Hart, Gilbert

(Brian White Collection)

Biography

Captain Gilbert Hart, one of Detroit's men of affairs, and one who has long been identified with the history and success of the industrial interests of Michigan. In the example before us we have a man, without any special fortuitous circumstances, rising by his own force of character, great energy, and good judgment, to the head of one of the most important lines of manufacture in this country. Whenever metal is worked the use of the emery-wheel is often an important adjunct, and with it is closely associated the name which introduces this brief biographical sketch. Gilbert Hart was born at Wallingford, Rutland County, Vermont, on the 11th day of August, 1828, and is the son of Irad and Lucinda (Wright) Hart. His ancestry is traceable in America to early New England times. His grandfather removed from Connecticut to Vermont prior to the Revolution. He was an ardent patriot, and was honored and influential both in private and public life. Reared upon a farm, the boyhood days of Gilbert Hart were without noteworthy incident. His father died when he was fifteen years old, but his health had been so feeble for many years before his death that the care of the home devolved largely upon his sons. On the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, Gilbert Hart was one of the first volunteers from his native State, enlisting in November, 1861, for three years in the Third Company of Vermont Sharpshooters, of which he was elected captain. This company became Company H of the Second Regiment of United States Sharpshooters, and formed part of the Army of the Potomac. Captain Hart served through the campaign of 1862, and in January of the following year was honorably discharged, he being then physically incapacitated for further service. In 1865, Mr. Hart came to Detroit, where he has since resided, and won high standing as a business man and a public spirited citizen. His natural mechanical genius directed his attention to the manner of producing emery-wheels. By the year 1871 he had designed several improved methods of manufacturing the same, securing various patents, and commenced the making of wheels in a limited way. The process of strengthening which he had devised proved superior to all other methods in execution of work and durability, and the business has steadily grown in extent until it is second to none in the United States, the manufactured product finding a market wherever the same is used. The plant at the corner of Jefferson and Field Avenues, Detroit, is a large one, and complete in every detail, and nearly all the appliances used in the production of the emery-wheels are mechanical devices of Mr. Hart's own invention. Mr. Hart is also financially interested in various other business concerns in Detroit. He was a director and the first president of the Central Savings Bank of Detroit, and is a director of the American Exchange National Bank of Detroit. In politics he is an ardent Republican, but is not active in political affairs beyond that interest which every good citizen should show. His religious faith is expressed in being a member of the Unitarian Church. The domesticity of his beautiful home and its environments are his chief pleasures. He enjoys the confidence of the business world, and has the respect of all who know him. In February, 1858, Mr. Hart was united in marriage to Miss Calista Giddings, of Cavendish, Vermont. Their son, Frederick P., born in July, 1875, is actively associated with his father in business.

Cyclopedia of Michigan: Historical and Biographical, (Western Publishing and Engraving Col., Detroit, 1900), p. 265.

Obituary

Gilbert Hart, 84, who gave a public library to Wallingford, his native town, died Friday in Detroit, Mich. He enlisted from Dorset and served in the Civil war as captain of Company H. 2d Vermont Sharpshooters. He made a fortune in the manufacture of safety emery wheels, which he invented and patented.

Vermont Phoenix, 31 May 1912.