Early Life
Henry Hart was born some time between 1566 and 1572 to
John Hart and
Bridget Ashfield, most likely in England.
Career
According to
Landed Gentry1,
Henry founded the Irish branch of the family, going to Ulster from England with the
Earl of Essex who led an unsuccessful colonising expedition from 1573 to 1575, during the reign of
Elizabeth the First.
Wikipedia has this to say about the expedition:
Eager to give proof of "his good devotion to employ himself in the service of her Majesty," Lord Essex, as he was now, offered on certain conditions to subdue or colonise, at his own expense, a portion of the Irish province of Ulster. At that time, Ulster, in the north of Ireland, was completely under the dominion of the O'Neills, led by Sir Brian MacPhelim and Sir Turlough Luineach, and of the Scots led by Sorley Boy MacDonnell. His offer, with certain modifications, was accepted. He set sail for Ireland from Liverpool in August 1573, accompanied by a number of earls, knights and gentlemen [including Henry Hart], and with a force of about 1,200 men.
His enterprise had an inauspicious beginning; a storm dispersed his fleet and drove some of his vessels as far as Cork and the Isle of Man. His forces did not all reach the place of rendezvous till late in the autumn, and he was compelled to entrench himself at Belfast for the winter. Here his troops were diminished by sickness, famine and desertion to not much more than 200 men.
Intrigues of various sorts and fighting of a guerilla type followed, and Essex had difficulties both with his deputy Fitzwilliam and with the Queen. He was in dire straits, and his offensive movements in the east of Ulster took the form of raids and brutal massacres among the O'Neills. In October 1574, he treacherously captured MacPhelim at a conference in Belfast, and after slaughtering his attendants, had MacPhelim, his wife and brother executed at Dublin. He arrested William Piers, who had been active in driving the Scots out of Ulster, and accused him of passing military intelligence to Sir Brian mac Phelim O'Neill. Essex ordered Piers's arrest and detention in Carrickfergus Castle in December 1574, but Piers was freed and he successfully executed Sir Brian mac Phelim O'Neill for treason.
After encouraging Lord Essex to prepare to attack the Irish chief Sir Turlough Luineach O'Neill, apparently at the instigation of The 1st Earl of Leicester, the Queen suddenly commanded him to "break off his enterprise." However, she left him a certain discretionary power, and he took advantage of that to defeat Sir Turlough Luineach and chastise County Antrim. He also massacred several hundreds of Sorley Boy's following, chiefly women and children, who had hidden in the caves of Rathlin Island in the face of an amphibious assault led by Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys.
He returned to England at the end of 1575, resolved "to live henceforth an untroubled life." He was, however, persuaded to accept the offer of the Queen to make him Earl Marshal of Ireland. He arrived in Dublin in September 1576, but fell ill at the banquet given in his honour at Dublin Castle, and died three weeks later, probably of dysentery. It was suspected that he had been poisoned at the behest of Lord Leicester, who married his widow two years later. A post-mortem was carried out and concluded that Essex had died of natural causes (although Alice Draycott, daughter of the prominent judge, Henry Draycott, who drank from the same cup at the banquet, also died soon afterwards).
From
The Family History of Hart of Donegal2:
The earliest mention of Henry Hart in his official capacity seems to have been at the defeat of Carrickfergus, when Sir John Chichester was ambushed by MacDonnell, and Chichester being taken prisoner was beheaded. Lieut. Hart was present at this disaster and wounded with the others. He sent an account of the affair in 1597...It was probably for his bravery at this time that he was promoted, as we read of our ancestor afterwards always as Captain Hart....
In 1601 Henry Hart seems to have been serving in Munster. In the Carew MSS we read:
"This gentleman, Captain Hart, is now to repair to Munster. He has done good service, having been divers times of late sent over by Sir Henry Dockwra to the Privy Council. The kindness you will shew him I will not be unmindful of."
Henry was, a little later, granted the Governorship of Culmore, and it is said came from Berkshire with 100 men. Shortly after this, trouble arose through Sir Cahir O'Dogherty. The Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell had just been indicted, and
Henry Hart served as a juror on the occasion.
Family Life
Henry married
Frances Bosville, daughter of
Sir Robert Bosville of
Aynesford (the
Bosville family also intersects this tree in a completely different branch: when
Lucy Bosvile married
Christopher Whichcote in the mid 1550s). Henry and Frances had eight sons and three daughters:
- Henry, ob vp and had no issue
- Eustace
- George, ob vp and had no issue
- Richard, ob vp
- John, married Elizabeth Sampson
- George, born c. 1620 and who married Elizabeth Cary
- Thomas
- Merrick, of Crover, born c. 1628 and who married Lettice Vesey
- Anne who married JOhn Balser of Ballyowne
- Mary who married Robert Rownsell of Dublin
- Frances, ob vp
Both
George and
Merrick are direct ancestors thanks to a later marriage of two Hart cousins.
Death
Henry died on the 6
th of September 1637 at Muff and was buried at
Londonderry Cathedral on the 9
th. The following funeral notice is from the Office of Arms, Dublin Castle (FE, vol vii, p 236) as quoted in the
Family History of Hart of Donegal2:
Captain Henrie Harte of Mough [Muff] in the parish of Derry in the county of Donegaule, born at Risby in the county of Suffolk in the Realme of England. The said Captaine tooke to wife Frances Bosvile, daughter of Sir Robert Bosvile of Eynsford in Kent in the said Realme of England, Knight, by whome hee had issue eight sonnes and three daughters, vide Henry Harte, eldest sonne, died without issue; Eustace, second sonne borne, butt by the death of his elder brother now eldest sonne and heire, as yett unmarried; George Harte, deceased, 3rd sonne; Richard, fourth, alsoe deceased; John, 5th sonne, married to Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Sampson of Burtt in the county of Donegaule, gent., George, the sixt and Thomas, the seventh; & Merrick, the eight; and Anne Harte, the eldest daughter, married to John Balser of Ballyowne in the county of Londonderry; and Mary, the second daughter, married to Robt. Rownsell of Dublin, gent.; and Frances, the third daughter, deceased.
The first said mentioned Captaine departed this mortall life at Mough aforesaid the sixt of September, Anno 1637, and was interred in the Cathedral church of Londonderry the 9th of September 1637. The trut of the premises is testified by the subscription of Frances, the Relict of the said defunct, and of the said Eustace, sonne and heire of the said defuncte, whoe have returned the certificate into my office to be there recorded.
Taken by me, Thomas Preston, Esqr, Ulvester [sic] King of Arms, the (?) of 1638.
Footnotes
[1] e.g. 4th Edition, Volume 1 (Hart of Kilderry)
[2] The Family History of Hart of Donegal, by Henry Travers Hart, London, 1907, pages 121-122
1572 - 1637 (~ 71 years)
[2] 
