Told in their own words
Family History
Stories collected from the eldest members of the family, in the order they happened. Photographs sit with the story they belong to.
Before 1927
Where the Harts Come From
This family begins in St. Matthews, South Carolina, in Calhoun County, with Marion Starks and Lillie Ellis. They had three children — two sons, Marion Jr. and James Henry, and one daughter, Mozell, born June 4, 1927.
In 1944, at seventeen, Mozell left South Carolina for Harlem, New York. That single train ride is the hinge of everything that follows: the Hart name, the house in Wyandanch, and five generations on Long Island.
1944 · As told in 2019
Harlem, 1944
Told by Mozell Hart (“Nana”)I was seventeen years old with everything I owned in one bag. Harlem was loud in a way St. Matthews never was, and I loved it immediately.
On February 2, 1946, I married the love of my life, Sullivan James Hart — everybody called him Buck. That same year he joined the United States Army.
Sullivan 'Buck' Hart, Army portrait, 1946 1955–1985 · As told in 2020
Thirty Years at Pilgrim
Told by Mozell Hart (“Nana”)I started at Pilgrim State Hospital in 1955 and I retired from Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in 1985. Thirty years. I worked with people other folks had given up on.
You learn quickly that a kind word costs nothing and lasts longer than most medicine.
1956 · As told in 2021
The House on Parkway Blvd
Told by Wanda AbnerIn 1956, Mommy and Daddy bought the family home in Wyandanch and raised their three daughters there — Lillie Beatrice, Sheila Renee, and Wanda.
But it became much more than the house we grew up in. It was parties, weddings, celebrations, laughter, good food, and countless gatherings. Precious memories were made inside those walls.
The house, autumn 
Christmas in the living room 1957 onward · As told in 2022
Faith Lived Out Loud
Told by Sheila ChandlerIn 1957, Mommy accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and became a faithful member of First Baptist Church of Wyandanch under its founder, Reverend Moses Robinson Jr.
Her faith was not something she simply spoke about; she lived it through service — the Missionary Board, the Sunday School Department, and the Youth Ministry. Every trip to Rye Playland, every week-long retreat: Ma Hart was going too.
2026 · Recorded August 2026
Ninety-Nine Years Young
Told by Lillie ErvinMommy went home on August 4, 2026, at ninety-nine years old. Her Celebration of Life was held August 22 at First Church of Wyandanch Ministries, with interment at Calverton National Cemetery on August 24.
The true measure of her ninety-nine years cannot be counted in days. It is the family she nurtured, the faith she demonstrated, the young people she encouraged, the traditions she created, the meals served around her table, and the generations blessed to call her Nana.
Celebration of Life program
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