Chester County PA Archives Biography of HARTMAN Family, 1881 Contributed to PAGenWeb Archives by Diana Quinones [audianaq@msn.com] ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ Futhey and Cope, History of Chester County, 1881. Chapt XIIIC, pp.555-625. HARTMAN, GEORGE.— The founder of the Hartman family in Chester County was John Hartman, a native of Schwerin, Hesse-Cassel (now Prussia). In 1753 he, with his wife, whose maiden name was Moses, emigrated to America with a family of five sons— John, Joseph, George, Peter, and Christopher— and several daughters, and landed in Philadelphia. Of these, Christopher, born May 6, 1750, married, in August, 1776, Mary Hutchinson, of Mercer Co., N.J. In 1795 they moved to Lexington, Ky., and in 1801 to Clermont Co., Ohio, where he died March 16, 1833. One of the daughters, Mary, married a Rice, an officer in the Revolutionary war. John, the emigrant, was twice married, and Abigail, a daughter by his second wife, married Zachariah Rice, and was the mother of twenty-two children, seventeen of whom walked in procession to their mother’s grave. Zachariah Rice did much work for the government during the Revolutionary war, and assisted in building the hospital at Yellow Springs. One of Mr. Rice’s daughters married Daniel Kable, of Morgantown, Pa. She was the grandmother of Mrs. Dr. Hartman, of West Chester. John Hartman the elder, with his family, settled west of the Yellow Springs, where he purchased a tract of several hundred acres. The vicinity of the Yellow Springs was at that period settled almost entirely by Germans, some of whose descendants still occupy the farms owned by their grandparents. The farms of East and West Pikeland were at that period much larger than at present, many containing from 300 to 500 acres of land. That of Christian Hench, on which Joseph Tustin now resides, contained 300 acres. Peter Hartman, the son of John Hartman, was placed in Philadelphia, with a wealthy German acquaintance of his father, to learn the sugar-refining business, which, however, he soon abandoned to join the Continental army, in which he served as an officer. He took an active part in public affairs, and from the commencement of the war he was an ardent and active patriot. Peter Hartman married a widow named Stein, by whom she had one son, George. Mrs. Stein had been previously twice married,— to a Mr. Orner, by whom she had one son (Valentine), and afterwards to Mr. Stein, by whom she had five children. Her maiden name was Smith, and she had emigrated from Germany when young. George Hartman, son of Peter Hartman, when sixteen years of age, was, at the instance of his father, taught to beat the drum, and in a short time his proficiency was such that he received the appointment of drum-major, and was taken by his father through his military campaigns. He was at different periods during the war stationed at Fort Bergen, Billingsport, and other places. A few days before the battle of Brandywine he was taken sick with the camp fever at Chads’ Ford, and was carried by four men on a litter after night to his father’s house near the Yellow Springs, sixteen miles distant, where he could be under the care of his father’s family physician, Dr. Roger Davis. The Tories were harassing the Whigs of the neighborhood by domiciliary visits about this time, and as Maj. Hartman wore the Continental uniform, he was in constant danger of being captured, to avoid which he was carried from one neighbor’s house to another in the night, and often concealed in the cellars through the day, his medical attendant being notified in advance whenever a change of location was deemed necessary. About this time the old powder-magazine on French Creek (portions of which were standing some years ago) was blown up, and other damage inflicted on the inhabitants of the neighborhood by the Tories. These depredations, however, were soon ended by the American army going into winter quarters at Valley Forge. During the winter of 1777, while the army was encamped at Valley Forge, George Hartman and his father were occupied with their four- horse wagon going around the neighborhood collecting meat, flour, potatoes, cabbage, and all other edibles they could obtain by contribution from the farmers, together with clothing and straw for the soldiers’ tents. The Whig ladies knit hose and mittens for the soldiers, and contributed delicacies of all kinds for the sick. Whenever a load was collected they hauled it to camp, and on their return would bring a load of sick soldiers to the hospital at the Yellow Springs. They often received the thanks of Gen. Washington for their efforts to sustain the army. George Hartman married Mary Elizabeth Hench, a daughter of Christian Hench. Mr. Hench had seven sons and two daughters. The sons were men of remarkable physique, all being over six feet in height, and all perished in the Revolutionary war. The last one, named Peter, when his period of enlistment had expired, re-enlisted before returning home, knowing that his mother would not consent to his return to the army. When he returned home his mother recognized him while a long way off, clad in a new uniform, and told the family she knew he had re-enlisted. In a few days he rejoined the army never more to return. George Hartman was at one time sheriff of Chester County. Of three children born to him, the third and only surviving one was Gen. George Hartman, the subject of this sketch, who was born in East Pikeland township, May 5, 1793. When a young man he designed entering the mercantile marine, and with this view he studied astronomy, navigation, and surveying, under the direction of a private tutor. Before attaining his majority war was declared by the United States against Great Britain, and he applied himself at once to the study of military tactics, in which he became quite proficient. He was the first drill-officer of the "American Grays," a company formed at West Chester about that period. In the summer of 1814 he enlisted in Capt. John G. Wersler’s company of volunteers, the Great Valley Light Infantry, and was appointed orderly sergeant. Owing to having received an injury about the time this company was mustered into service, he was dropped from the roll. On his recovery, however, his proficiency in military tactics recommended him to favorable notice, and, notwithstanding his youth, he was elected captain of the second company of the Sixty-fifth Pennsylvania Militia Regiment, commanded by Col. John L. Pearson. His company consisted of one hundred and fourteen men, drafted from the neighborhood of the Yellow Springs and Kimberton. His commission from Governor Snyder bore date Sept. 17, 1814. After his term of service expired he was appointed deputy sheriff of Chester County, under his father. Aug. 31, 1821, he was commissioned by Governor Heister as colonel of the Fifty-seventh Regiment Militia, and May 10, 1833, by Governor Shulze, as captain of a volunteer company, called the "Chester County Fencibles." Aug. 3, 1835, he was elected brigadier-general of the First Brigade, Third Division, of the militia. After the death of Maj.-Gen. Isaac D. Barnard, he was elected and commissioned major- general of the Third Division. In February, 1839, he was appointed recorder of deeds for Chester County by Governor Porter, and (owing to an amendment to the State constitution making the office an elective one) the following November elected to the office for three years. He was an expert penman and mathematician, and for many years was the principal surveyor and conveyancer in the northern part of the county. In all his business relations he was regarded as a gentleman of unswerving integrity. For many years he was a member and officer of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, East Pikeland township. He died Nov. 5, 1878, aged eighty-five years and four months. His children were Dr. William D., Granville S., Mary T. (now the widow of Isaac Sloanaker), Joshua W., G. Washington, Elizabeth Raby, and Albert S., and two who died young. His son Dr. William D. Hartman, a physician of West Chester, graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1839. His tastes are scientific, and he has devoted especial attention to conchology, entomology, geology, and mineralogy. His collection of shells is the largest and most valuable in the State, outside of Philadelphia. A sketch of Levi Bingaman can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/chester/bios/hartman-g.jpg