A Preliminary Study of the Origin and History of the DeHart Family
By: Andrew Jackson DeHart
MARTIN DeHART
Martin DeHart was the oldest son of John and Jane Roberts DeHart. He was born in Wayne County, Ky., in 1828, and was brought to Macon County, N. C., when less than two years old.
After marriage to Martha Shepherd in 1857 of Macon County, settled in what is now Swain County and spent the remainder of his life in the Nantahala township.
Martin DeHart grew up in a pioneer section of Western North Carolina, coming here before the Indians moved to the west. At that time there were practically no schools. Occasionally some one would come into the community and take up a school for two or three weeks, and as the settlements were so sparce the people had so little to pay most of the teaching was done in the homes. There was no public money to pay teachers at that time. He said that his mother had figured t(sic) and that Martin only went to school six weeks before he became a teacher and the puzzle was how he picked up such a fund of information and was so long a leading teacher in the Public Schools of Swain County. He was a man that was always educating himself and any one wanting information in local or national history, or how to collect a debt by law, or who was best qualified to be a teacher or pastor of a church would naurally go to Martin DeHart. He was at diffferent times Justice of the Peace, County Commissioner, and at one or more time Chairman. He also served on the board of education of Swain County.
When he went into the army he was selected to go to Macon County to run a commissary to feed the wives and families of soldiers. It was said that on account of his rugged honesty and the fact that the wrote a good hand and was considered capable, was the reason he was detailed to that work, I feel sure no one has ever heard a single complaint of that exacting job.
He raised a large family and none of them that I have ever heard of has ever said that he failed by precept or example to stand before them as a good citizen, and model father.
Contributed by John R. DeHart
Document Prepared by Gloria Lambert
Mail to:
Amber Dalakas
Please support RootsWeb