Pelham Historical Society

John E. Hardy Family History Program

Genesis of the Program: In the Fall of 2005 the Pelham Historical Society began renovating the interior of its beautiful new home, the old Pelham Public Library on Main Street, which was built in 1896. This building has always been known for its beautiful wood trim and paneling. The wood trim and paneling, which had suffered from over 100 years of use, was being carefully restored by William T. Hayes, President of the Historical Society, and John Killam of Westford, Massachusetts, an expert in the restoration of old buildings.

It was a warm Fall day and the front door of the vacant building was open to allow cleaning material fumes to escape. John E. Hardy of Bethpage, Long Island, walked through the open door and approached John Killam, who was working alone that day. He told John Killam that both he and his wife had Pelham ancestors.

John Killam immediately put down his cleaning materials and gave John Hardy a tour of the facility, pointing out the many Revolutionary and Civil War Hardy and Hamblett names that were listed on the gold lettered engraved marble tablets in the Memorial Room. John Hardy asked how far the Historical Society was going to go in restoring this beautiful granite, brick and slate building. John Killam replied: "the Society plans to keep going until the money runs out, which is going to happen pretty soon." John Hardy's reply, "Perhaps I can help."

Several weeks later a generous check was received from Mr. Hardy. In appreciation, the Historical Society sent Mr. Hardy, in CD format, copies of all of its Hardy and Hamblett materials. Perhaps even more important than Mr. Hardy's check was the fund raising opportunity that it inspired.

The Program: It occurred to the Society that there are tens perhaps hundreds of thousands of citizens throughout the Nation with Pelham ancestors. Many share Mr. Hardy's interest in family history. On October 24, 2005 the Pelham Historical Society voted to create the John E. Hardy Family History Program. For a $500.00 contribution, the Society will create a CD containing copies of all of its materials on any family that settled in Pelham prior to 1850. The donor will be acknowledged on the CD label and in the introduction that will precede the family information on the CD. Other family members will be able to purchase the CD for $25.00 plus a donation of additional pages of information on the family featured in the CD. Those pages can be submitted in digital or paper formats and will be added to future CDs. Non-family members can purchase the CD for $30.00. As the family CDs are created, they will be offered to the public through the Society's on line bookstore.

All funds generated by the John E. Hardy Family History Program will be used to further the program. When sufficient money is accumulated in the Fund, equipment capable of converting micro-film to CD format will be acquired and the Society will begin purchasing micro film copies of deeds, probate records and town records from the Morman repository in Salt Lake City. Information from these sources will be added to the appropriate family CD, as the family CDs are created or expanded.

John E. Hardy
Managing Director, Cook, Hall & Hyde, Inc.

John E. Hardy graduated from the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in nautical science and immediately went to work for the Charles E. Hyde Agency while attending the College of Insurance in New York City. While working at Hyde, John served in the Naval Reserve, attaining the rank of Lieutenant, and was honorably discharged in 1975.

At Hyde, John performed various service and sales duties culminating in his selection as president of the agency in 1983. Under his direction, the agency grew from a local personal insurance operation to a regional provider of insurance coverage for businesses in the tri-state area. In 1998, Hyde merged with the Edward F. Cook Agency and The Hall Agency of New York and John became a Managing Director of the new entity, Cook, Hall & Hyde, Inc.

John is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter candidate. He served a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Independent Insurance Agents Association of Nassau County and has worked on numerous insurance agency advisory committees including CNA's National PACER Panel, Royal's National Producer Roundtable, Atlantic Companies’ National Producer Advisory Board, Harleysville’s Northeast Agency Advisory Council, Traveler’s Regional Advisory Council and Merchant Mutual's Producer Advisory Council.

In September of 2001, John was selected by the Risk Manager of New York State to be a member of the World Trade Center Insurance Task Force. This Task Force was made up of four insurance professionals whose charge was to design, develop and procure a wrap-up insurance program for the emergency cleanup of the World Trade Center disaster after September 11th.

John is married and has four children. He has coached a variety of different youth teams including baseball, softball, basketball and football. After graduation from Kings Point, John competitively raced sailboats all over the world, winning seven National Championships and numerous national and international events, including the prestigious Manhasset Bay Challenge Cup and the Guniashov Cup in Tolliati, Russia. In 1987, he was part of the successful Stars and Stripes Team that brought the America’s Cup back home to the United States.