Page 9 - The Hart Of Rums

Generations
Hart of Tradition
The history of rum is truly the history of sugar, two areas of trade Lemon Hart’s grandfather began developing in 1720.
For years after, amongst the grey granite wharves of Newlyn
in Cornwall (a port town nearby Penzance), stevedores stacked cargo-stout barrels of early island rums, embarked at various Caribbean ports, imported by Abraham Hart for eventual sale or trade. By his death in 1784, Abraham Hart set the course for the family name for generations to come by securing a solid reputation as a spirits merchant.
In 1790 at the age of 22, Lemon Hart took charge of the family business from his father, E.L. and was determined to expand abroad the company’s growing interests in the rum trade. Lemon Hart was also keenly aware of the old Lancashire proverb, “there’s nobbut three generations atween a clog and clog”. Translation: “From shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”, understood as being that the first generation from poverty starts the business and makes the necessary sacrifices to succeed. The next generation runs the business making no sacrifices at all. The third generation, with no experience of work or sacrifice, simply consumes the family fortune, and the fourth generation returns to poverty.
Lemon Hart, being the third generation Hart running the business, would never let that happen.
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