Biography of Christiana Maria “Mary” Schmidt Hartman
Little is known about Mary’s life from her own perspective, but from what we have been able to reconstruct, she was born in on May 1722 in Germantown, Adams, Pennsylvania, British Colonies. Her father was a German immigrant, making Mary part of the first generation of German-Americans born in the colonies. Her full name was Christiana Maria Schmidt, but records indicate that she went by Mary. Little is known about her childhood. Before 1760, it is believed she had at one husband who may have had the surname “Stein”. By 1760, she is believed to have been widowed.
On November 4th, 1760 she was married again to a man named Johann Peter Hartman- known to history as Major Peter Hartman. Peter was a member of the Hartman family of Yellow Springs. One of his many siblings was a sister named Abigail Hartman-Rice, who served as a nurse at Washington Hall. Peter himself also served a vital role at Washington Hall, as a member of the militia he was responsible for transporting sick and injured soldiers from the camps at Valley Forge. He would bring them to the hospital complex at Yellow Springs, and would return to Valley Forge with food and supplies provided by the German-immigrant families that made up the farming community around the Yellow Springs village.
Prior to their role in the Revolutionary War, though, Peter and Mary welcomed several children into their lives. Their first recorded child, Johannes Hartman, was born on May 24th, 1762. Mary was 40 years old at the time of his birth. Peter, who was significantly younger than his wife, was only 22. Their next child, George (Johan) H. Hartman, was born on August 5th, 1765. Their eldest recorded daughter, a girl named Catharinia Anne, was born on August 10th, 1766. The Hartman family seemed to have move between Chester County and Burks County, but by April 30th, 1767, they had settled in Yellow Springs. Notably, Peter’s mother Anna Margaretha died on August 3rd, 1773, so it is possible that the family moved back to Yellow Springs to help care for Anna Margaretha as she got older.
By 1777, Peter had enlisted as a member of the Pennsylvania militia. Their son, George H. Hartman also enlisted as a drum major for the Continental Army. George was only 12 years old.
While her husband had enlisted as a member of the militia, he was stationed at Yellow Springs. This allowed Mary to have the ability to visit him and to see what life was like as the Yellow Spring plantation morphed into an extensive Hospital Complex.
Mary died at the age of 59 on November 13th, 1781. She is recorded to have died in Pikeland, and it is likely that she died in or around the village of Yellow Springs. No cause of death for Mary has been recorded. At the time, the Revolutionary war was still ongoing.
Mary is recorded as being buried in East Vincent, likely at the Vincent Baptist Church Cemetery, but the location of her grave has been lost to time.
Research is Ongoing!
Bibliography
Historic Yellow Springs. “Christiana Maria ‘Mary’ Schmidt Stein Hartman Family Tree Research.” Ancestry.com Family Tree. Research database compiled by Historic Yellow Springs. Accessed August 18, 2026. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/209148636/person/262793904345/facts
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