Oliver Hart
Oliver Hart was a prominent Baptist minister born in Pennsylvania, who played a significant role in the development of the Baptist community in South Carolina in the 18th century. He was baptized in 1741 and, shortly after his ordination in 1747, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he became a key leader in the local Baptist denomination. Hart was known for his commitment to fostering cooperation among various Christian denominations, reflecting a progressive approach for his time. He established the Charleston Association based on the model of the Philadelphia Association, and he helped create a society dedicated to funding the education and training of prospective ministers.
In addition to his religious contributions, Hart was active during the American Revolutionary War, encouraging local support for the revolutionary cause. After fleeing Charleston in 1780 due to British advances, he became the minister of the Hopewell Baptist Church in New Jersey, where he served until his death in 1795. Hart's legacy includes both his ecclesiastical leadership and his written correspondence, providing insights into the experiences of Baptists during a tumultuous period in American history.
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Oliver Hart
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- Born: July 5, 1723
- Birthplace: Warminster, Pennsylvania
- Died: December 31, 1795
- Place of death: Hopewell, New Jersey
Biography
Future Baptist minister Oliver Hart was baptized in 1741 at the Southampton Baptist Meeting House in his native Pennsylvania. In 1747, Hart attended a Philadelphia Baptist Association annual meeting and listened attentively as a letter pleading for ministers to the South Carolina colony was read aloud. One month later, Hart was ordained, and he arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, on December 2, 1749, the very day that the last Baptist minister in South Carolina was buried.
Hart took over as the Baptist minister in Charleston on February 16, 1750, and he soon became a leader of his denomination throughout the region. Although staunchly Baptist, Hart strongly advocated cooperation and understanding between all denominations. In 1751, he modeled the Charleston Association after the Philadelphia Association he admired, and in late 1754, the Association and Hart formed a society aimed at raising funds for the education and training of those wishing to join the ministry. After the death of his wife Sarah, with whom he had at least four children, Hart wed Anne Maria Sealey Grimball in 1774, and the couple had one child who survived childhood and perhaps others who did not.
Oliver Hart was also active in the American Revolutionary War. For three months during the summer of 1775, worked with a South Carolina commission that traveled the countryside, encouraging residents to take up the revolutionary cause themselves. Among Hart’s extant writings are numerous letters to his brother, Colonel Joseph Hart, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, letters sharing the news from Charleston during the Revolutionary War. After fleeing Charleston in February, 1780, before British forces arrived, Hart never returned to the city and instead joined the Hopewell, New Jersey, Baptist congregation as its minister in October, 1781. He remained with the Hopewell church until his death fourteen years later.