William Frederick Hartman was born in Germany but arrived in New York in 1882 and lived there until August 1902, when he moved to  London, England where he married Anne Walklate in 1905 and studied at the Guild Hall School of Classics. He briefly returned to the USA but then relocated to Toronto, Canada before returning to New York on the steamship 'Cedric' on 17 July 1911. On April 3rd 1914 he was in Port Huron, Michigan, applying for admission to the USA. He was with his Canadian-born wife Anne (nee Walklate) and 7 year old English-born daughter Doris Georgina, which demonstrates the wide extent of his travels. (His 1 year old son John Alois Hartman appears on the application register on April 24th, listed as Toronto-born). On this form Hartman lists his final destination as Chicago, Illinois where he soon found work with the Imperial Player Roll Company.

In a 1919 interview with the Music Trade Review, Hartman gives some information about his career:

"I have been in editing departments of player-piano roll companies
since May, 1898. Of course, in those days we didn't have
the hand-played rolls. The first rolls I ever helped put out were
the old fifty-nine note rolls produced by the Adek Mfg. Co., of
New York. It used to take us a week to turn out a single number,
which of course was arranged entirely by hand. When our catalog
numbered two hundred and fifteen selections we thought we.had
achieved a world success.

"In the early days it meant working night and day to get out
a dozen selections, and when a salesman sent in an order for, say,
four dozen we all wanted to murder him. The rolls at that time
were made of heavy paper with three coats of shellac, and were
used on the old 'mechanical' actions, not the pneumatic players.
After a time this company changed its name to Pianotist (Pianista?). In
1902 I went to England for this company and began arranging and
cutting rolls for self-playing banjo-reproducing machines. The
first months I worked with a nail, a hammer and a block of wood.
While I was there we began cutting the sixty-five note rolls for
pneumatic players.

I stayed with this company until May, 1914, when the Imperial
Player Roll Co., of Chicago, was formed, and during the five
years I have been with Imperial I have seen more changes in
the player roll game than in the sixteen years previous.

"Thomas Kavanaugh, the manager of the Imperial Co., has been
directly responsible for a great number of new methods now being
used in the player roll business. He is always thinking up new
ideas for new effects. My hobby has always been getting-up what
might be called 'unique' rolls. About the first instrumental effects
that were put on the market was an organ effect I originated, and
was in 'Sabbath Day Reflections', 'Thanksgiving Day Festival', etc.
It was accomplished by sustained chords and special tremolo in
the bass and also tremolo above the middle C. Mr. Kavanaugh
was the first to conceive the idea of putting words on hand-played
rolls.

"His success along that line started the ball rolling and put new
life into the player roll industry. The next step was a special
effect in the song that we recorded, called 'Croon Time', which
was a crooning effect. This particular roll suggested the ukulele,
and opened up a new field for the Imperial Co.'s endeavours, and
so we began to work up musical instrument effects, such as the
banjo, saxophone and others.
"Shortly before the banjo roll came the forerunner of the jazz.
This was first brought out in 'Glorious', the 'souse' song with the
saxophone groan, which proved to be the most sensational roll ever
produced."

Hartman was also associated at some point during his career with the Perforated Music Roll Company which manufactured rolls under the Imperial Linenized brand in London and Canada. In 1913 he was the works manager for their Toronto, Canada plant. Reports about Hartman often seem to confuse the Chicago Imperial with this earlier Imperial, which was destroyed by fire in 1918.

Over the years, he also found time to compose prolifically and in many different genres - some titles being Coast To Coast, Air Pilot, Cherished Memories, Forest Frolics, Prince Of Asturias, the last dedicated to the King of Spain's new child and being presented to him at the time of his marriage on Imperial roll mounted on a silver spool and enclosed in a silver box!

In the 1920 census, Hartman, his wife Annie, and children Doris and John are living at 4803 North Paulina Street in Chicago, with Hartman's profession being given as 'Arranger - Music R.'

When QRS bought out Imperial and changed the Imperial brand to their 'value' roll, Hartman entered their employ, but stayed living in Chicago. He was placed in charge of the Recordo division of QRS, which presumably used the old Imperial plant. On 1st January 1926 he departed the industry to take up a position as co-partner and sales manager for the Albion Letter Service Co., of Chicago.

However, he must have missed an industry he had worked in for 28 years, and the September 17, 1927 Music Trades Review carries the news he has recently been appointed arranger for the Clark Orchestra Roll Company of De Kalb, Illinois and notes he has purchased a house at College and John streets in the city.

The 1930 census finds Hartman still living in DeKalb, Illinois, and still listed as 'Arranger - Music Roll Co.'. His wife Anna and 17 year old son John (born in Canada) are also living at this address. In September 1931, still working for Clark, he took his wife for a 6 week trip to England via Montreal and described business prospects in England as "pretty fair", owing to the less advanced radio and wireless technologies and programmes. He was still at Clark in October 1932, when he attained his Master of Music degree from the Boguslawski College of Music in Chicago. He was obviously a Democrat, as two of his songs were heard during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that year, the titles being Hee Haw, We're Coming Back and You Can't Blame Tammany For That.

Following the complete demise of the roll business, he returned to music instructing, and taught in various schools around Illinois - something he enjoyed immensely and referred to as the most pleasant years of his life. He was also associated with the Federated Church in Chicago. The last record we have of Hartman working was his 1942 WW2 draft card, in which the 61 year old lists himself as a part time teacher at Cortland, De Kalb, Illinois. He lists himself as 5'4 1/2" and with a scar over his left eye.

One final ship voyage appears in the official records for Hartman - now 67 years old, he departs Liverpool, England in a First Class cabin on the Ascania on 27 August 1948, arriving in Quebec, Canada on 3 September. His wife Annie is with him. His health deteriorated in January the following year, and he died at his apartment at 202 South Maple St, Chicago of a heart attack. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery on June 9th, 1949 following a Masonic service.