This family is included at this website because they have been reported to be the parents of Christopher Hartman [1], born 1750 and died 1833 in Clermont County, Ohio. Our current best guess is that Christopher Hartman was the son of Conrad Hartman and is unrelated to this family, based on his own pension file testimony about his parents, so we are not actively researching this John Hartman family.
1726 John Hartman was baptized on October 25, 1726 at Evangelisch Ilbesheim Kirche, Pfalz, Germany.
There are conflicting reports about the names and number of children that John had at the time that he immigrated to America. Some list Christopher Hartman as a son of this family. Five different sources, numbered parenthetically below, give somewhat different accounts. The more certain history for this family starts in 1753. One report names sons John and Philip but the immigration records don't mention John and Phillip. Some records indicate other children born to Johannes and Margaret. Some children might have been born after the family got to America and some children might have died. There might be records for different persons named John Hartman, which are difficult to distinguish. Further uncertainty arises from the possibility that this ancestor's first name might be Christopher, John, or Peter.
(1) 1750 The History of Clermont County by Everts page 513 reports "... (John's son) Christopher Hartman was born in Livintzburg Prussia May 6 1750 and came to America in 1753 accompanied by his father and four brothers."
(2) 1750 A monograph about the Hartman family by John Markely Hartman, published 1937 reports that Johannes Hartman (Hartmien), wife Anna Margaretha and 5 children, Jacob, Peter, Maria Appollonia (Abigail), Elizabeth and Catherine, arrived at Philadelphia via Rotterdam, Holland, from Wittenburg, Germany, 15 August 1750, on the ship "Royal Union." (See Rupp's Emigrants). Johannes may have been a native of Schwerin, Hessel-Cassel (Prussia), but tradition says that the family lived in Wittenberg, a city in Southern Germany. On August 14, 1750, Johannes took the oath of allegience to King George of Great Britain.
(3) 1750 The Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine of October, 1941, page 183 reports that "Johannes Hartman was born about 1717 in Schwerin, Hesse-Cassel. In 1750, in the ship Royal Union, he arrived in Philadelphia, accompanied by his wife Margaret (Moses) and their five oldest children. He took the oath of allegiance to King George, Aug 15 1750, and by 1755 his family had settled in Pikeland Twp, Chester County, Pennsylvania, having taken up a tract of land under the Penn government. During the revolution he was a member of the committee of safety to enforce the acts of the Continental Congress, and he helped sustain Washington during the bleak winter at Valley Forge. He died in 1785; his wife, Margaret, died in 1773. " Nine children are named, including John, Joseph, and George beyond those named here.
(4) 1753 John immigrated with 5 sons (including John, Joseph, Peter, George, and Christopher) and several daughters [2]. This source reports that Christopher married Mary Hutchinson of Mercer County, New Jersey. This is the Christopher Hartman we are following.
(5) The History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio by Byron Williams page 407, indicates that the father of Christopher Hartman was Christopher Hartman Senior, which suggests that this John Hartman is not the father of the son Christopher Hartman. [3]
1753 The family lived for a short while in Philadelphia until 1753, when they acquired a tract of land in Pikeland Twp, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The Hartman's built a log cabin there, which was replaced shortly with a substantial stone home.
1753 The French invaded Western Pennsylvania, starting the French-Indian War.
1755 English troops from Virginia arrived for the defense of PA from the French. There were constant disputes between the Quakers, who held a majority in the Assembly, and Governor Morris about whether and how to support the war effort. Several Quakers were disowned from the church for taking part in warlike measures.
1756 On May 10, John Hartman and 51 other residents were witneses to the following public statement: "We, the inhabitants of ...Chester County ... having maturely weighted and considered the almost Inevitable Dangers to which We are exposed, and thinking it our bounded Duty as Christians and most Loyal Subjects to our most gracious Sovereign Lord, George the Second,...To Save, if possible, Our Lives, Wives, Children, Liberty, and our most holy Religion religion from the Hands of our most cruel and Merciless Enemy, who daily approaches us with hasty, Conquering, and Murdering steps...do form ... the St. Vincent and Pike's Land Associaton ..."
1756 Maria Appolonia daughter of Johann was confirmed on 26 June before the congregation at Pikestown, Chester County, Pennsylvania. [4]
Johannes enrolled in the Vincent and Pikeland Guards as a private. Peter Hartman, Johannes's second son accompanied the expedition as a drummer.
Seduced by the French, the Delaware indians engaged in barbarous atrocities against the frontier inhabitants of Pennsylvania. The Six Nations remained friendly to the settlers and the Quakers tried to engage them to bring the Delawares to terms of peace. However, the governor declared war against the Delawares and issued a premium for prisoners or scalps of the Indian enemy [apparently, this was not thought to be barbarous]. The Quakers and the Six Nations were able to reach a recincilliation with the Delawares. The English ministry considered a measure that would prevent any Quaker from serving as a member of the Assembly. The Quakers won a majority in the assembly in the October election, but four of them, including Mahlon Kirkbride resigned under pressure from the ministry. Even after the resignation of the Quakers, the assembly and the governor were at odds. The assembly resolved that "the Governor is determined to withhold that protection from the people of this province which a proper militia bill might afford them ... unless we present him with a bill that will ...deprive the inhabitants of every liberty they think owrth enjoying."
1756 John was in the Armstrong Expedition that subdued the Indian attacks and defeated the French and Indians 9 Sep 1756, at Hittanning, in western PA. He was given the appellation of "Patriot" on 20 December 1774.
1757 Daughter Appolonia married Zachariah Rice.
1765 A source indicates that the Hartman's purchased land in Pikeland Township, PA, Chester Co near Hallman's station on the Pickering Valley RR, near Pickering Creek.
1765 John Hartman was taxed for 120 acres, 3 horses, 3 cattle, and 3 sheep in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hartman was taxed for 200 acres, 4 horses, 7 cattle, 6 sheep, and 0 servants in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp.
1766 John Hardman was taxed for 150 acres, 3 horses, 2 cattle, and 0 sheep in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hartman was taxed for 200 acres, 4 horses, 6 cattle, 5 sheep, and 1 servant in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice (possibly a Peter's son-in-law) was taxed for 188 acres.
1767 John Hartman was taxed for 120 acres, 4 horses, 4 cattle, and 7 sheep in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hartman was taxed for 200 acres, 5 horses, 10 cattle, 12 sheep, and 1 servant in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice (possibly a Peter's son-in-law) was taxed for 180 acres.
1768 John Hartman was taxed for 130 acres, 2 horses, 3 cattle, and 6 sheep in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hartman was taxed for 200 acres, 4 horses, 5 cattle, 8 sheep, and 1 servant in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice (possibly a Peter's son-in-law) was taxed for 180 acres.
1769 John Hardman was taxed for 125 acres, 3 horses, 4 cattle, and 8 sheep in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hardman was taxed for 200 acres, 4 horses, 8 cattle, 10 sheep, and 0 servant in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice (possibly a Peter's son-in-law) was taxed for 180 acres.
1771 John Hartman was taxed for 150 acres, 2 horses, 2 cattle, and 6 sheep in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hardman was taxed for 200 acres, 3 horses, 4 cattle, 6 sheep, and 0 servant in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice (possibly a Peter's son-in-law) was taxed for 150 acres.
1771 Johannes Hartman and several others signed an agreement to pay for land (Johannes pledged 5 pounds) for the St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Pikeland to replace the Zion Church.
1773 Anna Margaretha Moses, John Hartman's first wife, died in 1773. The relationship between Anna Margaretha Moses and her mother-in-law, Maria Elizabetha Moses, if any, is unknown.
1775 Johannes Hartman was appointed a member of a committee of Chester County, Pennsylvania, along with Anthony Wayne, Frances Johnston, and several others to carry into effect the orders of the Continental Congress. This committee took steps to prepare for the Revolution that began in 1776. [5] He was appointed by Congress 1774-1775 to act in the capacity of member of the Committee of Safety and was a member of that committee in 1776.
1777 Johannes' son, Jacob, was shot during the Revolutionary War in the Battle of Brandywine. He used a plug of grass to seal his wound and stop the bleeding, then crawled under a bridge to avoid capture. Another son, Peter, became a Major in the Fourth Battalion, Pennsylvania Continental Line. Peter's son, George, was a drum-major in the Continental Army. [6]
1779 John Hartman was taxed for 130 acres, 5 horses and 2 cattle in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hartman was taxed for 200 acres, 5 horses and 9 cattle in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice (possibly a Peter's son-in-law) was taxed for 177 acres. Jacob Hartman was listed as an inmate.
1780 John Hartman was taxed for 130 acres, 5 horses and 2 cattle in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hartman was taxed for 200 acres, 5 horses and 9 cattle in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice (possibly a Peter's son-in-law) was taxed for 177 acres.
1780 John had married Margaret Moss by 1780. John's will mentions his wife Margaret and a sort of prenuptial agreement exists dated 1780 (record not seen). All the children were by his first wife (Futhey and Cope report otherwise).
1781 Jacob Hartman was taxed for 130 acres, 2 horses and 3 cattle in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hartman was taxed for 200 acres, 7 horses and 7 cattle in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice (possibly a Peter's son-in-law) was taxed for 177 acres and a tavern. John Hartman was taxed as an inmate. William, possibly John's son-in-law was taxed as an inmate.
1785 Jacob Hartman was taxed 1 pound 18 shillings and 1 pence in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Peter Hartman was taxed 3 pounds and 10 shillings in Pikeland Twp, Chester Twp. Zachariah Rice 4 pounds and 15 shillings. John Hartman was taxed 6 pence.
1787 Johannes Hartman died near the end of May and was buried in the St. Peter's Church Cemetery in Pikeland Township, Chester Co. PA. The year of death may have been 1786, because a Peter Hartman is named as administrator to a will in Chester County, Pennsylvania on 17 Oct 1786. Frank Martin was named. Letters on this estate were granted to Frederick Houck, Feb. 17, 1786, and revoked.
1787 The will of John Hartman, Pikeland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania is dated May 25, 1787 and was proved June 4, 1787. The will made provisions for his second wife Margaret and specified legacies of money to the daughters and son Peter, but left the plantation to son Jacob. To son Peter Hartman £100. To daughter Abigail, wife of Zachariah Rice £100. To daughter Elizabeth, wife of Nicholas Carter 8/4. To daughter Catharine, wife of William Fuller 8/4. Provides for wife Margaret. To son Jacob my plantation, etc., paying £250 therefor. Remainder divided. Witnesses: Michael Holman, Conrad Shearer, Patrick Hackett. Parents: Johann Matthias Hartman. The will appointed sons Jacob and Peter as executors. They filed their accounts in August, 1790, showing payments to the widow.
Johannes' will left to Margaret the following: "To live peaceably in the portion of the house that I live in. 6 bushels of rye, 4 bushels of wheat to be paid from the plantation, and yearly and every year in Nov. The further sum of 6 bushels of rye and 4 bushels of wheat, 60 pds. of good pork, firewood ready cut & hauled, a cow known as Black Cow, also the wool of a lamb, likewise a small garden and the sum of 20 shillings yearly paid in Nov in lieu of 5 bushels of buckwheat & ¼ acre of flax. If she remarrys she loses the bequest."
His eldest son, Jacob, inherited his property. Unfortunately, this land was also purchased from Andrew Allen, and was included in the Pikeland Land Foreclosure writs of 1789 [7]. Jacob, who had married Sarah Sahler, was forced to migrate west, and settled in Saville Township in Perry County. He lived there until 1800, when he moved to Blain.
1847 A map of Chester County, East Pikeland shows Hartmans clover mill and the Hartmans school house. These are plausibly named for descendants of this Hartman family.
Research Notes:
"Hench Family in America" by Lee and Bernard Hench, published by CB Hench Family Publishers, 11 Oct 2002. (not yet seen)
1811 George Hartman and Adam Moses were elders of St Peter's Church in Pikeland, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Several males with the name Moses lived in Chester county at the time Johannes and Margaret Moses Hartman lived there and are listed as members of the St. Peters Church, including Henry, Peter, Adam, and Jacob.
[1] Janet and Robert Wolfe, Genealogy Page for Christopher Hartman, son of Conrad Hartman, [JRWolfeGenealogy].
[2] John Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches (1881), 589, [GoogleBooks].
[3] Byron Williams, History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio (1913), 407, [GoogleBooks].
[4] Frank Ried Diffenderffer, "German Exodus to England in 1709," Pennsylvania German Society Proceedings and Addresses 7 (1897), 256-, at 516, [HathiTrust].
[5] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, Volume 14. (Revolution Associated Battalions and Militia, Volume 2) (1888), 128, [InternetArchive].
[6] John Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches (1881), 589, [GoogleBooks].
[7] John Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches (1881), 201, [GoogleBooks].