Robert Hardesty (1730 - bef. 1790)

Born 23 Oct 1730 in All Hallows Parish, Anne Arundel, Maryland

Ancestors

Son of Francis Hardesty and Dorcas (Linthicum) Hardesty

Husband of Elizabeth (Benson) Hardesty — married 1756 in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland

Descendants

Died before 16 May 1790 before age 59 in Prince George's, Maryland, United States

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Biography

Robert Hardesty was a Maryland colonist.

Robert Hardesty performed Patriotic Service in Maryland in the American Revolution.

Robert Hardesty is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A050134.

Robert Hardesty, son of Francis Hardesty and Dorcas Linthicum, was born on October 23, 1730 in All Hallow's Parish, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. His birth record survives in several on-line indexes.^[1]

Hardesty descendants Valerie and Clovie were kind enough to visit the Maryland Archives and share a copy of the original birth record, as it was logged in the All Hallows Church book of Anne Arundel County, Maryland in 1730:

Original Birth Record from the Maryland Archives

Early Family Life and Siblings

Young Robert Hardesty was the member of a large and extended family. His father had been widowed previous to his marriage to Dorcas. Children of this first marriage, half-siblings of Robert, were Rachel and Francis Hardesty. Robert Hardesty also had one full sister, Deborah, and four full brothers: Thomas, Peter, John and Richard Hardesty.

Francis Hardesty, the father of these eight children, died when Robert was just 4 years old. Robert's mother, Dorcas, was the mother of six of these orphans. She was quickly remarried to a man named Thomas Harrison. It is unknown whether or not Dorcas gave birth to any children with Mr. Harrison.

Robert Hardesty inherited at the death of his father in 1734. However, Leonard Linthicum, his maternal uncle and guardian, received Robert's inheritance on his behalf. By the time Robert Hardesty grew to manhood, the inheritance had been consumed.

Married Life

Robert married Elizabeth Besson or Benson in Anne Arundel County in approximately 1755. They had nine chiidren: John, Elizabeth, Isabella, Thomas, Edmond, Reason, Samuel, Richard G, and Robert Hardesty. A tenth son is also postulated, Levi Hardesty.

In 1767, Robert shared in the personal estate of his unmarried brother, Peter Hardesty.

Sometime around the year 1775, the Robert Hardesty family relocated with an elderly woman, wife named Elizabeth and several children. The Hardesty family moved to neighboring Prince George's County, Maryland. This is a research lead for Dorcas Linthicum Hardesty Harrison.^[2]

Robert Hardesty Senior brought his wife Elizabeth, mother Dorcas, and children to that portion of Prince George's County that encompassed St. John's and Prince George's Parishes, including present-day District of Columbia. There is no record of his purchasing or selling real estate in Ann Arundel County or even in Prince George's. It is thought that his farm was leased.

Early Census & Tax Records

According to the 1776 census for St. John and Prince George Parishes, Robert Hardesty was 49, his wife Elizabeth, aged 48, with five males and two female children comprising his household. There was also a female aged 75 whose age is consistent to be Dorcas Linthicum Hardesty Harrison. The ages of the unnamed males were 19, 12, 9, 7, and 2. Daughters Elizabeth and Isabelle were aged 16 and 14.^[3]

1776 Prince George's County Census

Revolutionary War Oath of Fidelity to Maryland Colony

During the American Revolutionary War, Robert Hardesty appears on a list of men who signed the Oath of Fidelity to the fledgling United States. This qualifies him as a DAR Patriot with the Ancestor id A050134 in the DAR database. In 1778 Robert Hardesty subscribed to the oath of Allegiance and Fidelity to the State of Maryland in Prince George's County before magistrate Benjamin Hall.

Oath of Fidelity

Robert Hardesty Found in Local Records

On July 18, 1779, Robert Hardesty registered at the Circuit Court of Prince George's County a mare which had wandered onto his farm.

Robert Hardisty appears on the Prince George's County 1780 Assessment of Ready Money and Plate:

Robert Hardesty on Tax Assessment

Last Will and Testament

Robert Hardesty died testate. His last will and testament, dated Feb. 25, 1790, was probated on May 16, 1790, in Prince George's County, Maryland. The witnesses were William Ruglass, William Higgins, and John Turner. He failed to name all of his children by their Christian names. To wife, Elizabeth, all household goods and effects during life, then to be divided equally among all my children. To son Reazin sorrel mare and my working tools, wearing appared to be divided between the said Reazin and son Robert. To son Robert, a gun and "shoe & knee buckles."

Robert Hardesty Will

The 1790 census for Prince George's county was certainly taken after his death. Robert's son Reazin Hardesty was listed as the head of the family with three males, including self over the age of 16 years, one male under 16 and two females . The enumerator listed his name as Reason Hardesty. The file is indexed at FamilySearch.org under the name Hadesty. It is notable that Richard G Hardesty is enumerated in his own household in Upper Marlborough Township in the 1790 Prince George's county Census.

1790 Census Detail- Reason Hardesty

According to Robert Hardesty's FindAGrave Memorial, he died at his home in St. Johns Parish, Prince Georges County on May 16, 1790, and was laid to rest at St. Johns Episcopal Church Cemetery, Fort Washington, Prince Georges County.

Children of Robert Hardesty

Two children were named in the will of Robert Hardesty: Robert and Reazin (aka Reason)

Robert Hardesty has a tombstone calculated birth date of October 5th, 1774.^[4] He is the correct Robert Hardesty (Junior) as named in the will. This is proven by DNA^[5] and the paper trail. Evidence indicates that he is the youngest son, aged 2 at the 1776 Prince George's County Census. Note that this Robert Hardesty named one of his sons "Reason." This is also strong evidence for a familial connection. Robert Hardesty would have been age 15 when the 1790 Census was taken, making him the male under age 16 in the 1790 Census Household of his brother, Reason Hardesty. This lineage has been proven to DAR standards as the correct Robert Hardesty Junior.

Reazin Hardesty was head of household for the family in 1790, just after Robert Hardesty Sr died.^[6] It appears that Reazin kept his mother in Maryland until her death. Reazin appears on the 1790, 1800, 1810 & 1820 Censuses in Prince George's County.

Thomas Hardesty has a beautiful biography regarding his life and travels. He stated in his biography that he was the "second oldest son" of Robert and Elizabeth Hardesty. His gravestone carries the birth year of 1764. He is certainly the male aged 12 at the 1776 Prince George's County Census. His lineage has been approved by the Daughters of the American Revolution as a verified child of Robert Hardesty, even though he is not named in Robert Hardesty's will. He was one of the three males over age 16 in the 1790 Census Household of Reason Hardesty.

Edmund Hardesty is also approved by the DAR as a child of Robert Hardesty. His birth date is known to be September 24th, 1766. This would make him the male, aged 9 in the 1776 Prince George's County Census. He should be one of the three males over age 16 in the 1790 Census Household of Reason Hardesty,

Levy Hardesty married in 1785. He appears in the 1790 Prince George's County Census, directly next door to Reazin Hardesty. There is some thought that Levy's descendants travelled out to Clermont County Ohio and took a westwardly path to the wilderness of Indiana. The genealogy has yet to be proven.

Richard G Hardesty is listed with a household of his own in the Upper Marlborough Parish of Prince George's County, Maryland in the 1790 Census. He is traditionally thought to be a son of Robert Hardesty. He was married to a woman named Mary Hodges in 1799. Some researchers have Mary Hodges as a second marriage for Richard, with his first being Mary Lamb. If this is the case, then Richard G actually belongs in the family of John Hardesty, the brother of Robert Hardesty Senior.

Elizabeth Hardesty is the eldest daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Hardesty. She was the female aged 16 on the 1776 Census record. She married a man named John Hoberth at Anne Arundel County, Maryland in 1791.

Isabella Hardesty was the youngest daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Hardesty. She was the female aged 14 on the 1776 Census record. She married a man named James Meredith at Montgomery County in 1779

Not much is known regarding Samuel or John Hardesty, although most family trees on ancestry.com include them.

DNA Resources

Here is a link to a DNApainter file with many descendants of Robert Hardesty. We currently have 3 confirmed triangulated groups with at least 12 cM overlap.

(https://dnapainter.com/profile/view/83df6cce1a9b21b3)

Hardesty Autosomal DNA Study

Paternal relationship to Robert Hardesty is confirmed by a triangulated group consisting of Larry Stephenson GEDmatch A957320; brothers Gary Hardesty GEDmatch A230212 and Edwin Hardesty GEDmatch A339382; Laura Bell Skinner GEDmatch A633681; and Lannie Hardesty Hartman GEDmatch A875733. These descendants share a segment on Chromosome number 9. Gary. Edwin and Laura's shared segment is from 80,117,635 - 93,919,931, with a length of 21 cM. Their MRCA is Robert Hardesty. Larry's shared segment is 12.3 cM on the same segment, from 86,889,466 to 93,445,905. His MRCA with Edwin and Gary is also Robert Hardesty. His MRCA with Laura and Lannie is Robert Hardesty jr whose wife was Nancy Hopkins. Lannie Hardesty Hartman GEDmatch A875733 triangulates into this segment with 13.7 cM from 85,248,784 to 93,617,649. She also descends from son Robert Hardesty. (Although she is a 2nd cousin of Laura Bell Skinner, her relations to Larry and Edwin are more distant).

Paternal relationship to Robert Hardesty is confirmed by a triangulated group consisting of Virginia Stephenson Clegg GEDmatch A609811, Edwin Hardesty GEDmatch A339382, Zane Darland GEDmatch A944705 and Jon Williams GEDmatch A052615. Edwin and Virginia share 23.8 cM of DNA on chromosome 18. Zane and Jon each triangulated with Edwin and Virginia on different segments: Edwin, Zane and Virginia share a 9.1 cM segment on Chromosome Number 18 from 68,326,989 to 71,067,174. Virginia descends from Robert's son Robert Hardesty, Edwin descends from Robert's son Thomas, and Zane descends from Robert's son Edmund. Also on chromosome 18, Hardesty descendant Jon Williams GEDmatch A052615 shares 12 cM from 52,994,010 to 59,576,359 with Edwin. Virginia's DNA triangulates into an 8.1 cM piece of this same segment.

Paternal relationship to Francis Hardesty has been determined by a comparison of the following seven descendants' DNA: First, Paternal relationship to Francis Hardesty via his son Robert Hardesty Senior was confirmed by a triangulated group consisting of four descendants: Virginia Stephenson Clegg GEDmatch A609811, Edwin Hardesty GEDmatch A339382, Zane Darland GEDmatch A944705 and Jon Williams GEDmatch A052615. Edwin and Virginia share 23.8 cM of DNA on chromosome 18. Zane and Jon each triangulated with Edwin and Virginia on different segments: Edwin, Zane and Virginia share a 9.1 cM segment on Chromosome Number 18 from 68,326,989 to 71,067,174. Virginia descends from Robert's son Robert Hardesty, Edwin descends from Robert's son Thomas, and Zane descends from Robert's son Edmund. Also on chromosome 18, Hardesty descendant Jon Williams GEDmatch A052615 shares 12 cM from 52,994,010 to 59,576,359 with Edwin. Virginia's DNA triangulates into an 8.1 cM piece of this same segment. Next, a comparison with descendants via Francis Hardesty's daughter Rachell Hardesty Welsh, Robert Hardesty's half-sister, confirms that the following three Welsh descendants triangulate with this triangulation: Paul Watkins GEDmatch M570205 overlaps with 18.2 cM from 67,469,280 to 73,500,911 on Chromosome 18; Kay Watkins GEDmatch M161619 overlaps with 25.1 cM from 65,025,831 to 73,500,448 on Chromosome 18; and Emily Watkins GEDmatch M559201 overlaps with 18.2 cM from 68,124,411 to 73,905,534 on Chromosome 18.

Paternal relationship to Robert Hardesty is confirmed by a triangulated group consisting of Virginia Tilton Shy GEDmatch A433619, Charles Stephenson GEDmatch A449654 and Linda Cazzell Schmitt GEDmatch A868858. These descendants share an 18.8 cM segment on chromosome 10. This segment extends from 59,426,292 to 76,808,630. Also triangulating into this segment is Charles's brother, Larry Stephenson GEDmatch A957320 and Charles's daughter Jane Stephenson Suzuki GEDmatch A594406. All three from the Stephenson clan share the full 18.8 cM segment with Linda on chromosome number 10. Charles, Larry and Jane descend from Robert Hardesty Junior. Linda Cazzell Schmitt descends from Thomas Hardesty via two separate lineages. The third leg of the triangulation is formed by Virginia Tilton Shy, who descends from Edmund Edward Hardesty. Virginia shares 23.7 cM with Charles Stephenson and 19.6 cM with Linda Cazzell. Deborah Hardesty Weaver, another descendant of Robert Hardesty Junior, GEDmatch A690893, shares a 23.7 cM segment on chromosome 10 with Virginia Shy. This segment is from 56,172,155 to 79,063,338. Their MRCA are Robert Hardesty Senior and his wife Elizabeth.

Descendants Virginia Tilton Shy and brothers Gary and Edwin Hardesty, all members in the above triangulated groups, share an additional 10 cM segment on chromosome 10, from 28,310,618 to 36,346,646. Their MRCA is Robert Hardesty.

A 7.8 cM segment is also shared between Gary Hardesty and Linda Cazzell Schmitt on Chromosome 10 from 20,315,040 to 28,485,509. Both Gary and Linda descend from Thomas Hardesty.

A 10.8 cM segment is shared between Virginia Shy and Thomas Peterson on Chromosome 10 from 105,630,968 to 115,737,776. Both Virginia and Thomas descend from Edmund Hardesty.

The Spencer family group, descendants of Edmund Hardesty, have some significant matches with descendants of Thomas Hardesty. We just need one more tester with a MRCA of Robert Hardesty descended from a different child to complete triangulations:

Raylene Spencer (M380708) and George Spencer (M100940) match Gary Hardesty (A230212) for 14.19 cM on chromosome 5 67,352,870-79,168,663.

Raylene Spencer, David Spencer (M000337), and Raymond A. Spencer (M569030) match Gary Hardesty for 27.26 cM on chromosome 5 166,356,654-177,558,740.

Raylene, David, and George match Gary on chromosome 9 for 6.25 cM 80,122,335-84,987,674.

David matches Gary on chromosome 10 for 8.6 cM 6,544,132-11,463,4463.

George matches Edwin Hardesty (A339382) on chromosome 18 for 13.47 cM 70,230,155-74,648,641.

David matches Virginia Shy(A433619) on chromosome 6 for 29.0 cM 33,755,629-64,068,844. Their MRCA is Edmund Hardesty.

If you are a descendant of Robert Hardesty, please consider submitting your GEDmatch kit number for our wikitree Hardesty autosomal DNA study. Thank you!

Sources

1. ↑ "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4ZL-MW5 : 12 December 2014), Robert Hardesty, 23 Oct 1730; citing Anne Arundel County, Maryland; FHL microfilm 13,279.
2. ↑ Maryland Records, Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church, From Original Sources – Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh, page 47, page 275.
3. ↑ Maryland Records, Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church, From Original Sources – Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh, page 47, page 275.
4. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 25 September 2018), memorial page for Robert Hardisty (5 Oct 1774–7 Jun 1819), Find A Grave Memorial no. 20373972, citing Wright Cemetery, Shelby County, Ohio, USA ; Maintained by Joan Shoffner (contributor 46835779) .
5. ↑ Paternal relationship to Robert Hardesty is confirmed by a triangulated group consisting of Larry Stephenson GEDmatch A957320, Edwin Hardesty GEDmatch A339382, Laura Bell Skinner GEDmatch A633681 and Lannie Hardesty Hartman GEDmatch A875733. These descendants share a segment on Chromosome number 9. Edwin and Laura's shared segment is from 80,117,635 - 93,919,931, with a length of 21 cM. Their MRCA is Robert Hardesty. Larry's shared segment is 12.3 cM on the same segment, from 86,889,466 to 93,445,905. His MRCA with Edwin is also Robert Hardesty. His MRCA with Laura and Lannie is Robert Hardesty jr whose wife was Nancy Hopkins. Lannie Hardesty Hartman GEDmatch A875733 triangulates into this segment with 13.7 cM from 85,248,784 to 93,617,649. She also descends from son Robert Hardesty. (Although she is a 2nd cousin of Laura Bell Skinner, her relations to Larry and Edwin are more distant).
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKT-PS5 : accessed 10 November 2017), Reason Hadesty, Prince Georges, Maryland, United States; citing p. 292, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 3; FHL microfilm 568,143.

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 29 Jan 2018), "Record of Robert Hardesty", Ancestor # A050134.

• "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4ZL-MW5 : 12 December 2014), Robert Hardesty, 23 Oct 1730; citing Anne Arundel County, Maryland; FHL microfilm 13,279.

• Maryland Records, Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church, From Original Sources – Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh, page 47, page 275.

• (https://archive.org/details/marylandrecordsc02brum)

• "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKT-PS5 : accessed 10 November 2017), Reason Hadesty, Prince Georges, Maryland, United States; citing p. 292, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 3; FHL microfilm 568,143.

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLT-C4FZ : 13 December 2015), Robert Hardesty/Hardisty, 1790; Burial, Fort Washington, Prince George's, Maryland, United States of America, Saint Johns Episcopal Church Cemetery; citing record ID 102532714, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• "Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TYR-H7R?cc=1803986&wc=SNY4-FM3%3A146535401%2C147191001 : 20 May 2014), Prince George's > Wills 1770 vol 1 > image 149 of 337; Hall of Records, Annapolis.