seven pillars of the church and was chosen their first deacon. These seven pillars, as these godly men were called, satisfied at last with each others “faith and repentance”, adopted a confession of faith and entered into a covenant. They solemnly agreed, first with God, to be his people in Christ, and then with each other, to walk together in strict observance of their Christian duties and in the enjoyment of the ordinances of the church of Christ. He appears to have taken the lead in the settlement among the Indians in Farmington and purchased a large tract on land on the border of the present town of Avon, and know to this day by the name Harts farm; probably located at or near what is now called Cider Brook on the east side of the river and near the bridge, some 3 miles North of the Farmington Village. He was one of the first representatives in 1647 and continued, with one exception, for 15 sessions until 1655 and once in 1660. He was a farmer and a large landholder; a man of great influence, and a leading character there. His house lot was four or five times as large as any other, and was situated on the west side of Main Street, opposite the meetinghouse. It contained 15 acres.
He was an early member of the church. His name is on the founder's monument. His name also appears on the plaque on a boulder at the corner of Main & Arch Street in Hartford called Adventurers Boulder. “In memory of the courageous Adventurers who inspired and directed by Thomas hooker journeyed through the wilderness from Newtown (Cambridge) in the Massachusetts Bay to Suckiaug (Hartford)-October 1635. Stephen also lived in Farmington, and was one of the original members of Farmington Church 13 October 1652 and deacon. Stephen was an original proprietor at Hartford. He was deputy from Farmington May 1647 to 1655 and again in 1660; one of the 84 proprietors of Farmington in 1672. His will dated 16 March and Inventoried 31 March 1682/83. Inv. L340-4. Stephen also enlisted during the Pequot War of 1637 from Hartford. He had a lot in the soldiers field. He was listed as being from Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1632.
Deacon Stephen Hart was married twice. The name of his first wife has not yet been found. Some sources believe it to be Sarah.
His second wife was Margaret, the widow of Arthur Smith and widow of Joseph Nash before him. Margaret died 1 March 1692 (also found 1693/94) at the age of 93 years. He may have married her in about 1679. She gave her land to her children; John and Arthur Smith and her daughter Elizabeth Thompson. Her grandchildren were Elizabeth, John and Ann Thompson. End
A descendant of Stephen HART is Diana Spencer, the Princess of Wales.
1. Stephen Hart 1602/3-1682/3
2. Mary Hart abt 1630-1710 +John Lee 1620-1690
3. Tabitha Lee 1677-1750 +Preserved Strong 1679/80-1765
4. Elizabeth Strong 1704-1792 +Joseph Strong Jr 1701-1773
5. Benajah Strong 1740-1809 +Lucy Bishop 1747-1783
6. Joseph Strong 1770-1812 +Rebecca Young 1779-1862
8. Ellen Wood 1831-1877 +Frank Work 1819-1911
9. Frances Ellen Work 1857-1947 +James Boothby Burke-Roche 1851-1920
10. Edmund Maurice Burke-Roche 1885-1955 +Ruth Sylvia Gill 1980-
11. Frances Ruth Burke-Roche 1936- +Edward John Spencer 1924-
12. Diana Spencer HRH The Princess of Wales 1961- + Charles HRH
The Prince of Wales 1948-
Source:Gen History of Deacon
Stephen Hart and his descendants - Andrews and a book by
Gary Boyd Roberts, through Nancy Bainter
on the net bainter@esdsdf.dnet.ge.com
http://home.wi.rr.com/colebrook/hart.htm
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| Sources |
- [S3133897019] Genealogy and Ecclesiastical History of Farmington, Connecticut , Andrews, Alfred, 14.
- [S3133896429] Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography, Amer. Historical Society, 1917, 28 & 103, 92, 108, 279, 280.
- [S3133897794] John Lee of Farmington, Hartford Co, Conn and His Descendants, Sarah Marsh Lee, of Norwich, CT, (Republican Record Book Print, 1878, 1st Ed.).
- [S3133896765] Founders of Hartford, CT State Library.
- [S3133897992] Lee Family Gathering, Author: no author, (Call Number: CS71.L48), 112.
- [S3133896893] GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE SETTLERS OF NEW ENGLAND, 1620-1700, 368.
- [S3133899691] STEPHEN HART AND HIS DESCENDANTS 1632-1875, Alfred Andrews, (AUSTIN HART, Publisher, NEW BRITAIN, HARTFORD Co., CONN., February 11th, 1880.).
http://users.rcn.com/harts.ma.ultranet/family/andrews/pii.html
- [S3134056322] Stephen Hart and His Descendants, Alfred Andrews, (1875).
- [S3134057833] "Hartford" Stanley Families of America.
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