1057: Hannah White Arnett
Patriot During the American Revolution
Born: 15 January 1733, The Colony of New York (Present-day Bridgehampton, New York, United States of America)
Died: 10 January 1823 (or 1824, sources differ), Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States of America
Hannah is best remembered today for stopping a group of American men from deserting the cause and joining the British for “protection of life and property”. She overheard this conversation because her husband Isaac and the other men were discussing the idea in Hannah and Isaac’s home. According to legend, Hannah strode into the room and berated the men for daring to even consider it. Hannah also reportedly told her husband she would leave him if he took the offer. Isaac and the other men decided the cause of liberty was more important than their property, and continued to fight.
According to WikiTree, Hannah had at least ten children and was married twice. She is buried with her second husband and three of their children who died in infancy. Other than her single act of ultimate bravery, very little else is known of Hannah’s life. No images of her survive to modern day.
In 1890, Mary Smith Lockwood, one of the four founders of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution uncovered Hannah’s story and published it, bringing Hannah out of the shadows and into the history books. According to the same WikiTree profile referenced above (linked below) Hannah’s husband is recorded as a patriot in the DAR database, but it does not mention if Hannah is a recorded patriot.
In 1938, the Boudinot Chapter (New Jersey State Society) of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a memorial plaque honoring American Revolutionary Soldiers in the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey—the same cemetery where Hannah White Arnett is buried.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located In My Personal Library:
Unlikely Heroes: Ordinary Men and Women Whose Courage Won the Revolution by Ron Carter
Sources:
https://njwomenshistory.org/discover/biographies/hannah-white-arnett/
http://njwomenshistory.org/Period_2/Arnett.htm
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/White-6120
https://historyswomen.com/miscellaneous-articles/hannah-white-arnett/