John HARDY (1613 – 1670) was Alex’s 11th Great Grandfather; one of 4,096 in this generation of the Miller line
Immigrant Ancestor – Hardy Coat of Arms
John Hardy was born in 2 Jun 1613 in Wetwang, East Riding Yorkshire, England. His parents were Richard HARDY and Alice WILSON. He married Olive COUNCIL 1632 in Bedfordshire, England. John died in 9 Jun 1677 in Isle of Wight, Virginia.
Olive Council was born in 1615 in England. Her parents were John COUNCIL and Elizabeth DRAKE. Olive did in 1675 in Lawns Creek Plantation, Isle Of Wight, Virginia,
Children of John and Olive:
| Name | Born | Married | Departed | |
| 1. | George HARDY Sr. | 1633 England |
Mary JACKSON 1666 in Isle of Wight, Virginia |
1694 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia |
| 2. | Thomas Hardy | 1717 Isle of Wight, Virginia, |
||
| 3 ?. | John Hardy ??? (See discussion below in the comments) | 1635-37 Bedfordshire, England |
Dinah . Alice Bennett 1677 in Isle Of Wight, Virginia, |
9 Jun 1677 Isle of Wight, Virginia, |
| 4. | Olive Hardy | 1639 Isle of Wight, Virginia, |
John Pitt 8 Jul 1680 Isle of Wight, Virginia |
1703 Isle of Wight, Virginia |
| 5. | Richard Hardy | 1640 Yorkshire, England |
Mary Vincent 1694 in Isle Wight Cty, Virginia |
1734 Isle Wight, Virginia |
| 6. | Deborah Hardy | 1641 in Isle Wight, Virginia | 1 Jun 1720 Isle Wight, Virginia |
|
| 7. | Alice Hardy | 1643 in Isle Wight, Virginia |
Hardy Family Ancestry
The Hardy family were among the landed gentry of England in the early 11th Century. They are descended from the Norman knight De Hardie.
The first known Hardy in the line was John’s great grandfather John Hardy, who was a merchant in London and served as alderman and sheriff of London in the 1520’s. John Hardy married Mary Stanley, who died in 1543. Mary was of royal ancestry and traces her line back to William the Conqueror.
John and Mary’s son Sir Michael de Hardy was born in 1530 and died in 1595. He married Alice de Shelton.
Michael and Alice’s son Richard Hardy was born in 1567 and died in 1645. He married Alice Wilson. RICHARD HARDY (JOHN5, MICHAEL4 DE HARDY, JOHN3, JOHN2, RICHARD1) was born 1577 in Wetwang, East Riding, Yorkshire, England, and died 1645 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He married Alice Wilson 1602 in Yorkshire, England, daughter of Robert Wilson and Unknown. She was born January 12, 1586/87 in Shellington, Bedfordshire, England. Died in Virginia. Their son John Hardy, Sr. emigrated to Virginia.
Children of Richard HARDY and Alice WILSON:
i. Richard Hardy, b. 1604 , Yorkshire, England.
ii. Thomas Hardy, b. 1606, Yorkshire, England.
iii. Alice Elizabeth Hardy, b. 1608, Yorkshire England.
iv. George Hardy, b. 1610, Yorkshire, England.
v. Mary Hardy, b. 1612, Yorkshire, England.
vi. John HARDY, b. 1613, Yorkshire, England
Hardys in Virginia
John Hardy was the owner of the famous Hardy Mill; said to have been burgess, 1641-52; granted 1150 acres in Isle of Wight Co 1666
In 1666, at age 56, John Hardy Sr. received his first land grant. As we all know land grants or “patents” were many times delayed for years, so he probably had been in the Colonies for well over 20 years at the time. He was granted 1150 acres for importing 23 persons including himself, his FIRST wife Olive Council, six of his children (George, Thomas, Richard, Isabel, John Jr., and Ann) as well as his future son-in-law William Mayo all of whom were born in England and he had never received a grant of land for their importation.
After Olive’s death about 1640, John married Alice Bennett and had three daughters, Olive, Lucy and Deborah all born in Isle of Wight Co., VA.
Isle of Wight Virginia
Children
1. George HARDY (See his page)
3. John Hardy
John’s wife Alice Bennett was born in 1640 in Virginia. Alice died in 1683
John Hardy Jr. was b. about 1635-1637 in Bedfordshire and came to Virginia with his father. His (rather than his father’s) seems to have been the will was made 6 Oct 1676 and probated 9 Jun 1677. We have him m. to (variously) Alice Worthington, Alice, Tucker Alice Johnson, Dinah [__?__] and the same Alice Bennett, with the following children: Olive, Ann, [+]Lucy, Isabella, and Deborah.
Alice Bennett, the widow Johnson, daughter of Thomas Bennett and Alice, widow Pierce. Thomas Bennett was born in Wilvescombe, Co., Somerset, England, and died in Virginia after 1632, having come on the Neptune in 1618, a member of the House of Burgesses from Mulberry Island in 1632.
John Jr. made a will Oct 7, 1676, probated June 9, 1677; names his wife, Alice Hardy, Daughters, Olivia Driver, Lucy Council and Deborah Hardy He married Alice Johnson, a widow. They had: Olive m. Giles Driver; Lucy m. Hodges Council; Ann m. Robert Burnett; Isabel m. William Mayo; Deborah-untraced.
In John’s 1676-77 will, he names “my beloved wife Alice” and his three daughters Olive Driver, wife of Giles Driver; Lucy Council, wife of Hodges Council; and Deborah Hardy (his daughters by 2d wife Alice Bennett). He did name his grandchildren… Drivers, Councils and Ann Burnett.
John was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1668, and a Justice of the County Court about 1675.
Lucy Hardy, daughter of John Jr., was born in Isle of Wight County, VA, d. bef 1699, m. in 1670 Hodges Council, born in England, d. in Isle of Wight Co 1699, He received grants of 1200 acres from the VA Governors and purchased 300 acres. He left two wills on file in Isle of Wight Co, each recorded the same day in 1699, with the same people mentioned in both, but with a different division of land between heirs. He was possibly the s/o John Council who m. second in 1666 Alice, widow of Richard Jeffries.
4. Olive Hardy
Olive’s husband John Pitt was born 1 Jun 1634 in Isle Wight, Virginia. His parents were Robert Pitt and Martha Lear. He first married 1657 in Isle Wight, Virginia to Sarah Moone (b. 1639 in Isle Wight – d. 1677 in Isle Wright). John died 1702 in Isle Wight, Virginia.
5. Richard Hardy
Richard’s wife Mary Vincent was born in 1671 in Amelia, Virginia. Her parents were William Vincent and Elizabeth Cleuer. Mary died in 1702 in Isle of Wight, Virginia.
(Deleted 7. Ann Hardy 9/23-2016)
Sources
http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=10969440&st=1
http://www.retracing-our-family-legacy.com/Hardy_Mill.html
http://fourfamilyhistories.com/Hardy/Hardy%20and%20Hardie.pdf
Miner Descent 
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Hi
I have been working on this Hardy line as they are supposed to be my Greats through Hodges Councill and Lucy Hardy (my 7th Great Grandparents).
My question is: Do you have solid documentation sources for who married who in this John Hardy lines such as references by Wills recorded or deeds or other recorded data similar to this kind of documents ? The reason I ask this is, I am in need of that type of documentation as proofs. Stuff on Ancestry, the Internet, etc. May have validity, but it does not act as documented proof as a possible Will reference as recorded or similar document would. I can’t say most of this is true presently, until documents can be seen, of which I have not seen any yet. That is other than a few wills, Hodges Councill and John Hardy. John’s will says his wife, Olive, but no reference she is a Councill.
Thanks.
The above discussion seems to have several serious contradictions, among them indicating that Alice Bennett Johnson married John Hardy, b. 1613 in 1640 (even though children from his first wife continue to be born until 1643. Alice is also reported as having been born in 1640!! Has additional work been done to clarify these clashes?
Hi Rod,
On closer inspection, Alice Bennett appears to be the wife of this John Hardy’s son, John Hardy Jr. (1635 or 37 – 1677). John Hardy Sr died about 1670. The will mentioning Alice was 1677.
I have made a correction.
Thanks, Mark
Mark:
Thank you for your response.
Rod Carr
Hi Mark,
I am descended directly from John Hardy. Do you have any proof or documentation that Thomas Bennett was in fact a member of the House of Burgesses? I am looking into membership in the Jamestowne Society and there are both Alice and Thomas Bennett listed as qualifying ancestors. However, I cannot find any proof they are in fact our ancestors. I do not know if there were two sets of Alice and Thomas Bennetts. Thanks for your help!
Hi Jim.
Almost all my american ancestors at the time were in New England, so I’m not that familiar with the House of Burgess records. Alas some of my Virginia stories are legend. See https://minerdescent.com/2012/02/01/peter-montague/
Cheers,
Mark
There are no records that I have found in 50+ years that prove that Thomas Bennett had any children by Alice Snayle Pierce. His only son Richard Bennett is presume to have been born to a previous unknown wife c1620 while Alice was still married to Thomas Pierce. She did have a daughter Elizabeth Pierce that chose her Step Father Thomas Bennett as guardian and she later married Richard Jackson and had two daughters by him: Sarah Jackson who married Col Arthur Smith and Mary Jackson who married George Hardy 1633-1683. So there is no linkage between any Thomas Bennett to any Hardy and the only connection of Alice Snayle Pierce Bennett is to George Hardy
and his descendants only. There are no records to prove that there was a daughter Alice who married a John Hardy only many that have invented one to fit their misreading of John Hardy’s will. ALL ten of his children were by his first wife Olive Council, all of them born and christened in England.
Hello Tom,
Thank you for your very detailed research. Could you provide a link or a list to the ten children referenced as children of John Hardy and Oive Council, all born and christened in England?
Regards,
Dana
No. that information is proprietary data of the Magna Charta Barons Association that they paid
a professional genealogist to research in England. It is only for their registrars use to approve or disprove any new applicants and not for public disclosure.
Tom: I am so glad you are there as a gladiator for the truth concerning John Hardy and his family. I came to the same conclusions as you because I am one for digging for the proof. It was only after I had come to the same conclusions as you, that I discovered others such as yourself had found the proof also. I just cannot understand other researchers who persist in the untruths in the family trees.
There were no such persons as a John Hardy JR and wife Alice Bennett. Those were invented decades ago to combine the 1927 Virkus Compendium undocumented claim that a John Hardy of Magna Charta Barons descent died in Isle of Wight in 1670 with the known and proven facts of a
John Hardy who died in 1677. Many authors have jumped ion this to proclaim that there had to be a son John Hardy JR 1637-1677 when there is no evidence whatsoever that this person ever existed. There also is no evidence that Alice Snayle Pierce Bennett 1595-1647 had any children by her 2nd husband Thomas Bennett who died in 1640, A daughter Alice Bennett, widow Johnson was invented to fit the facts of the wife Alice having a grandson John Johnson named in the will. In my 50+ years of researching this family, NO ONE has ever found any proof of a John Hardy dying in 1670, period. SInce he owned thousands of acres of land, there would have to be some will, probate or other court recorded proceedings to show how this land was disposed of, but there are NONE. It is now known that the wife Alice named in the 1676 will was Alice Tucker Allen, widow of Arthur Allen that died in Jun 1669 in Surry Co., VA. Soon after he died, she remarried to John Hardy d1677. Arthur Allen and Alice Tucker had three daughters, Katherine who married Robert Johnson and had a son John Johnson (named as wife’s grandson in the 1676 Will): Joan Allen who married 2nd to Robert Burdett (named as wife’s son-in-law): Isabel Allen who married William Mayo (also named as a son on law in the 1676 Will); and one son Arthur Allen Jr who married Katherine Baker and inherited the parents home. There are many deeds that name all of these as brothers (in law) of Arthur Allen Jr and each other and records of the widow Alice Hardy naming them as her sons-in-law. After John Hardy died she briefly returned to her former home to live with her son Arthur Allen Jr but the family was chased out by Bacon’s rebels who fortified it against attacks by troops loyal to Governor Berkley giving the existing home its current name as Bacon’s Castle. Alice was still living in Mar 1686 on the 1150 acre tract that John Hardy had patented in 1666 where she is noted as a neighbor to a new patent next door to Thomas Harris Jr,
One of his sons married a granddaughter of Giles Driver and Olive Hardy. It is a shame that so many people have blindly accepted what has been claimed in these old books as true without taking the time to research these claims for their accuracy.
Tom,
Many genealogies say George HARDY’s (1661 – 1694) parents were George HARDY Sr. and Mary JACKSON, but don’t say how he got from Virginia to New Hampshire. Do you have any insight?
I was surprised how little communication there was between New England colonies and Mid Atlantic colonies in the 17th and 18th C. Out of 400 ancestral families at the time, this is one of the only ones where there is a supposed connection,
Many thanks, Mark
Name: John Hardy
Date: 9 Jun 1677
Location: Isle of Wight
Notes: This probate record was extracted from microfilmed copies of the original Will Book.
Remarks: John Hardy. By will appointed his relict, Alice, Extx.
Description: Testator
Book: 2-43
Prove Date: 11 Aug 1677
No maiden name of John Hardy’s wife, but he did exist!
Name: John Hardy
Date: 9 Jun 1677
Location: Isle of Wight
Notes: This probate record was extracted from microfilmed copies of the original Will Book.
Remarks: John Hardy. By will appointed his relict, Alice, Extx.
Description: Testator
Book: 2-43
Prove Date: 11 Aug 1677
Alice Bennett might not have been his wife’s maiden name, but this John Hardy DID exist. I have been researching this family also. Hardy/Hardee Family
The John Hardy who wrote his will in 1676 and died in 1677 was the John Hardy who was born 1613. THERE WAS NO John Hardy Jr 1637-1677 that married an Alice Bennett. He was just invented in 1927 in the Virkus Compendium that claimed that a John Hardy of Magna Charta Baron descent died in 1670. This was copied by Wurts in his 1957 Magna Charta Barons book.
Since then many Hardy authors have taken that undocumented John Hardy d1670 and combined that with the known facts of a John Hardy dying in 1677 with a wife Alice to invent a son John Hardy JR married to an Alice Bennett widow Johnson to conform with the facts of his wife Alice having a John Johnson grandson. I have searched for 50+ years to find documentary evidence of any John Hardy dying in 1670 in the original court records and have found none and neither had anyone else to my knowledge. There had to be some description of the dispersal of his large land holdings required by law and this is done in the 1677 will describing the exact same land that he patented in 1666 as inheritances to his three daughters Olive, Lucy and Deborah with widows
right for Alice to remain until her death. IF the 1677 will had been for a son John Hardy Jr, then he must state that this land was an inheritance from his father. Since there is no evidence of a John Hardy dying in 1670, he must be the one who died in 1677 giving his land to his daughters. He must have provided for his five sons and other living daughter before hand with gifts that are not recorded. There is only one proven Alice Bennett at the time, an Alice Snayle Pierce Bennett 1585 – 1647, too old for both a John Hardy Sr and this invented John Hardy Jr. And she was long dead before this 1676 will naming a LIVING wife Alice. Some have invented a daughter for her named Alice, but there are no records that prove she had any children by her 2nd husband Thomas Bennett as she was over 40 when they married c1624. Most claim a date of birth for this invented daughter Alice Bennett, widow Johnson as 1640, when the Alice Snayle Pierce Bennett would have been 55 years old. She did have a daughter Elizabeth Pierce who married Richard Jackson and had a daughter Mary who married George Hardy 1633-1693. This widow Alice Bennett lived on the land next to that of George Hardy 1610-1655 who passed it down to his nephew George Hardy 1633-1693. The actual will was written 7 Oct 1676, filed 9 Jun 1677 by John Bromfield (Surry County Clerk & daughter Olive’s 2nd husband after Giles Driver died) and proven by the witnesses on 11 Aug 1677. I have had copies of the actual will and a full transcription for ~40 years. All of these early Isle of Wight records were microfilmed by the brantley association and donated to the LDS library. The later ones are available on the familysearch.org site but the earlier records are being indexed before they are online. Copies of the microfilms of these early records can be rented at any LDS Family History Center.
This Hardy coat of arms is copyright of http://www.4crests.com. Please remove it, or at least add a link to our website and remove any advertising to outside companies, such as Ancestry.com…. This amounts to you using my images to collect ad dollars for yourself. Please cease and desist. You have quite a huge number of my graphics on your site at minerdescent.com
Sincerely;
Mike Kennaugh
Owner
http://www.4crests.com
Coat of Arms changed. I use this as a symbol to indicate immigrant ancestor, first of his name in America in this line.
It is proven that the John Hardy who patented 1150 acres in 1666 naming himself and wife Olive as headrights was the SAME IDENTICAL PERSON WHO WROTE THE 1676 WILL. The description of the land of the 1666 patent matches that of the land given to his daughters Olive, Lucy and Deborah in the will. A will bequeathing land must state the name of the previous owner and when he obtained it. This 1676 will makes no such statement of any prior ownership which proves that the testator was the original owner of the property. IF the testator had been a John Hardy JR, then the will must have wording such as ‘part of the 9 May 1666 Patent to John Hardy Sr of 1150 acres, the western section of 200 acres bounded by x by y, given to me by my father John Hardy Sr on dd mm yyy. There is no such wording in the 1676 will, therefore it must be taken that the will was written by the original patent owner.
The original Hardy Mill was built by the 1st Hardy in America GEORGE HARDY 1610-1655. It was never owned or operated by John Hardy 1613-1677 whose lands were about 35 miles apart. The mill and land was given to his nephew, George Hardy 1633-1694/5 in the 1654 will of his Uncle George Hardy.
Wow:) I am by no stretch of the imagination a professional, in fact, perhaps not even an amateur. My story, had began some genealogy in 1987 (by hand) laid down for some 17 or 18 years and picked up again, My sister and myself came to realize “we are now the old ppl”. We decided to make a fam geni scrapbook of sorts for our kids and grands. My part is the genealogy of it….the research…..so I went online……paid some $….began clicking leaves and thought,….wow,,,this will not take a minute. Now to my point……..since I am a trust and verify kinda gal…….OMG….the bogus info is like wildfire. For my project sources are not important. Once I started seeing stuff related to my fam I knew to be wrong and really started digging in. I was floored. If you notice that the sources often quoted are just others online stuff. Then read a blog found to be true as well. Whoever, wish knew now, said cannot believe the books published “back in the day”. Finding that to be true as well. So, guess my real point is deal with what you have , research what you can and do your best to fill in the gaps with what makes sense. Like I told my sis, if I spent my time attempting to debate or correct the wrong info I have seen we will be dead before this project is done:) I appreciate the info you have here …..keep up the good work
Jennifer Gilley (Jinkins-Redman) ———way on down the line:)
I started researching this Hardy family in 1960 trying to prove all of the claims made in the original 1935 Hardy, Hardie Family book. After decades of researching in the original records both in Isle of Wight and Bedfordshire England, I had concluded that this 1935 book and the later Stella Pickett Hardy book were all based on the same error of a John Hardy dying in 1670 which never happened. It is now proven that John Hardy actually died in the late summer of 1676 since his widow Alice is recorded as being driven out of her former home (later known as Bacon’s Castle) on 18 Sep 1676 when forces of Bacon’s rebel captured the brick mansion and ransacked it for four months. The delay until Jun 1677 in filing the will for probate is due to the county clerk John
Jennings being arrested and imprisoned as a ringleader of Bacon’s rebels and John Bromfield appointed to take his place. Am still waiting for the actual IOW probate register for 1707 to go online to see exactly when John Johnson did the inventory of John Hardy’s 1677 estate that he failed to file until just before he died in 1707.
I believe I am in this Hardy line. If you would please contact me it would be appreciated. I have documents up until John and Margaret Hardy my 3rd greatgrand parents 1820’s (New York) and I belive, George I Hardy (1790?) was his father. You can contact me at hardy.curtis@gmail.com
There was no daughter Ann Hardy who married Robert Burnett. That comes from a misinterpretation of the 1675 Will of John Hardy who mentions a son in law Robert Burnett. HOWEVER, this mention is down in the last paragraph of the Will that pertains to relatives of his current wife Alice Tucker Allen Hardy, NOT his own children. Alice Tucker and her first husband Arthur Allen were the parents of an Ann/Joane Allen who 1st married Dr Robert Williamson who in his Will probated 2 May 1670 requested that he be buried as close as possible to his father in law Arthur Allen. During his estate proceedings on 2 Nov 1672, Robert Burnett posted a bond as he had married the widow of Robert Williamson, security by Arthur Allen (Jr). And the 1670 Will of Robert Burnett only names his daughter Ann with no notation as to her mother, with brothers William Mayo and Arthur Allen (Jr).
Hope this helps.
Tom,
I deleted Ann Hardy
Thank you for the tip,
Mark
Isabel Mayo is not an Allen Daughter.
John Hardy is unlikely to have been married to Alice Tucker Allen for two main reasons. 1) Alice Counsell – his granddaughter is in the records of Isle of Wight in 1674 when a gift of a cow is given into the care of Hodges Counsell on her behalf. As his eldest child she would have been named for her maternal grandmother, not a new wife. 2) The date of the signing of John Hardy’s will is misquoted in the Allen family research as October 7, 1675. In fact the date is October 7, 1676. Why this is important is that the published Allen Family research confirms that Alice Tucker Allen is referred to in ‘The Allen Letter’ as being “still alive when Bacon’s rebels seized Bacon’s Castle in September of 1676.” and was put out of the house. Thus, Alice Tucker Allen is living at the Allen estate now known as Bacon’s Castle in Surry County in 1676, Not in Isle of Wight County at the time of John Hardy’s death.
Isabel Mayo as a daughter of Alice Tucker Allen or John Hardy would be far to old at nearly 60 years old to have 3 underage daughters and a son without issue in 1713 at the signing of William Mayo’s will.
John Hardy’s date of Will is not misquoted. His Widow Alice Tucker Allen Hardy is named as the widow of Allen Arthur who was driven from her son’s brick mansion by troops loyal to Nathaniel Bacon on 18 Sep 1876. As the sole surviving son of Arthur Allen, Arthur Allen Jr had inherited the family brick mansion. She had returned to visit her son Arthur Allen Jr AFTER her husband John Hardy had died. It did not obtain the name of Bacon’s Castle until a century later. The Isle of Wight County Clerk John Jennings had been arrested and imprisoned earlier that summer for his role as a ringleader of Bacon’s Rebellion and the office of County Clerk was vacated until the late spring of 1677 when John Bromfield, 2nd husband of Olive Hardy, was appointed. That is why the Will of John Hardy wasn’t recorded until 9 Jun 1677 and the appraisal of his estate was not returned until Feb 1707 when John Johnson finally filed it. Alice (Tucker Allen) Hardy was still living in 1681 when she made her son in law William Mayo her power of attorney, witnessed by her son Arthur Allen Jr, and again in 1686 when Mrs John Hardy was named as a neighbor to a new land patent on the SW corner of the 1666 John Hardy Patent of 1150 acres. Alice Tucker Allen Hardy is clearly living on the remainder of the estate that John Hardy set aside for her in his Will to live on. Alice Council could also have been named after her Aunt Alice Hardy, christened in 1641 in Bedfordshire Parish. A copy of the original Will of John Hardy in my possession clearly shows the date of writing as 7 Oct 1675. It includes an affidavit from the 1976 Isle of Wight County Clerk as to the date of the will being written on 7 Oct 1675 and the date it was recorded for probate on 7 Oct 1677. John Jennings was sentenced to be banished but he died from illnesses he obtained while imprisoned. He wrote his will on 19 Oct 1678 which was filed for probate on 10 Mar 1679 in Isle of Wight.
Why would a 60 year old women Isabel Allen Mayo be too old in 1713 to have children between 18 and 20 years old when women in those days are proven to have had children up until their late 40’s? In those days underage meant under 21 years old, but the 1713 Will of William Mayo does not make that underage designation for them, only that Mary Mayo is his youngest daughter, but that doesn’t mean she was underage. In fact the will gives to son John and daughters Margaret and Patience 366 acres of land to be equally divided between them, WITHOUT ANY MENTION OF A GUARDIAN to oversee this distribution, so therefore it must be legally assumed that this son and two daughters were actually adults and fully able to legally make deeds or bills of sale to complete this distribution. Your assumption on this point is entirely faulty.
Forgot to add that the 1713 Will of William Mayo states in “5ly Item I Give to my Loving wife Isabel Mayo that plantation whereon I now Dwell to her During her Natural Life.” and in the next item:
“61y Item I Give to my youngest Daughter Mary Mayo my manner plantation after her Mothers Decease for Ever.” Here again there is no request for a legal guardian so the legal assumption is that this Mary Mayo was an adult, of legal age to transact any business concerning this plantation after her mother Isabel was deceased. In fact, there is nothing in this 1713 Will of William Mayo to indicate that any of his four named sons and three named daughters were underage. One could also assume that all four sons were married and had children as each is given land “and the heires of his Body Lawfully Begotten.”
If you had looked at a map showing Bacon’s Castle and the patent map of John Hardy’s property you would find that they were under five miles apart. The brick mansion of Arthur Allen lay above Pierce Creek which flows south to Lawnes Creek that was the northern border of the John Hardy 1666 patent of 1150 acres. In all likelihood the Hardy and Allen family were close neighbors and were well acquainted with each other long before the deaths of Arthur Allen in 1669 and that of John Hardy in 1676. Some of the Allen property lay on the north bank of Lawnes Creek that separated Surry county from Isle of Wight.
The ancestry you cite for this John Hardy 1613-1676 is dubious. There is no proof that he was the son of Richard Hardy and Alice Wilson. The genealogy records of the heralds in the College of Arms in London can find no proof that they were the same John Hardy. Marriage records of East Riding and Bedfordshire parishes were searched and no record of a marriage to Olive Council or any Olive were found. The Richard Hardy ancestry as shown in the Visitations is correct, just no proof of the son John Hardy.
Hi Tom,
What are your thoughts on John Hardy’s supposed Grandson George Hardy? George Hardy was born in 1661 in Hampton, Rockingham, NH. Many genealogies say parents were George HARDY Sr. (John Hardy’s son) and Mary JACKSON, but don’t say how he got from Virginia to New Hampshire. I was surprised how little travel there was between New England and the southern colonies in those early days. Out of a couple hundred early families, the Hardy’s are the only ones of my ancestors who might have moved from Virginia to New England
Thanks
Mark
There is no record of George Hardy 1633-1696 and Mary Jackson ever having any son named George. The last Will of George Hardy, proved 9 Jun 1696, names sons Richard and Thomas Hardy and daughters Margaret and Sarah Hardy (one daughter Mary Hardy Jarett had died in 1693), and two grandchildren Richard and George Jarett. As far as paternal yDNA goes. I know of no connection of the Isle of Wight County Virginia Hardy family with the New England Hardy family.
I cannot tell you how confusing this is to a newbie. You are all obviously much more knowledgeable about this family than I, and surely some others, but I am seeing the advantages of the simple, Biblical “begats and begottens” style. I just want to know who married whom and who came after. If this isn’t available, what is one to do? Just stop there and skip a generation or two? It is so discouraging trying to find the point of tracing ancestors.
As I have commented elsewhere, I had occasion to hire the Heralds at the College of Arms in London four decades ago to investigate this line from John Hardy 1613-1676 through the de Hardy line as outlined in the Wetwang Visitation. Their report, in brief, declared that there was no proof in English records that proved that this John Hardy was the son of Richard Hardy and Alice Wilson. Also the Hardy marriages to Stanley and de la Pole were not proven, that the claimed wives were daughters of those claimed for them or that they were actually Magna Charta Surety descendants, and, in short, that the Herald who did the visitation did a very poor job of researching the data that the Hardy family members told him. This royal lineage was invented by Wurts in his Magna Charta descendants book, connecting John Hardy to Richard Hardy to John de Hardy on the Wetwang Visitation. This royal lineage is no longer listed for John Hardy in the latest volumes on Magna Charta Descendants of 2012. My own research in Isle of Wight to find any record of a John Hardy dying in 1670 as cited in a Virkus Compendium and copied thereafter by Stella Hardy Pickett and H Claude Hardy who invented the son John Hardy Jr and wife Alice Bennett that never existed. The Isle of Wight County Clerk nor anyone else had ever found any record of a John Hardy dying there in 1670. A detailed search of the 1666 Patent Survey to John Hardy and comparing it to the wording and language of the 1675 Will of John Hardy proved conclusively that the Patent owner and the Will writer were the same exact John Hardy. John NEVER built or owned the Hardy Mill. Land records prove this land was owned by John’s brother George Hardy, who upon his death in 1755 willed it to his nephew George Hardy 1733-1795
Thank you – I’m sorry to have made you repeat what you have said previously. I truly do appreciate your time and trouble to reply. but am still wondering what one is to do when one reaches the Hardys in their tree and don’t know what direction to go or if I just forget about them. Of course, that is a problem as there have to be some people on the other side of that seemingly brick wall. How do I get there? How have others dealt with it? For example, a Mr. Wooten in 2015 stated he was a direct descendant of John Hardy. How does he know that, given all the historical stumbling blocks, untruths and pretenses?
John Hardy as the owner of the Hardy Mill is a common mistake. When I have time, I will make sure this page has the correct info and makes it clear that when you see the incorrect info elsewehere, it is not a new find.
Listing the facts as KNOWN to be fact is an excellent idea! With that, I and others wouldn’t have to try to sort things out as the truth when we don’t know what is the truth in the first place! (The Alice Wilson/Alice Bennett/Alice Allen thing is just too much.) I appreciate all posts and, in fact, have printed the whole kaboodle so I can read more carefully and use a highlighter. Sort of like my preference to read the news from a newspaper in my hands instead of on a screen. 🙂 I have learned so much from the last several posts and actually feel better knowing that what I thought was the truth is not, and that there could be another direction to take.
For male Hardy descendants of John Hardy tracing is very difficult. All we have to go on are the surveys of the two land patents he had. Portions of the 1666 patent were given to his three daughters and the remainder to be divided by them after his 2nd wife Alice Tucker Allen Hardy died (sometime after 1686). The larger patent may have been given to his five sons but Isle of Wight did not record Gifts of Deeds until after 1700. For this you can use a Deed Mapping program or hire a land title expert to trace the original land patent. Son Richard may have received a share but it appears that son George Hardy got all of his land and mill from his uncle George Hardy. The descendants of John’s daughters Lucy and Olive have long been proven except for who was the mother of the children named when Olive went through four husbands
who may have been married before and had children by their first wives. Deborah Hardy was the old maid of John’s daughters and did not marry until several years after his death to John Portis, Jr. He sold Deborah’s share of her father’s patent land and bought more land closer to his father John Portis Sr. This land, his widow Deborah Portis assigned a Power of Attorney to sell as she was moving to Pennsylvania. The Wootens are documented descendants of Lucy Hardy and Hodges Council through their daughter Lucy Council who married Richard Wooten.Jr. The only brick wall is that remaining between John Hardy and his parents Richard Hardy and Alice Wilson.
Though the College of Arms in England could not prove them in English records. the Isle of Wight
records seem to be circumstantial evidence to support this claim of parents.
This is my Hardy family as well, and I know of no daughter that Richard Bennett and Alice Pierce had, they only had a son. Alice had a daughter from a previous marriage with Pierce who is my ancestor.
The widow Alice Snayle Pierce only married to THOMAS Bennett and had no proven children by him. She was still a widow in 1647 when she gave her two granddaughter Mary and Sarah Jackson .property that Thomas Bennett had patented next to George Hardy 1612-1655. This George Hardy gave his land and Hardy Mill to George Hardy 1633-1695 who married this Mary Jackson.
Bless you all, especially Tom, for such detailed descriptions and for sharing with the rest of us. You could easily just prefer to keep your research to yourself, but you seem to care about facts. I am amazed at the documentation and ability to connect dots. I just want to be correct and this is a wonderful place to start.
My husband is Glenn Edwin Young orginally from Sampson County, North Carolina. We met in Lawton, Oklahoma (my home) while he was in Army. We married and have lived here every since then. He is related John De Hardy 1446 from England and 9th great grandson to Giles Driver. His line came into North Carolina very earily. Most of the older generations from NC he has a lineage. I enjoy doing genealogy and want to thank you for you time spend on the project.