Emily Julia (Peck) Hart (1824 - 1884)

Born 19 Sep 1824 in Attica, Wyoming, New York, United States

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Died 16 Nov 1884 at age 60 in Lapeer, Lapeer, Michigan, United States

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Biography

Emily was born in 1824 in Attica, New York. She was married in 1824 to Noah H. Hart of Lapeer, Michigan. Did she meet him while visiting her sister Marietta? No marriage record has been found.

Miss Clara Hart, eldest daughter of Clarence Hart, reported the following stories after discussion with her cousin Elsie Mackensie Moor about Elsie's mother, uncles and grandmother Emily Julia Peck.

In 1848 General Lewis Cass of Detroit, then US Senator from Michigan, was made the Democratic nominee for the US presidency. Among his personal friends was Noah Harrison Hart of Lapeer, Michigan, who was much interested in General Cass’ campaign and made many speeches in various towns. One morning Noah said to his wife Emily, “I’m going to Detroit today campaigning for General Cass and will be absent 10 days when I shall return with him as he is booked to speak here on the afternoon of a certain date. Will you see if you can think of something good for a greeting for the General?” He departed, and Emily immediately got busy.

Emily was at that time just 24 years old, full of life, fun and ideas. She rode a spirited dapple gray, so trained that when she leaned in the saddle and said, “Up Frank,” he would instantly rear, standing on his hind legs until she said, “Down Frank,” when he would drop to all fours and away they would go. For a day or two she rode about Lapeer and vicinity and enlisting recruits to help carry out her plan for General Cass’ greeting.

Four miles south of Lapeer on the road to Detroit was a lovely dell which remained unspoiled down through the years. On one side of the road was a little water power-grist mill, its huge wooden wheel always turning, always dripping. On the other side was a grassy clearing which the pioneers believed to be an ancient Indian counsel ground, because at the back, it was semi-circular, too exactly semi-circular to be nature’s work.

Immediately beyond the dell the road climbed a steep hill, so steep that anyone approaching from the other side could not see this spot until the top of the hill was reached.

When the day came for General Cass to visit Lapeer, he traveled in his own coach with coachman and footman. With him were another gentleman from Detroit and Noah Hart. When they reached the top of this steep hill, this is what they saw:

Drawn up along the semi-circular space with a beautiful forest as a background, were 24 ladies all mounted. Each horse wore between his ears a small flag. Those were the days of the side saddle and long sweeping riding skirts. Each lady wore a blue skirt, a white waist (or Spencer as they were called), and a red cap with a rosette of red, white, and blue ribbons on it. On the left shoulder, each wore a similar rosette with streamers.

Noah, who was as much surprised as any of the party, said that the General’s surprise and enthusiastic delight were most gratifying. As the coach descended the hill, the ladies advanced, and drew up in a line facing the road. Then came salutes and the exchange of heartfelt greetings. The General declared, “Nothing so charming has been seen anywhere during the campaign.” Then 12 ladies fell into line, riding two by two ahead of the coach, the other 12 following it.

In this manner, General Cass was escorted to Lapeer where a vast crowd from all over the county had assembled to hear him speak. Before the speech, there was a bountiful banquet served to the General and his party and escorts. It was served on the broad porch of the courthouse, a dignified-looking building with its tall Corinthian pillars. During Civil war days, the Michigan country was still wild and sparsely settled. Most of the men had gone off to war and the women had to carry on as best they could. Julia had to remain with her three children and maid when Noah went off to war.

One day Emily Julia was bitten by a dog that she felt must be rabid. Knowing the danger, she explained to her maid and told her to lock her in the barn, pass food to her and look after the children. She remained in the barn for 14 days until the danger of infection had passed.

Another time, when she and Noah were on a boat through the lakes, she learned from the Captain that the boat was on fire. She went to the Salon and began playing the piano. She drew all of the passengers into the Salon where they had a grand time singing. In the meantime, the crew worked to put out the fire with no one being the wiser.

The only thing she was really afraid of were the Indians who, when Noah was away, would track into her house, huddle around the stove and expect to get food and drink.

She passed away in 1884 in Lapeer. Below is her obituary.

Emily Julia Peck Obituary from "The Lapeer Democrat" 19 Nov 1884

Killed by the Cars On Wednesday, November 12th, Mrs. Emily J. Hart, wife of Capt. Noah Hart, of this city, was killed by the engine of a Chicago & Grand Trunk train. It was one of those terrible accidents that seem to be beyond any accounting for, where so far as can be learned no one was culpable. To say that the community was deeply shocked is but a feeble expression. No one in our city was more highly esteemed, or more worthy, that this estimable lady. She was the daughter of Raymond Peck, and was born in Attica, New York, September 19, 1824. She was married to Noah H. Hart on September 5, 1842, and from that time has been a resident of this city, coming here when Lapeer was but a mere hamlet. She has seen its growth, and has been an active participator in its prosperity. She was the mother of four children; her first, Charles P. was born in Lapeer, July 14, 1846, and died in Attica, N.Y., when 22 months of age and buried by the side of her father. Amanda, wife of James McKenzie, born April 29, 1854, now residing in Toledo, Ohio. Noah T., born March 18, 1859, now employed on the C. & G.T. was on the next train following the one that killed his mother. Clarence, born August 30, 1868, and though a mere lad, is employed on the Mackinaw branch of the Michigan Central Railroad as night operator. While Capt. Hart was in the army during the war, Mrs. Hart visited him and for some months acted as a nurse to the wounded and sick soldiers in the hospital near Nashville. She was always abounding in prompting works of mercy and charity, and she was an active worker. Not blessed with overabundant means she shared liberally with the poor and needy. One of the most striking testimonies of her worth and her character was the attendance at her funeral of the local members of the G.A.R. Her funeral was largely attended and many a sincere tear of genuine sorrow was shed over her untimely death. She was laid by loving hands in her last place in Mount Hope Cemetery by the side of her sisters, Mrs. Marietta Lord and Mrs. Harriet Turell - a spot that her hands had helped to adorn and make of the most beautiful burying grounds in the state. She is the last of her family. The father and son are sleeping in Attica, N.Y.; the two sisters by her side; her brother Charles in Cuba, Adeline A., formerly wife of Wm. T. Mitchell at Port Huron, and her mother at Romeo. Widely separated in their burials the family was closely united in love and good lives, and are reunited in the happy land, where all who knew her and them hope to join them in songs of praise. Her husband, now an old man, has the deepest sympathy of all the community where he has been a prominent member from the earliest settlement of Lapeer, more than fifty years. From her obituary, it appears that during the Civil War she volunteered as a hospital nurse in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sources

1. While no birth record has been found, her birthdate and place of birth are listed in her obituary. Her marriage date is also listed, along with her date of death.

2. See sources under Noah Hart for references to census data. 3 url Find a Grave https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK1Z-PBT1