Born in Branch County, Michigan, in 1840, the son of I. D. and Emeline (Lewis) Hart, natives of Connecticut and Vermont. Mr. Hart’s early life was spent in the Wolverine State, and his education received in the common schools, and the select schools at Ottawa, IL. In 1863, he went to Cornell College, at Mt. Vernon, Iowa. In 1864, he enlisted in Company I, Forty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and served as a private in the Army of the West. After graduating at Mt. Vernon in 1869, he studied law under Major Thompson. In 1881, he was nominated by acclamation and elected by a large majority in Linn County, Iowa, as a member of the House of Representatives, on the Republican ticket. He was united in marriage at Missouri Valley, February, 1889, to Miss Causine Kern, daughter of Dr. Henry R. and Mary E. (Duvall) Kern. Mr. Hart was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He belonged to the Masonic Lodge, the G.A.R. Post, the Legion of Honor and a college society. He was a member of Governor Larrabee’s staff, during his four years’ administration and held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. Hart was a man well informed and was widely and favorably known throughout Iowa.