GEORGE N. HALL , farmer of Wartrace, died last Friday. He was on his horse on his way to his farm a few miles out, fell dead. He was a Confederate Soldier. Age 69 years. Survived by a widow and one son there, Pruit Hall. One One sister, Mrs Woods of Belfast, Tennessee. Burial in Hollywood Cemetery at Wartrace.
Shelbyville Gazette Aug. 5, 1909

MARTHA (SMITH) HALL - Last rites for Mrs. Martha Smith Hall, 67, of Friendship, widow of W. J. Hall, were conducted at Crowell's Chapel Sunday at 3:30 o'clock by Rev. Charles Strubel, pastor. Mrs. Hall passed away Saturday evening following an illness of fourteen months. She was born and reared in this county. She was a member of the Methodist Church. Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Alvah Alford of Friendship and Mrs. Leon Compton of Detroit, Mich; 3 grandchildren, Miss Frances Alford of Friendship, Miss Audrey Compton and Mrs. Bruce Compton and Mrs. Bruce Silvernail of Detroit, Mich; one great-grandchild; a sister, Mrs. Joe Crick (Permilia Smith Crick) of Shelbyville; one brother, W. J. Smith of Shelbyville, and several nieces and nephews.
Shelbyville Gazette - July 11, 1940 - page 1

DAVID C. HART - Funeral services for David C. Hart, 82, of Shelbyville, who died Friday (22 Septembe 2006) at the Alvin C. York V.A. Medical Center in Murfreesboro, were today at Hillcrest Funeral Home with the Rev. Bobby McGee officiating. Burial followed at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. A native of Huntsville, Ala., he was the son of the late David Samuel and Exie Odell Batt Hart. He was a retired heavy equipment mechanic at Tillett Brothers Construction Co. where he worked 26 years; a 15-year employee of Dixie Grain Co.; a member of Edgemont Baptist Church and a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army. Preceding him in death were two sons, James David Hart and Sammy Hart. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Jessie McCarty Hart; three daughters, Sheila Crowell, Sheree Hill and Lavenia Green; two sons, Benjamin and Steve Hart, all of Shelbyville; a sister, Mary Sue Loveless; a brother, James Thomas Hart; 12 grandchildren, four step-grandchildren and two great-grandchildren
Contributed by Gene Morris from the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, dated 25 Sept. 2006

DEWEY HART , 88, of Davis Street, died Saturday at Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro. Services were held today at 2 p.m. at Gowen-Smith Chapel, with the Rev. Jimmy Tedder officiating. Burial followed at Mount Hermon Cemetery in Bedford County. A Bedford County native, member of Mount Hermon Baptist Church and retired farmer, he was son of the late W. H. and Leathi [Letha-gtm] Ellen Turpen Hart. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Lowe Hart of Shelbyville two daughters, Mrs. Garland (Juanita) Troupe and Mrs. Thomas (Martha ) Love, both of Shelbyville; two sisters, Mrs. Leland (Annie) Allison and Mrs. Mamie Wilhoite, both of Shelbyville; and two grandsons.
Contributed by Gene Morris - Shelbyville Times - Gazette 8 July 1986

DON S. HART - Services for Mr. Don S. Hart, 68, were to be held today at Gowen-Smith Guardian Chapel. Burial was to be in Willow Mount Cemetery. Mr. Hart died Sunday in Bedford County General Hospital. He was a retired service station attendant. Mr. Hart was a native of Bedford County and a son of the late John S. and Lizzie Murray Hart. He was married to the former Vera Rowe. He was a Baptist. Survivors besides his wife include a son, Jerry L. Hart of Shelbyville, and a sister, Mary Thomas of Shelbyville.
Contributed by Gene Morris

ERNEST STEPHEN HART , 79, of Shelbyville died Thursday (4 May 2006) at Lynchburg Nursing Home. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with the Rev. Jim Thompson officiating. Burial will follow at Rosebank Cemetery. Mr. Hart was the son of the late Clarence A. Hart Sr. and Gladys Frisbee Hart. He was retired from the security police at Arnold Engineering Development Center after 36 years, a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps, a 32nd degree Mason with the Shelbyville Masonic Lodge and a member of Himesville Church of the Nazarene. His wife, Betty Berry Hart, preceded him in . Survivors include a daughter, Capri Batten of Flat Creek; a son, David Hart of Unionville; a brother Clarence A. "Bud" Hart Jr. of Flat Creek; and three grandchildren.
Contributed by Gene Morris from the Shelbyville Times Gazette

ESSIE (WARD) HART - Longtime community and civic leader Mrs. Essie Lee Hart, 83, of Athens died Saturday in an area hospital. Mrs. Hart had served as a director of McMinn Farm Bureau; president of the McMinn County Home Demonstration Club; chairperson of the Women's Division of East Tennessee Farmers Convention; and American Red Cross Secretary for McMinn County from 1953-1979; and was a frequent delegate to the Farm Bureau's annual national convention. An active social worker for the McMinn County Indigents Program, she along with two other women organized the Coordinated Chariites of Athens. In 1979, Mrs Hart was named McMinn County "Mother of the Year: and was recognized as the First Lady of Athens. She was honored for her community service by the Athens Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1983, the Woodmen of the World in 1975 and the Pilot Club in 1975. A native of Bedford County, she came to McMinn County in 1938. Mrs. Hart was a member of Ohio Avenue church of Christ , where she taught Sunday school and served on the benevolence committee.

Survivors include her husband, C. Ray Hart, Athens; two daughters, Marie Collins, Bradenton, Fla. and Sue Smith, Dalton, Ga; sister, Mrs. Annie Ruth Ingle, Knoxville, Tenn; two grandsons; several nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the chapel of Ziegler Funeral Home with William B. Yates and Tommy Irons officiating. Burial will be in Cedar Grove Cemetery. Pallbearers will be George Price, Hugh Lamb, Don Kirskey, Tom Irons, Ronnie Miller and Reuben Holland.
Contributed by Gene Morris

JAMES DAVID HART , 26, a paramedic with the Metro Fire Department's ambulance service, died Sunday at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. Services will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Gowen-Smith Chapel with Rev. Philip Rosenbaum and Rev. George Carneal officiating. Burial will be in Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. A native of Bedford County, he was a resident of 111 Wade Dr. and was a member of Edgemont Baptist Church. Survivors include his parents, David C. and Jessie Lee McCarty Hart; two brothers, Steve and Ben Hart, all of Shelbyville; three sisters, Mrs. Lavenia Green, Covington, VA., Sheila and Sheree Hart, Shelbyville; and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. F. McCarty, Shelbyville.
Contributed by Gene Morris

RACHEL (MORRIS) HART was born March 10, 1819; was married to Derrell J. Hart in early life (who preceded her to the better land in October 1876). To this union were born ten children, six boys and four girls, one girl dying in infancy. At her death her offspring was as follows: Children 9, grandchildren 45, great grandchildren 92, great-great grandchildren 6. Living issue in all, 152. She left one sister, Ruth Patter af Jackson Caunty, Ala. Her mather was left a widow. She had three sisters and they were all left widaws, and of her three daughters two of them are widows. Her mother lived to be 96 years of age and an accepted tradition in the family says her grandmother lived to be 103 years old. She was industrious and economical. Well do I remember when a boy af her carding, spinning, weaving, and sewing (with her fingers) ta clothe the family from the shoes to the hat. Every day clothes and Sunday too, with the exception occasionally of a Sunday shirt.

She was born, raised and spent her life in Bedford County, Tenn. In the fall after she was eighteen years old she professed faith in Christ and joined the Baptist Church of Christ at Mt. Herman, where she lived a devout and orderly member for over 76 years. She, by her orderly walk and chaste conversation, was the confidence of all who surrounded her. In May 1908 she fell and broke her thigh and her hip joint, after which she was not able to attend her church meetings, but before this if she did not fill her place it was understood that there was something the matter. After this those visiting her room usually found her with her Bible in her hand or some other book recommended to her as a good book. She frequently talked of her prospects of Heaven and more and more as she neared the end of life. Frequently she would become so enraptured with a foretaste of Heaven that her voice would be raised in adoration and praise to God.

As she became still nearer to the end she became real anxious to go. A few hours before her death she called all who were in the room to her bed one by one, and told them goodby, asking each one to meet her in Heaven, then said, "I have done the best I could to live right." Then she raised her eyes upward, waving her pale thin hands and burst forth in accents of praise to God until her strength gave way. After a little rest she said she would love to talk but was too weak. Early in the morning of March 26, 1914, her spirit left its mortal house to go to its long-sought home on high. She was 95 years and 16 days old. The following day her remains were taken to Mt. Hermon church and funeral services were held by Elder R. E. Gore in the presence of a large concourse of people. Her body was then interred in the old church-yard to await the resurrection morn.
Written by her son J.F. Hart of Fayetteville TN.

SAMUEL HART (1845-1918)
Mr Samuel HART a well known and highly esteemed citizen and farmer of the Mt Hermon vicinity died at his home between Mt Hermon and Flat Creek Sunday night (27 October 1918) after a lingering illness, aged about 73 years. He was a brother of Wm Hart and Elder Jesse Hart and leaves two other brothers all prominent citizens of the Flat creek and Southern section of Bedford County. He leaves besides these well know relatives, his wife and several grown children. Service and burial Monday at Mt Hermon
Obit from Shelbyville Gazette October 31, 1918 - Photo from James Hart Book

THOMAS JEFFERSON HART - Funeral services were held Thursday at Angwin Mortuary Center's Memory Chapel in Birmingham, Ala., for Thomas Jefferson Hart, 92, native of Bedford County and uncle of L. J. Patterson of Mt. Hermon and J. D. Steede of Shelbyville. Burial was in Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham. Rev. Joe D. White, Baptist minister, officiated. Mr. Hart, a resident of Birmingham, died Tuesday morning of last week in a Tuscaloosa hospital. He was born May 29, 1871, in Bedford County, the son of the late Samuel Hart and Rachel L. Morris Hart of the Mt. Hermon community. On Aug. 16, 1896, he was married to the former Martha Virginia (Jenny) Carter, who died March 10, 1939.

Mr. Hart was a member of the Oakley Baptist Church and had lived in Birmingham since 1936. Among survivors in addition to the two nephews in Bedford County are two sons, Jasper C. Hart and Henry J. Hart of Birmingham; a brother, John B. Hart of Huntsville, Ala.; 9 grandchildren: 16 great-grandchildren: a niece, Mrs. Sallie Hicks of Huntsville, and another nephew, Fred Steede of Petersburg. One other son, Samuel R. Hart, died in 1953. Active pallbearers were Walter Brown, Howard Reniger, Clarence McCombs, Bill McCombs, James Garner and Clarence Cates.
Contributed by Gene Morris

DEWEY S. HASTINGS , 80, died Monday at his home on Knight's Campground Road after a long illness. Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Gowen-Smith Chapel, with Fred Mosley and Raymond Ragsdlae officiating. Burial will be in Willow Mount Cemetery. A native Bedford countian and retired farmer, he was a former state Superintendent of Rural Roads and served as a substitute rural mail carrier for many years. His parents were the late Joseph Mastin and Bettie Smith Hastings and he was a member of Southside Church of Christ. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Hazel Hart Hastings; one son, Dewey Hart Hastings, both of Shelbyville; one brother, Albert P. Hastings of Nashville; one sister, Mrs. Mae Gold of Lewisburg; and two grandchildren.
Contributed by Gene Morris

DEWEY HART HASTINGS - Funeral services for Dewey Hart Hastings, 71, of Shelbyville, who died Saturday afternoon at his home after a short illness, will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel. Ed Boggess will officiate and burial will follow in Willow Mount Cemetery. A Bedford County native, he was the husband of Pat Hastings, who survives, and the son of the late Dewey Smith Hastings and Hazel Woods Hart Hastings. He was a farmer and a retired employee of Uniroyal. He was a pioneer of motor sports during the 1950s and 1960s, building cars which won state championships at NASCAR tracks across the southeast. A car owned by Hastings with partners George and Brooks Tune was driven by Bobby and Donnie Allison, Freddy Fryar, Charley Griffith and George Bonee. He was a member of Fairlane Church of Christ, an active member of Shelbyville Central High School Class of 1949, and a member of First Families of Tennessee. Survivors in addition to his wife include two sons, Joseph Hart "Joe" Hastings of Huntsville, Ala., and James Dewey "Jim" Hastings of Shelbyville; and five grandchildren. Visitation with the family will be 4-8 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. until service time Wednesday at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel. Memorial contributions may be made to Argie Cooper Public Library and Hospice of the Highland Rim.
Contributed by Gene Morris

WILLIAM DAVID HOLDEN , age 83, died at his house on South Brittain street at four o'clock on last Saturday afternoon. About six years ago he became an invalid as the result of a broken hip received in an automobile accident. Previous to the removal of his family to Shelbyville eight years ago, he had been engaged in the mercantile business at Midland, Christiana and Wartrace. He was highly regarded by many friends and acquaintances who regret his passing. Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Lucy Barnes Holden, three daughters; Mrs. Weaver Eubanks, Philadelphia, Pa: Miss Jane Holden Cranberry, N.J.; Mrs Bailey Rascoe, Nashville, Tenn; one son; Hatton Holden, Jackson Tenn and three grandchildren. Funeral services were conducted at the Thompson Funeral Home at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, by Rev. N.J. Warren, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Holden was a member. Interment was made in Midland Cemetery. Pallbearers were Ed Troxler, Phil Scudder, Jesse Evans, Clark Robinson, J.C. Tune, Jim Parsons, James Whiteside and C.L. Shoffner.
Shelbyville Gazette - Jan 21, 1937 - page 4

MATHIAS HOOVER - (3 December 1931) - This Well-Known Citizen Passes Away Tuesday Afternoon at Bedford County Hospital The funeral of Mr. Mathias Hoover, who died at the Bedford County Hospital Monday afternoon, took place Tuesday afternoon from the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Fred Stong, with Rev. Charles C. Thompson, pastor of the First Christian church officiating. Mr Hoover was born at Hoover's Gap, and for a number of years was a successful farmer in Rutherford county. He had been in poor health for some time and had undergone a very serious operations some months ago, from which he never rallied. He was a devoted father and friend and will be greatly missed. He is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Fred Strong of this place and Mrs. Mack Gilmore, of Nashville, and three grandchildren. Interment was in Evergreen cemetery, Murfreesboro. The following served as pall bearers: Active - H. D. Woodward, F. J. Wallheiser, A. J. Fuston, M. B. King, S.D. McGrew, Dr. W. H. Avery. Honorary - J. R. Jetton, Cloe Bond, Ernest Smith, Judge J. E. Richardson, J. T. Woodfin, C. N. Haynes, W. E. Hudson, J. M. King, W. . Gresham, W.R. Clark, L. D. Harrell, A. T. Gilley, A. L. Smith, F. L. Spain SR, B. B. Kerr, W. H. Wood.

SARAH JANE HOOVER , 50 died Wednesday night, February 3, 1937 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Lester Curtis, of the Powells Creek neighbourhood. Mrs. Hoover had been in declining health for some time and died from a complication of diseases. She was a member of the Church of Christ and worshiped at the Powells Creek schoolhouse Sabbath services. She was a consecrated Christian, true friend and a loving and dutiful wife and mother. Funeral services were held Thursday 1:30 p.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Curtis, with whom the deceased and her husband lived. Rev. Allen King of Richmond assisted by Rev. J.H. Hines, officiated. Burial was in the Coleman graveyard at Powells Creek. Survivors are her husband, Sidney Hoover; five daughters, Mrs. Cecil Thompson, of Paletto; Mrs. Lester Curtis, Mrs. Roy Curtis, Mrs. Bessie Hunnicutt and Miss Rena Hoover, of Powells Creek; and two sons, Luther and Clarence also of Powells Creek; four sisters, four brothers and seven grandchildren.