Rev. John Heart

1617 - 1687  (~ 71 years)

• Name	John Heart  [1, 2, 3]
  Prefix	Rev.
  Birth	Between 1616 and 1617	Scotland   [4]
  Gender	Male
  Alternate birth	of Taughboyne (Monreagh), Donegal, Ireland   [1]
  Death	8 Jan 1687  [4, 5]
  Alternate death	8 Jan 1688  [6]
  Burial	Taughboyne Church of Ireland, St. Johnstowne, Donegal, Ireland   [4, 6]
  Person ID	I20688	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of TWK
  Last Modified	8 Dec 2021

  
  

  Father	David Heart,   b. of Rusland, Harray, Orkney, Scotland d. Aft 8 Mar 1656
  Mother	Jean Mowat   d. May 1682
  Marriage	Bef Oct 1615  [6]
  Family ID	F12360	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Agnes Baxter,   b. Bef 15 Feb 1619   d. Bef 21 May 1689 (Age < 70 years)
  Marriage	2 Apr 1644	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [7, 8]
  Children	+ 1. Agnes Heart,   b. Bef 17 Dec 1648
  Family ID	F12355	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	5 Dec 2021

  
  

• Notes

  His gravestone at Taughboyne reads: HIC IACET CORPUS M----- IOANNIS HART ILLUSTRISSO STEMMATE ORIUNDI PASTO[RIS] VIGILANTIS PIENTISS [PHI]LOSOPHI THEOLOGI EXIMII QUI CHRISTUM PRAEDICANDO ECCLES TABOYNENSI MAG CUM FR[UI] TU SUPRA 30 ANNOS SUDAVIT ED MULTA PROPT[ER] CRISTUM PASSUS TANDEM MATURAM ANIMAM DEO ED DIDIT AETAT 70 IAN 8 AN 1687 (Here lieth the body of Master John Hart of noble descent, a watchful pastor, a devout philosopher, a distinguished divine, who labored for over 30 years preaching Christ with much success in the church of Taughboyne, and after much suffering for Christ's sake at length gave up his ripened spirit to God on 8th January 1687 aged 70 years.) Much documentation for the life of the Rev. John Heart/Hart, compiled by Janet Wolfe, can be found here. It had long been noted that "David Heart of Rusland, William and Mr. John Heart, his sons" witnessed a charter by Mr. Patrick Grahame of Rothisholm, dated at Kirkwall (in the Orkney islands), 8 Feb 1638. (Calendar of the Laing Charters, citation details below, pp. 529-30.) But then: Jan Wolfe, on soc.genealogy.medieval, 9 May 2017: Document SC11/5/1644/11, held at the Orkney Archives, is the marriage agreement, dated 21 February 1644, for Margaret Heart, daughter of David Heart and Jean Mowat, and James Grahame. The NAS catalog description is here: http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/details.aspx?reference=SC11/5/1644/11 I recently ordered an image of this document from the Orkney Archives. The contract specifies that James Grahame's part of the agreement is to be done by the "advyse of the said Dauid Heart if he sall be on lyff And failyeing of him throw deceas be the advyse of the said [William] Heart his eldest sone and of Mr John Heart Minister his secund sone or ather of thame." With this evidence, I think that we can now confidently identify the parents of John Heart as David Heart and Jean Mowat. Jean's mother, Christian Stewart, was a daughter of Earl Robert Stewart of Orkney, and Robert was a son of King James V of Scotland by Euphame Elphinstone. John Heart, who received his M.A. at St. Andrews in May, 1637, was ordained at Crail on March 22, 1643. Agnes Heart, daughter of John Heart and Agnes Baxter, married Robert Craighead. Their children include colonial immigrants Thomas Craighead, husband of Margaret Wallace, and Katherine Craighead, wife of William Homes. Thomas and William were both Presbyterian ministers. Thomas and Margaret lived in Freetown, Bristol County, Massachusetts, and then in Pennsylvania. Katherine and William lived in Chilmark, Dukes County, Massachusetts (on Martha's Vineyard) where William was the minister from the fall of 1715 until his death in 1746. From "Fasti of the Irish Presbyterian Church" (citation details below): HART, JOHN: b. Scotland; educ. St. Andrews; M.A. (St. And.) 1637; ord. at Crail, 22 March 1642/3; mar. 1644, Agnes Baxter; res. 1646; inst. Dunino, 30 Dec. 1646; res. 1650; inst. Dunkeld, 1650; joined the Protesters 1651, and was dep. 1652; inst. Hamilton (2nd charge), 23 Jan. 1653. In Oct. 1655, a Commissr. from Taughboyne appeared at the Syn. of Glasgow and Ayr with a call to Mr. Hart. Inst. Taughboyne (Monreagh) 1656. Recd. £150 a year as from 29 Sept. last, from the Protectorate on the petition of the inhabitants and report of Drs. Winter and Harrison, and Mr. Mather as to his piety, etc., and that he had been there near half a year and had a great charge of children (25 March 1656). Dep. for non-conformity, 1661, but continued to minister. On a visit to Dublin in the winter of 1662/3 some of those engaged in Blood's Plot applied to Mr. Hart for his concurrence. When examined later as to his complicity he incautiously dropped a word that brought trouble to Mr. Thos. Boyd, M.P. for Bangor. In vindicating himself he said that when the plot was revealed to him he expressed his abhorrence, as Mr. Boyd in Dublin knew. This led to Mr. Boyd's arrest and subsequent expulsion from the House of Commons. Hart seems to have been liberated on bail to appear when called upon. Excommunicated and imprisoned in Lifford, 1664-70, for disobeying a summons, issued by Robt. Leslie, Bp. of Raphoe, to appear before his court. Fined 20 and imprisoned 8 months for his connexion with a Fast (17 Feb. 1681), appointed by Laggan Presby. Died 8 Jan. 1687, aged 70; int. at Taughboyne.

  
  

• Sources

  [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing. [S1579] The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States, Who Were Themselves Notable or Left Descendants Notable in American History by Gary Boyd Roberts. Second edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2022. [S2653] Calendar of the Laing Charters, A.D. 854-1837 ed. John Anderson. Edinburgh: James Thin, 1899. [S6148] James McConnell and S. G. McConnell, "Fasti of the Irish Presbyterian Church." The Genealogists' Magazine 7:586, Sep 1937. [S6150] "County Donegal." Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland 8:34. 1910. [S376] Janet and Robert Wolfe Genealogy. [S2652] The Register of Marriages for the Parish of Edinburgh, 1595-1700 ed. Henry Paton. Edinburgh: Scottish Record Society, 1905. [S6148] James McConnell and S. G. McConnell, "Fasti of the Irish Presbyterian Church." The Genealogists' Magazine 7:586, Sep 1937., year only.