Grandchildren of Samuel Harding (will 1732) 

Gabriel Hardin ( bef. 1752) (son of John Hardin) of Chatham County, NC and Pendleton District, SC

Re-think of April 2019. The man who accompanied Gabriel Hardin from Chatham County to Pendleton District, John Hardin, I believe is the eldest son of Gabriel, not his father. This is so beause Ann is the name of John's wife in Pendleton, whereas Sarah was the long-time wife of John Hardin of Chatham County.

Implication 1: Whereas Gabriel Hardin defaulted on his taxes on his Chatham County land in May 1784 and traveled to Pendleton during the winter of 1786-87 or the next year, the older John and Sarah Hardin sold to their son Nicholas 8 Nov 1786 and did not leave. In 1790 John Hardin was enumerated 23 houses away from Nicholas Hardin, alone except for one slave. (Sarah died between 9 Nov 1786 and 1790.) He is on the 1790 tax list in Chatham District for one poll with 250 acres. (He sold that land to Nicholas and the tax list did not get updated.) Perhaps John Hardin died just past age 57 in the company of a slave who was taking care of him.

Inplication 2: Young Planter John Hardin and wife Ann had a young daughter when they were enumerated in 1790. They ambitiously bought 415 acres and sold the bulk 7 Feb 1800. They did not appear on the 1800 census. Further research may find that the 27-28 year old couple traveled to a frontier in the South in 1800 and established a home.

I believe the Pendleton District, South Carolina Gabriel Hardin was born before 1752. That is based on his having, in the 1790 Pendleton District census, seven boys under 16 and two females in the household. One female was likely Gabriel's wife Comfort. The number of children would place her roughly near 40 years of age, placing her birth between 1750 and 1760.

I believe the two oldest sons then at home were Aaron Hardin and Griffin Hardin. From the 1800 census, Griffin was the oldest. He was born 1774. Aaron was born 1775. (Following them through the censuses confirms the approximate birth year. They could be twins.)  Griffin and Aaron Hardin both lived out their lives in Pendleton District. Griffin Hardin lived in the sucessor Pickens then Oconee county, and Aaron Hardin lived in successor Anderson County. I try with limited success to identify the other seven sons below on this page.

Land records and other records for Gabriel Hardin.

Chatham County, North Carolina

1773-1774: Gabriel Hardin was granted 200 acres "on both sides of Lick Creek." Entered 16 Jan 1773, Issued 22 Jul 1774. Note the date entered is one month before John Hardin's entry on Fall Creek a few miles south, but both were issued on the same date. Note further that two records are shown by the MARS filing system. The first is held in the State Treasurers Record Group, Military Papers -- Revolutionary War Army Accounts. It is grant no. 531 said to be entered in book 22 page 420. The second record is held in Secretary of State Record Group, Land Office Land Warrants, and is grant no. 531 in Book 22 Page 420. Both records refer to the same 200 acres. As with the John Hardin record mentioned above, the record is listed in Cumberland County. Puzzling. However the coincident dates and proximity suggest these two, John and Gabriel, are father and son.

Here is a map showing the two creeks and also the Shepherd's or Ramsey's Road to Cross Creek (Fayetville) "near John Hardin's."

As John Hardin reestablishes himself in Chatham County with another grant in 1784 after tax delinquincy, it appears so does Gabriel in 1782. His grant is further west but still in southern Chatham County:

Deed Book D page 171
State of North Carolina No. 644
1782
...In consideration of the sum of fifty shillings for every hundred acres hereby granted paid into our treasury by Gabriel Hardin ... do grant unto the said GABRIEL HARDIN a tract of land containing one hundred and fifty acres lying and being in our county of CHATHAM on the north side of Deep River Beginning at a Hicory at the Mouth of Aarons Creek and runing up said creek the various courses a dividing line to a red oak at a dividing line between said Hardin and Benjamin Temple then along said line south sixty degrees west fifty seven poles to a post oak then west two hundred and sixty two poles to a stake then south fifty seven poles to a stake then east two hundred and fifty poles to a white oak at a dividing line then south down said line sixty poles to a post oak on Deep River then down the Various Courses of the same to the first station as by the plat hereunto annexed doth appear.

...Yielding and paying to us such sums of money yearly or otherwise as our General Assembly from time to time may direct. PROVIDED always that the said Gabriel Harden shall cause this grant to be registered in the Registers office of our said County of Chatham within Twelve Months from the date hereof otherwise the same shall be Void and of no Effect.

In testimony whereof we have caused our great seal to be hereunto affixed. Witness Alexander Martin Esquire Our Governor Captain General and Commander in Chief at Fairfield the twenty third day of October in the seventh year of our independence and in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty two.
/s/Alex'r Martin (seal)
By His Excelly's Com. J. Glasgow Ter.

Court session of 10 Nov 1783 p.63a: John Montgomery Esqr allow'd the following Insolvents for the last year: ...GABRIOLE HORDIN ...

Court session of 10 May 1784, p.62b: In the Suit William Goldston against GABRIAL HARDEN the Same Jury Sworn and find for the Pltf.

Having been sued successfully in May 1784 and unable to pay his taxes since the year before, it is likely that Gabriel Hardin lost his land and possessions and left Chatham County for Pendleton District soon after. Griffin Hardin his son testified he lived in Chatham in 1786 and "in a few years I moved to South Carolina." http://www.fold3.com/image/14250053/ p. 45.  Gabriel Hardin and family probably travelled to Pendleton District during or after the winter of 1786-7

Pendleton District, South Carolina

1790 Gabriel Hardin buys 319 A. on 23 Mile Creek
Here is the 11 August 1789 survey redrawn by TLH by the metes and bounds with north at the top. Very amateurish -- it's my first try. The point of land is toward the south -- toward the creek -- while the bulk is more easterly than on the plat of record. The land seems, then, to be on the north side of 23 Mile Creek. Note that Jos. Jenkins owns land to the east as does And(rew) Rowe. The location would be due south of Pendleton around Griffin Creek and near the Cherry residence on the road to Abbyville. Gabriel in 1793 sold to John Griffin, possibly the Griffin of Griffin Creek. The Cherry name was mentioned in connection to Aaron in the next generation of Hardins.

To read the survey notation: An example line might read "N 50 E 48." It means the line runs in a direction 50 degrees east of north for 48 chains.

24 Jan 1793. Pendleton County Court Minutes, p. 172. "The Court proceeded to the drawing of a Petit Jury for said Court when the following names were drawn, vis. ...Gabriel Harden..."

(no change of date) p. 182. "State vs Gabriel Harden. Hogstealing. Ordered that the recognizance be continued until the next Court that a capias [a writ executed by seizing either the property or the person of the defendant; here it seems to bind the witnesses.] be issued returnable before any Magistrate of the County to bind over Thos. Roper and George Hayes to give evidence against Gabriel Harden at the next court."

-Pendleton County Court Minutes, South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research VOL VII Spring 1979, p.102. The transcriber noted after the final formal entry of the minutes of the Pendleton County Court of Ordinary that convened April 15, 1793  that "here end the actual court minutes for Pendleton County; nothing is known of the minutes which should exist through 1799." Therefore, the present writer does not know the resolution of the case against Gabriel Hardin. It is likely the defendant left the state before being tried, as discussed below.

5 Feb 1793. Joseph Jenkins, of Pendleton Co. To Reuben Pyles of Laurans Co., S.C. for £100 stg. For 160 acres of Keowee River, 23 Mile Creek, adj. to Daniel Ship and land lately owned by GABRIEL HARDIN, now beloiging to John Ward, granted to Jenkins, 4 Dec. 1786. Wit: Blake Mauldin, J. Whitner. (No oath). Rec. 25 Sep 1793. Willie, p. 54, deed bk B p. 197 of original.)

25 Sep 1793 GABRIEL HARDEN granted 319A on Branch 23 Mile Crk to John Griffin. (Index to deeds, Anderson County, SC--Grantors, copied at the court house by Patricia Freeman Hardin.) 9 Jan 1793. Gabriel Harden of Washington Dist., SC planter, to John Griffen, of same co., planter for £50 stg, for 319 acres on branch of 23 mile creek, bd. NE and SE by Joseph Jenkins and Andrew Roe, SE by lands of GABRIEL HARDIN granted, 19 May 1790, by Charles Pinckney. Recorded Bk. B. No.5, p. 342. Signed: Gabriel Hardin, Comfort (X) Hardin. Wit: Wm. Haynie, W. Steele, Wm. Steele made oath to John Miller, Jr. 7 Sep 1793, Rec: 25 Sep 1793. (Pendleton District, S.C. Deeds, 1790-1806, compiled by Betty Willie. Easley, SC, Southern Historical Press, 1882. p. 51, orig. deed bk B p. 176)

3 Oct 1801;27 Apr 1802. John Ward for $30 paid by Daniel Shipp for Jas. C. Griffen, sold to Jas. C. Griffen 50 acres, part of survey for 319 acres...granted GABRIEL HARDIN, Apr 1789 by Chas. Pinckney, bd. by Griffen and crossing road from the Pendleton Court House, Daniel Shipp, on 23 Mile Creek. Date: 3 Oct 1801. Wit: John Griffen, Major Lewis. Major Lewis made oath to J. B. Earle, J.Q. 27 Apr 1802. Rec: 27 Apr 1802. (Wiley p. 281, orig. p. 119-120)

DISCUSSION: Gabriel Hardin sold out in 1784 and with his large family left Chatham District, NC in the winter of 1786-87. His father John Hardin, sold in 1786 but stayed, not going to Peldleton District with his son. Gabriel Hardin and John Hardin appear in 1790 in Pendleton District. In a reinterpretation, I now believe that John Hardin was the eldest son of Gabriel. Gabriel was first granted land 19 May 1790 by governor Charles Pinckney. That land started at a sharp point touching the north bank of 23 Mile Creek (3.5 mi. south of Pendleton) and the bulk stretched north and northeast toward the east of Pendleton. Landowners on the east were Joseph Jenkins and Andrew Rowe. The entire 319 acres was sold for £50 to local planter John Griffen on 9 Jan 1793, with Gabriel seemingly retaining an unstated number of acres to the southwest that he may have bought or received in a separate grant before January 1793. It is unclear on which side of the creek the retained land was.

Other Pendleton transactions mentioning Hardin: On 5 Feb 1793 Jenkins sold 160 acres on 23 Mile creek (land adjacent to Daniel Ship and land lately owned by GABRIEL HARDIN now belonging to John Ward) to Reuben Pyles. Abstract: 5 Feb 1793. Joseph Jenkins, of Pendleton Co. to Reuben Pyles of Laurens C., SC, for £100 stg. for 160 acres on Keowee River, 23 Mile Creek, adj. to Daniel Ship and land lately owned by Gabriel Hardin, now belonging to John Ward, granted to Jenkins, 4 Dec 1786. Wit: Blake Mauldin, J. Whitner (no oath) Rec: 25 Sep 1793. (Deed book B p. 197, Wiley.)

John Hardin in Pendleton District, South Carolina (Eldest Son of Gabriel Hardin)

The man John Hardin who moved to Pendleton with Gabriel Hardin lived with, in the 1790 census, only a wife and one other female. That is a profile of an old man or a young man. My recent rethinking casts this man as a young man, the eldest son of Gabriel. Two reasons: (1) John Hardin, Gabriel's father, stayed in Chatham County, and (2) The Pendleton John's wife was named Ann, wheras father John was married to Sarah.

1790 Pendleton District Census: John Harden, 1 M over 16, 2 females. (Census effective date Aug 2, 1790)

South Carolina Archives, State Plats (Charleston Series) Vol. 31, p. 379, Roll ST579, "John Hardin, Plat for 415 Acres in Ninety-Six District."
LAND GRANT
(29 Mar 1793)
South Carolina
I do hereby certify for John Harden a tract of Land containing  Four Hundred & fifteen Acres. Surveyed for him the 13th of March 1793. Situated in the District of 96 on Little Beaver Dam Creek of Toogalo River & on branches of Conneross Creek of Keowee River And hath such form marks cuttings & bounding, as the above plat Represents.
Given under my hand this 29th of March 1793.
Jno. C. Kilpatrick  }
Dept. Survr.         }     Bremar, Survr. Genl.

PLAT for 415 ACRES
Here is the plat. It's hard to say, but west northwest seems to be at the top. If so, "land laid out to Robert Smith" is on the south. Vacant is written east and north, and adjacent owner west is unstated. The property is about 100 chains (6600 feet) by about 39 chains (2574 feet). A road runs lengthwise through the land west northwest to east southeast. A creek runs through the southwest corner.
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14 Dec 1794
I, JEREMIAH ABELS for £60. 11 shillings sold to Mary Roberts, furniture, kitchen ware, sheep, horse. Date: 14 Dec 1794. Wit: JOHN (H.) HARDIN, J.B. Earle. Acknowledged in court, 25 Apr (Source: believed to be from Pendleton District, S.C. Deeds, 1790-1806, compiled by Betty Willie. Easley, SC)
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2 Mar 1795
I, Nathan Austin have sold to William Grant...(too dim to read), 2 Mar. 1795...do assign my right of within bill of sale to JOHN HARDIN(?) & JEREMIAH ABIL—15Apr 1795. Signed Jacob Womack. Rec: __ Apr 1795

Pendleton District, S.C. Deeds, 1790-1806, compiled by Betty Willie. Easley, SC, Southern Historical Press, 1982, p. 84, orig. p. 454
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16 Jul. 1795.
JOHN HARDIN to Littleton Meeks for £ 20 for 120 acres, part of 415 acres, including plantation where Meeks now lives on Little Beaverdam and branches of Conneross, granted HARDIN, 1 Apr. 1793, recorded Bk. G, no. 5, p. 157, by Peter Bremar pro(?) Secretary. Wit: Robert Anderson, Lot Price(?). Robert Anderson made oath to John Barton.

Pendleton District, S.C. Deeds, 1790-1806, compiled by Betty Willie. Easley, SC, Southern Historical Press, 1982, p.225, original p. 236–237.
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7 Feb 1800
JOHN HARDIN, planter, to Robert Yearwood, planter, for £40 stg. For 148(?) Acres, part of tract on Little Beaverdam Crk. Of Tugaloo River, granted HARDIN ... (dim)...J. B. Earle, J.P. JOHN (H) HARDIN, ANN (A) HARDIN signed receipt. Samuel Carlile [Carlisle], witness. Recorded: 14 Feb 1800.

Pendleton District, S.C. Deeds, 1790-1806, compiled by Betty Willie. Easley, SC, Southern Historical Press, 1982, p.220, orig p. 174-176.
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TIMELINE in PENDLETON DISTRICT

1790. John Hardin and two females were shown on the US Census for Pendleton District, SC . (Census effective date was Aug 2.)

13 Mar 1793 was John Hardin's first appearance in the land records of Pendleton District, SC, on which date 415 acres was surveyed for him on Little Beaverdam Creek about 9 miles WSW of Pendleton and about 4 miles NE of Hardin's Island in the Tugaloo River. The date of the deed was 29 Mar 1793.

14 Dec 1794. John Hardin witnessed a bill of sale of household goods between Jerimiah Ables and Mary Roberts.

2 Mar 1795. John Hardin and Jeremiah Able were assigned the proceeds of a bill of sale of Nathan Austin.

16 Jul 1795. John Hardin sold 120 A. of the original 415 to Littleton Meeks, who was already living on it.

7 Feb 1800. John Hardin, planter, sold 148 A. to Robert Yearwood. The deed was also signed by Ann Hardin. There is no record of John selling the balance of 147 A. No other transaction is recorded through 1806.

1800. Neither John Hardin nor his widow Ann appears on the census after 1790. Further research may show that in 1800 John and Ann Hardin, age about 30, moved to Tennessee or another frontier and established a large family not yet known to me.

1793 Gabriel Hardin Relocates to Anson County, North Carolina

After selling his land on 5 February 1793 Gabriel Hardin, age only about 43, disappeared from Pendleton District records. He appeared in the 1800 census in Anson County, North Carolina. Gabriel Hardin in 1800 was a man age 45 or older with a woman 45 or older, two males under 10, 2 males 10-15, 1 male 16-25, and no girls. From his stated age that year, he and his wife were born 1755 or before.

Explanation of the entry "Fayettville District" on 1800 census forms: The NC General Assembly created a new judicial and military district in 1787. The Fayetteville District was made up of Cumberland, Moore, Richmond, Robeson, and Sampson counties. Anson County was added to the Fayetteville District in 1789. In 1788 the NC General Assembly created the Mero District, which was made up of Davidson County, Sumner County, and the newly-created Tennessee County. (Explanation courtesy of J.D. Lewis of carolana.com)

When and why did Gabriel Hardin leave Pendleton District, SC? On 24 Jan 1793, he had the dubious distinction of being selected for the petit jury and of being accused of hog-stealing on the same day. Two men were bound to testify against him at the next court, so it would have been a good time to leave. A 1 Feb 1793 inventory and appraisement of Asa Tourtellot, deceased, showed Gabriel Harding as a debtor. (Alexander, "Pendleton Dist. and Anderson Co. Wills..." 1980, original p. 10-12. Daniel Boon was another debtor.) A 5 Feb 1793 land transaction refers to "land lately owned by GABRIEL HARDIN." It seems if he was landless and accused in January 1793, that might be the year he left on the journey that put him in Anson County, NC in 1800.

A Gabriel Hardin entered a grant of 300 acres on both sides of Barnes Creek in Randolph County, NC on June 19, 1793. Though the timing is exactly right for the subject of this page (the younger Gabriel) to be the applicant, estate settlement documents from 1800 show the Barnes Creek resident to be his uncle from Moore County, the older Gabriel Harding. (Thanks to Susan Hardin Austin for exhaustively searching the Randolph County records.)

Change in the Previous Narrative: Temperance Hardin Married 1799 Was Not the Daughter of this Gabriel Hardin, but of John Hardin of Montgomery County, NC

I HAD MISTAKENLY THOUGHT Tempy Hardin who married in Cabarrus County NC in 1799 to Bolin was the daughter (the second female in addition to Mrs Comfort Hardin) listed in the 1790 Pendleton District, SC, census in the household of Gabriel Hardin. The Tempy Hardin who married in Carrabus County seems to be a first cousin of this daughter of Gabriel Hardin. Who knows, her name might have been Temperance also.

I HAD MISTAKENLY thought there could not be a duplicate in another family of the names Aaron, Comfort, Gabriel, existing in the family of Gabriel Hardin of Pendleton District SC.

I HAD MISTAKENLY extrapolated Gabriel Hardin's residence from Pendleton District to Anson County, then to Randolph County in 1830. Anson County was corner adjacent to Cabarrus and I saw a proximity.

I now believe the Pendleton District and the Anson man are the same man. The Gabriel Hardin who is found in Randolph County in 1830 is the oldlest son of John Hardin of Montgomery County. See john-montgomery.

Althouth I don't see him in the census, Gabriel Hardin who earlier left Pendleton is on record as being in Pendleton District in 1810 to sell a feather bed and a gray mare to his son Aaron.  I have not found Gabriel Hardin after 1810.

Accounting for the children of Gabriel Hardin

The name of Gabriel’s wife, shown on a Pendleton District sale, was Comfort. Both John and Gabriel appeared on the 1790 Pendleton District census. The salient fact here is that Gabriel and Comfort had 7 males age 16 and under and one –only one – other female living in the household. Under accusation of hog-stealing in 1793, Gabriel removes his family to Anson County, NC. He left the two oldest boys behind who both married early, raised families in Pendleton and its descendant counties, and left a trail of documentation. Note that the Anson County 1800 census show Gabriel Hardin with a wife and five boys and no girls. Two of the boys were under 10 so would not have been counted in the 1790 census. Male 3 and Male 4 from 1790 had left home by 1800. (The male children total nine.) The one girl had also left home.

Comparing the 1790 census to the 1800: In 1790 Gabriel Hardin had 8 males under 16. One male over 16, himself; and two females. The 8 males were born 1774-1790. The two females were his wife Comfort and his only daughter.

We know from the 1800 census this younger Gabriel Hardin lived in Anson County, North Carolina. He and his wife were in the 45 and older column (born before 1755) and he had five boys: 2 under 10, 2 age 10-15, and one 16-25, and no girls. I calculate his age at about 48-50.

The two eldest sons were Griffin and Aaron, leaving 6 to account for. The two boys born after 1795, seen in the 1800 Anson County census, were likely born in Anson County. The two boys born 1785-1790 were born in Chatham County, or more likely in Pendleton District. The boy born 1775-1784 was logically born in Chatham County.

The Six Sons Unaccounted For

Any or all of the four possibly migrated to Tennessee, Alabama, or Mississippi, or further west. One candidate is an unknown Hardin who married Anna and sired a son, Hiram, who married Pamela Rester and settled in Marion County, Mississippi. They named a son Griffin Henry Hardin. Another possibility -- There are unidentified widows living in Pendleton District who might have married them, only to see them pass away young.

The first three lived at home in Anson County NC in 1800.

SON 1776-84, born Chatham County, NC

SON 1785-90 (1), born Chatham County or Pendleton District.
The (1) means there is a (2)
A candidate is Joshua Hardin (b. 1770-1780) who settled in Lauderdale County, Alabama. See parallel discussion at pendleton.htm. Joshua's son Joshua was born in S.C. in 1818. If this son is Joshua, then he was born 1785-1790, narrowing the birth year learned from the Lauderdale census, while Joshua being in SC in 1818 for the birth of his son does not solve whether Gabriel or Isaac is his father.

SON 1785-90 (2)
Nothing known.

UNACCOUNTED-FOR SON. I use this designation for a son who was not at his father's home in Anson County in 1800, so he died or left home between 1790 and 1800. If he was the oldest of the four unaccounted for and left home to marry, then his birth was somewhere around 1777. If he died, he could be any of the four.

WILD GEESE: The 1819 estate records of a Gabriel Hardin in Campbell County, Tennessee show he had Aesop's Fables in Latin and medical books. I believe he is not related to our more humble and often illiterate family.

1810 - Gabriel Hardin is back in Pendleton District.

On Nov 20, 1810, "Gabriel Hardin to Aaron Hardin both of Pendleton Dist, for $60 sold a gray mare about 7 years old and a feather bed. /s/ Gabriel Hardin. Wit: Joseph Jolly, proved Mar 04 1811 by Joseph Jolly. Recorded Mar 4 1811."  From Abstract of Deeds, Pendleton District SC, Books IJ, K, & L by Dr. A.B. Pruitt (2006).  Thanks to Susan Hardin Austin.

Discussion: I have not proven the person to be the proper Gabriel. However Joseph Jolly witnessed items for Aaron Hardin when they both lived on 26 Mile Creek just south of Pendleton Court House. It seems likely the transaction was done near the homes of Aaron Hardin and Joseph Jolly, indicating the possibility Aaron Hardin's father Gabriel lived near him. I can't locate Gabriel Hardin on an 1810 census. Another Gabriel Hardin in the area, the son of Isaac Hardin was only age 14 in the year 1810 and although his father Isaac lived in Pendleton District in 1800, he lived in Greenville County in 1810. I don't believe it was the younger Gabriel Hardin, but the older one.

CONCLUDING REMARKS ABOUT GABRIEL HARDIN of PENDLETON. First, thanks to Susan Hardin Austin of Joplin, Missouri, for getting me past Pendleton and pointing out the target, my direct ancestor, in Anson County. And thanks to me for finally grasping the reason Gabriel Hardin left Pendleton District for more than a decade. In 1810 when he sold his son the mare and the bed, Gabriel Hardin was no more than 60 years of age. Where did he go from there?

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