John HART

Notes:

Name:
All of the family of John with the exception of his son John, who was absent at the time, were burned to death in the night in their house in 1657. (The son John took advise of his father's estate under the will of his grandfather in 1683.) "Mr. Julius Gay gives the date of the burning of John Hart's house as Dec. 15, 1666." (Anderson's History of Waterbury, I., p. 118, note.)

Born in England and married Sarah. They resided in Farmington, where he was made a freeman by the General Court, at their May session 1654. Sarah, his wife, joined the church at Farmington, Oct. 9th, 1653; he was admitted to the church April 2, 1654. he was one of the first settlers of Tunxis, and bought his house lot of the original owners, and among the list of the eighty-four proprietors of 1672, is numbered the 'Estate of John Hart.' At the October session of the General Court, in 1660, a committee was raised to examine 'Thirty Mile Island,' with the view of settlement, when John Hart, of Farmington was elected one of said committee. His sad and untimely death occurred on this wise, wiz; his house, which was located near the center of the village, was fired in the night by Indians, and he and all his family, with the exception of his eldest son, John, who was that night at Nod, or Northington, since called Avon, looking after the stock on a farm they owned there, perished in the flames. What aggravated the public calamity was the burning of the town records at the same time. the General Court made diligent search among the Tunxis tribe for the incendiaries, but this neither restored life nor records. This fire occurred 1666.

Family/Spouse: Sarah ?. Sarah died in 1666. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Sarah HART was born about 1653 in Farmington, Connecticut; was christened on 23 Oct 1653; died in 1666.
2. Capt John HART was born about 1655 in Farmington, Connecticut; was christened on 2 Apr 1655 in Farmington, Connecticut; died on 11 Nov 1714 in Farmington, Connecticut.
3. Steven HART was born in Jul 1657 in Farmington, Connecticut; was christened on 19 Jul 1657; died in 1666.

Notes:

Name:
Savage says he was perhaps a brother of John and Edmund of Cambridge. HIs first wife's name is not known. He m. (2) Margaret, widow of Arthur Smith; is mentioned as "my cousin", (nephew), in the will of Judith Morris, widow, of Dedham in Essex, England, dated Jan. 25, 1645. (For will, see N.E. Reg., 48, pp. 118, 119.) He is supposed to have come from Braintree, England with the company that settled at Braintree, Mass., then to Newtown (now Cambridge), and constituted the church of Rev. Thomas Hooker. He was of Cambridge 1632; "of the original church formed by Thomas Hooker in 1633.....Steven hart was a deacon." (Porter's Hist. Address at Farmington in 1840, Note g, p. 63.) On May 14 1634, he with John Steele, Hooker and Stone were made Freemen at Cambridge. He went with Hooker's party to Hartford 1636; and was an original proprietor there. His house lot was on the west side of the present Front Street near where Morgan St. crosses it. Andrews says there is a tradition that Hartford was first called from him, "Hart's Ford"; others say it was so named in honor of Mr. Stone's birthplace in England. (Walker's Life of Hooker, p. 97.) About 1640, he with others moved to the present site of Farmington. His house lot on Main St. opposite the meeting house, was four or five times larger than any other; he was a leading citizen of farmington and first Deacon of the church there. He with Mr. Newton, John Cowles, Thomas Thomson and Thomas Judd and two others were the "seven pillars" of the church. He was the first Representative from Farmington and served 30 sessions from May, 1647 to March, 1655 inclusive; was a farmer and land owner and served in the Pequot War.

Deacon Stephen Hart in his will mentions his thee sons, John, Stephen, Thomas; daughters, Sarah Porter and Mary Lee, Mehitable who married John Cole was probably dead. He also mentions grandchildren, Thomas Porter and Dorothy Porter, John Lee and John Hart. His wife is mentioned but not named.

Stephen married ? UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]