Notes for Conrad Hartman and Margaret

1735-1755 A Conrad Hartman was a member of the German Reformed Church.

1753 Conrad Hartman immigrated October 1 on the ship Snow Good Hope from Hamburg, Germany through Cowes, England with captain John Trump, to Philadelphia. [1] Unlike most Palatine Ships of this era, this one left from Hamburg rather than Rotterdam. The unusual surnames on this ship are for the most part not found in the southern German regions that most of the Palatines came from but rather from provinces of northern and eastern Germany. The places of origin identified so far for members of this ship have been concentrated around the city of Göttingen in the former province of Hannover. [2]

Research Notes:

1758 Conrad Hartman reportedly died in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Conrad Hartman's death has also been reported in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [We seek documentation or correction for his death date]

Conrad Hartman, born Hesse Casel has a naturalization record in the court of Baltimore, Maryland. [3]

c 1776 Conrad Hartman, born in New Jersey, was reported as a participant in the Revolutionary War at age 14. [4]

1779 The birth of John Hartman, son of Conrad Hartman, was reported in a biosketch of George, son of John. 

1785 Conrad Hartman was taxed in Windsor Twp, Middlesex County, New Jersey. John, and John Jr Hartman were also listed. [5]

1793 Conrad Hartman and John Hartman were on the June tax list for South Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey. [6]

1793 Christian Hartman (age 44), Conrad Hartman (age 30) and John Hartman (age 27) were listed among able bodied white males between the age of 18-45 in South Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey. [7]

1794 [Conrad] Coonrad Hartman was taxed in Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey. [8]

1794-97 John Hartman was taxed in Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey. [9]

1797, 1802 Joseph Hartman was taxed in East Windsor Twp, Middlesex County, New Jersey. [10]

1810 Conrad, John, and Christopher Hartman (age 26-44) lived in Lynn, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. [11]

1812 Conrad and Nicholas Hartman appeared on the assessment-roll made by the commissioner of Northampton county for the year 1812. [12]

1816 Conrad Hartman and Solomon Hartman appeared on the list of names of men who bought lots at New Tripoli in 1816-17.

Two sources list Conrad Hartman as the father of our Christopher with the following oral traditions:

"Came to Philadelphia, PA in 1753 with 5 children. Before passage the family put their goods with money in iron bound chests and put on board the vessel. The vessel sailed without them and they never recovered their goods. Children [three sons and a daughter] were sold to pay for voyage. Landed at Philadelphia after 6 months at sea in 1753. Lived about 7 years after arriving in America. After his death all sons except John were bound as apprentices to different parties. Birth also listed as Swintzburg, Hesse Cassel, Germany. (south of Hanover)". [13]

Another story is told by a descendant:
"As a little girl, I had learned that when the family of Christopher Hartman came to America they had traveled on a different ship than their belongings. His father, Conrad Hartman, had engaged passage for himself and his family on a sailing vessel destined for the American colonies, and put aboard all his movable goods. The vessel was advertised to sail at a time named, but sailed some hours before, and in consequence, the whole family was left without anything and it was several days before they obtained passage on another vessel. Their belongings were lost at sea.

After a six months’ voyage the family landed at Philadelphia where two of the sons were sold into servitude to pay for the passage to America. Our family records, written by my Grandmother’s sister, indicate that the parents never saw these sons again. Christopher Hartman was only about three years old when he came to America. His older brother, George and one other brother became slaves. Later, one of these boys was to come looking for his family. It is said that George was turned over to a very hardhearted man. Supposedly, he was a slave for many years. In the twelfth year of servitude, he was assigned to split rails two miles from where he lived. Every time he came home from splitting rails, his master made him cart a rail back in order to get a meal. He did this until his back hurt so badly he could carry no more rails. One day he came to dinner without his usual rail. His master abused him so badly that he ran away. George eventually married, fathered nine children and became a well-respected landowner in Harrison County, Virginia. Christopher, at the age of nine years, was bound out to a farmer in Bucks County, Pennsylvania until of age. He became a millwright. In 1776 he married Mary Hutchinson, eldest daughter of Will and Ann (Vann) Hutchinson. He then enlisted in the Revolutionary Army and was in the battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778. In 1795 he removed with his family from New Jersey to Lexington in wagons. They started in October, got to Pittsburgh and there built a flat boat and floated down the Ohio River to the Mouth of Limestone, now Maysville. From there they went on to Lexington where they landed in December. The following spring they moved five miles out of Lexington on a farm. 

In the early 1800’s a doctor, who was a neighbor to George Hartman in Virginia, was passing through the country and stopped at Christopher’s farm in Clermont County, Ohio. He at once took Christopher to be the brother of George and in consequence of the doctor’s visit a correspondence between the brothers began. A surprise visit was made by George in 1807. When George and his son-in-law came to Christopher's farm, they passed themselves off as strangers traveling west. In those years, it wasn’t unusual for people to stop at the Hartman home as they traveled through the area. Sometime during the meal she served, Christopher’s wife, Mary, realized that this wasn’t just any man sitting at their table; this was Christopher’s long-lost brother George. The two brothers had found each other after more than 50 years! This was the last time they saw each other. George died in 1818 and Christopher in 1833." 

Footnotes
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[1] I Daniel Rupp. A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776 (1875),318, Left column, [Google Books]
[2] Palatine ship Good Hope, [Link]
[3] National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Microfilm Publications; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 2, cited by U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 at ancestry.com
[4] Pennsylvania, Revolutionary War Battalions and Militia Index, 1775-1783 at ancestry.com, citing Revolutionary War Battalions & Militia Index Cards. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, citing volume 2 pages 194 and 235
[5] Francis Bazley Lee, ed. Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey, Volume 1 (1907):40, [Google Books]
[6] ancestry.com, citing New Jersey Census, 1643-1890
[7] Russell K Dutcher. Middlesex County, New Jersey Militia 1791-1795. (1996):70-71
[8] New Jersey Tax Lists 1772-1822 Vol 3 by Ronald Vern Jackson, p 1574
[9] New Jersey Tax Lists 1772-1822 Vol 3 by Ronald Vern Jackson, p 1574
[10] New Jersey Tax Lists 1772-1822 Vol 3 by Ronald Vern Jackson, p 1574
[11] US census
[12] Northampton Tax List, [Link]
[13] Source: www.geocities.com/tiffanyljacob/Hartmans_in_America/HartmansinAmerica.html