John Hart

Elegant script text reading 'John Hertz'.
A black and white portrait of a man with long, wavy hair, wearing a dark coat over a white shirt.

BORN – 1713 in Hopewell Township, NJ.  Parents (English ancestry) – Edward Hart (___- d1752) and Martha Furman Hart (b1691-___).  Six Children – John Hart (b1711-d1779), Sarah Hart Temple / Barrows (___), Daniel Hart (___-d1767), Edward Hart (b1729-d1802), Martha Hart (___), Moses Hart (___-d1833).    

DIED – May 11, 1779 (age 68) in Trenton, NJ from kidney stones.  Religion – Presbyterian.  Buried – Hopewell Old School Baptist Meeting House Cemetery, Hopewell, NJ.

APPEARANCE – Medium height and well proportioned, with very black hair and light eyes, and to have been called handsome in his youth.  Well known for his common sense, and well read for his day.   

FAMILY – Married - Deborah Scudder (b1721-d1776) in 1741.  Thirteen Children (Twelve surviving to adulthood) – Sarah Hart Wikoff (b1741-d1821), Jesse Hart (b1742-d1815), Martha Hart Wood (b1746-d1815), Nathaniel Hart (b1747-d1825), John Hart Jr. (b1748-d1790), Susannah Hart Polhemus (b1750-d1832), Mary Hart (b1752-d1782), Abagail Hart Stout (b1754-d1832), Scudder Hart (b1755-d1812), Scudder Hart (b1757-d1776), Infant daughter (b1761-___), Daniel Hart (b1762-d1848), Deborah Hart Ott (b1765-d1848).   

OCCUPATION – FARMER, MILLER, SOLDIER, JUDGE, LEGISLATOR. Self-taught, Little formal education.  Known as “Honest John Hart.”  Bought the 193 acre Homestead Plantation on the north side of Hopewell in 1739.  Member of the Continental Congress representing New Jersey in 1776.     

AT SIGNING – Age 65 at signing. 

AFTER SIGNING – Fled from British and hid in a nearby cave.  His house and farm were ravaged by Hessians.  His wife died.  Joined George Washington’s army as a private after the Battle of Princeton in 1777.  Invited Washington and his 12,000 member army to camp on his farm prior to the Battle of Monmouth (30 miles to the east) during the growing season in 1778.       

HISTORIC SITES                                                                                      

Gravesite – Old School Baptist Meeting House and Cemetery, Hopewell, NJ.  Located at West Broad Street. and Mercer Street, Hopewell, NJ 08525.                                                                                                                                  

Hopewell Home – John Hart House, Hopewell, NJ.  Located at 60 Hart Road, Hopewell, NJ 08525.  Home of John Hart from 1742 to 1779.  Privately owned.                                                

Hart Cave – John Hart’s Cave Historical marker reads – “Refuge of the local signer of the Declaration of Independence while hiding from the British.  His estate ransacked by Hessians, he was financially ruined and died in 1779.”  Located at Lindbergh Road and Zion Road, north of Hopewell.   

Hunt Home – Hunt House, Rosedale Park, Hopewell, NJ (1760).  Located on Federal City Road, Hopewell, NJ 08525.  When General Washington and the army arrived at John Hart’s farm in 1778, he had lunch with Hart and  then held his famous Council of War with his Generals (Lee, Lafayette, Steuben) at the nearby Hunt House.

Battlefield – Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Manalapan, NJ (1778), 30 miles east of Hopewell.  Located at 16 NJ Route 33 Business, Manalapan Township, NJ 07726, Phone 732- 462-9616, Website www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests.  Major battle fought in extreme heat on June 28, 1778. 

Red brick building with white-framed windows and a gabled roof, decorated with holiday wreaths at the entrance, surrounded by a black metal fence.

Gravesite of John Hart, Old School Baptist Meeting House & Cemetery, Hopewell, NJ (1822). 

Located at West Broad Street. and Mercer Street, Hopewell, NJ 08525.       

John Hart is buried in the cemetery which is marked by an obelisk next to the church.  The church and cemetery are located on land donated by John Hart.