The years following the Revolutionary War in America were an exciting period in our Nation's history. America had triumphed over the British in our struggle for freedom from colonial rule, and was now eager to take our ordained place among the powers of the Earth. Acquisition of the vast tracts of land located west of the original thirteen colony states soon became a national priority. As these new lands were acquired "migration fever" would sweep through the original states. Folks in the original states realized these new lands meant new economic opportunities for virtually anyone willing to relocate. And many were willing. So many, in fact, that historians now refer to the period between 1798-1819 as the time of America's Great Migration. 

Migration to the new lands occurred in two distinct phases. The first phase started in 1798 but was interrupted by the War of 1812. When that war ended in 1814 the second phase of the migration kicked in and was even more robust than the first phase. The years between 1815-1819 were the peak migration period for the second phase. Historians have noted that so many folks migrated westward during the second phase there were some fears that older states such as Virginia and the Carolinas might be left virtually unpopulated.

It was during the second phase of the Great Migration that Andrew Hardy, his wife Sarah Barnes, and their four children left Eastern North Carolina on a journey that took them to the western frontier of the nation at that time, a wilderness area called the Alabama Territory. Prior to 1817 present-day Alabama was part of the Mississippi Territory. However, when present-day Mississippi became a state in 1817, Alabama was designated as a separate Territory.

Precisely when Andrew and his family left North Carolina, or whether they completed their migration in one or more phases, is not clear. Neither is it certain whether they traveled in a wagon, or aboard a ship. While a wagon is the most likely way they made the trip, historical documents indicate many of the early settlers of the lower portions of the Alabama Territory made their journey aboard ships that entered the Territory at the port of Mobile.

Regardless of when Andrew and his family left North Carolina, the best available evidence shows they were in the Montgomery County area of the Alabama Territory on Saturday, July 3, 1819. This was the day Andrew's wife Sarah gave birth to their fifth child. This child, a son, was most likely the first child born to Andrew and Sarah after they left North Carolina. His birth must have caused Sarah to think of her family back in North Carolina, and perhaps feel a little homesick. Given the difficulty of travel in those days Sarah would have understood this fifth child might never meet many of his relatives who had remained in North Carolina. Perhaps this is why the fifth child was named Beaman Barnes Hardy. The names Beaman and Barnes linked this fifth child to Sarah's North Carolina family in a special way since his given names were the respective surnames of Sarah's Mother and Father. 

While Beaman was still a small baby Andrew and his family became citizens of the 22nd state admitted to the Union. Specifically, on Tuesday, December 14, 1819, the Alabama Territory officially became the state of Alabama. Although Andrew and his family may have relocated one or more times while living in Alabama, at the time of the 1830 Federal Census they were residents of Marion, Perry County, Alabama with a total of eight children. In 1833 Andrew moved his family from Perry County, Alabama to Noxubee County, Mississippi. By 1850 they moved from Noxubee County to Kemper County, Mississippi. Andrew probably died in Kemper County in the early 1850's and Sarah died in Neshoba County, Mississippi around 1877. Despite knowing approximately when Andrew and Sarah died, the exact location of their graves is a mystery. However, it does seem reasonable their graves are probably somewhere in either Noxubee, Kemper, or Neshoba Counties. Want to permanently inscribe your name into the pages of Hardy family history? All you have to do is find Andrew and Sarah's graves.

Andrew and Sarah were the parents of ten children, but only nine of those children lived to adulthood. No information has been found showing the name, gender, or the date of birth or death of the tenth child. This suggests the child may have died at birth, or shortly thereafter. The remaining nine children in order of their birth were as follows:

1. Rachel (b. 11/07/1809 - d. unknown)

2. Noah (b. 08/25/1812 - d. 02/14/1871)

3. Thomas (b. 07/25/1814 - d. 12/28/1849)

4. Absolum (b. 01/02/1817 - d. 08/29/1873)

5. Beaman Barnes (b. 07/03/1819 - d. 03/10/1896)

6. Martha (b. 12/04/1821 - d. 08/13/1899)

7. Mary (b. 08/20/1825 - d. 02/22/1906)

8. John Curtis (b. 02/17/1829 - d. 03/27/1907)

9. Andrew Jackson (b. 01/17/1831 - d. 06/22/1909)

Purpose of the Library

The purpose of this Internet based library is to make Hardy family history information available to as many descendants of Andrew and Sarah as possible. Full accomplishment of this purpose may take some time. However, I am in contact with descendants of Noah, Thomas, Beaman, Martha, and John Curtis who are active in Hardy family genealogy research. With their help, I anticipate that documents showing the descendants of all five above named children of Andrew and Sarah will be available in the library at some later date. Hopefully, contact can also be made with descendants of Rachel, Absolum, and Andrew Jackson so that information on their descendants can be added to the library. No information is available for Mary because she never had children.