Grandchild of Samuel Hardin

John Hardin, AKA John Hardin of Indiana, born about 1745, nephew  of Gabriel Hardin

What's New, July 2020

Two John Hardins of about the same age lived with Gabriel Hardin on Deep River. A discovery in 2019 is that John Hardin of Montgomery County seems likely to be the oldest son of Gabriel. The second John on Deep River, a nephew, could explain John Hardin of Indiana, the subject of this page. Gabriel's brotherThomas died in 1749. His brother Samuel, Jr. died in 1753. I believe Gabriel took in his young-adult nephew to launch him into a new life, as relatives do.

I delved into the overdue clarification of Burke County land records. I found that a John Hardin from three, maybe four, different families received land in Burke County. Our man appears to have applied for a grant of 50 acres on Silver Creek on 8 Feb 1877, which was granted nearly 14 years later on 11 Dec 1800. I don't know where he lived during the nine years between 17 March 1778 and 8 Feb 1877. See the blue-bordered box below for new Burke County material.

The end of John Hardin's time in Burke County started with his children leaving Burke County before 1820, at which time Mr. and Mrs. John Hardin, not young, lived alone in Burke County. By some means (probably with his son Aaron who lagged behind) they later joined the adult children in Indiana, after living a while in Kentucky.

CAUTION
This page includes speculation for discussion among reseasrchers of this family. It is not finished genealogy tied up in a ribbon for harvesting. Corrections and better explanations are requested. Contact Travis Hardin at ke3y at comcast dot net.

We will now take up the story of John Hardin as he sold out  on 17 March 1778 and soon left Moore County. The evidence you will see suggests that John Hardin went to Burke County, NC, then to Washington County, Indiana. I don't know what constitutes proof. I will simply note what is on the record. It helps that John Hardin, son of Elisha, during an interview in his old age, confirms he was born 23 Jun 1798 in Burke County and that his father Elisha was born on Deep River about 1770.


First, there is DNA evidence that Indiana John Hardin is of the i1a genotype, the family of which I'm a part and am investigating. See test #107329 of Dennis Leon Hardin at hhhdna.com. I have corresponded with Dennis, and he vouches for his family tree in this way in the summer of 2012: "I was told [about the family tree] by my uncle, Don Korkowski, who was an attorney in Rantoul, Illinois, and married to my aunt, Eileen, who was a Hardin. Don told me that his uncle, Roy Hardin, a doctor, did the work. He was very studious and had an immense lilbrary. Don would visit him and listen as he would talk of the books and studies he had finished and one of those was his research into the Hardin Family history." Don write this story to Dennis in 2012: "We went to visit Uncle Roy about once a year and he would take me to his library. He would tell me stories about how he came to buy the individual books...About a year after Uncle Roy died we stopped to see his son on a farm in southern Indiana. I asked what happened to the libary and ... he said if I wanted all the books I could have them for $50. I gave him $100 and loaded approximately 700 books into my trunk...and drove back to Illinios. ... I built new shelves in the basement of our house to display the books."

In summary of the first point, there is personal knowledge of the family line from my ear back to Roy Hardin, and of the type I1a DNA from Dennis Hardin back to Roy Hardin. Roy Hardin descended from and researched the  Indiana Hardins.  Dennis posted Roy's 1950 outline of the family tree here. It is spotty, but the main characters and places are there. A descendanat of John Hardin of Washington County, Indiana, is genotype I1a, or I-M253.

Secondly, thanks to the sharing of an 1879 interview (rtf format), scanned from a book at Washington County Historical Society (pdf format)   sent by our relative Bernie Hardin (mebein2@gmail.com), we have it from the mouth of John Hardin of Washington County, Indiana (born 1798) that his father, Elisha Hardin, was born in Deep River, North Carolina about 1770. He means, of course, he was born on the shores of Deep River in Cumberland County, later known as Moore County. Below you will see that in 1770 land was deeded to John Hardin from Gabriel Hardin(g) on Deep River. I now have  little doubt that John Hardin of Indiana was the nephew of Gabriel Hardin of Moore County, North Carolina. The interview also is more than adequate proof of the existence of Henry Hardin as a son of Elisha and consequently verifies the connection of Bernie Hardin (FTDNA kit# 38600) to the I1a Hardins of Indiana.

It is not my goal on this Web page to compile the genealogy of John Hardin of Indiana, but to learn if there was a bridge between Moore County to Burke County to Indiana. The bridge has been made thanks to the cooperation of several researchers. However much of the nineteenth-century genealogy is done in the 1879 interview, in which John Hardin, son of Elisha, enumerates his brothers, sisters, father, mother, and children. In the interview three of John's siblings were named who had not been named by Roy Hardin, and they are child number 4, Henry; number 9, Elvira; and number 11, Clarissa. According to the 1879 interview, the children of Elisha were (in birth order):
Himself, John Hardin, June 23, 1798 in Burke County, North Carolina
Elizabeth Hardin.
Stephen Hardin, 1801-1874.
Henry Hardin, 1803- 1867.  19 July 1845. (Bernie Hardin comments Jan. 2017, Henry R. Hardin (my 3rd great grandfather) died 19 July 1845. At that time he was Sheriff of Christian Co., Illinois.)
Aaron Hardin, 1804-1841.
Sally Hardin, 1807, living.
William W. Hardin, 1809.
Matilda Hardin,1811-1833.
Elvira Hardin, 1813-1876.
Jane Hardin, 1815, 1838.
Clarissa S. Hardin 1817.
George W. Hardin, 1818.
FATHER AND MOTHER
Elisha Hardin, abt. 1770,Deep River, North Carolina.
Sallie Hardin, 1774, died at age 86.

Timeline of John Hardin b ~1747

The birth date of John Hardin, in a history received at the Washington County Historical Society (Indiana) on March 20, 1984 from Virginia Miller, is said to be 1753. I thank Ann Bradford of the HFA for faxing me the handwritten history  (fill notes) in February 2014. The birthplace is said to be Burke County, NC. That is incorrect. The mistake is due to not following the family back to Deep River. I am not able to refine the birthdate further except to guess it may be earlier than the date accepted in Indiana-- more like 1747 if his eldest was born 1770. For the place of his birth see the whereabouts of his father who I reckon is either Samuel or Thomas Hardin, both of whom lived in Granville County, NC during the late 1740s. John is said in the above history to have died after 6 Aug 1833 in Washington County, Indiana. If John Hardin was truly born after 1748, then his father was not Thomas, who died in 1747, but Samuel Hardin, Jr. who died in 1753. 

Claimed children of John Hardin, Sr. in the above  handwritten history are: Stephen Elisha Hardin, 1775-1849, will prob. 18 May 1849; Aaron Hardin, 17 Dec 1789-17 Jun 1855;  John Hardin, Jr. 1795; Sarah Catherine Hardin; Stephen Hardin 17 Oct 1802-14 Sep 1825; Benjamin Hardin; "Probably more" "All born N.C." . (Note the long gaps between children.)


In Cumberland County, North Carolina (find deeds here: http://www.ccrodinternet.org/BookAndPage.asp)

John Hunnicutt sold land to John Hardin in Cumberland County on 29 July 1772 [Abstracts of Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Cumberland County, North Carolina, October 1755-January 1779, Volume 1, page 192].

On 22 January 1773, John Hunnicutt received a patent for 100 acres in Cumberland "on the lower side of Deep River joining Joseph Duckworth, Jr., the bank of said river and supposed lines of John McLendon or Gabriel Harden." [Colony of North Carolina 1765-1775 Abstracts of Land Patents, Vol. 2 by Margaret M. Hoffman, Patent Book 22, page 176] He sold this land on 3 April 1775 to John Harden in a deed recorded in Deed Book F, page 455, and witnessed by his sons Randolph and John Hunnicutt

Philip Alston purchased land from John Hunnicutt on 23 July 1776 in Cumberland which was obviously cut from larger land holdings as evidenced by a deed of 17 March 1778 in which Alston purchased from John Harden 80 acres "beginning at a Spanish oak a little below the Rocky Ford; thence along John Harden's and John Hunnicutt's line..." John Hunnicutt was a witness to the deed, which is recorded in Book F, page 480.

Research of Michael Motes at http://www.ncgenweb.us/cumberland/john.htm


On 17 March 1778 John Hardin sold all his land in Cumberland County. One tract was  adjoining Gabriel Hardin. The area did not become Moore County until 1784.

1778 John Hardin to Philip Alston (manuscript)
1778 John Hardin to Philip Alston (text)

2020 UPDATE -- BURKE COUNTY, NC

Family color codes:
_____Hardins of Silver Creek and Turkey Cove
_____Rutherford Hardins
_____John "The Taylor" Hardin

Hardin Land Grants in Burke County, North Carolina
Color Coded by Hardin Family 

The land grant sources are, for Patent Books, NC Land Grants, a site by a Good Samaritan . For surveys and loose papers, the source was Ancestry.com ($) "North Carolina, Land Grant Files, 1693-1960"


Link at Ancestry Who Entered
Issued
Acres at

John Hardin

22 Dec 1831
300 A, Second Broad River, Scrubtrass Creek, present Rutherford County. CC: Elbart Bergen, Wm. Mitchel
 
John Hardin

17 Dec 1822
50 A. on Hew Creek Chain carriers: Robert Creswell, Joseph Rinehart.  (Unknown Hardin group) I can't locate Hew Creek.The plat shows the stream on the property flowing toward the southwest, hinting at a location north of the Catawba River. There is a Haw branch in  old Burke County.

John P. Hardin

17 Dec 1828
Second Broad River.  The location is likely in southern McDowell County rather where poltted on the below map.

John P. Hardin
22 Dec 1831
Second Broad River

John P. Hardin
17 Dec 1828
Second Broad River

John Hardin
14 Mar 1780
640 A

Aaron Hardon

5 Dec 1815
200 A. in Turkey Cove ner Graveyard Mountain, McDowell County, Adjoins present Pisgah National Forest. CC: Joseph Hughes, Amos Hennley

Jno Harden

20 Sep 1779
200 A. Sandy Run of Hunting Creek East Fork

John Harden

28 Oct 1782
200 A. E. Fork Hunting Creek.

John Harden

28 Oct 1782
200 A. Both sides Sandy Run of Hunting Creek.
Patent Book112 p 153 John Hardin
8 Feb 1787
11 Dec 1800
50 A. on Silver Creek. Exact location not found. Silver Creek starts in far SW Burke and flows NE into the Catabwa River at Morganton.





Text transcription of surveys and grants. 

Indiana Hardin, Silver Creek and Turkey Cove
Sandy Run & Hunting Creek
Second Broad River and Hew Creek (nothing transcribed)

Family color codes:
_____Hardins of Silver Creek and Turkey Cove
_____Rutherford Hardins
_____John "The Taylor" Hardin


Commentary. This is an update and clarification on John Hardin of Indiana, born roughly 1747, who on 17 Marh 1778 sold his land in Cumberland County, NC and applied for a land grant in Burke County, NC. There were at least three family groups of Hardins who received grants in Burke County.

Silver Creek Hardins. I believe the man from Deep River applied for a grant on 8 Feb 1787 on Silver Creek, which was granted nearly 14 years later on 11 Dec 1800. His fourth oldest son Aaron Hardin received a grant at Turkey Cove in present-day McDowell County on 5 Dec 1815. "In 1810 Elisha Hardin and family emigrated [from Burke County] to Tennessee, in the county of Hickman, forty miles from Nashville, where they resided until November 1817, when they came to Washington County, Indiana and settled in Madison township near where John Hardin now lives, about two or three miles southeast of Livonia." --Interview of elderly John Hardin, son of Elisha, in Pioneer Pickings No. 194, published 7/9/1879  in The Salem (Ind) Democrat.


Rutherford Hardins. This group of men, patenting land near each other at about the same time, came, I believe, from Rutherford County which was very early known as western Anson County, after which the place where the Hardins lived was Tryon before becoming Rutherford in 1776. This John Hardin's land in Burke joined George Killion, Richard Burgess, Matthew Kuykendall, Erasmus May, and Mordecai Sutherland.  It was from Tryon that the Tryon Resolution came in 1775, whose signers included Benjamin Hardin, Joseph Hardin, and Joseph Kuykendall. These Hardins are probably the very patriotic Col. Joseph Hardin (1734) family, bright blue code at hhhdna.com, If my identification is correct the Burke land was only a short distance north of their home in Tryon/Rutherford. Hardin's grants were one 640 acre tract and at least two 200 acre tracts, all adjacent on Hunting Creek on the east side of present day Morganton. There was a Captain Hardin in Burke County during the revolution. It was not "The Taylor" but may have been one of the very patrotic Rutherford County Hardins.


John "The Taylor" Hardin (b. before 1753, d. 1 Apr 1821). What we know of John "The Taylor" Hardin is from his widow's  Revolutionary War pension application transcription at http://revwarapps.org/  This John Hardin married Nancy Porter in September 1774 in Guilford, NC. Nancy was born about 1756. John was in the service from Guilford County in 1779. They moved to Burke County after 1800. John died in 1821 in Burke County. Later his widow Nancy moved to Blount County, Tenn. from where she filed the application. Some of his children are said on ancestry.com trees to be John Porter Hardin, 1797 ; Nancy Rebecca 1775 Guilford Co.; and Thomas S., 1800 Guilford Co., died Sevier Co., Tenn. Nancy Hardin in a rejected Revolutionary War pension application said on 12 Jan 1853 in a deposition that her husband John Hardin died in Burke County, North Carolina on the first day of April 1821. Text transcription of the pension application. Ancestry.com. U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900 [database on-line], frame 541 of 883. The manuscript is also at fold3.com.

Their eight children, in a cut-out Bible record submitted with the application, were:
--------
Rebakah Hardin born 12 July 1775
Bety Hardin 19 Mar 1777
William Hardin 26 Aug 1779
Nancy Hardin 6 Mar 1783
Jane Hardin 26 Jan 1786
Sarah Hardin 1 Aug 1788
Marget Hardin 7 Jun 1791
John Hardin 23 Jan 1794
--------

Some words from the back side of the paper "Testament ... Jesus ... former translations ... By His Majesty" indicate the title page of a King James Bible.

John died 1 April 1821. His widow Nancy moved to Blount County, Tennessee about 1833. One of the daughters married Robert Woody. Testimony of youngest son John on 6 Jan 1854 has his mother age 97, thus born 1756-57.

John P. Hardin, his youngest son, remained in Burke County, taking out several land grants on the Second Broad River. In Salisbury's "The Carolina Watchman" for 1832 Nov 3, the publisher H.C. Jones asked John P. Hardin, Esq. of Burke County to act as his agent in that county. Perhaps he was a lawyer to merit the title Esquire.
In The Carolina Watchman, Salisbury, NC, Nov 3, 1832, page 1. Source: State Library of North Carolina, North Carolina Digital Collections, database online, accessed Mar 27, 2017

His grants were likely upriver of where I placed the dot, inside present Burke County, whose southern border did not change.

Map of Burke showing Hardin land grants.

For a closer look into the Hunting Creen John Hardin and companions, this on Matthew Kuykendall -- spelled Kaykendall in the U.S. pension roll of 1835. Kentucky, Butler County, page 514, from ancestry.com:
Rank: Pr. in. & cav. S. Carolina line, placed on the pension roll Aug 17, 1833, Commencement of pension Mar. 4, 1831, Age 76. Subtract 76 from 1833 and you get a birthdate of 1757. Matthew Kuykendall in 1790 lived in Rutherford County, NC with 1 male under 16 and 5 females. Rutherford County was the successor of Tryon County, from which came the Tryon Resolves of 1775 signed by Joseph and Benjamin Hardin, Joseph Kuykendall, and  Frederick Hambright. A John Hardin was in the same generation but was not a signer. These were Hickory Creek Hardins, including John Hardin,  who was 22 when he took out his first land on Sandy Run. The signers were born about 1730. John Hardin was of the younger generation. He appeared in the minutes of Tryon County in 1769 with Benjamin Hardin to lay out a road and twice in 1770. (Correction, he was age 12 in 1769 so it was an older John Hardin.) Hambright married Sarah Hardin. 

1799 July 22: Order Steven Hardin overseer from Pegion house in the Turkey Cove to the top of the ridge in room of David Gillespie. Returned on July 22, 1799: Jesse Forter, Edward Carter" --Road Papers, etc. 1796-1800, vol 3, Records 1751-1809, page 35 of book. (Inserted into web page 28 Jan 2024)
Taxables
1805 Burke County List of Taxables, Capt. Jones' Old Company:
Stephen Hardon  1 poll
Elisha Hardon    Valuation 250, 1 poll

Capt. Newland's Company:
James Harden     1 poll

Capt. Armstrong's Company
William Hardin valuation 250, 1 poll
--NCGS Journal VIII p. 225

An 1814-1815 Burke County patent for 200 A. to Aaron Hardin

Aaron Hardin is a son, b. 1789, of John Hardin. Both later moved to Indiana.

An 1821-1822 grant to John Hardin 50 A. on a fork of Hew Creek. I can't locate the creek to study this John Hardin.


John Hardin Family by the Census -- 1810 Morganton, Burke County, NC

Free White Males Free White Females
Under 10         Under 10
10-15            10-15
16-25            16-25
26-44            26-44
45 & Over        45 & Over

page
312 HARDON, Moses 2-0-0-1-0  4-0-0-1-0 00 00 (comment: This is probably son of John of Rutherford (Hickory Creek/Tryon Resolution)
308 HARDIN, John  0-1-1-0-1  0-0-1-0-1 00 00 (comment: Either father of Moses or John of Indiana)


Hardin names in Moore County Court Records Aug 1784 to May 1787
(In the final version I will remove this section from the John Hardin page and leave it only on the Gabriel Hardin page. I leave it for fact-checking by the reader.)

Toward sorting out who's who and whether they're relatives or not. It is very tricky where two people of the same name live in the same county.

Tuesday Nov 16, 1784. Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. Ordered that WILLIAM HARDIN known by the name of BUCK be appointed Constable in the District of Captain Hunnicutt's and was qualified accordingly.

Tuesday Aug 7, 1784. Ordered that ISAAC HARDEN be appointed overseer of the road from Chatham County line to John Preston's and that the same hand work on the same which formerly did.

Monday Feb 21, 1785. WILLIAM HARDEN (BUCK) sworn to attend the grand jury this term.

Tuesday Feb 24, 1785. Ordered that ISAAC HARDIN be appointed overseer of the road from Chatham County line to the fork of the roads and all the hands which used formerly to work on the same are appointed still to continue thereon.

Wednesday Feb ten, 1785. Ordered that WILLIAM HARDIN, BUCK, be allow'd the sum of fifteen shillings for his attending on the grand jury three days this term.

Thursday May Term 1785. Ordered that the Sheriff summon the following persons to attend next Court as Jurors To wit, ...WILLIAM HARDEN ... GABRIAL HARDEN JUNR.

Wednesday Aug term 1785. No. 1. In the suit the State against Matthews Davis the State fi fo  following Jury to wit- ... GABRIAL HARDEN ... WILLIAM HARDEN...they find the defendant not guilty.

Tuesday Nov session 1785. No. 7. State vs GABRIAL HARDEN JR. Tresspass. Jury ... find the defendant guilty. Ordered by the court to pay 50 shillings. (image 40 of 221)

Wednesday Nov session 1785. State vs. JOHN HARDEN JR. Petit Larceny. Jury...find the defentant guilty. Reason of arrest being fully repaid - Opinion of the Court that the defendant be acquited.

Wednesday Nov session 1785. William Poplin being accused of stealing a mare the property of JOHN HARDENs being examined Ordered that the trial be postponed till tomorrow Philip Alston being his security for his appearance in __.

Thursday Nov session 1785. William Poplen came into court and on a second examination suspected stealing JOHN HARDEN. More it was ordered by the court that he be acquited.

Thursday Feb session 1786.Ordered that James More be appointed overseer of the road in the room of ISAAC HARDEN the ensuing year.

Tuesday May session of 86. Following jury sworn, To wit...WILLIAM HARDEN...

Thursday Aug 7 86.  #6 The State vs. Grizell Carmikle. Petit larceny. Jury sworn To Wit: ... WILLIAM HARDEN...

#7 The State vs. JOHN HARDEN. Petit Larceny. Same jury as #7. Nolli Grosequi by order of the court.

Wednesday Nov session 1786. James Williams vs. WILLIAM HARDEN SENR. Debt.

Jury sworn ... and find for Plaintiff 210-15 __ __ month.

Thursday Nov session of 76. #6. James Williams vs WILLIAM HARDEN. Debt. Same jury as no. 5 and find for the Plaintiff. £3. Execution til next court.

Wednesday 21st Feb 1787. #6. Ann Davis vs. Wm. Seale. LEA. Jury sworn To wit: ... GABRIEL HARDEN ... and find for Plaintiff £1-5 -- Reasons offer'd Ordered new trial.

Tuesday 22nd May 1787. No. 3. JOHN HARDEN vs. William Poplen. JAB Default & __. Same Jury as No. 2 above. The Plaintiff. Damages? to £20 and costs.

22 May. #4 Stephen King vs. John Black. Slander __ __ __. Jury sworn, To wit: ...JOHN HARDEN... and find for Defendant.

Tuesday May 22nd 1787. A bill of sale from Joseph McGee to WILLIAM HARDEN SENR. was duly proved in open court by the oath of Joseph Robson and Ordered to be recorded. 

An Inventory of Hardins in northern Moore County. The excellent Wallace Website land grant records at http://www.moorecountywallaces.com/histories/registry.htm which includes Hardins, combined with the court records (above), allow a partial inventory of Moore County Hardins 1750-1800, though I can't claim they are sorted out.
Gabriel Hardin, Sr. b~1715
1762, bought land; deed said he lived in Lunnenburg, Va. 1770 sold to John Hardin. 1773, etc. Was a chain carrier for six land grant surveys. Very strong belief this is the i1a son of Samuel Harding (will 1732) and brother of John Hardin in neighboring Chatham County. Date of death is unknown. After 1790 he would have been 75 years old, and references afterward may be to his son. References without the title could be to either of them.
Gabriel Hardin, Jr. b~1750
1785, specific references to Gabriel Hardin, Jr and William Hardin as both being called for jury duty. That same year also called as Gabriel Hardin. Also defendant in 1785. Could be the one who is chain carrier for land grants at moorecountywallaces.com
John Hardin b~1753 roughly
Arguably nephew of Gabriel Hardin and bought from him land adjacent in 1770.
John Hardin, Jr. b~1773 guess
1785 acquitted for petty larceny.
William Hardin b~1753
Son of Gabriel Hardin Sr. (A 1787 deed mentioned William Harden Sr.  Unknown if this one or Buck.) He received a grant of 200 acres S. of Deep River on 2-14-1786. Neighbors were McNeill and England. Chain carriers were William and Drury Richardson. The grant could have been to Buck Hardin.
William Hardin "Buck"
Unknown whether a relative. In the court record for attending (hospitality for, I think) the grand jury.
William Hardin, Jr.
Probably son of Buck.

Isaac Hardin
A road construction overseer from the Chatham County line, indicating he lived in northern Moore. Another son of Gabriel?
James Hardin b.10 Dec 1756
Son of Gabriel Hardin Sr. His pension application stated he lived in Moore County since 1778 (until he died in 1843). He carried chain with ROBERT HARDIN. Was a chain carrier for William Cook 1797-11-28 for a survey on Fall Creek.

Robert Hardin
He carried chain in surveys with James Hardin at Persimmon Glade. A son of eldest son John.
Jacob Hardin
Also carried chain with James Hardin on Richland Creek, Persimmon Glade.
Hugh C. Hardin
Adjacent property to grant receiver A. Stutts on 3-17-1851.
R. Hardin
Owned land west of Richland Creek when Jessee Stafford received a grant 8-31-1837.
George Hardin, Jr.
1773-11-25 was a chain carrier with Mary Lawson for a grant survey for David Lawson on both sides of Buffalo Creek.

The Hardins in Washington County, Indiana

Sheckler Notes on the Washington County Hardins from 1984 that might interest that family's researchers. Rreceived from Ann Bradford of the HFA by TLH via fax Feb 2014 .

A book of Civil War Letters written to his family by John J. Hardin of Livonia, Ind. exists on the Web, courtesy of compiler Earl R. Boston, copier Fred J. Renolds, the Wayne County Public Library, and archives.org. The book is called "CIVIL WAR LETTERS OF JOHN J. HARDIN OF LIVONIA, INDIANA, A CAPTAIN IN COMPANY E, 23RD INDIANA INFANTRY 1861-1864." John J. Hardin was a son of John Hardin b. 1798, who was the narrator in the pioneer-pickings-1879-hardin.pdf on this site. The Indiana yankee soldier was a fourth cousin of the rebel Cherokee County, Alabama private Milton A. Hardin whose letters I've reprinted on this site.

Who is Ichabod Hardin?

A biography of Elisha Hardin appeared in the 1896 book "A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa - Vouume 2"  The book can be found at books.google.com. The author is probably F. M. Drake.

Here is the Elisha Hardin biography on two excerpted pages (678-679). It is a non-searchable graphic PDF. Here is my summary of his dates and his ancestors' as published. I think the author interviewed Elisha Hardin and possibly his children, so Elisha is the source for genealogical purposes.

"A native of Indiana, he was born in the vicinity of Hardinsburg, Washington County, February 22, 1822. His father, John Hardin, was born in North Carolina, July 5, 1795... After his marriage he and his wife began their domestic life in Washington county, but subsequently removed to Elfingham county, Illinois, where the father died in 1885, in his eighty-eighth year. His wife passed away at the same place, in the eighty-second year of her age. The paternal grandfather of our subject, John Hardin, was born and reared in North Carolina, but spent his last days in Indiana. He was of Scotch-Irish extraction. His father was Eichabud [Ichabod] Hardin, who emigrated from England to the United States and reared a family of thirteen sons, all of whom reached years of maturity."

The father of John Hardin, Sr. of Deep River, according to an interview from the lips of great-grandson Elisha Hardin, was Eichabud Hardin. Is the story reliable?

Source 1: On this and my other Gabriel Harding pages, you see actual Cumberland / Moore County land records from the time of the transaction place Gabriel Hardin (b. abt. 1710) and John Hardin (b. abt. 1747) directly adjacent.

Source 2: A few years before 1896, Elisha Hardin, age 74 and quite lucid said his paternal great-grandfather was named Ichabod, that Ichabod emigrated from England and in the American colonies reared 13 sons, all or whom reached maturity.

Discussion.

Direct versus indirect evidence. It is conclusively established by microfilm of original documents that John Hardin Sr. bought land directly beside Gabriel Harding on Deep River, NC., then sold out and got a grant in Burke County. Proximity over a decade indicates John, if not a son, is a nephew of Gabriel by way of his brother Thomas d. 1749, brother Samuel, Jr. d. 1753, or an unknown Eichabud. No other record of that name has surfaced.

The indirectness of the 1896 statement is that the fact is passed down through 3 generations. (John Hardin Sr, who obviously knew who his father was, told John, Jr. who told Elisha who told the interviewer. The father Eichabud would have been dead around a hundred years before his name was told by Elisha Hardin. Does the reader know who his or her great-grandfathers are through family history? I was told mine's name by my grandfather -- once -- and I remembered, so I suppose it is possible and even normal to know your great-grandfather's name.

Continuing with the weaknesses in the story, it is told like a popular cliché. An author of a genealogy help book once said that she more than once has seen the cliché of the man who immigrated from England and came from a very large family of sons, all of whom lived. As soon as I find that, or a refutation, I will post it.

Emigration from England. A breadcrumb trail and DNA evidence lead to a common American I1a (I-M253) ancestor, and that seems so far to be Samuel Hardin of Brunswick County, Virginia (will 1732). Samuel Hardin lived in the American colonies long enough to buy a farm and raise children to young adulthood. His birth I guess at 1690 or before. Although his father or mother may have come to the James River from England as a headright immigrant, Samuel's move toward the interior prompts me to guess he is second generation. I don't think Samuel came directly from England. Certainly his son Gabriel or a son named Ichabod did not -- rendering the immigration story incompatible.

Nature of the publication. A biographical publication can be boastful, just like a county history that makes its subject county sound like heaven. I think Elisha's account is interesting and consistent and truthful -- until he gets to his great-grandfather's story.

Concluding the discussion, we need to keep in mind the possibility of an Ichabod Hardin in the I-M253 haplogroup.