Nancy Hart has become a legend in the history of the Civil War..... What is known is she was born abt. 1846 and her father was born in Raleigh, North Carolina and this info is from various historical societies and the Hart family resided in Boone County, Virginia 1850, this is on the 1850 U. S. Census. It must be remembered that Boone County was a part of Virginia before 1863 and after the Civil War it was a county of West Virginia..... Stephen and Mary was the only Hart family resided in the mountain districts of Roane County Virginia in 1860's and the names are on the 1870's and 1880's Roane census. Here they settled near the mouth of Triplett Run Creek which flows into the West Fork Little Kanawha River, which rises in southern Calhoun County and flows northwestwardly along the boundary of Roane County.
Many unanswered questions remain:Nancy Hart legend is Extremely well known but have found no creditable evidence that these facts below is true...... (1) Nancy married a former or Confederate Ranger after the war. (2) Nancy Hart, Confederate Spy died in 1902. (3) Union forces gained control of the county around Summersville, making Nancy's escape impossible and her hanging apparently certain. (4) Nancy Hart’s grave on Manning Knob, at the Manning Knob Cemetery also known as Nancy Hart Cemetery and is so listed on Williamsburg District Cemeteries List ... near the Nicholas and Greenbrier County line and near the town of Richwood, West Virginia bears a tombstone that reads Nancy Hart 1846 - 1902 Civil War Heroine, however, some sources also state that she was born in 1843 and died in 1913. ... Historically, there is actually no evidence to suggest that Nancy Hart The Confederate Spy was in fact born in 1843 and died in 1913. Some suggest that Nancy married a Douglas, the name is wrong if she married a Douglas, The tombstone should reads Nancy Hart Douglas or Nancy H. Douglas 1846-1902. It would be possible that this is not Nancy Hart, The Confederate Spy at all. (5) Some suggests that Nancy was still alive in 1907 when Joshua Douglas passed away, and some suggests that local oral history places Nancy in downtown Richwood, West Virginia during the 1907 and 1910 during the appearance of Halley’s Comet. The memorial at her grave site point to her date of death as 1902 so who is buried at Manning Knob, at the Manning Knob Cemetery also known as Nancy Hart Cemetery. (6) The researchers suggest her grave is in the cemetery where the Manning family buried their slaves, which could explain why there appears to be unmarked graves on the site. There is only one marked grave outside the fence where Nancy Hart is buried Ivan Morgan Hunter (1881/1965). Nancy is said to have married a Douglas but it appears there were no Douglas buried at Nancy Hart Cemetery. Does anyone know if The Confederate Spy Nancy Hart ever married and, if so, to whom? (7) Does anyone know the exact death date for Nancy Hart, confederate spy? Per Nellie Bell: The legend has it that she was hanged on Cold Knob. The Yankee guard and troops knew the day of Nancy Hart execution would cause turmoil so the troops kept silence so the southern sympathizer didn't know about the hanging. Nancy remained calm to the end. Her body was buried in Greenbrier county near Richwood West Virginia. A Yankee scout present at or have personal knowledge of the hanging of Nancy Hart was a friend of a neighbor of Kelly Hart, Roane County, West Virginia the brother of Nancy Hart.... The legend of the hanging on Cold Knob Mountain - Greenbrier - Nov., 1862 of a lady Confederate spy forming part of an oral tradition of the Hart clan it began with Kelly Hart and pass on to Samuel Lruzla Hart and his daughters. The great granddaughters of Stephen and Mary Hart of Roane County West Virginia kept the legend alive in the Hart Clan.......but have found no creditable evidence that this was true or false. Nancy Hart great great niece believe the story is true and she is buried up on Cold Knob Mountain - Greenbrier County, West Virginia. My great great grandfather also said, "that's this story will keep marching thru time......." Nellie is my grandmother and her grandfather "Kelly Hart" fought in the Civil War and he is the son of Stephen and Mary Hart of Roane County, West Virginia. Note: Historically, there is actually very little evidence to suggest that Nancy Hart was in fact hang, but it is quite possible that she was. An article about the Civil War telegrapher Marion H. Kerner said the last glimpse at her was shortly after the Summersville raid and he never heard of her since. She may be dead. Most articles on Nancy Hart are basic on an article published in Leslie's Weekly in 1910. Some old newspapers stories might lead one to believe that she turned to a life of crime, burning houses, slaughtering livestock, even killing. Much of the supposed activity might be blamed on bands of bandits and the unrest before and during the civil war that raged about, but it is suggested that the mayhem and the robberies ceased in the region after the civil war. What story you choose to believe and every truth uncovered about Nancy only reveals a deeper mystery about the young "Confederate Spy" girl who made a difference.           | ||||||||||||||
 Researcher: Nellie Bell - We know from military records and books, that frontier women served as spies in the south, Three of the South's most celebrated frontier agents were Rose Greenhow, Belle Boyd, and Nancy Hart. Everyone's a historian now in the computer age and some computer age historian wonder if the Confederate Spy of Roane County was real or fictitious, we know she was a real person and the daughter of Stephen and Mary Hart of Roane County, West Virginia. The fictitious parts is after the civil war, virtually no proof of her exploits can be historically documented. Old newspapers, antique books, and lately some newer books documented Nancy through the years with a mixture of fact and folklore. However, as much of the life and death of Nancy Hart remains shrouded in mystery, and no other credible evidence has ever been put forward about "Nancy Hart Confederate Spy" the local legend has assumed a level of authority with the passage of time. The War Between the States 1861/1865 was also a war between brothers, sisters, cousins, friends and neighbors - Nothing better illustrates this than the Stephen and Mary Hart family and the William Pool family of Roane County West Virginia. William Pool, a Union soldier and his son, a Confederate soldier. Journalists usually love a good juicy Nancy Hart Story. Newspaper articles published during 1910 and to this day, there have been many versions of the same Nancy Hart Story. Even though most newspaper stories add something that they got from oral communication from Nancy descendants or old-timers, many unanswered questions remain after 144 years. There were other Nancy Harts in the United States before Civil War. During the last few years, I've done research on those Civil War Harts family while trying to put some of them into the Nancy family group of relatives. Some researchers use census records of variant spellings of the Hart name, either in error, or where the descendents have preferred another form or could be another family. This would be guessing at best, with out other records in the county to show the original name of the family...... marriage, birth, or death records it would be week evidence of those descendants live in the county.. If any one has any creditable evidence or info on Nancy Hart, Confederate Spy or any other stories handed down from earlier times, please let us know so we can add them to our Nancy Hart Genealogy project. Much thanks in advance. NOTE: Once we receive your email and comments, we will consider them carefully. Public comments and emails become a permanent part of the Nancy Hart genealogy page, and may be available for public review. We reserve the right to reject any submission that we deem inappropriate for any reason, without notice, at our sole discretion. We cannot guarantee your story or suggestions will appear on this site and we reserves the right to edit all titles and descriptions. Please respect all copyrights! Only submit story and photos that you have permission to use. All submissions become the property of the Nancy Hart Genealogy project and will be used on the Richwooders Web Site at our discretion. If the story has appeared in a publication or on another web site, please tell us which one and when. Now, it is time to get something from you! If you have comments, one-of-a-kind pictures, Contact Nellie Bell Click for Feedbacks and Comments Page. It is believed to be correct and has been obtained from sources we consider reliable. We do not represent, however, that it is 100% accurate or complete and it should not be considered as such. There are several other article on Nancy Hart in the West Virginia old Historical Newspapers and Encyclopedias. |