Misc. News Items from the Atlanta Journal 30 Oct 1901 Fulton Co, GA

THE ATLANTA JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY EVENING 
OCTOBER 30, 1901

Page 6

WAS NANCY HART A MYTH?
By Mrs. W. H. Felton

Rev. G. G. Smith asserts Nancy Hart was a myth.

He is a close student of Georgia history.  His opinion is worthy of 
respect, but it falls like cold ice on a warm imagination to be told 
there was no Nancy Hart.  I am too fond of Nancy to give her up.  I 
have gone to the bookcase for the "Historical Collections of Georgia," 
and here is what I read concerning Nancy Hart, written by Rev. George 
White, who sold his own book to us, and wrote his autograph on the 
fly-leaf at the time of purchase.  Hear Mr. White:

"We give our readers various particulars concerning her (Nancy) derived 
from conversations which we have had with persons who were acquainted 
with her and from notes kindly furnished by the Rev. Mr. Snead, of 
Baldwin county, Georgia, a connection of the Hart family.  We are also 
under obligations to the Hon. Thomas Hart Benton, to whom we addressed 
a letter asking for information in regard to the relationship existing 
between the family of Harts and himself, who promptly favored us with 
all that we desired."

I wish our good brother, Dr. Smith, had seen this work of Rev. George 
White before he so hastily disturbed my vivid admiration of Mrs. Nancy 
Hart's patriotism. 

Hear still more:

"Nancy Hart's maiden name was Morgan.  She was married to Benjamin Hart 
and afterwards came to Georgia.  Her husband was a brother of the 
celebrated Colonel Thomas Hart, of Kentucky, who married a Miss Gray, 
of Orange county, North Carolina.

"This gentleman was the father of the wife of the Hon. Henry Clay, and 
maternal uncle of the Hon. Thomas Hart Benton.

"The family of Mr. Snead removing to Georgia in consequence of the 
relationship between them and the Harts, Aunt Nancy, as she was usually 
called, came to see them.

"Mr. Snead says he well remembered her appearance and many anecdotes 
related of her.  He describes her appearance pretty much as she is made 
to appear in the Yorkville sketch below, but says positively she was 
not cross-eyed."

Oh!  Brother Smith, why have you failed to read the Yorkville sketch?  
(which is too long to copy.)

"He represents her as being about six feet high, very muscular and 
erect in her gait, her hair light, brown, slightly sprinkled with gray, 
when he last saw her, being at that time about 60 years of age.

"From long indulgence in violent passion her countenance was liable, 
from trivial causes, to sudden changes.  In dwelling upon the hardships 
of the revolution, the perfidy of the Tories and her frequent adventures 
with them, she never failed to become much excited."

Mr. Snead told the following story:

"On one evening she was at home with her children sitting around a 
log fire with a large pot of soap boiling over the fire.  Nancy was 
busy stirring the soap and entertaining her family with the latest 
news of the war.  The houses in those days were all built of logs, as 
well as chimneys.  While they were thus employed one of the family 
discovered some one on the outside peeping through the crevices of 
the chimney and gave a silent intimation of it to Nancy.

"She rattled away with more and more spirit, now giving exaggerated 
accounts of the discomfiture of the Tories, and again stirring the 
boiling soap watching the place indicated for a reappearance of the spy.

"Suddenly, with the quickness of lightning, she dashed the ladle of 
boiling soap through the crevice in the face of the eavesdropper, who, 
taken by surprise and blinded by hot soap, screamed and roared at a 
tremendous rate, whilst the indomitable Nancy went out, amused herself 
at his expense and with gibes and taunts bound him fast as her prisoner."

Let me stop long enough to again remind Brother George Smith that Rev. 
George White, the historian, had the facts of this story from Kinsman
Snead, who had them from Nancy herself.

I can vouch for the existence of Rev. Mr. White, who wrote the book 
from which I copy, and Mr. White spoke here only of what he knew from 
Mr. Snead, and Nancy herself told Mr. Snead of her scuffles with the 
Tories.

Don't you see that Nancy Hart was not quite a "myth" at the time Mr. 
White wrote this book, which bears this inscription on the fly leaf, 
namely:

"For Dr. William H. Felton, written by the author, George White."

The "myth" story seems to be up to Nancy herself or this author may be 
also regarded a myth, along with kinsman Snead, with whom Mr. White 
was acquainted.  Therefore, I am not willing to agree that Nancy was 
a myth with such weight of testimony in her behalf.  Just listen again:

"Nancy was the mother of six sons, Morgan, John, Ben, Thomas, Mark, 
Lemuel, and two daughters, Sally and Reziah.  Her eldest daughter, 
Sally, married a man by the name of Thompson, who partook largely of 
the qualities of Mrs. Hart.

"Upon this journey (when they moved to Brunswick, Ga., for Sally and 
her husband followed Mrs. Hart to Georgia), in passing through Burke 
county, they camped for the night on the roadside.  Next morning 
Thompson and a white man who drove the wagon got in a difficulty and 
Thompson seized a sword and with a single blow severed his head from 
his body.  Thompson stopped at the first house next morning on their 
way and told the inmates he had 'just cut a fellows' head off at the 
camp and they had best go down and bury him.'

When he was caught and put in Waynesborough jail Nancy went to their 
relief.  She went to Waynesborough several times, and at one of those 
times Thompson's prison door was open and he was gone!  Mrs. Hart, in 
relating the occurrence, said:  'That's the way with them all.  Drat 
'em.  When they get in trouble they always send for me!'

Brave Nancy!  Helpful mother!  Since I went through the civil war and 
was raided by Stoneman's cavalry and overrun by Wilson's troops and 
led a refugee life for the best part of two long, hard, dreary and 
anxious years, I can understand the help Nancy was able to afford to 
her family in Tory times.  

I feel quite as sure that Nancy was a living, breathing heroine as I 
am sure that General Oglethorpe landed in Georgia.  It is reported 
that General Oglethorpe picked up a lot of folks to take this trip 
with him who would not be acceptable for colonial ancestry or sons of 
the revolution, and Nancy was no worse (if she was no better) than the 
most of the people who came to Yamacraw and founded the first Georgia 
colony in the name of King George II.

It is also reported of Mr. Benjamin Hart that he fled to the canebrakes 
when Whigism was under the weather, that is, when Tories were 
plentiful.  Not so with Mistress Nancy Hart!  She never "struck her 
colors" to red coats.

I will not take time to tell you how she was able to capture six 
stalwart Tories by her strategy and superior marksmanship, nor of the 
huge antlers which adorned her cabin walls, because she was an expert 
with the rifle, but I would like for Rev. Mr. Smith to know she "could 
cook pumpkin in as many ways as there are days in the week," and she 
was a fair country doctress for those early times, with few physicians.  

If Nancy had been at Santiago she might have uttered some "cuss words" 
(as Admiral Schley did, of the Texas), or if she wanted a "dram" I 
expect she would not have been mortified or afraid to drink one, 
according to custom, but considering her environment Nancy Hart was a 
patriot and a useful citizen in the early days of the republic.  She 
had no small job on her hands to raise six sons and marry off two 
daughters, and since Mr. Snead could give us the names of both boys 
and girls I would suggest to Rev. Mr. Smith that he might turn his 
genealogical talents in the direction of the Hart family when he 
completes his researches in other directions, as his very interesting 
newspaper articles are so pleasing to his readers.  

If he can trace the Snead family he will be in proximity to the Harts, 
and it is generally understood that Nancy, when a widow, was captured 
by a young suitor.  She took her bridegroom to the "wilds of the west."

She did not go, however, until she saw her country free, but she was 
fond of frontier life and doubtless desired to give the young husband 
a start where she could aid him with her gun.


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