Margaret Mary Strebel Hartman was born August 17, 1924 in a log house at Butler Road located between Corntown and Foster in Pendleton County, to Henry William and Bertie Lamar (Newdigate) Strebel.  Her family moved to Newport in 1915 and she graduated from Newport Public High School in 1942, and married Robert R. Hartman on November 19, 1948.

She started doing research in genealogy in 1953, was self educated in the field and loved history. Margaret did much research on families of early Northern Kentucky until her health prevented her from getting around.  Mrs. Hartman was a member of the Northern Kentucky Historical Society and the Christopher Gest Historical Society.

She was the First Vice President of the Southgate Women's Club, in 1956; a leader of Girl Scout Brownie Troop 210 in Southgate in the late 50's; District Chairman of the Ft. Thomas-Southgate Girl Scouts from 1955-58; a registrar of Licking Valley Girl Scouts and veteran of many cookie sales from 1958-59; and wrote "La Gradude Tour of La Belle Rivere" in celebration of the 50th anniversary of girl scouting in the U.S.A.

Margaret  was the author of "The Washington Fire Engine and Hose Co. No. 1 of Newport" which was the first fire department in Campbell County. Over the years she wrote many articles on "History in Northern Kentucky" which were published in the Falmouth Outlook, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and The Post and Times Enquirer.

The following information was submitted by Warren Shonert as part of her eulogy at her funeral.

"Margaret Hartman was a great Kentucky historian and genealogist. Never in the past 50 years has there been such a great research artist as Margaret. She was aided by new development in library procedures and was able to bring it all together for the first time in two centuries. Sitting with Margaret and listening to her live and breathe history, she took pleasure in telling you how Daniel Boone or Simon Kenton thought and lived in their day.  She got as close to them and others as any person could because of her research in the archives such as the Congressional Library in Washington, the Draper papers in Wisconsin and the Kentucky Gazette, the first newspaper published in Kentucky by John Bradford."

Margaret Mary Strebel Hartman 66, of Alexandria died January 2, 1991 at St. Luke Hospital East in Ft. Thomas Kentucky.  Services were held January 5 at the Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home and burial was in the Peach Grove Cemetery.

Part of her research material and a desk were donated to the Northern Kentucky University Archives, and part of her material was donated to the Campbell County Historical Society.