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* From book "A Record of the Hart Family of Philadelphia *
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CHAPTER VI,
HARTSVILLE AND ITS 0RIGIN;—l793—l930.
As has been said, Hartsville was named after Colonel William Hart, in the latter part of the seventeen hundreds; l793 is the earliest date at which we can confidently say that the village was so known. It is located about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, not far from the count y seat of Doylestown, and approximately l08 miles east of the city of Harris burg.
General Davis tells us that in l876, it contained a "store, tavern, Presbyterian Church, which came of the division at Neshaminy in the war of schools, (in l836), a hall for public lectures and twenty-five dwellings", In l887, Hartsville station, at the termination of the Northeast Pennsylvania Railroad, nearly two miles from Hartsville proper, was known as a post-office under the name of Ereadysville and comprised eight or ten houses along the Bristol fcoad, principally in Warminster^
"The tavern at Hartsville, in Warwick", continues General Davis, "was kept for many years at the close of the last and beginning of the present century by William Hart, who had for his sign the human heart.—-—He was one of the captors of the Doans and died in l83l, aged eighty-four years. A postcffice was established there in l826. The old stone bridge over the Neshaminy on the York Road, above the village, built in l793, had a heart cut on the date stone.
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- Married his first cousin, Elizabeth Means
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Children
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William and Elizabeth Hart had eight children, six of whom married.
1. Jane Hart the eldest child, born June 28, l779, married Joseph Carr of Warwick township, she was the grandmother of Miss Josephine S. Carr and John Hart Carr of Philadelphia.
2. John Hart born December l7, l780, never married, died r.7, l8ll, and is buried at Neshaminy;
3. Mary Hart born February l9, l783, married her second cousin, Samuel Hart, the son of Colonel Joseph and Elizabeth Hart.
4. Colonel Joseph Hart was the son of William Hart and Margaret Means, She died February 8, l828, Their children will be spoken of in a subsequent chapter,
5. James Means Hart, born March 6, l785, married Jane Baird of Warwick. He died January 7, l844,
6. Grizelda Hart, born March l0, l787, remained a spinster all her life and died April 5, l368, at the age of eighty-one; she is buried at Neshaminy. She was named after her grandmother on her mother's side, William Hart born January 4, l789, married, Martha Carr, he died February 23, l855.
7. Joseph Hart, born November 9, l790, married Mary Carr, the sister of his brother's wife. Martha and Mary Carr were the daughters of Adam and Frances Carr of Warwick. Joseph Hart died November 4, l873.
8. Elizabeth Hart, the youngest of the family, was born April l4, l794, and married her first cousin* William Hart, the son of John and Mary Hart; she died December 2l, l862.
Thus we find from these six marriage, two Harts married two Harts, one a first cousin, the other a second cousin, and that two brothers married two sisters. All of which, to say the least is somewhat uncommon of occurrence.
It has been incorrectly stated that Colonel Hart married Grizelda Patterson: this is of course, altogether wrong, as Grizelda Patterson married John Means, and it was their daughter, Elizabeth, whom Colonel Hart married. This fact is stated merely to prevent any possible confusion as there are in existence several unaccounted for "trees" of the family with such a mistake upon them.
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- The name "Hartsville" is derived from that of Colonel William Hart, second son of James Hart.In the late 18th century, Colonel Hart moved here from Plumsteadville and purchased an inn from James Baldwin, renaming it the "Sign of The Hart".This inn built in 1742, later known as the Hartsville Hotel, was located at the northeast corner of Old York and Bristol Roads (originally called "The Cross Roads").
A revolutionary War Veteran, active in public affairs, Colonel Hart served as Bucks County Register of Wills in 1807, and as a County Commissioner in 1809.It is held that Colonel Hart's influence caused the representation of a heart to be carved in the stone bridge just beyond York Road in 1793.
General George Washington and his officers dated letters from Hartsville in 1777, as did General John Lacey in 1778.The establishment of a post office in the early 1800's marked the official naming of Hartsville.
The Village of Hartsville was an important stagecoach stop on the Philadelphia-New York Stagecoach line, where fresh teams of horses were picked up and travelers could stretch their limbs or quench their thirst at the inn.Among early visitors was Benjamin Franklin, who stopped while enroute to New York.
Later known as the Hartsville Hotel, the inn was built in 1742, at the Northeast corner of Bristol and York Roads.Across the street from the Hotel, the Post Office was established with Joseph Carr as its first Postmaster, the exact date being evasive - ranging from 1817 to 1826, depending upon the text consulted.The Hartsville Post Office was the village venue for mail until delivery service was assumed by the Warminster Post Office around 1960, at which time the Hartsville Post Office was closed.
Joseph Hart was Treasurer of the Neshaminy Warwick Church, and is buried in the cemetery, West of the Church, along with 37 other members of the Hart family.The Church ties to local history owing to its first Pastor, the Reverend William Tennent, who arrived in 1726.In addition to his pastorate duties, he founded the Log College on York Road, about a half mile south of Bristol Road.Acclaimed as the parent of classical education in Bucks County, it was the only school South of New England, and North of Virginia where men could be trained for the ministry.Although derided by locals for it’s rough beginnings, many prominent Presbyterian ministers and teachers were schooled there, and it’s graduates founded Princeton University.
During revolutionary times, George Washington’s army visited Hartsville, and there encamped from August 10th thru the 23rd 1777.The French General Lafayette met there with General Washington and received his commission in the Continental Army.It was at this camp on the Little Neshaminy that the flag which Congress adopted on June 14th, 1777, is said to have been flown for the first time by the Continental Army.British troop movements led General Washington’s troops through Hartsville enroute to Germantown.Having been informed that the British had returned to New York, he remembered the crossroads with its green fields and abundant water supply.Retracing his steps, he and his company of 18,000 awaited instruction from Congress.During this time, the army occupied the farms of Carr, Ramsey, and Jamison for 13 days.Washington made is headquarters in the Moland House, now known as Headquarters Farm, where he held his councils of war.
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