Hardee Connection

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	Colonel John Hardee (1707-1784) ¹ John Hardee, b. April 7, 1707, d. December 12, 1784, married Susannah Tyson, was one of the founders of Pitt County, North Carolina. The first pillory, stocks, and prison were on his lands, and the first courts were held in his house. He served in many capacities in the colony, and like his son-in-law, General John Simpson, also prominent in Colonial affairs, transferred allegiance to the cause of American independence. Their allegiance to the mother country must have been close, for he is buried under the name of John Hardee, Esq.--a typical British custom for those of importance. He was a captain in the Colonial militia, and when his company was divided he became a colonel. His grave is in a small cemetery on the old Hardee-Smith plantation, this name coming from his son Isaac's marriage to Cassandra Smith, daughter of David Smith. Isaac died young. The cemetery is now in the suburbs of Greenville, North Carolina, on 10th Street Extension, adjacent to a shopping center and on a by-pass across from State Highway Patrol Headquarters on Highway 264 leading toward Washington, North Carolina. The site of the old homestead is on the same road, three or four miles toward Washington, and has a marker placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution, with appropriate exercises, in 1930. Across the creek and on the same side of the highway is the plantation of his son-in-law, General John Simpson, who named his plantation "Chattain" (see below). John Hardee is buried under the name "dee," the first found to be so buried. Among the important Colonial positions he held were: Member of the Rivers and Roads Commission, 1745; Captain, Militia Company, 1754; Member, North Carolina Colonial Assembly, 1762; and Member, St. Michael's Parish, Pitt County (see Pitt County History and King's Sketches of Pitt County). There is little of direct importance connected with his leadership of troops during the Revolution, as he was 88 years old in 1775, and died soon after the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. The part he played seems to be more of a political than military nature. His name is found subscribed to various documents and pleas for help and supplies to the governors of North Carolina and Virginia. An article in the Greenville (North Carolina) Daily Reflector, dated March 31, 1962, is headlined "John Hardee Saw History in the Making," and the article lists many important offices he held in the cause of independence, His old home stood for many years. A picture is in King's Sketches of Pitt County. It was a large two-story house, with large hall and winding stairway of that period of English architecture. It fell into a state of decay and was removed in 1926, and a small one-story house was erected on the site. ¹The Eastern North Carolina Hardy - Hardee Family in the South and Southwest by; David L. Hardee PP 277- 278.