Three HART families were prominent in Lapeer County, from the earliest days. Oliver and Alvin HART were brothers, from Cornwall, CT. They settled near the future site of Lapeer city, in 1831. Oliver was 17 years older, so they might be confused for a father and son. Both had many descendants in the legal profession. William HART was probably a distant cousin of Oliver and Alvin. He came from Rochester, NY and settled in Hadley Township, in 1835.

The rest of this page is divided into sections for the families of Oliver, Alvin and William HART.

Oliver was the son of Elias HART and Philomela BURNHAM, of Cornwall, in northwestern CT. The HART ancestry in New England is covered in [AH].

About 1807, Oliver HART married Amanda HARRISON, of Cornwall. He was about 20 and she was a year and a half younger. They had 12 children in Cornwall, of whom 5 died in childhood, including the first 3. The youngest child was born in Dec 1830, and died Feb 1831. That spring, Oliver made the decision to move his family to Michigan Territory. Preceded by his younger brother Alvin HART, and Joseph B. MORSE, he went west, looking for a new place to live. Oliver was 43, and Alvin, with a young wife and baby in Utica, Oneida County NY, was 27. Joseph Broad MORSE was 46, with a wife and 9 children in Eaton, Madison County, NY.

Oliver HART had intended to find land in Oakland County, which is the southwest neighbor of Lapeer. Joseph MORSE wanted to investigate the territory a little farther west. Alvin and Joseph first visited Lapeer, in the location where Lapeer city now lies. This seemed satisfactory, but they still wanted to explore the other sites. They eventually determined that the first place they visited was the best. When they were joined by Oliver, he also liked the place. Oliver purchased land from the government on 11 Jul 1831 in Section 4, and on 12 Jul 1831 in Section 5, in T7N-R10E, later known as Lapeer Township. The northern half of Section 5 became the location of Lapeer village.

Both Oliver HART and Joseph MORSE had large families, and decided to postpone the move to the Spring of 1832. Alvin HART, with only a wife and baby, moved in Nov 1831, along with Joel M. PALMER, age 27 and single.

On 2 Feb 1836, the town board net at the home of Alvin HART, in which Oliver HART was granted a permit to run a tavern in his home, in Lapeer village. [HRP, p. 50] About 1840, Oliver HART built a hotel in Lapeer village, of 100 feet front. [HRP, p. 58]

Miss Nettie A. COMSTOCK writes of pioneer women as follows:

"Mrs. Amanda HART, wife of O. B. HART, was one of those good motherly women revered by every one; she reared a large family, as was the style in those days, and was a faithful helpmeet to her husband; she always had a cheerful welcome for every one, but her world was in her husband and her home. During the sickly season of 1844 herself and her husband fell victims to the terrible malarious fever then prevalent. They sickened about the same time and fears were entertained for the result, and she only expressed the wish that if her husband must die to go with him. On his decease the family, half frantic with grief and anxiety, endeavored to conceal his death from her, but she seemed to understand what had occurred by intuition, and she sank away and died, and was buried in the same grave with her husband." [HRP, p. 62]

Noah Harrison HART was a lawyer, one of the first admitted to the Lapeer County bar, in 1841, when he was 28. His legal career was interrupted by the American Civil War. In Oct 1861 he raised a company, and became its First Lieutenant, later promoted to Captain. He mustered out in Feb 1865, and returned to the legal profession. He held many public offices, including Justice of the Peace for 30 years, county clerk, and prosecuting attorney. He removed to Toledo, OH, late in life, and lived to age 77.

Joseph Brown HART was a Dealer in Pelts, Furs & Deerskins, listed in the 1863 and 1874 Business Directories for Lapeer city.

Alvin Nelson HART (1804 - 1874)

Alvin N. HART was born in Cornwall, Conn., February 11, 1804. He resided with his parents on the farm until he was fifteen years of age. He received his education in the academy of Sharon, Connecticut, and at the college in Amherst, Mass., finishing it in the latter institution. He was married in Utica, N. Y., July 8, 1828, to Miss Charlotte F. BALL, daughter of the late Dr. Benjamin BALL, of Wendell, Franklin County, Mass. Residing at Utica for three years, he then removed to the Territory of Michigan.

Mr. HART cut his way fourteen miles through the forest to his point of destination, locating and beginning his pioneer life where the city of Lapeer now stands. He camped under a large elm tree, which is still standing, a respected landmark. His son, E. G. HART, has placed upon it a lightning-rod to protect it from further destruction by lightning. He built the first building (a log cabin) in that vicinity, and moved into it November 11, 1831, with his family, consisting of his wife and child, the present B. E. HART, of Lansing, and Joel M. PALMER, now dead.

In the spring of 1832 Mr. HART was appointed sheriff of Lapeer County, and at the election in the fall of 1835, in which the constitution of the new State was submitted and adopted, he was elected a representative to the State legislature. In 1842 he was elected supervisor of Lapeer Township, and held the office for the succeeding seven years. In 1843 Mr. HART was elected State senator from the sixth senatorial district, which then comprised the counties of Lapeer, Oakland, Genesee, Shiawassee, Tuscola, Saginaw and the Upper Peninsula. In 1846 he was elected the first judge of the Lapeer County court for a term of four years, and in 1847 he was again elected to the State senate to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Senator WITHERBEE, and re-elected in 1848 for the regular term. He buried his wife in August, 1850, having previously buried three daughters while young, and afterward one son, Danforth A. HART, who died April 21, 1853, at the age of twenty-one. His surviving children are B. E. HART, of Lansing; R. G. HART, of Lapeer; Mrs. Bell HAMILTON and Arthur N. HART, of Lansing. In 1856 he was again elected a justice of the peace. In 1860 he removed to the city of Lansing, and in 1863 was elected member of the common council, a position which he held at the time of his death. In 1870 he was elected a representative from Ingham County to the State legislature, and materially aided in securing the appropriation which was made for the erection of the new State capitol now almost completed. He was a man of great energy, earnest in all his purposes, a clear and careful politician, ever holding the pubhc interest as a sacred duty. He always took a lively interest in all matters pertaining to the development and growth of his city and county. His advice and opinions were much sought in the councils of both, and he contributed freely and generously to every enterprise tending to their prosperity and welfare. He was one of the projectors of that portion of the Amboy, Lansing & Traverse Bay Railroad, running from Lansing to Owosso, and was a director in the Detroit & Bay City Railroad. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian denomination, being one of the founders of the flourishing church of that sect in Lapeer, and also of the one in North Lansing. His death occurred August 22, 1874.

From the many tributes to his memory that appeared in the public journals at that time, we copy the following from the Detroit Free Press, which says, editorially:

"The telegraph brought news Saturday of the death of Judge Alvin N. HART, of Lansing, a man well known in almost every section of the State. His disease was typhoid pneumonia, and he died within one week from the first active symptoms of the disease, though he had not been in good health for some time previous.

"The deceased was seventy years of age, and had resided in Lansing for nearly a score of years, coming there from Lapeer, where he had long been a resident. He was a pioneer in Lansing, and as such' he did much, to hasten the growth of the city. No private character could be more blameless than his, and his public record gave satisfaction even to those who were his political opponents. He served two terms in the State senate many years ago, and two terms in the house, his last being in 1871. It was through his efforts more than any other person that Lansing was furnished with railroad communication, and his liberality in making local improvements has greatly benefited the capital city. He had been a member of the common council almost uninterruptedly since the organization of that body, and death could not have taken one who will be more missed in Lansing. He was a life-long Democrat, holding rigidly to his views without pressing them upon others, and he was well known to Michigan politicians. He leaves two sons and a daughter at Lansing, and another son at Lapeer, and an estate worth half a million dollars."

From a Lapeer correspondent to the Free Press :

"The funeral of the late Judge A. N. HART took place at Lapeer on Tuesday, and the high estimation in which the deceased stood in the community was manifested by the concourse that collected to see the last of this good man who had done so much for the city of Lapeer, where he was the first settler. His remains were brought from Lansing. The mayor and common council of Lansing and the Odd Fellows accompanied the remains to Lapeer, and a special car draped in mourning conveyed them through. They were met at Lapeer by the mayor and common council of the city, and numerous other friends of the deceased. The stores were all closed and draped in mourning. The court-house which the judge built, and the strong pillars by which it is supported, were entwined in mourners' garb. State Street was crowded to excess as the long procession moved to the Presbyterian Church, where the service was performed by Rev. Mr. FOSTER. The singing was most exceedingly touching, Mrs. VINCENT being the organist, Miss HICKS, S. N. VINCENT, Benjamin LODER and Mr. PHILLIPS the vocal part. The lofty tree that overlooks the city, under which the judge pitched his tent, received its full share of crape. It was here where the bears and wolves howled around him in the wilderness, and he had no road to escape until the woodman's ax could make it. The judge has now gone to his last home, where he will be rewarded for the good he has done on earth."

At a meeting of the State Pioneer Society, Judge Albert MILLER, of Bay City, paid the following tribute to the memory of Judge Hart:

"Although we see before us so many pioneers in the vigor of health and usefulness, we must remember that time is fast thinning our ranks; the frequent notices we see in the newspapers of our State of the death of some early settler of a particular locality is a verification of this statement, and the shaft of death has fallen very near to us by removing from our midst our worthy treasurer, the Hon. Alvin N. HART.

"And here perhaps I may be indulged in relating a reminiscence of early days, referring to the time of my first acquaintance with our late treasurer. Mr. HART settled at the county seat of Lapeer in the fall of 1831; I had previously settled in that portion of the same county which was afterward detached to help form Genesee County. Although we were neighbors (living only about thirty miles apart), I never met Mr. HART till the spring of 1834. In the meantime I had removed to Saginaw, and the settlement of the country had progressed so that the county of Lapeer had been organized into a separate township. That portion of territory which afterward formed Genesee County had been organized into a township named Grand Blanc, and the township of Saginaw had been organized, all in Oakland County. The subject of forming a State government had been mooted, and in April, 1834, delegates were elected to form a State constitution. At that election the town of Saginaw cast about twenty votes, and I was appointed by the board of inspectors to return the votes to the county seat and to be one of the county canvassers. I started on a pony to perform the journey of seventy miles, over or through a road that had as much depth as width. From Flint I was accompanied by Judge SNOW, who had the same appointment from the town of Grand Blanc.

"The board of canvassers, which met at Pontiac, consisted of seven members, who represented ail the organized territory in northern Michigan (except the counties of Mackinac and Chippewa), and Alvin N. HART was chosen chairman. I then formed an acquaintance with Mr. HART which ripened into a friendship, and which lasted till time, with him, was no more. It is not necessary here to recount the many prominent positions of honor and trust which have been accorded to Mr. HART by the citizens of Michigan, or his many acts which have served to develop the resources and promote the interests of the State, for the name of Alvin N. HART is as familiar as household words to the pioneers of Michigan, especially those of the northern portion of the State.

"In taking a view of the past at the time when this whole region of country was a vast wilderness, inhabited only by wild beasts of the forest and the aborigines of the country, with here and there a hardy pioneer struggling to overcome the privations incident to a life in the wilderness, and then rapidly glancing to the present, seeing the same region rife with life and industry and all the appliances that conduce to the prosperity and happiness of mankind, it seems as if the whole scene had been transformed by magic; but upon taking a more detailed review of the past, I am constrained to believe that very much of the prosperity and happiness of the present is due to the foresight, energy, industry, and good example of a class of pioneers of which the late Alvin N. HART was a type."

Noah H. HART, speaking of early days in Lapeer, says: "The happiest days of our lives were our pioneer days in Lapeer. We were all patricians and all plebeians. The latch-string of every cabin was always out. If one had pork and beans, all had pork and beans. All strangers were greeted with a welcome and cordiality unknown at the present day. To the church or social gatherings we all went in the same vehicle, and it mattered not whether drawn by oxen or horses. The fond anticipations of future improvements, prosperity and grandeur overbalanced and made easy all hardships and privations. That they were necessarily incident to a pioneer life, cannot be told, and can only be understood by actual experience. I will try to give you one or two samples.

"The first battle between a pioneer and a pack of wolves was in this wise:—The name of the pioneer was the Hon. A. N. HART, the names of the wolves I have forgotten. The Judge left Lapeer for Pontiac for supplies. Among other things he put on to his load a quarter of fresh beef. Having arrived within two and a half miles of home, although it was very dark and the road being only underbrushed out, and consequently very winding, he was flattering himself that he would be with his family, enjoying a detcious beefsteak, when, to his utter horror, he had the strongest evidences in the world that a pack of wolves were after him or his beef. He urged his team with whip and yells a short distance, when he brought up against a tree. The enemy immediately surrounded him and demanded a surrender. Their eyes, like so many fireballs, were anything but agreeable. The Judge comprehended the situation at once. He had sagacity enough to know that the wolves would prefer the beef to himself, but the beef he determined he never would surrender, for in those days beef was more precious than gold. The Judge resolved to throw overboard flour, feed, in short, the whole load except the beef, and make one terrible effort to extricate himself from the tree. Having discharged the load except the beef, with a crack of the whip, a yell and a haw, he broke loose and came through triumphantly. The wolves were so astonished and taken by surprise by the performance that they retired from the field in disgust. The Judge said to me, very confidentially, a few days after, 'If you ever undertake to bring fresh beef from Pontiac, make your arrangements so as to come through by daylight.'

"The necessary expenses in obtaining everything, even the necessaries of life, were tenfold greater than dreamed of by the pioneer when he left his Eastern home. For instance, I left Lapeer early one Monday morning with two pair of oxen and fifteen bushels of grain in my wagon to go to mill. I had my choice between Pontiac, Auburn and Rochester, where grinding could be done. I arrived at Pontiac about sundown the second day out, and was informed that my turn would come in about a week. I then proceeded to Auburn and was informed that they might possibly reach my case in about four days. I then made for Rochester, and, on arriving there, received the gratifying intelligence that my grist should be ground within twenty-four hours, provided there was no break-down. I arrived home Saturday night and was rejoiced to learn that the family had not starved during my absence.

[HPR, pp. 59-60]

Below are the vital details for Alvin, Charlotte and their children. For brevity, "Lapeer" stands for Lapeer Taownship, Lapeer County, MI.

1 Alvin Nelson HART b: 11 Feb 1804 in Cornwall, d: 22 Aug 1874 in Lansing, Ingham, MI, age 70
+ Charlotte Fox BALL b: 14 Jun 1813 in Wendell, Franklin, MA, m: 08 Jul 1828 in Utica, Oneida, NY, d: 14 Aug 1850 in Lapeer, age 37
......2 Benjamin Elias HART b: 03 Jul 1830 in Utica, Oneida, NY, Single at Lansing, MI in 1874
......2 Danforth Alvin HART b: 15 May 1832 in Lapeer, d: 20 Apr 1853 in MI, age 20; unmarried
......2 Rodney George HART b: 28 May 1834 in Lapeer, d: 26 Jan 1905 in Lapeer, age 70
...... + Mary Castella HAZEN b: 19 Sep 1832 in Franklin, NY, m: 05 Dec 1854 in Lapeer, d: 06 May 1913 in Chicago, Cook, IL, age 80
......2 Isabella Eliza HART b: 24 Jul 1836 in Lapeer, d: 16 Mar 1915 in Lansing, Ingham, MI, age 78
...... + Robert Wilson HAMILTON
......2 Charlotte Evers HART b: 25 Feb 1838 in Lapeer, d: 29 Dec 1843 in Lapeer, age 5
......2 John G. HART b: 1839 in Lapeer, d: 27 Aug 1846 in MI, age 7
......2 Mary Josephine HART b: 25 Dec 1840 in Lapeer, d: 25 Dec 1843 in Lapeer, age 3
......2 Charlotte Josephine HART b: 04 Sep 1845 in Lapeer, d: 24 Aug 1846 in Lapeer, age 11 months
......2 Arthur Nelson HART b: 16 Aug 1848 in Lapeer, d: 23 Apr 1899 in Kalamazoo, MI, age 50
...... + Helen Augusta BRITTON m: 18 Dec 1866

Miss Nettie A. Comstock writes of pioneer women as follows:

"Mrs. Charlotte HART, wife of A. N. HART, was the daughter of Dr. B. F. BALL, of Litchfield, Conn. On her marriage she removed with her husband to Utica, N. Y., and three years later she accompanied her husband with her babe to the wilds of Michigan. The last fourteen miles of the journey to their new home was through a pathless wilderness, and Messrs. HART and PALMER were obliged to cut their own road. It was a toilsome route, and the men, weary with their long journey, were well nigh discouraged; but weary as she was, and though tenderly reared and totally unused to labor or hardships, she was equal to the occasion, and as the spirits of her companions sunk she urged them to persevere, and seated in the wagon holding her babe she would drive until obliged to stop for a passage to be cut for the team, and by skillful repartee she cheered them in their difficult task, nor did she succumb when on nearing their new home the wagon stuck fast in the muddy bank of the river and it was found necessary to abandon the wagon as night had come and go on foot to the log cabin in the wilderness, nothing but a shelter, having no doors or windows, scarcely a protection from storms or the beasts of the forest. This was the spirit of the true pioneer woman, and this cheerful Christian courage a characteristic trait of Mrs. HART." [HRP, pp. 61-2]

"Rodney G. HART was the first child born in what is now Lapeer City, having been born in 1834. Was educated partly in Romeo and Lodi Plains, Mich. Went to the Michigan University, but was compelled to leave on account of ill-health. Has been in business of various kinds until the present. Was a banker from 1866 till 1878. After retiring from that business spent a year in Europe. Was in Paris in 1878 and visited the Exposition in company with ex-President Grant. Is now engaged in farming, having 220 acres adjoining the city of Lapeer. Has been and is an extensive dealer in fine blooded horses, swine and cattle, for which he has taken prizes at State fairs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio; also at the Canadian Provincial Exhibition at London, Ont. Was the first mayor of Lapeer and has been an alderman for a number of years, and is at the present time alderman of the First Ward of Lapeer City. Held the office of postmaster six years." [HRP, p. 73]

William HART was born on 10 Jul 1792 in Oneida County, NY, possibly the son of Elisha and Hannah HART, of Farmington and Hartford, CT. If that parentage is correct, he is a distant cousin of Oliver and Alvin, above. More research is needed. See [AH].

In 1835 William settled in Hadley Township, where he bought land in Section 9, on 28 May, 6 Jul and 29 Oct 1835. The village of Hadley is now located in the northeast part of Section 9. The 1863 map shows porperties in Section 9 under the names of W. HART, T. K. HART and G. W. HART.

"Alonzo HART was born in Monroe County, N. Y., May 16, 1819. In July, 1835, he came with his father and brother Ansel to Hadley and commenced work upon the tract of land which his father had entered in the spring of the same year. A full description of their settlement and work appears in the sketch of William HART's life. In 1841 he married Amanda GRIGGS. In 1860 he moved to Iowa, where his wife died in 1872, leaving three children, who now reside in that State. After remaining there twelve years he returned to Hadley. In November, 1872, he married Julia MERWIN, of Elba, Lapeer County. Resides in the village of Hadley. Employed in shoe making, having followed that occupation the most of the time for the last twenty years." [HRP, p. 92]

[HRP] History of Lapeer County, Michigan : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (1884) by H. R. Page

[AH] Genealogical history of Deacon Stephen Hart and his descendants/1632 – 1875/with an introduction of miscellaneous Harts and their progenitors, as far as known; to which is added a list of all the clergy of the name found, all the physicians, all the lawyers, the authors, and soldiers (1875) by Alfred Andrews and Austin Hart

[AHW] Alvin Nelson Hart on Wikipedia

1863 Map of Lapeer County includes names of property and business owners.