Joseph Hardin Sr. (April 18, 1734 – July 4, 1801) was an Assemblyman (in the Provincial Congress) for the Province of North Carolina, and was a signatory of the

Tryon Resolves The Tryon Resolves were a brief declaration adopted by the citizens of Tryon County in the Province of North Carolina in the early days of the American Revolution. In the Resolves, the county vowed resistance to coercive actions by the government ...

. Early in the War for Independence, as a member of the militia from Tryon County, Hardin fought the Cherokee allies of Britain along the western frontier. Later in the war, having taken his family over the Appalachian Mountains to the Washington District for safety against the advance of the Red Coats out of South Carolina, Hardin joined the Overmountain Men. He saw action at the

Battle of Ramsour's Mill The Battle of Ramsour's Mill took place on June 20, 1780 in present-day Lincolnton, North Carolina, during the British campaign to gain control of the southern colonies in the American Revolutionary War. The number of fighters on each side of th ...

and the decisive Battle of Kings Mountain. Following the peace with Britain, Hardin was a co-founder and second

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

for the

State of Franklin The State of Franklin (also the Free Republic of Franklin or the State of Frankland)Landrum, refers to the proposed state as "the proposed republic of Franklin; while Wheeler has it as ''Frankland''." In ''That's Not in My American History Boo ...

; and an Assemblyman in the Southwest Territory before its statehood as Tennessee.

Early and family life

Joseph Hardin was born the spring of 1734 in Henrico Co., Virginia Colony in an area several years later to be encompassed by the fledgling town of Richmond at the Falls (now Richmond), Virginia Colony. Hardin was the second son, and fourth child, of Benjamin Hardin II and Margaret Hooper. He was older brother to Captain John Hardin (1736–1802) (noted as the hero who turned the tide of battle for the patriots at the

during the "Southern Campaign" of the Revolutionary War) and Sarah Hardin, wife to Lt. Col. Frederick Hambright. Hardin married Jane Gibson (1742–1817) on July 8, 1762 in Virginia. They moved to the ' Salisbury District' of the Province of North Carolina, settling in the newly formed Tryon County, where he became

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1772. Hardin's children were: Rebecca; twins Joseph Jr. and John; Jane Ann; James W.; Benjamin I; Robert I; Elender; Mary Easter; Margaret; Amos; Benjamin II; Gibson; and Robert II. "Ben-two" and "Robert-two", as they were called, were both named after older brothers who had been lost in battle with Native Americans. Hardin was a great-grandfather of Texas outlaw,

John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming h ...

Civil service

Hardin served several stints as a local Justice of the Peace: first in Tryon County, NC (April 1772 – 1778); then Washington Co., NC ( Tennessee East District) (1783); and finally Greene Co. (1796). He served for Tryon County as a delegate to the North Carolina Provincial Congress in

1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * January 1 ...

and representative to the North Carolina House of Commons in

1778 Events January–March * January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...

. He also served for Washington County ( Washington District, North Carolina) (1782) and, Greene Co., Tennessee East District, NC (1788). Hardin was a signer of the Tryon Resolves in September 1775. During the period of 1784-1785, Hardin, John Sevier, and several others were instrumental in organizing the extra-legal

. He was elected its second

in June 1785. A few years after the failure of Franklin, he served as a representative for the First Territorial Assembly of the Southwest Territory (also known as the Territory South of the Ohio River) held at Knoxville, Tennessee in the summer of 1794. Later that same year, Hardin became a trustee of the newly chartered Greeneville (later Tusculum) College. He was elevated to Speaker of the House in the territorial assembly in 1795.

Military service

American Revolution service record: *Major in the Salisbury District Minutemen, part of the North Carolina State Troops (1775-1776) *Captain in the

Tryon County Regiment (North Carolina) History The Tryon County Regiment was authorized on August 14, 1775 by the Province of North Carolina Congress. It was subordinate to the Salisbury District Brigade of militia. The regiment was engaged in battles and skirmishes against the Bri ...

of the North Carolina militia (1776-1779) *Captain in the 2nd Battalion of Volunteers (1776-1777) *Major in the

Wilkes County Regiment The Wilkes County Regiment was authorized on December 9, 1777 by the Province of North Carolina Congress at the same time that Wilkes County, North Carolina was created from Surry County, North Carolina and Washington District, North Carolina. T ...

of the North Carolina militia (1779-1783), initially under the Salisbury District Brigade but moved to the newly created

Morgan District Brigade The Morgan District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War. This unit was established by the North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 17, 1782, and disbanded at the end of the wa ...

in 1782 *Colonel over the Greene County Regiment of the North Carolina militia under the Morgan District Brigade (1783) Hardin's first documented military service shows his appointment as the first

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the 2nd North Carolina

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

Brigade (from the Salisbury District) in 1775.''Joseph Harden''[sic]
Carolana; accessed Aug 2015 That same year, he appears in the rolls as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Griffith Rutherford's Light Horse Rangers. Hardin took part in Rutherford's Cherokee Expedition into the Washington District late the following year, under Captain William Moore. Beginning in 1777, Hardin carried a captain's commission in

Locke Locke may refer to: People *John Locke, English philosopher *Locke (given name) *Locke (surname), information about the surname and list of people Places in the United States *Locke, California, a town in Sacramento County *Locke, Indiana *Locke, ...

's 2nd Battalion of Volunteers (part of General Allen Jones' Halifax District Brigade) seeing action against Britain and its Native American allies. It was during this time that Hardin moved his family to the western settlements for safe keeping. As a major in the North Carolina militia, he raised a battalion of volunteers, the

, in early 1779. As an officer in this Overmountain Men militia, he fought in the

Battle of Ramseur's Mill The Battle of Ramsour's Mill took place on June 20, 1780 in present-day Lincolnton, North Carolina, during the British campaign to gain control of the southern colonies in the American Revolutionary War. The number of fighters on each side of th ...

, between the Tories (Loyalists to the Crown) and the Whigs (American Patriots) on June 20, 1780 and later that year at the Battle of Kings Mountain, on Oct 7. After the cessation of the ground war with Britain (1783), Hardin, then living in the newly established Greene County, was promoted to colonel and appointed Commandant of the North Carolina Militia for "The Western Counties" (old Washington District) due to the continuing hostilities with the Chickamauga.

Land grants

As was the custom of the time, he was awarded land grants totaling for service to his country. In 1786, several thousand acres of this land was set aside for Col. Hardin in what later became Hardin County, Tennessee.

Later life and legacy

Although he himself never set foot in that region, on March 11, 1786 the land along the far western reaches of the Tennessee River was surveyed by Isaac Taylor and warrants were drawn on behalf of Hardin for in what was to become Hardin County, Tennessee However, due to legal trouble with squatters and the wildness of that area in Tennessee, it was thirty years before his family could settle there. Hardin died July 4, 1801. He is interred at the Hickory Creek Cemetery, Hardin Valley, Knox Co., TN. There is a large monument dedicated to Hardin at the site. The inscription reads:

The Hardin Expedition

Two parties of settlers (totaling 26) struck out of Knoxville, Tennessee in late spring of 1816 bound for the general area which would eventually become Savannah, Tennessee. The first party came by boat down the Tennessee River, landing in May at ''"the easteward curve of the Tennessee"'' at Cerro Gordo. The second, and larger, party had travelled overland and suffered from many delays. Upon the arrival of the second group, the parties finally rejoined at Johnson Creek, near present-day Savannah, Tennessee. It was now July, and the pioneers set about the laying down of the first permanent settlement by non-Native Americans in the area. This second party was led by Joseph Hardin Jr., son of Col. Joseph Hardin, who had, before his death, accumulated several land grants to the area as rewards for his Revolutionary War service. Joseph Jr. was accompanied on the trip by his brother, James Hardin (known as the founder of the settlement of Hardinville; a failed endeavor that would be created in 1817 on nearby Hardin's Creek). Both men executed land grants in the area. They had fought alongside their father in the war and had been likewise rewarded with their own land patents, and had inherited some of their father's remaining unclaimed grants. About this same time, other settlers from the initial expedition established a community further down river at Saltillo. Other relatives of Col. Joseph's were to eventually settle in the area, including sons: Gibson, Ben II and Robert II, and daughter, Margaret (wife of Ninian Steele), all having arrived there by 1818. The county was named posthumously for Joseph Hardin Sr. in November 1819, at the first meeting of the county assembly which took place at the home of his son, James Hardin. Today, the courthouse in the county seat of Savannah is dedicated to him.

References

External links

Tennessee's Landmark Documents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardin, Joseph Sr. 1734 births 1801 deaths People from Henrico County, Virginia American Presbyterians Joseph Sr. People from Washington County, Tennessee People from the State of Franklin People from Knox County, Tennessee Signers of the Tryon Resolves People of Virginia in the French and Indian War People of colonial North Carolina North Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution People of Tennessee in the American Revolution Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Members of the Southwest Territorial Legislature Pre-statehood history of Tennessee People of pre-statehood Tennessee University and college founders