By By LYDIA GRIMES Feature reporter
I have recently come across some more information about the Hart family. South Alabama was the home of several Hart families and many of them were related.
Henry Hart is the first one of this family to be documented. He was probably an indentured servant to one Caleb Page. This was not an unusual occurrence. Many people came to America as indentured servants by getting someone to pay their way. In return they were indentured to the sponsor for however long it took to pay him back. His wife was Rebecca and their only child was Thomas Hart. He married Anne Sheppard (1645-1710), daughter of Major Robert Sheppard and Elizabeth Spencer. They were the parents of Henry, Thomas and Robert.
Robert Hart, was born about 1667 and died 1720 in Southampton County, Va. He married Priscilla Barham and they had William, Thomas, Robert, Ann, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary and Priscilla.
William Hart (before 1700-1744) and his wife, name unknown, were the parents of Robert, William, John, Moses, Thomas, Lucy, Mary and Sarah.
Moses Hart (abt. 1731-1785) and his brothers, William and Robert are mentioned in records in Nansemond County, Va, and by 1771 Moses was found in Pitt County, N.C. where he purchased land. A list of inhabitants of Pitt County made by the Continental Congress in 1775 show several facts concerning Moses and his family. At that time there were three males over 16 and four males under 16, a woman and two girls.Living just four households away was William Hart who was probably his son. Other sons were probably Watkins, Robert, Moses, Jr., Zachariah, Edwin and Barham.
Son Moses (abt 1787) was married to Chasey and they had moved into Dobbs County by the 1790 census. That census shows that they had one son under 16 and a daughter who was under 16. That son would have been Robert who came to Covington County later.
Moses Hart moved to Kershaw County, S.C. after 1793 and by 1800 he had a wife, a son (Robert) and two younger sons. The age of the children would indicate that his first wife had died and he had remarried. The 1810 census shows him in Anson County, N.C. and he had four sons below 10, two sons from 10-16 and one son up to age 26. It is believed that the sons were Robert, Josiah, Henry, Carr, Jordan and William. There is another son unaccounted for.
Robert Hart is the ancestor of many who still live in this area. He and his brother, Josiah, were targets of the Indians in 1837. It was in the spring of that year that renegade Indians who were angry about the forced removal of Creek Indians to the west attacked Josiah Hart's family and then the Robert Hart family. I will tell you more about this next week and continue my story about the Harts.