Joel Hart was a physician; the only son of Ephraim Hart

Ephraim Hart

Ephraim Hart was an American merchant who helped to organize the Board of Stock-Brokers, now known as the New York Stock Exchange.- Biography :...

; born in Philadelphia in 1784; died in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 June 14, 1842. He received the degree of M.D. from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. He was one of the charter members of the Medical Society of the County of New York. He married, May 2, 1810, in London, to Louisa Levien, and had issue. On Feb. 7, 1817, he was appointed by President James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

 United States consul at Leith

Leith

-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and remained there in that capacity until 1832, when he returned to New York and resumed the practice of medicine. He was well known in masonic

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

circles in New York City.

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