Since I can remember, I was told by my mother, Rosemary, that she descends from Commodore Isaac Hull the Captain of the Enterprise and U.S.S. Constitution. Six years ago my aunt Lillian confirmed this, she telling me she owned a book her father, Royal Rosamond, gave her with a handwritten inscription inside. Isaac married Ann Hart, who I discovered yesterday, is kin to Princess Diana ‘The Rose of England’.

Ann and her six sisters were considered the most beautiful women in America. Their kindred have been described as a “beautiful race” anyone who is of their blood, blessed with extraordinary good looks. Consider Christine Rosamond and the beautiful women she rendered, and our kindred, Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor. Now add Diana Spencer, her mother, and Kate Windsor, the Duchess of Cambridge, who is due to give birth to a child in July. This child will own Hart blood, and thus will be very beautiful.

The problem with being descended from Issac, is, it is alleged he had no children. But, this may not be true. There is a Nancy Ann Hart, that is entwined with Ann, and there is no original statement that says Isaac had no children. Perhaps Ann disowned her child (ren)?

What is really curious, is that Ann’s sister, Jennette, was the lover of Simon Bolivar, who thought she miscarried his child, and was furious that she brought the fetus home to be buried. It is said this was the child of another sister, but, there is a un-marked grave that allegedly contains Jeanette’s favorite slave names Sarah, but, there is another grave for another “Sarah”? Could Sarah be Isaac’s child by Jennette, or, Ann? The three lived together. Isaac took other Hart Beauties on cruises aboard the Constitution, and spend much time at the home of Elisha Hart surrounded by his seven daughters who adored Isaac who was a famous lover, or should be. Why he sired no children, is a mystery. Was Ann barren, and was Janette a surrogate wife and mother to one of America’s most famous men – who for sure is kin to the Rose of England?

What we might be looking at is an abortion performed by Jannett’s slave after Hart saw Bolivar in a parade with his mistress. They had talked about getting married. Consider all the intrigue that surrounds the death of Princess Di and her tragic mother, Frances Ruth Burke-Roche.

The Hart family settled in Cambridge. Is it possible Windsor genealogists know of the Hart connection, and thus made William and Kate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge? I am not able to find a link between the two Hart families in America, one being the Harts the Benton family is kin to.

This is a study still in the works, so there may be inaccuracies as I put it together.

Above are two portraits of Ann Hart Hull, and a black and white image of Jeanette. That is the home of Elisha Hart.

Jon Preco

Copyright 2012

NANCY MCCURDY HART, Saybrook, second daughter of Elisha Hart, of the same town, and his wife, Jannette (McCurdy), born, 1790; married, Commodore Isaac Hull, United States Navy. Hull died in Philadelphia, February 13th, 1843, aged 68 years. He was appointed lieutenant in the navy in 1798, and first distinguished himself in 1800, during the short war with France, by cutting out the French letter-of-marque Sandwich, then lying in the harbor of Port au Platts, in St. Domingo. He subsequently commanded the schooner Enterprise, twelve guns, attached to the squadron under Commodore Morris, off Tripoli. In this vessel he aided Captain Rogers, of the John Adams, in capturing a large cruiser of twenty-two guns. During the Tripolitan war he was promoted to the rank of master commandant, and in 1806 was made captain. In the war of 1812 he commanded the frigate Constitution, and distinguished himself by capturing the English frigate Guerriere.

[First, there is some confusion in Andrew’s book, about this person’s name. Although the name ‘Nancy’ is used here, her name is given as ‘Ann’ in her father, Elisha’s, entry on page 405-6. It appears that there were no children of this marriage, but I have not yet seen this explicitly stated anywhere. More research is needed to resolve these two questions. A biography of Commodore Hull probably exists somewhere with answers to these Hart family questions.

There is considerable information available about Commadore Isaac Hull and his defeat of HMS Guerriere abord the USS Constitution in August 1812. He was also the first Commandant of the Portsmouth, NH Naval shipyard. The following letter was written by Captain Hull, while abord the Constitution to report the defeat of the Guerriere.

After her death, some 40 years after meeting Bolivar, the contents of the old Hart house were auctioned by James Tread way of Saybrook. Among the items sold from her room was a miniature painting on ivory of General Simon Bolivar. Scratched onto the back were the words: “Mr. Bolivar liberator, S.A. 1824.” There being no bidders, Mr. Treadway purchased the item and later presented it to members of the Hart family. Its whereabouts today is unknown.

Although she had many suitors, Jeannette never married. She lived in Philadelphia with her sister Ann and Isaac Hull and spent many summers in Saybrook. She and her sister Sarah converted to Catholicism.Tragic life of Frances Shand KyddLast updated at 19:52 03 June 2004

A descendant of Stephen HART is
Diana Spencer, the Princess of Wales.
Here is the way:
1.Stephen Hart 1602/3-1682/3
2.Mary Hart abt 1630-1710 +John Lee 1620-1690
3.Tabitha Lee 1677-1750 +Preserved Strong 1679/80-1765
4.Elizabeth Strong 1704-1792 +Joseph Strong Jr 1701-1773
5.Benajah Strong 1740-1809 +Lucy Bishop 1747-1783
6.Joseph Strong 1770-1812 +Rebecca Young 1779-1862
8.Ellen Wood 1831-1877 +Frank Work 1819-1911
9.Frances Ellen Work 1857-1947 +James Boothby Burke-Roche 1851-1920
10.Edmund Maurice Burke-Roche 1885-1955 +Ruth Sylvia Gill 1980-
11.Frances Ruth Burke-Roche 1936- +Edward John Spencer 1924-
12.Diana Spencer HRH The Princess of Wales 1961- + Charles HRH
The Prince of Wales 1948-
Source:Gen History of Deacon
Stephen Hart and his descendants – Andrews and a book by
Gary Boyd Roberts, through Nancy Bainter
on the net bainter@esdsdf.dnet.ge.com

When Capt. Elisha Hart (1758-1844), the wealthy Saybrook merchant and trader, married Janet McCurdy (1765-1815), of the well-known and well-off Lyme family, he looked forward to having sons to carry on his thriving businesses but fate, and “x” chromosomes, provided one daughter after another:

First there was Sarah born in 1787, then Ann in 1790, then Mary Ann in 1792, then Jeanette in 1794, Elizabeth in 1796, Amelia in 1799, and finally Harriet Augusta in 1804 – the seven beautiful Hart sisters.

The girls enjoyed the pleasant and pampered life of their prominent family. They were sent to “finishing schools,” including the highly respected Miss Pierce’s School in Litchfield, and their exposure to the ways of the world expanded beyond small town Saybrook. Lively, attractive, charming and sophisticated, they attracted many suitors.

When Ann attended school in Philadelphia she and her classmates visited the ship commanded by Isaac Hull. He showed them about and Ann had many questions and displayed an unusual knowledge in seafaring life which she gained from her father.
She commented on the neatly coiled rolls of tarred ropes and how she enjoyed the odor of tar. A few days later she received a delicate chain made from tarred rope that was sent by Hull. She wrote thanking him for the gift and so began a correspondence that led to their marriage in 1813.

Hull was born in Derby, the second of seven sons, and grew up along the shores of the Housatonic River. He developed a flair for the sea and signed on to a coastal schooner when he was 14. He studied navigation and by 20 was a master in the merchant service. In 1798 he entered the U.S. Navy.

When the War of 1812 began, 39-year-old Hull was placed in command of the frigate U.S. Constitution. Receiving orders to seek and destroy British warships between Nantucket and Halifax, he set sail. Spotting the English frigate Guerriere, he ordered all hands to prepare for action. When he was almost alongside the Guerriere, Hull gave the order: “Now boys! Pour it into them.”

Legend has it that, in the mid-1800’s, Cypress’ beautiful wrought iron fence along the sidewalk of College Street was “donated” by Jeanette Hart to the Association in return for the burial of Hart’s beloved slave, Sarah, in the Hart family plot. At that time, the Assoication was likely incensed at the idea of a “mixed” cemetery plot. But, in return for the fence, the Assoication acquiesced as long as Sarah’s plot was unmarked. The unmarked grave still exists today.

That isn’t the end of the story, however. Not far from the unmarked stone in the Hart plot is another stone inscribed with the name “Sarah”. The question remains, if Jeanette Hart defied the wishes of the Association, then why is there an unmarked stone in the Hart plot?

One explanation has Jeanette and her two sisters travelling to South America in 1824. Jeanette, unmarried, was said to have enjoyed a full and much publicized romance with Chile’s “liberator”, Simon Bolivar. While in South America, Jeanette’s sister Elizabeth was said to have given birth to a still-born child. Upon bringing the baby home for burial for her sister (reportedly encased in a wine basket for the purpose of preservation), Jeanette buried the child in the Hart plot. The question of which stone – the unmarked stone or the one inscribed “Sarah” – still lingers. In bringing the baby back to Connecticut, Jeanette was said to have enraged her “latino lover” and, as a result, didn’t end up marrying him as he originally proposed.

http://www.cypresscemeteryosct.org/harts_sarah.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/venezuela.html

http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1986/jul-aug/bushnell.html

When the newly appointed commander of the U.S. Pacific Squadron, Commodore Isaac Hull departed New York in 1824 for his new assignment in the Pacific, he took his wife Ann Hart Hull of Old Saybrook as he usually did. Also on board was Ann’s sister Elizabeth and her new husband Heman Allen, the U.S. Minister to Chile, a favorite slave Leah, and another sister Jeannette (1794-1861).

Before they returned, they would face dilemmas and decisions involving a romantic adventure, a marriage proposal, a mistress, a miscarriage, and transporting a dead body while a continent-wide revolution raged.

Today, it would be on afternoon television and might be called “Hart Ache South of the Border.”

Arriving in Lima, Peru, Commodore Hull and his wife hosted several elaborate receptions and dances and invited Simon Bolivar (1783 – 1830) who was at the height of his glory and known by his admirers throughout the continent as the Liberator of South America.
At one of these receptions Bolivar’s dark eyes met Jeannette Hart’s, a graceful, stately young lady. Their affection for each other quickly blossomed into something more passionate. Rumors had it that Bolivar fell in love with Jeannette, proposed marriage and she returned his love and accepted his proposal.

The Sept. 4, 1826 Hartford Courant reported that Bolivar lingered in Lima because “the illustrious Liberator was detained by the silken cords of love, and actually employed in exchanging vows of enduring affection, and forming a marriage covenant with one of our republican beauties of Connecticut.”

Jeannette discussed her decision to marry with her family who were uniformly opposed. Her brother-in-law Isaac Hall was shocked by the idea and noted that Bolivar was a Catholic. Further, he was known to have a reputation not only as a leader of men, but a lover of women.

Her sister Ann pointed out that Bolivar had a longstanding relationship with a mistress, Manuela Sáenz.

Jeannette was torn between her feelings and her family. She traveled to Chile to be with her sister Elizabeth and her husband Heman Allen. While there, a premature baby was born to Elizabeth and Heman. The birth seriously endangered Elizabeth’s health. Local physicians refused to treat the foreigner and she was saved only by the care and skill provided by her beloved slave, Leah.

Strong anti-American feelings were also expressed by destroying the graves of foreigners. Fearful of burying her baby there Elizabeth wanted to send the body back to Connecticut. To do this she placed the fetus in a cask of brandy to preserve it.

Jeannette took the cask back to Peru where she planned to put it aboard Commodore Hull’s ship and have it returned home for proper interment.

When the story reached Bolivar he believed that it was a baby born to Jeannette and he accused her of being immoral and unfit to be his wife.

He later found out what happened. “I know too much to expect forgiveness,” he wrote to Jeannette. “But I do plead with you to try to understand that the depth of my rage and bitterness was the measure of my passion for you. Had I loved you less madly, I had not been so insane with jealousy, so blinded by it was to believe for a moment what seemed at the time incontrovertible evidence of clay feet on the idol I had set up in my heart.…”

Eventually, the baby was sent to Saybrook and buried in the Hart family plot at Cypress Cemetery. Leah is also buried there in the Hart family plot, against the wishes of many local residents.

Eventually, Jeannette left Chile to return to the American Consulate in Lima, Peru. Soon after arriving, Bolivar and his army rode through the streets in triumph. Bells rang out, people threw flowers and kneeled before them. Following the Liberator was an attractive young woman in white trousers with thick black hair, pulled back in a bun. It was Bolivar’s mistress, Manuela Saenz.

Jeannette supposedly followed Bolivar to his quarters and confronted him. She would not, could not, marry him and left.

Manuela Saenz (1797-1856), Bolivar’s lover, does not get very favorable treatment in this part of the world but is a national hero in her home country of Ecuador. She actively participated with Bolivar, 15 years her senior, in planning and fighting to overthrow the Spanish rulers, rising on her merits to become a general in the rebel army.

She once saved Bolivar from assassination and was nicknamed by him as “the liberator of the liberator.”

She has inspired historians, artists and writers since before her death and her life has been the subject of numerous books and films.

Bolívar drove the Spanish out of South America and gained independence for the nations of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Panama. It was his dream to unite them all into one unified nation

When he was at the height of his power he convened a congress of Latin American republics in Panama in 1826. He envisioned a league of Central and South American nations, but he was far ahead of his time.

Soon thereafter, fighting between the nations, personality conflicts, and resentment of his governing ways caused his influence to fade.

After an assassination attempt and with failing health, Bolivar resigned all his positions and died soon thereafter of tuberculosis on Dec. 17, 1830.

But to Latin Americans, Bolivar remains immortal, one of the greatest military leaders in the history of the world. Most scholars consider the most important figure in Latin American history. His stature today is greater than ever.

After Bolivar’s death, Manuela settled in a small town on the Peruvian coast, poor and neglected. She died of diphtheria in 1856.

In 1842, his remains were moved from Santa Marta, Columbia to the National Pantheon of Venezuela in Caracas. In 2010, symbolic remains of Manuela Sáenz were interred by his side during a national ceremony reuniting them and honoring her role in the liberations.

After her death, some 40 years after meeting Bolivar, the contents of the old Hart house were auctioned by James Tread way of Saybrook. Among the items sold from her room was a miniature painting on ivory of General Simon Bolivar. Scratched onto the back were the words: “Mr. Bolivar liberator, S.A. 1824.” There being no bidders, Mr. Treadway purchased the item and later presented it to members of the Hart family. Its whereabouts today is unknown.

Although she had many suitors, Jeannette never married. She lived in Philadelphia with her sister Ann and Isaac Hull and spent many summers in Saybrook. She and her sister Sarah converted to Catholicism.

She paid to have Lady Fenwick’s brownstone marker carved, incorrectly recording the date of her death as 1648, when it was 1645 or 1646. She also had a Roman Catholic cross carved on the marker which was upsetting to some townspeople since Puritan Lady Fenwick was oppose to the Catholic church.

She also paid to have the wrought iron fence placed at Cypress Cemetery and Leah, an African-American slave, was able to be peacefully buried in the family plot.
1
2
3
See Full Story
http://dunhamwilcox.net/bios/saybrook_bios2.htm

http://ntgen.tripod.com/bw/sp_engl_pres.html

Elisha HART, fifth son of Rev. William HART, born in 1758, married Jeannet te MCCURDY, of Lyme, and had seven daughters but no sons. They were distin guished for their beauty and accomplishments, and moved in the highest cir cles of wealth and honor. The eldest daughter, Sarah MCCURDY, married Re v. Dr. Samuel F. JARVIS, of Middletown, from whom she was divorced. Her re mains lie in the burial ground on Saybrook Point. The second daughter, A nn MCCURDY, married Commodore Isaac HULL, U. S. N., who distinguished hims elf in the war of 1812 while in command of the frigate Constitution by cap turing the British frigate Guerriere. After the war Commodore HULL was a f requent visitor at Saybrook, and with his wife spent a few weeks at the o ld mansion nearly every summer for several years till his death in Philade lphia, in 1843. Elizabeth, the fifth daughter, married Hon. Heman ALLEN, f ormerly member of Congress from Vermont, and minister plenipotentiary to C olumbia, South America. He died in 1844, at Burlington, Vermont, where h is wife also died. Amelia, sixth daughter, married Captain, afterward Comm odore Joseph HULL, U. S. N., a nephew of Commodore Isaac HULL. Three of t he daughters died unmarried. One of them, Jeannette M. McCurdy HART, in 18 60, gave a handsome iron fence for the front of the ancient cemetery on Sa ybrook Point.* (*It is said that in the latter part of her life she embrac ed the Catholic faith. It was by her direction, and at her expense, that o ne of the inscriptions on the tomb of Lady Fenwick was cut. A simple inscr iption was well enough, but when she added a huge cross, an offense again st good taste was committed, which the descendants of the Saybrook Purita ns are not likely to forget or forgive.) Capt. Elisha HART died in May 28 th 1842, aged 84.
We have several collections in our archives pertaining to the prominent Hart family of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. This poster may be found in the papers of Rev. Samuel F. Jarvis, Jr (Ms 68815). Rev. Jarvis was the son of Sarah McCurdy Hart and Rev. Samuel F. Jarvis, Sr.; grandson of Capt. Elisha Hart; and nephew of Ann McCurdy Hart Hull, Mrs. Commodore Isaac Hull.
I’ve written an article on your Hull line and it was published in one of our Hull Family Association Journals. Complete references are cited. I’ve also written a book about Hulls in the American Revolution and Samuel Hull is in my book with info on all of his children.

https://rosamondpress.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/we-are-kin-to-issac-hull/

John2 McCurdy (John1) was born in Ireland 1724. John died November 10, 1785 at age 61.
He married Anne Lord January 16, 1751/2. Anne was born 1729. Anne was the daughter of Richard Lord and Elizabeth Lynde. Anne died September 3, 1802 at age 73. When Anne was age unknown and John McCurdy was age unknown they became the parents of daughter McCurdy Hart date unknown. When Anne was age 25 and John McCurdy was age 30 they became the parents of Lynde McCurdy April 4, 1755. When Anne was age 37 and John McCurdy was age 42 they became the parents of John McCurdy March 2, 1767. When Anne was age 39 and John McCurdy was age 44 they became the parents of Richard McCurdy March 2, 1769.
When John was age unknown and Anne Lord was age unknown they became the parents of daughter McCurdy Hart date unknown. When John was age 30 and Anne Lord was age 25 they became the parents of Lynde McCurdy April 4, 1755. When John was age 42 and Anne Lord was age 37 they became the parents of John McCurdy March 2, 1767. When John was age 44 and Anne Lord was age 39 they became the parents of Richard McCurdy March 2, 1769.
John McCurdy and Anne Lord had the following children:
5 i. daughter3 McCurdy Hart (living status unknown).
+ 6 ii. Lynde McCurdy was born April 4, 1755.
7 iii. John McCurdy was born March 2, 1767. John died December 27, 1790 in Lyme, CT, at age 23.
+ 8 iv. Richard McCurdy was born March 2, 1769.
• ID: I22999
• Name: William HART
• Sex: M
• Birth: in Of Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut
• Note:
The History of Middlesex County 1635-1885
J. H. Beers & Co., 36 Vesey Street, New York
1884
Pages 573-579
[transcribed by Janece Streig]
OLD SAYBROOK BIOGRAPHIES, PROMINENT FAMILIES.
THE HART FAMILY.
As the HART family has for many years been prominent in the town, a noti ce of some members of the family, other than Rev. William HART, may n ot be out of place. The first who came to this county was Stephen HAR T, of Braintree, Essex county, England, born about 1605. He came with t he company that settled Braintree, Mass., that afterward removed to Cambri dge, and that constituted the church of which Rev. Thomas HOOKER was after ward pastor. Mr. HART came to Hartford with Mr. HOOKER’s company in 163 5, and was one of the orig prop.s of that place. There is a tradition th at the town was named from the ford he discovered and used in crossing t he Connecticut River at a low stage of the water, and so from HART’s Fo rd it soon became Hartford, from a natural and easy transition.
His grandson, William, was pastor of the church in Saybrook, and has alrea dy been noticed in the proper place. Rev. William HART’s oldest son, Willi am, was born at Saybrook, and married Esther Buckingham, daughter of Jose ph and his wife, Sarah TULLY, in 1745. He was a merchant, and was an offic er in the State militia during the Revolutionary war, and was in the engag ement of Danbury. He was afterward a major general, and was for several ye ars a candidate for governor of the State. In 1795, the West Reserve (so c alled), belonging to the State of Connecticut, was purchased by subscripti on by a company of wealthy citizens of the State, for $1,200,000. Willi am HART was one of the company, and his subscription was $30,462. In 178 5, he was engaged in the mercantile business with his brother Joseph in Ha rtford, and was much engaged in the West India trade. He was also a mercha nt at Saybrook. Owing to the destruction of a number of his vessels, whi le engaged in the West India trade, he and his heirs since have been amo ng the claimants under the French Spoliation Bill, with little probabilit y, however, of realizing anything from it, although years ago France pa id these claims to our government. The investment in the Western Reserve l ands proved a profitable one to him and his heirs, some of the land sti ll yielding an income to the family, though most of it has been sold. Gene ral HART is described as a man of commanding person and presence, with a h andsome, manly face, a rich complexion, and fine, clear, dark eyes and hai r. He was an accomplished horseman, and often made the journey between Say brook and Hartford on his favorite saddle horse. An old resident of Hartfo rd, dead years ago, used to tell her great-grandchildren, with much enthus iasm, what an imposing appearance he presented as he rode up to her doo r, and how it was ever her delight to set before him the very best enterta inment the inn afforded.
Major Richard William HART, the only child of Gen. William and Esther BUCK INGHAM, was born at Saybrook, January 15th 1768, and married Miss Elizabe th BULL, of Newport, Rhode Island. Major HART inherited from his fath er a large fortune, which increased by the rise in value of the land purch ased by Gen. HART in the Western Reserve, so that at his death he le ft an estate valued at half a million dollars, which was divided between h is widow and two daughters. He was much esteemed and respected in his nati ve State, and used his means liberally for the good of those about hi m. He built a large house on the west side of Main street, near the corn er of the road leading to New Haven, where he resided till his death. He w as for many years a merchant, his store standing for a long time on the co rner near his house, but he afterward moved it across Main street, near ly opposite, where it still stands. Major HART died of apoplexy in 183 7. He was a man of unusually fine personal appearance and handsome feature s. His only son died in early youth, but he left two daughters, the olde st of whom, Elizabeth M., married at Saybrook, in 1825, the Rev. William J ARVIS, son of Hezekiah JARVIS, of Norwalk, and for a time resided in Saybr ook. The second daughter of Major HART, Miss Hetty B. HART, died in Hartfo rd unmarried, aged 76.
Elisha HART, fifth son of Rev. William HART, born in 1758, married Jeannet te MCCURDY, of Lyme, and had seven daughters but no sons. They were distin guished for their beauty and accomplishments, and moved in the highest cir cles of wealth and honor. The eldest daughter, Sarah MCCURDY, married Re v. Dr. Samuel F. JARVIS, of Middletown, from whom she was divorced. Her re mains lie in the burial ground on Saybrook Point. The second daughter, A nn MCCURDY, married Commodore Isaac HULL, U. S. N., who distinguished hims elf in the war of 1812 while in command of the frigate Constitution by cap turing the British frigate Guerriere. After the war Commodore HULL was a f requent visitor at Saybrook, and with his wife spent a few weeks at the o ld mansion nearly every summer for several years till his death in Philade lphia, in 1843. Elizabeth, the fifth daughter, married Hon. Heman ALLEN, f ormerly member of Congress from Vermont, and minister plenipotentiary to C olumbia, South America. He died in 1844, at Burlington, Vermont, where h is wife also died. Amelia, sixth daughter, married Captain, afterward Comm odore Joseph HULL, U. S. N., a nephew of Commodore Isaac HULL. Three of t he daughters died unmarried. One of them, Jeannette M. McCurdy HART, in 18 60, gave a handsome iron fence for the front of the ancient cemetery on Sa ybrook Point.* (*It is said that in the latter part of her life she embrac ed the Catholic faith. It was by her direction, and at her expense, that o ne of the inscriptions on the tomb of Lady Fenwick was cut. A simple inscr iption was well enough, but when she added a huge cross, an offense again st good taste was committed, which the descendants of the Saybrook Purita ns are not likely to forget or forgive.) Capt. Elisha HART died in May 28 th 1842, aged 84. He was also a merchant in Saybrook. His store is still s tanding on the east side of Main street, and is owned and occupi ed by T. C. ACTON jr., as a grocery. The post office is also kept in it. C aptain HART lived in a large old-fashioned mansion, on the west side of Ma in street, a little north of his store, which is still standing, thou gh it has recently passed out of the possession of the family. It is surro unded by large shade trees, and is one of the finest locations on the stre et. After Captain HART’s remains were carried out of the front door of t he house, the door and blind were closed and a bar nailed across it, whi ch was not removed, nor the door opened till after it passed out of posses sion of the family-a period of about 40 years. Rev. William HART’s house s tood very near the spot where this was built, and was moved to the corn er opposite the ACTON Library, on what are now the grounds of Mr. T. C. AC TON, and was used for many years by Captain William CLARK as a paint sho p. The house of Rev. William HART’s son-in-law, Rev. F. W. HOTCHKISS, is s till standing, and is nearly opposite Captain Elisha HART’s, and is own ed and occupied by Mr. Charles W. MORSE, a son of Prof. S. F. B. MORSE, t he inventor of the telegraph. Gen William HART built and lived in the hou se north of the present Congregational church, now owned and occupied by M isses Hetty B. and Nancy WOOD. Captain John HART, another of Rev. Willi am HART’s sons, resided in Massachusetts for several years, and then retur ned to Saybrook, where he lived in the Captain Samuel SHIPMAN house whi ch stood a few rods south of the Congregational parsonage. He died in 182 8, aged 78.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pavone&id=I22999
Comments (0) Share .
‘Warm and intelligent’: Frances Shand Kydd
Frances Shand Kydd, the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales, cut an intriguing figure.
Living alone on a remote Scottish island, the reclusive grandmother to Princes William and Harry faced tragedy and difficulty throughout her life.
She endured the death of not just one, but two of her children – famously, Diana in a car crash in Paris, but also a baby son who died hours after he was born.
Just a few weeks ago, her stepson Adam Shand Kydd, who was 49, died of an apparent overdose in Cambodia.
The woman who, after Diana’s marriage to the Prince of Wales looked set to be the mother of Britain’s next Queen, was also twice divorced – first leaving her husband for a married man and then being deserted herself.
She was dubbed an unfit mother and “the bolter”, lost custody of her children, was convicted of drink-driving, and was known to have a fraught relationship with Diana.
In the months leading up to the Princess’s death, the pair were tragically not on speaking terms.
When Diana died, the staunch catholic turned to her faith for solace when forced to grieve in the glare of a media frenzy as millions mourned the Princess.
‘Warm, intelligent and energetic’
Biographer Max Riddington described her as a “certainly complicated” woman, but also “funny, warm, intelligent” and “energetic”.
Sheltered away in the sanctuary of a modest bungalow on Seil near Oban, her life in later years seemed a world away from the royal circles she moved in as a child.
Frances Ruth Burke Roche, daughter of the Fourth Baron Fermoy, was born, the second of three children, on the day George V died.
She came into the aristocratic world of the royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk in Park House, in the same room where Diana was also born.
Her mother Lady Ruth Fermoy was a confidante and lady in waiting to the Queen Mother, and was later said to have had a hand in sowing the seeds of Prince Charles’s marriage to Diana.
Her father Maurice was, as a close friend of George VI, also a member of the royals’ inner circle, as well as being the Conservative MP for King’s Lynn.
Like Diana, Shand Kydd’s own wedding in Westminster Abbey to a man 12 years her senior was the society sensation of the year.
Life riddled with tragedy
Yet both mother and daughter saw their relationships flounder amid a blaze of publicity.
“There have been similarities, right down to our engagement rings,” Shand Kydd once said.
As a beautiful debutante, she married heir to the Althorp Estate Edward John “Johnnie” Spencer in 1954 – the eligible bachelor who was later to become the eighth Earl Spencer.
Their spectacular nuptials at the Abbey were attended by numerous royals including the Queen, and more than 1,500 guests.
A first baby, Sarah, arrived nine months later, followed by a second daughter Jane in 1957 – who were later to become Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.
A son John was born in 1960 but the long awaited heir died just 10 hours later after what were said to be complications with his lungs.
When she found herself pregnant again, Shand Kydd kept it a secret, but tragically miscarried alone, not telling a soul until years later after her first husband’s death.
The birth of a healthy baby Diana in July 1961 was marked with relief, but concern that there was still no heir for Althorp.
Troubled marriage
Three years later with her marriage under strain at her apparent inability to produce a healthy son, Shand Kydd did her duty and gave birth to a boy – Charles.
Following the completion of her task, her relationship with Johnnie Spencer further deteriorated, with reports of furious rows.
The marriage ended spectacularly in 1967 when Shand Kydd sent high society into a spin after scandalously falling in love with the married wallpaper heir Peter Shand Kydd.
She ditched her husband, divorcing in 1969, and swiftly wed her “so much more exciting” tycoon lover, the father of Adam Shand Kydd.
The former Viscountess, now Hon Mrs Shand Kydd, was condemned and nicknamed “the Bolter” by Johnnie and others for abandoning her children.
Her own formidable mother sided against her with Johnnie in a bitter custody battle – a betrayal which Shand Kydd never forgave.
Shand Kydd did always insist that she did not leave her children.
Initially, Charles and Diana lived with their mother in London, while the two other children were away at school.
But after two unsuccessful courtroom contests, the children returned to their father, then Viscount Althorp, while the defeated Shand Kydds moved to Scotland.
In the years that followed she lived a discreet life, especially after Diana’s high profile wedding to Prince Charles in 1981.
While the new Princess was propelled into the limelight, Shand Kydd spent her time running a gift shop on Seil.
Protected life
In 1984, tragedy struck when Shand Kydd’s troubled younger brother Edmund committed suicide and then, shortly after, her former brother-in-law the Conservative MP Sir Anthony Berry was killed in the IRA bombing in Brighton.
In 1988, she was left heart-broken when Peter Shand Kydd left her after nearly 20 years for a younger woman.
Following their divorce, she became an increasingly private figure – although she always remained on good terms with her former husband.
She closed her gift shop and was said to have begun to drink, although friends have insisted she was not an alcoholic.
She faced public shame in 1996 when she was convicted of drink driving and was banned from the roads for a year.
Shand Kydd even endured her own stalker, who showered her with presents and cards until he was eventually prosecuted for breach of the peace.
Her own divorce was followed by the bitter breakdown of Diana’s marriage to the Prince of Wales.
In the years after, Shand Kydd gave a rare interview to Hello! magazine in May 1997.
But her discussion of Diana’s divorce, relationship and bulimia incensed the Princess.
Shand Kydd had declared it was “absolutely wonderful” that Diana had been stripped of her HRH title – something the Princess found deeply humiliating.
Mother and daughter never spoke again, with Diana dying four months later in August 1997.
As the news broke at first that her youngest daughter had been injured in a car crash in Paris and her lover Dodi Fayed killed, Shand Kydd, alerted by a friend, watched the events unfold on television at home.
Later, when finally Diana’s death was confirmed to her over the phone, she was forced to remain in the background as royal protocol took over.
Much to her distress, she was not permitted to tell anyone Diana had died for an hour, nor invited to collect her body from Paris, nor asked to identify her daughter.
She resolved to grieve in private and found it difficult to cope with what she saw as the commercial exploitation of her daughter’s death.
Born a Protestant, she had converted to Catholicism in 1994 and her faith offered her comfort.
“I remember thinking the night Diana died, ‘Thy will be done on earth’ and that seemed fair,” she later said.
After Diana’s death, Shand Kydd returned to her protected life alone on Seil.
She continuing her charity work which included supporting the Mallaig and Northwest Fishermen’s Association, comforting families of fishermen lost at sea.
When finally a French investigation declared the crash was a tragic accident, a dignified Shand Kydd accepted the ruling “without reservation”.
Throughout she refused to acknowledge Dodi’s outspoken father Mohamed al Fayed, infuriating him by ignoring him and his pleas that Diana had been murdered.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-305277/Tragic-life-Frances-Shand-Kydd.html#ixzz2JUExPnvW
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook