Red coats wreaked havoc on Honest Hart's farm and mills

To drive he and his family

                                                   up to hide away in the hills.

        John Hart was the son of Edward Hart, a Justice of the Peace, public assessor, and farmer.  His grandfather was also named John Hart, a carpenter who came to Connecticut from Newtown, Long Island.

         Moving to New Jersey with his parents at an early age, John had little formal schooling.  He became well known for his common sense; and he later informed himself about the law.  Benjamin Rush, described him as "a plain, honest, well meaning Jersey farmer, with but little education, but with good sense and virtue enough to pursue the true interests of his country."

        In 1739, he married Deborah Scudder, daughter of Lt. Richard Scudder, and had 13 children:  Sarah, Jesse, Matthew, Nathaniel, John, Susannah, Mary, Abigail, Edward, Scudder, Baby Girl, Daniel, and Deborah.  Around 1739-1740 John's family bought 193 acres on the north side of what is now the town of Hopewell.

       In 1742, John and his father Edward together repurchased 100 acres of their own land.  Edward had bought 50 acres years before, and they added 50 acres of Edward's brother's land.  In a title dispute, they were forced to repurchase the land from the estate of John Coxe, of the New Jersey proprietors, for 144 pounds, 13 shillings, and 6 pence.  The original price paid was 10 pounds per hundred acres.  In 1747, John donated to the Baptists a parcel of ground from his front meadow for them to build a church since it was convenient for them.   As he was a Presbyterian, this seemed very kindly and generous to the Baptists.  Until well after the revolution, the area was thereby called Baptist Meeting House.

        In 1746, Edward (John Hart's father) was granted a warrant to assemble a company of militia, at his own expense until the government took over, to fight the French in Canada by the New Jersey provincial government.  When they arrived in Perth Amboy 6 weeks later, they found they were the 6th company of 5 agreed to by the government.  This caused a great financial setback to Edward.

       The royal governor considered the company "by far the most likely and able-bodied men that had been raised,"  so he recommended that New York take them.  He further set aside some of the outfitting money from the state for the militia to feed the men while Captain Edward went to Albany to get approval.  The company later went to Albany to await deployment.  Fifteen months later they were dismissed.  Invading Canada did not happen, and Capt. Edward did not get reimbursed by the Royal treasury for his trouble.  He spent his remaining years trying to recover his expenses.

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        John Hart served with distinction in the pre-Revolutionary legislatures of New Jersey, and in 1765 was one of the first to recognize the tyrannical character of the Stamp Act.  In 1776, he was elected as one of five delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration.  Shortly thereafter, his farm, mills, livestock, and property were destroyed by Hessian mercenaries.  Hart's wife became faint and ill; and on Oct 5th he rushed home to be with his sick wife.  On the 7th he returned to the Assembly, but was called home again.  On the 8th, Deborah Hart died.

       The mighty British invaded the state, and Washington could not stand against them; he took his men in retreat across state.  In the coldest part of winter when upon hearing the British were seeking to capture him, the elderly Hart hid in the forest, sleeping in caves, at one point hiding in a natural rock formation.  His children were forced to hide and seek refuge with family and friends.  http://www.usa-patriotism.com/heroes/first_patriots.htm   

 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. II Corinthians 1:7

        By the time he returned home, he was exhausted and sick.  It was not long after that that he died, died owing money; and due to the depreciation of colonial money and an abundance of land taken from loyalists available, most of his property was sold for a pittance.  His sons later moved to the frontiers, his daughters married area men.       

http://www.weigelfamily.com/hart_john.htm         Reproduction of all or any parts of the above text may be used for general information.
This HTML presentation is copyright by Barefoot, April 2006  http://www.barefootsworld.net/johnhart.html  Image above by Ole Erekson, Engraver, c1876, Library of Congress

    The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, Westhampton, NJ, is devoted to furthering an appreciation of our national heritage through historic preservation, patriotic service, and educational projects.  Its museum properties: Peachfield and the Old Schoolhouse are preserved to enrich and enlighten a diverse public and to encourage the understanding of architectural, agricultural, and educational values through time.