Noble Andrew Hardee (September 24, 1805 – September 10, 1867) was an American businessman based in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, where he was a

cotton factor In the antebellum and Reconstruction era South, most cotton planters relied on cotton factors (also known as cotton brokers) to sell their crops for them. Description The cotton factor was usually located in an urban center of commerce, such as ...

and owner of N. A. Hardee Company. In 1860 he had constructed today's Noble Hardee Mansion in the southwestern corner of Savannah's

Monterey Square Monterey Square is one of the Squares of Savannah, Georgia, 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the southernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and Wayne Street, and was laid out in 1847. It is ...

. Hardee served in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

Life and career

Hardee was born on September 24, 1805, on the

Rural Felicity Plantation Rural Felicity Plantation was a Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plantation, occupying around of land,''Reminiscences of Charles Seton Henry Hardee'', Martha Gallaudet Waring, ''The Georgia Historical Quarterly'', JSTOR (1928), ...

Camden County, Georgia Camden County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 50,513. Its county seat is Woodbine, and the largest city is St. Marys. It is one of the original cou ...

, to John Hais Hardee Jr. and Sarah Ellis. He was their fourth child and third son. His brother was lieutenant general

William J. Hardee William Joseph Hardee (October 12, 1815November 6, 1873) was a career United States Army, U.S. Army and Confederate States Army officer. For the U.S. Army, he served in the Second Seminole War and in the Mexican–American War, where he was capt ...

,''Charles Seton Henry Hardee's Recollections of old Savannah'', Martha Gallaudet Waring, ''The Georgia Historical Quarterly'',

JSTOR JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...

(1929), p. 18 former

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

.''Sons of American Revolution''
SAR 46364 In the 1820s, he served in the Georgia House of Representatives. Around 1825, he married Martha Threewitts Williams, of

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon and bordered on the east by the Oconee River. The rapid current of the river here made this an attractive location to buil ...

. They had two children: Ann Eliza (born 1826) and John (1830), both of whom died in childhood. Martha died of

puerperal fever Postpartum infections, also known as childbed fever and puerperal fever, are any bacterial infections of the female reproductive tract following childbirth or miscarriage. Signs and symptoms usually include a fever greater than , chills, lower ab ...

in 1833. The 27-year-old widower remained out of the public eye for just over a year. In December 1834, he became a member of the planning committee for the Bill of Rights Ball, which was held in St. Marys, Georgia. On December 3, 1835, he married Anne Margaret Lewis, daughter of John Lewis and Susan Adams. They had three children who lived to become adults: John Lewis, Susan Ann and Mary Elizabeth. After moving to Savannah, in 1836 he established N. A. Hardee Company, a cotton factor business at number 6

Upper Stoddard Range Upper Stoddard Range is a historic range of buildings in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Savannah's Historic District, the addresses of some of the properties are East Bay Street, above Factors Walk, while others solely utilize th ...

on River Street. He hired his eighteen-year-old nephew Charles Seton Henry Hardee, who also tutored Noble's two oldest children. Noble's daughter, Susan Ann, married

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

brigadier general William W. Kirkland, who was a partner in the company. He also possessed interests in railroads, real estate, banking and insurance. The 1840 census showed nine people living at the Noble household: himself, his wife, three children and four servants. The family spent summers at the Hardee plantation near Sandersville in

Washington County, Georgia Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,988. The county seat is Sandersville. The county was established on February 25, 1784. It was named for Revolutionary War gener ...

. He served as a member of the Grand Jury in 1859, under Judges Fleming and John M. Millen Jr.

Death

Hardee died on September 10, 1867, aged 61, while in

Richfield Springs, New York Richfield Springs is a village located in the Town of Richfield, on the north-central border of Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 1,264 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from local sulfur springs. Geography The vi ...

. His daughter accompanied his body on the voyage home, aboard the SS ''San Salvador''. His funeral took place in November at Savannah's Independent Presbyterian Church. He was interred in Savannah's historic

Bonaventure Cemetery Bonaventure Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, east of Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery became famous when it was featured in the 1994 novel ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' by John Berendt, ...

. His wife survived him by four years, and was buried beside him upon her death aged 55. The N. A. Hardee Company was dissolved upon his death. It was re-established by Noble's son John Lewis and William W. Kirkland was N. A. Hardee's Son and Company. He was described in 1890 as being "a man of strong characteristics and eminent for his virtues and high character ... holding many positions of trust and honor at the time of his death."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardee, Noble 1805 births 1867 deaths American businesspeople American slave owners Businesspeople from Savannah, Georgia