HARDESTY

1. George HARDESTY, (1641 - 1694)

George HARDESTY was reportedly born on 4 Sep 1641 at Fewston, Yorkshire, England, although I do not have a definitive source for that date. I have seen it speculated that he was both a Puritan and a French Huguenot, but he cannot have been both. Other sources move backwards several more generations in the HARDESTY family, but this is as far as I have seen source materials for.

George HARDESTY lived in Virginia by 1648, and has a land record in Calvert County, MD as early as 1649. In 1657 he appears in a land record with Henry POPE as a neighbor on the Patuxent River of Calvert County. He is recorded as immigrating to Maryland from Virginia in 1662 (Skordas), and in DEC 1665 he brought his wife Cecilia and servant to Maryland and received a land warrant for 100 acres for their transportation.

Cecilia, his wife may have been a LINGAN, as George has a brother-in-law George LINGAN in 1688. The other option is that George HARDESTY had a sister who married George LINGAN. I have been unable to prove either option.

George HARDESTY wrote his will on 24 Apr 1688 at Calvert County, MD. The will was proven in court on 26 JAN 1694. It is unclear when Cecilia died.

George and Cecilia HARDESTY had six children:

  1. George HARDESTY Jr. - b. 1667-1688 MD (not yet 20 in 1688, eldest son). He is likely to be the George HARDESTY who died in 1726 in Calvert County, MD.
  2. Thomas HARDESTY Sr. - See the next section for details.
  3. Benjamin HARDESTY -b.1671-1688 MD (3rd son, not yet 20 in 1688).He married Alice before his 1712 death in Calvert County, MD.
  4. Cecilia HARDESTY - b. 1671-1688 MD (not yet 16 in 1688). There is no further information about this Cecilia.
  5. Caleb HARDESTY - b. 1675-1688 MD (youngest son, not yet 20 in 1688). He died in 1730 at Calvert County, MD.
  6. Joshua HARDESTY - b. 1673-1688 MD (4th son, not yet 20 in 1688). He married Mrs. Keziah TAYLOR on 5 Oct 1746, and died about 1761 when he is no longer on taxpayer lists.

2. Thomas HARDESTY Sr., (16?? - 1743)

Thomas HARDESTY was born 1669-1688 in Maryland, the second son of George and Cecelia HARDESTY. Thomas was not yet 20 when his father's will was written in 1688.

Thomas married Sarah MEADS, the daughter of William and Jane MEADS before 1720 when he is mentioned in William MEADS' will.

Thomas HARDESTY wrote his will on 24 Sep 1742 at Calvert County, MD, where he died before 14 FEB 1743. There is no information about the death of Sarah HARDESTY.

The children of Thomas and Sarah (MEADS) HARDESTY were:

  1. Thomas HARDESTY Jr. - See the next section for details.
  2. William HARDESTY -
  3. John HARDESTY -
  4. George HARDESTY -
  5. Benjamin HARDESTY -
  6. Joseph HARDESTY -
  7. Daughter HARDESTY - She had a son Thomas POOLE by 1742.

3. Thomas HARDESTY Jr.

Thomas HARDESTY Jr. was one of six sons of Thomas and Sarah (MEADS) HARDESTY. He was born before 1720 when his grandfather William MEADS wrote his will.

Thomas HARDESTY married a woman Dorothy, and they had seven children.

On 10 OCT 1755, Thomas HARDESTY patented 150 acres of land on the east side of Harlows Creek, Carteret County, North Carolina.

Thomas wrote his will on 16 Jul 1758 at Carteret County, NC, where he died before September of that year. There is no further information about how long Dorothy may have lived.

The children of Thomas and Dorothy HARDESTY were:

  1. Anna HARDESTY -
  2. Mary HARDESTY -
  3. Lucy HARDESTY -
  4. Samuel HARDESTY - b. before 1737.
  5. Thomas HARDESTY, III - b. before 1737 at NC. He was listed in the 1779 Carteret County, NC Tax List: Thomas HARDESTY: 1 tract of 100 acres, 8 cattle, no horses, £96.0.0. Gross Assessment = 276
  6. Robert HARDESTY - b. after 1737 at NC (a minor in his father's 1758 will).
  7. Joseph HARDESTY - See the next section for details.

4. Joseph HARDESTY

Joseph was born after 1737 at NC; he was a minor in his father's 1758 will.

Joseph married a woman Mary, and they had at least four children.

In 1779, in Carteret County, NC, Joseph held a considerable estate: 1 tract of 220 acres of land, 17 cattle, 4 horses, £58.0.0. Gross Assessment = 868

In 1795, Joseph HARDESTY of Carteret County, wrote a deed giving land to his grandson Joseph CANNON, after the decease of his mother Fanny CANNON but as long as she lives to be and continue in the possession of his father Jesse CANNON, 50 acres near Neuse River section of Carteret which was sometimes Craven County.

Joseph and Mary were living in Carteret County, NC:

  • 1790 Census: 1 m 16+, 2 m < 16, 3 females
  • 1800 Census: 1 m 10-15, 1 m 45+, 1 f 10-15, 1 f 45+, 3 slaves).

Joseph HARDESTY wrote his will on 24 Sep 1803 at Carteret County, NC, naming his three surviving children. The will was probated in May 1805. His wife Mary survived him, but is not listed as the head of a household in 1810.

The children of Joseph and Mary HARDESTY were:

  1. Frances HARDESTY - See the next section for details.
  2. Son HARDESTY - b. 1775-1790 in NC, and died before 1800.
  3. Barnelia HARDESTY - b. 1785-1790 in NC, it is unclear if she ever married.
  4. Burton HARDESTY - b. 13 Nov 1787 at Harlow Creek, Carteret County, NC. He married Jane MERRILL, daughter of Arthur and Nancy (OGLESBY) MERRILL, on 27 Sep 1807 at Carteret County, NC. Burton d. 1 Jun 1863 at Carteret County, NC, at age 75.

5. Frances HARDESTY

Frances HARDESTY was born about 1774-75 in North Carolina. She married Jesse CANNON of Craven County, North Carolina and they later moved into Georgia. See the CANNON Family page for more details about their life.