Virginia lived in a salt box house in Old Lyme across the river from Saybrook where the McCurdy and Hart family lived. This is the most desirable property in America, yet Ann Hart Hull could not give her father’s home away. I suspect it was because Jeanette McCurdy Hart aborted General Simon Bolivar’s baby after seeing him with his mistress. The baby was brought home in a wine casket and buried in Saybrook.
The Hart, Hull, and McCurdy families are kin to the mother of the late Princess Diana, and thus the Windsors. I descend from Isaac Hull and Ann Hart whose children abandoned their legacy that many felt was cursed.
When Virginia and I get married we will be the most illustrious family from this most historic place by the sea.
Jon Presco
After Captain HART’s remains were carried out of the front door of the house, the door and blind were closed and a bar nailed across it, which was not removed, nor the door opened till after it passed out of possession of the family-a period of about 40 years.
Following the auction the house was closed and deteriorated. School children called it the haunted house.
Of the seven sisters, Ann Hart Hull lived the longest and when she died in 1874 was buried alongside Isaac in Laurel Hill. She willed the house to the town with the stipulation that it be demolished and the land used for a town park.
Fearful of the expense of upkeep, the town declined the gift and the estate passed to the heirs who lived elsewhere and were not interested in keeping the place.
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
ANNE LORD She married JOHN MCCURDY.
Children of ANNE LORD and JOHN MCCURDY are:
i. LYNDE6 MCCURDY, m. (1) URSULA GRISWOLD; b. 13 Apr 1754; m. (2) LYDIA LOCKWOOD.
ii. ELIZABETH MCCURDY, m. ALEXANDER STEWART.
iii. ANNA/NANCY MCCURDY, m. NATHAN STRONG.
iv. SARAH/SALLY MCCURDY, m. HENRY CHANNING.
v. JEANNETTE MCCURDY, m. ELISHA HART.
vi. JOHN MCCURDY.
https://rosamondpress.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/sleeping-beauty-heart/
http://rjohara.net/gen/notable/diana
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~odyssey/hart.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Saybrook,_Connecticut
http://www.katharinehepburntheater.org/blog/tag/1938-hurricane/
http://gohistoric.com/places/old-saybrook-south-green-new-milford
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.
https://rosamondpress.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/stephen-hart-princess-diana/
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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Shand_Kydd
Frances Shand Kydd (20 January 1936 – 3 June 2004) was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Shand Kydd was born Frances Ruth Roche in Park House, on the royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk, on 20 January 1936.[2][3] Her father was Edmund Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, a friend of King George VI and the elder son of the American heiress Frances Work and her first husband, the 3rd Baron Fermoy.[3] Her mother, Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, DCVO, was a confidante and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother).[4] In her own right since birth she held the style of The Honourable as the daughter of a baron.
Shand Kydd was of Scottish, English and American ancestry, her paternal grandmother being Frances Ellen Work, an heiress and socialite from New York City. Besides this she also had very distant and partial Indian ancestry, as her great-great-great-grandmother was the half-Indian Eliza Kewark, who married Theodore Forbes and had a daughter in 1812.[5]
Shand Kydd’s aristocratic and royal roots are related to a Prince, who was Donal MacCarthy Reagh, 9th Prince of Carbery, but also to James de Barry, 4th Viscount Buttevant, to Murrough O’Brien, 1st Earl of Thomond, to Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare through Donal IV O’Donovan who is descended from all these. It also happens that O’Donovan was Edmond Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy’s maternal great-great grandfather.[6]
Major Richard William HART, the only child of Gen. William and Esther BUCKINGHAM, was born at Saybrook, January 15th 1768, and married Miss Elizabeth BULL, of Newport, Rhode Island. Major HART inherited from his father a large fortune, which increased by the rise in value of the land purchased by Gen. HART in the Western Reserve, so that at his death he left an estate valued at half a million dollars, which was divided between his widow and two daughters. He was much esteemed and respected in his native State, and used his means liberally for the good of those about him. He built a large house on the west side of Main street, near the corner of the road leading to New Haven, where he resided till his death. He was for many years a merchant, his store standing for a long time on the corner near his house, but he afterward moved it across Main street, nearly opposite, where it still stands. Major HART died of apoplexy in 1837. He was a man of unusually fine personal appearance and handsome features. His only son died in early youth, but he left two daughters, the oldest of whom, Elizabeth M., married at Saybrook, in 1825, the Rev. William JARVIS, son of Hezekiah JARVIS, of Norwalk, and for a time resided in Saybrook. The second daughter of Major HART, Miss Hetty B. HART, died in Hartford unmarried, aged 76.
Elisha HART, fifth son of Rev. William HART, born in 1758, married Jeannette MCCURDY, of Lyme, and had seven daughters but no sons. They were distinguished for their beauty and accomplishments, and moved in the highest circles of wealth and honor. The eldest daughter, Sarah MCCURDY, married Rev. Dr. Samuel F. JARVIS, of Middletown, from whom she was divorced. Her remains lie in the burial ground on Saybrook Point. The second daughter, Ann MCCURDY, married Commodore Isaac HULL, U. S. N., who distinguished himself in the war of 1812 while in command of the frigate Constitution by capturing the British frigate Guerriere. After the war Commodore HULL was a frequent visitor at Saybrook, and with his wife spent a few weeks at the old mansion nearly every summer for several years till his death in Philadelphia, in 1843. Elizabeth, the fifth daughter, married Hon. Heman ALLEN, formerly member of Congress from Vermont, and minister plenipotentiary to Columbia, South America. He died in 1844, at Burlington, Vermont, where his wife also died. Amelia, sixth daughter, married Captain, afterward Commodore Joseph HULL, U. S. N., a nephew of Commodore Isaac HULL. Three of the daughters died unmarried. One of them, Jeannette M. McCurdy HART, in 1860, gave a handsome iron fence for the front of the ancient cemetery on Saybrook Point.* (*It is said that in the latter part of her life she embraced the Catholic faith. It was by her direction, and at her expense, that one of the inscriptions on the tomb of Lady Fenwick was cut. A simple inscription was well enough, but when she added a huge cross, an offense against good taste was committed, which the descendants of the Saybrook Puritans are not likely to forget or forgive.) Capt. Elisha HART died in May 28th 1842, aged 84. He was also a merchant in Saybrook. His store is still standing on the east side of Main street, and is owned and occupied by T. C. ACTON jr., as a grocery. The post office is also kept in it. Captain HART lived in a large old-fashioned mansion, on the west side of Main street, a little north of his store, which is still standing, though it has recently passed out of the possession of the family. It is surrounded by large shade trees, and is one of the finest locations on the street. After Captain HART’s remains were carried out of the front door of the house, the door and blind were closed and a bar nailed across it, which was not removed, nor the door opened till after it passed out of possession of the family-a period of about 40 years. Rev. William HART’s house stood very near the spot where this was built, and was moved to the corner opposite the ACTON Library, on what are now the grounds of Mr. T. C. ACTON, and was used for many years by Captain William CLARK as a paint shop. The house of Rev. William HART’s son-in-law, Rev. F. W. HOTCHKISS, is still standing, and is nearly opposite Captain Elisha HART’s, and is owned and occupied by Mr. Charles W. MORSE, a son of Prof. S. F. B. MORSE, the inventor of the telegraph. Gen William HART built and lived in the house north of the present Congregational church, now owned and occupied by Misses Hetty B. and Nancy WOOD. Captain John HART, another of Rev. William HART’s sons, resided in Massachusetts for several years, and then returned to Saybrook, where he lived in the Captain Samuel SHIPMAN house which stood a few rods south of the Congregational parsonage. He died in 1828, aged 78.
By Tedd Levy
Special to the Times
“Mrs. Isaac Hull in her Wedding Veil,” unknown artist, c. 1833, Wadsworth Atheneum; photo courtesy Tedd Levy
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.”
In less than an hour, the British ship was badly damaged and began to sink and British Captain James Richard Dacres was forced to surrender. When the U.S. Constitution returned to Boston with the captured British crew, the country went wild with pride.
Hull was a national hero, showered with gifts, given a large sum of money for the capture, and promoted to commodore. A year later he married Ann Hart of Saybrook, 17 years younger.
In 1824 he was appointed commander of the Pacific squadron. At about the same time President James Madison appointed Heman Allen of Vermont to be America’s first minister to the new republic of Chile. Continued…
Allen called upon Commodore Hull to make arrangements for his passage to South America. While doing so he met Mrs. Hull’ sister, Elizabeth and in two weeks they were married.
Soon thereafter, Commodore Hull and his wife Ann, Heman Allen and his wife Elizabeth, and Jeanette Hart left on the frigate United States bound South America. Throughout their marriage, Ann traveled with Isaac when he went to sea. They had no children and were almost constantly accompanied by members of his or her family.
In Peru, Commodore Hull hosted a gala reception to which the Liberator of South America, Simon Bolivar was invited. Bolivar was captivated by Jeanette Hart who was also strongly attracted to him. Their relationship grew closer and Bolivar asked Jeanette to marry him which she agreed to do. But this never happened as they became entangled in misunderstandings, different religions, Bolivar’s involvement with his mistress, and objections by Jeanette’s family.
After completing the South American assignment, Hall was given the honor of overseeing the restoration of his old ship now referred to as “Old Ironsides.” At about this time Ann injured her foot and spent most of the next two years confined to her room. Hull resigned his command and took her to Europe to recuperate.
At about this time, Isaac’s nephew Joseph Hull, and Ann’s sister Amelia, became engaged and eventually married.
In 1838 Isaac rejoined the Navy but suffered strokes in 1840 and 1841 and after completing his mission returned with Ann to settle in Philadelphia.
Knowing his end was near, Isaac made arrangements for his burial and funeral. His last words were: “I strike my flag.” He died in Feb. 13, 1843 and is buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
After his death, Ann and Jeanette continued to live in Philadelphia but returned each summer for a few weeks in Saybrook. They did not live in the old house but stayed with Capt. James Rankin, a former lighthouse keeper, at his house at Saybrook Point.
Of the seven sisters, Ann Hart Hull lived the longest and when she died in 1874 was buried alongside Isaac in Laurel Hill. She willed the house to the town with the stipulation that it be demolished and the land used for a town park.
Fearful of the expense of upkeep, the town declined the gift and the estate passed to the heirs who lived elsewhere and were not interested in keeping the place.
The heirs returned to place the remaining contents up for auction. The auction lasted several days and disbursed antiques, a large library, silk dresses, bonnets, china and furniture.
Following the auction the house was closed and deteriorated. School children called it the haunted house.
The old Elisha Hart house was located next to St. John’s Church on Main Street and was shaded by three giant elms known as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob… there must have been times when Elisha must have looked at those trees and thought they would be fine names for sons.
Rosamond Press 
Reblogged this on rosamondpress and commented:
Here is the sea with tree theme – on the East Coast!