Dorsey Brodie Hardeman (December 11, 1902 – August 11, 1992) was an American Democratic politician, attorney, businessman, farmer, and rancher from

San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

, Texas.

Background

Dorsey Hardeman was born in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...

Chester County, Tennessee Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,341. Its county seat is Henderson. The county was created in 1879 and organized in 1882. Chester County is included in the Jackson, ...

, the son of

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

minister

N. B. Hardeman Nicholas Brodie Hardeman (May 18, 1874 – November 6, 1965) was an educator, debater, and a gospel preacher in the Churches of Christ. Along with Arvy G. Freed, Hardeman in 1907 co-founded what became Freed-Hardeman University, first known as ...

and Joanna Hardeman. He first studied at Freed-Hardeman College, co-founded by his father, but then attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida and procured his

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

in Nashville, Tennessee. Dorsey Hardeman was a descendant of William P. Hardeman and Bailey Hardeman, two of the signers in Washington County in 1836 of the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was formal ...

Move to Texas and political involvement

In 1932, Hardeman came to

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

to practice law in San Angelo, the seat of Tom Green County. In 1936, he was elected mayor of San Angelo, a position that he held until 1938, when he was elected to the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

from District 91 and served two two-year terms before he enlisted in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

, the forerunner of the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

. Sent to officers training school, he became a judge advocate general. After his military service, Hardeman was elected in 1946 to the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

from

District 25 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, which then included Brewster, Coke, Coleman, Crane,

Crockett Crockett may refer to: People and fictional characters *Crockett Gillmore (born 1991), American National Football League player *Crockett Johnson, pen name of David Johnson Liesk (1906-1975), American cartoonist and children's book illustrator *C ...

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and ora ...

, Glasscock, Irion, Jeff Davis, Pecos,

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Runnels Runnels is a surname, and may refer to: * Cody Garrett Runnels (born 1985), American wrestler and actor known as Cody Rhodes * Dustin Patrick Runnels (born 1969), American wrestler known as Goldust or Dustin Rhodes *Hardin Richard Runnels (1820–1 ...

, Schleicher, Sterling,

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Terrell Terrell, Terell, Terrel, or Terrelle may refer to: Places United States *Terrell, Georgia, unincorporated community *Terrell, North Carolina, unincorporated community in Catawba County, North Carolina, United States *Terrell, Texas, city in Kau ...

, Tom Green, Upton, and Val Verde counties. Hardeman served in the upper legislative chamber for twenty-two years. He was unseated in the 1968 Democratic primary in Senate District 25 by W. E. "Pete" Snelson, a businessman from Midland, who held the seat until 1983. Hardeman became a powerful, well-known senator because of his knowledge of the lengthy and intricate

Texas Constitution The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that establishes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Texas, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of Texas. The current document was adopted on Febr ...

, implemented in 1876 and still in use. Through his chairmanship of the Senate State Affairs Committee, Hardeman became a master of legislative procedures. He worked to revise the code of criminal procedure. He pushed for completion of

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the same year it too ...

, a four-year state-supported institution in San Angelo. He supported the construction of the Stacy Dam and Reservoir (now the S. W. Freese Dam and the O. H. Ivie Reservoir) on the Upper Colorado River of Texas. In 1969,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Preston E. Smith named Hardeman executive director of the Texas Water Commission, a position which he retained for two years. From 1971 to 1982, he was a commissioner of the agency.Inscribed on Dorsey Hardeman gravestone,

Texas State Cemetery The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and vice-president of the Republic of ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

Private and business life

A successful businessman, Hardeman owned the historic San Angelus Hotel in San Angelo and held both ranching and farming interests in Texas and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. He also owned a

title company Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance predominantly found in the United States and Canada which insures against financial loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage loans. Unlike ...

. He was a member of the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...

, knighted by the

Sons of the Republic of Texas The Sons of the Republic of Texas is a lineal association dedicated to perpetuating the memory of the founding families and soldiers of the Republic of Texas. It was founded in 1893. See also *Daughters of the Republic of Texas The Daughters of ...

in the Order of San Jacinto, a member of

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...

Military Order of the Stars and Bars The Military Order of the Stars and Bars (MOSB) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the United States based in Woodbridge, Virginia. It is a lineage society founded in 1938 for men who are descended from military com ...

, the Baronial Order of Magna Charta,

The Huguenot Society of America The Huguenot Society of America is a hereditary patriotic society, organized in New York City on April 12, 1883, and incorporated on June 12, 1885. About The Huguenot Society of America is a New York City–based genealogical organization. On Apr ...

, and the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. He was an honorary member in the Greek order of St. Denis of Zante. Hardeman was a lifetime member of the

Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...

. He was also affiliated with the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

and the

State Bar of Texas The State Bar of Texas (the Texas Bar) is an agency of the judiciary under the administrative control of the Texas Supreme Court. It is responsible for assisting the Texas Supreme Court in overseeing all attorneys licensed to practice law in Te ...

and additionally the bar associations of Travis and Tom Green counties. Dorsey Hardeman was married to the former Geneva Moore (born 1918) of Brownwood, Texas. He died in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

at the age of eighty-nine and is interred there at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardeman, Dorsey B. 1902 births 1992 deaths Businesspeople from Texas Freed–Hardeman University alumni People from Henderson, Tennessee People from San Angelo, Texas Mayors of places in Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Democratic Party Texas state senators Burials at Texas State Cemetery American members of the Churches of Christ 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians