The English ancestry of the Hartt family of America is unquestioned but difficult to unravel. From the will of William Harte of the parish of St. Thomas the Apostle, London, England, proved in 1632, it is learned he had three sons, William, Richard and Thomas Hartt. (He wrote his name Harte, but the will gives the sons' names as Hartt.) Three of the name, Samuel Hartt, John Harte and Nicholas Hart, came from London, England, to America between 1631 and 1642, and may have been sons of one or each of these three sons of William, as they are believed to have been brothers or cousins. Samuel Hartt in 1653 called himself thirty-one years of age and said he was sent over from England to the Iron Works at Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1640. He married Mary How, a widow, and is the progenitor of the New Hampshire branch. Nicholas Hart, supposed son of Richard of London, England, was the progenitor of the Dutchess county, New York, branch from whom Arthur Hartt, of Ravena, New York, descends, spelled his name Hart. Where or when the tt came into use does not appear, probably this was at first a local spelling, as is Harte. Nicholas was of Taunton, Massachusetts, 1642; in 1643 was of Boston, remaining there until 1648, then settling at Warwick, Rhode Island, where he was a merchant. He served in the colonial wars of 1643 as a soldier in Captain William Pool's company. He married Joanna, youngest daughter of Edward Rossiter, of Rhode Island, who came from London, England, with and was assistant to Governor John Winthrop, of Massachusetts. There are no records of the death of Nicholas Hart or his wife. Austin's "Genealogical Dictionary" [i.e., John O. Austin, The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island] says they left one son only.
(II) Richard, only son of Nicholas and Joanna (Rossiter) Hart, was born in England about 1635; came to America with his father and lived at Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He was a sailor and lost his life at sea, near Boston harbor, in January, 1695. The last vessel he sailed on was the sloop "Dragon," Captain Robert Glover. He had a grant of eight acres in Portsmouth in 1657, half of which he sold in 1662. He married Hannah Keen. Children born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island:
- Alice, married George Reace;
- Richard (2), of further mention;
- Mary, married John Tripp;
- Nicholas, lived at Little Compton, Rhode Island;
- William, lived at New Bedford, Massachusetts;
- Samuel, lived at Tiverton, Rhode Island.
(III) Richard (2), son of Richard (1) and Hannah (Keen) Hartt, was born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1667; made his will April 19, 1745, probated June 10, 1745. He lived at Little Compton, Rhode Island, near the Tiverton line. Tradition says his wife Amy long outlived him. There was a path on his farm to five graves of Hartt families, with plain granite gravestones that was called "Amy Hartt's Path," so worn was it by her frequent visits to the graves. He married (first) in 1693, Hannah Williams; married (second) at Little Compton, October 31, 1708, Amy Gibbs. Children, born in Little Compton (vital records):
- Alice, married Nathan Closson;
- Mary, married a Mr. Peacham;
- Sarah, married Daniel Wilcox;
- Richard (3), of further mention.
Children of second wife:
- Comfort, married John Gifford;
- Stephen, born August 2, 1712.
(IV) Captain Richard (3) Hartt, son of Richard (2) and Hannah (Williams) Hartt, was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island, where he died July 22, 1792. He was a farmer and gained his title in the militia service during the Indian wars. He married (first), February 4, 1725, Mary Taber, who died November, 1760; married (second), October 18, 1761, Abigail Fabee. Children, born in Little Compton (vital records):
- John, born April 4, 1729.
- Hannah, December 5, 1730; married John Macomber, of Dartmouth.
- William, January 3, 1733, lived at Tiverton, Rhode Island.
- Phoebe, May 15, 1735 married a Mr. Howard, of Little Compton, and had twelve children.
- Richard, of further mention.
- Mary, July 28, 1739; married Nicholas Lapham, of Dartmouth.
- Lombard, February 3, 1742; married Rebecca Sheldon.
- Susannah, April 9, 1744; married Philip Macomber.
- Jeremiah, April 5, 1745, lived at Saratoga, New York.
- Philip, January 12, 1749, lived at Hart Village, Dutchess county, New York.
(V) Richard (4), son of Captain Richard (3) and Mary (Taber) Hartt, was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island. About 1760 he settled in Dutchess county, New York, and bought a large farm on the "turnpike," leading from Poughkeepsie to Sharon, Connecticut. Here he built a large stone house about fifteen miles east of Poughkeepsie, which was later occupied by his brother Philip and is still standing. About 1767 he executed several deeds signed by himself and wife Ruth. He styled himself a "clothier." He afterward removed to Albany, New York, where on January 7, 1783, he deeded his interest in the farm to his brother Philip. On September 18, 1793, Abigail Hartt, widow of Richard Hartt, of Little Compton, Rhode Island, deeded her right to the same Philip Hartt, making him exclusive owner of the Dutchess county farm. Soon after 1770 a large population from Dartmouth, Massachusetts, settled at this point, among them several Hart families, and it became known as Hart Village, now Millbrook. Richard Hartt married (first) at Tiverton, Rhode Island, March 8, 1759, Ruth Borden; married (second) Abigail Irish; among their children was a son John.
(VI) John, son of Richard (4) and Ruth (Borden) Hartt, was born in Hart Village, Dutchess county, New York, about 1767. He was a farmer; married and had issue.
(VII) John (2), believed to have been the son of John (1) Hartt, was born at Hart Village, Dutchess county, January 5, 1792, died at Norton Hill, Greene county, New York, April 20, 1868. He was one of the old-time shoemakers, a good workman, an industrious and upright man. He worked in Albany county, New York, when a young man, following his calling from house to house after the manner of the olden-time shoemaker, this method being known in the trade as "whipping the cat." In 1819 he settled at Norton Hill, Greene county, and opened a shop, where he did a good business. About 1820-21, he kept a tavern, said to have been the first or one of the first kept in the village. He lived to a ripe old age, dying in the communion of the Christian church of Freehold, New York, of which he had long been a member. He married Salome, daughter of Ezra Miller, who survived him many years. Children:
- Mary A.;
- Franklin A.;
- James S., merchant;
- Edgar, now a merchant of Greenville, New York;
- William B., a farmer;
- John G., of further mention;
- George A.;
Edgar and George A. Hartt, of Albany, New York, being the only survivors (1911).
(VIII) John G., son of John (2) and Salome (Miller) Hartt, was born at Norton Hill, Greene county, New York, October 3, 1829, died April 6, 1901. In 1856 he began business as a general merchant at Greenville, Greene county, New York, in partnership with his brother, Edgar. They continued in successsful operation as partners for fifty-five years and the firm was only dissolved by the death of John G. Hartt. Edgar still survives (1911) and continues the business, making sixty-five years in the same business in the same town (see "Greene County History" [probably History of Greene County, New York 1788-1884]). He was a Republican in politics, and a supporter of the Greenville Presbyterian church, of which his wife was a member. He married Jane A. Talmadge, born in Greenville, New York, April 4, 1837, died May 8, 1906. Child, Arthur, of further mention.
(IX) Arthur, only child of John G. and Jane A. (Talmadge) Hartt, was born in Greenville, Greene county, New York, July 23, 1865.
He was educated in the public schools; spent nine years at Greenville Academy and one year at Riverview Military Academy at Poughkeepsie, New York. He learned the printers' trade, and for two and one-half years was foreman of the printing offices of the Greenville Local. September 28, 1896, he established in business at Ravena, Albany county, New York, where he still continues a successful general store. He is a director and stockholder of the First National Bank of Ravena; was one of the organizers and vice-president and director of Ravena and Medway Telephone Company, now merged with the State Telephone Company; also an organizer, vice-president, and director of the Atlantic Light and Power Company of Coeymans, New York. He is a public-spirited citizen, interested and helpful in all that concerns the welfare of his community. He is a Republican in politics; in 1898 he was appointed postmaster at Ravena and is still the incumbent of that office. He is a prominent member of James M. Austin Lodge, No. 557, Free and Accepted Masons, Greenville, of which he is past master; charter member of Russell Lodge, No. 850, Ravena; charter member of Greenville Chapter No. 283, Royal Arch Masons; member of Temple Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, of Albany; Albany Consistory, thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite; Cyprus Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Albany; charter member of Ella C. Perry Chapter, No. 461, Order of the Eastern Star. He is also an Odd Fellow, belonging to Hudson River Lodge, No. 817, Ravena; a member of Pulver Council, No. 14, Junior Order American Mechanics, and of Kaa Rheu Vahn,, Gralto No. 20, of Albany, Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets. His religious membership is in the Christian church, which he serves as trustee and treasurer. He married, June 12, 1890, Rose A., daughter of Isaac L. and Eliza M. (Gifford) Willsey, of Freehold, New York. Child,
- Harold A., born July 19, 1898.