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In his report, Ancestry of Barram Hart, Jonathan B.
Butcher stated
that Moses Hart may have been the ancestor of many
of the Harts found in the
Dobbs County area later. He further
suggested that Moses was probably the
son of William of Surry Co.,
Virginia.
If this was the case, then it is possible to trace the Dobbs
Harts back to
the immigrant ancestor. That is the purpose of this
present report.
Generation 1: Henry Hart ( ? - about 1648)
Henry Hart, first of his family in Surry Co., Virginia, on the
last day of
August, 1635, patented 350 acres on the southside of
the Maine River over
against Jamestown Island called Pynie Point.
This was for the transportation
of himself, wife Rebecca and five
other persons. Rebecca did not live long,
because in 1637, he
patented 250 acres in James City on the Surry side for
the
transportation of his wife, Elizabeth, and four other
persons.
This land was also adjacent to the land of Thomas Rolfe, son of
John and
Pocahontas. (The Rolfe land was later purchased by Thomas
Warren, who
married the widow of Henry Hart's son,
Thomas).
Source: John Bennett Boddie, "Southside Virginia Families" and
"Colonial
Surry".
Generation 2: Thomas Hart ( ? - about 1669)
Thomas married Anne Shephard, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth
Shephard and
granddaughter of Ancient Planter, William Spencer.
After the death of Robert
Shephard, his widow married Thomas
Warren, owner of the famous Warren House.
Thomas as son of Henry was indicated by this entry which spoke
of Henry, the
son of Thomas: "Henry Hart, 285 acs., Surry Co., ...
20 Apr. 1687, ... 100
acs. part of 350 acs. granted to Henry Hart,
his Grandfather, by the name of
Piney Point in 1635 ...."
Source: "Cavaliers and Pioneers, Patent Book No. 7", p. 309.
Thomas Hart patented 100 acres at Smith's Fort in Surry County.
Source:
Forrest King's files
Thomas' widow remarried and her second husband settled his
estate. The
chldren of Thomas Hart were named in that settlement:
Will of Thomas Harte:
Est.__7br, 1673 Legatees; Paid wife's third
part. Rest due to three orphans
of Thomas Harte, deceased, viz:
HENRY, THOMAS, and ROBERT HART. Signed;
William Newsum
Source: "Surry Co. Records 1652-1684" Book 2, page 62, by
Eliza T. Davis,
1980, p. 93
Generation 3: Robert Hart (about 1666 - 1720)
Robert Hart married Priscilla Barham, daughter of Capt.
Charles and
Elizabeth Ridley Barham.
His will was probated in Southampton Co. Virginia. In that
will, he named
wife PRISCILLA. He named sons, WILLIAM who was to
have the land and
Plantation on the main Blackwater Swamp. William
was to bring up son THOMAS
who would receive two plantations. Son
ROBERT was to receive a plantation
and land in Isle of Wight
County. He left items and slaves to daughters ANN,
ELIZABETH,
SARAH, MARY & PRISCILLA. He also mentioned his grandson,
Robert Hart.
Source: "Wills of Surry County., Part 2"
Generation 4: William Hart ( ? - 1744)
The name of William's wife is not known.
In his will which was probated July 18, 1744 he named these
children: son
ROBERT who was to receive the grist mill and a
plantation; son WILLIAM, land
on the south side of Nottoway River
- 200 Acres; son JOHN, 200 Acres of land
on the south side of the
Nottoway River; son MOSES, all the rest of my land
on the Nottoway
River, 240 Acres; son THOMAS, a plantation; daughters MARY,
LUCY,
SARAH.
Source: "Wills and Adminisrations of Surry Co., VA 1671-1759"
by Eliza
Timberlake Davis
Note particularly that sons William, John and Moses were to
receive land on
the Nottoway River.
Generation 5: Moses Hart ( ? - 1780/90)
Apparently, those three sons of William Hart did indeed settle
the land
their father gave them, and that area became Nansemond
County.
In vestry records is found the following:
March 10, 1756: "We have Procesiond ....Wm Wiggins John harts
Line William
harts & Moses harts in the pressence of Wm wigins
John hart Wm hart and
Moses hart." p. 108
Nov. 29, 1758: At a vestry held in Suffolk Town for the Upper
Parrish of
Nansemond Co., it was instructed to pay "To Mosses Hart
Do (that o after the
D should be in raised and small) of Notaway
Chapel 200 lbs. p. 126
Sept. 17, 1759: Edward Cary and William Hart processioned the
lands in their
precincts.
Some notable processions included: John Pope land, Robert
Lawrence land,
Moses Hart land, William Hart land, John Harts
land.
Moses Harts land processioned in the presence of John Hart and
Robert Carr.
(Robert Carr was father to Titus Carr who was a near
neighbor to Harts in
Dobbs, 1790).
Also on the same day, but on the other side of Nottoway River,
these were
processioned: Robert Carr land, Michael Daughtries
land, Thomas Edwards
land, and George Lawrence land.
December 30, 1767: Processioned bounds of land that included
among others:
"thence to John
Harts line thence to Eliza Harts line thence to Moses Hatrs
line..."
(William may have died. Was Eliza his widow?). After this
date, there were
no more Hart entries.
Source: "Vestry Book of the Upper Parish, Nansemond County,
Virginia,
1743-1793", published by The
Library Board of VA, Wilmer L. Hall, Editor, 1949
Mr. Butcher reported that Moses purchased land in Pitt Co. as
early as 1771.
From this point, Mr. Butcher's report covers many of the Hart
records in
Pitts and Dobbs County. Also, other records are listed
in my report, Harts
of Old Dobbs and Pitts.
There is one additional name I might suggest that could be
included in the
Butcher Report. The 1781 list, "Names of Men Over
Age in Dobbs County",
included an entry for
Moses Hart Sr.
It is believed that this list was of men too old to participate in
the
militia. That "Sr." following his name told me there was by
that time
another Moses Hart around, so I would add the name of a
younger Moses to Mr.
Butcher's list of possible sons.
Barbara Martin (barbaramn@embarqmail.com) is
coordinating the HART Family Surname information. This site
provides
a forum for HART researchers to share information and
piece together the
correct family lines. If you would like to
contribute and join the HART
Family researchers in solving this
puzzle, please send your information to
her, she will review it
and then send it on to be posted.
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