John Hardy was a resident of Perquimans Precinct, North Carolina. He may have been a servant. In 1697 he joined a group of individuals who were helping Dorothy Steele run away from her husband. The group first headed south towards Charleston, but they turned around north of the Cape Fear when they were attacked by American Indians. They then turned northward and tried to escape to Virginia. The group eventually returned to Perquimans, where Steele had to come before the court. Any further information about this individual has not been located.