Jesper Harding (November 5, 1799 – August 21, 1865) was an American publisher in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
.
Early life
Harding was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
on November 5, 1799, a son of George Harding and Mary (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Hudd) Harding. His father was one of four brothers who emigrated from England to Canada and then to Philadelphia where he became a ship's carpenter and acquired significant property.
Career
After being educated in the local schools, Harding learned the printing trade from the publisher Enos Bronson. After first starting his career in the office of the United States Gazette he started his own business in 1815 at the age of 16. Eleven years later, in November 1829, he purchased the ''Pennsylvania Inquirer'' newspaper from John Norvell and John R. Walker. About the same time he began printing
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
s and became the largest publisher of Bibles in the U.S.
Initially a supporter of
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
, Harding attempted to simultaneously support Jackson while also defending the directors of the Bank of the United States, which Jackson fiercely opposed. Harding later switched support (and his newspaper's editorial stance) to the anti-Jackson faction within the
Democratic-Republican Party
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the earl ...
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
for president. After this, Harding's newspaper became an advocate for the cause of the Whig party, until it was weakened by internal divisions in 1852.
Harding also manufactured paper at a manufacturing plant in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784. Harding merged the ''Pennsylvania Inquirer'' with the ''Daily Courier'' in 1839, and for a while the paper was known as ''The Pennsylvania Inquirer and Daily Courier''. In 1845, it was called ''The Pennsylvania Inquirer and National Gazette''. Harding retired from publishing in 1859, succeeded by his son William White Harding, who changed the paper's name to the present ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...
'' in 1860.
At the time of his death he was Collector of United States Internal Revenue for the First District.
Personal life
Harding was married to Maria Wilson (1798–1862), a daughter of Dr. Wilson of
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
. Together, they were the parents of six children, including:
* George Harding (1827–1902), who became a
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...
and argued several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and who married Charlotte Ludlow Kenner (1839–1890).
* William White Harding (1830–1889), who succeeded his father as publisher of the paper who married Catharine Badger Hart (1838–1924).
* James Barclay Harding (1830–1865), who married Georgiana Maria Gallagher (1838–1905).
His wife died on June 2, 1862. Harding died on August 21, 1865 at the residence of his eldest son in Chestnut Hill. In his obituary in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', he was referred to as "one of the oldest and best known publishers in the United States."
Descendants
Through his son William, he was a grandfather of Jessie Harding Morris (1865–1952), wife of
Alfred Hennen Morris
Alfred Hennen Morris (March 3, 1864 – July 9, 1959) was an American businessman politician, and racehorse owner/breeder.
Early life
Morris was born in Wilmington, Delaware on March 3, 1864. He was the son of John Albert Morris and Cora Hennen ...
, and J. Horace Harding, was a financier and married Dorothea Barney, a daughter of
Charles D. Barney
Charles Dennis Barney (July 9, 1844 – October 24, 1945) was an American stockbroker and founder of Charles D. Barney & Co., one of the predecessors of the brokerage and securities firm Smith Barney.
Early life
Barney was born in Sandusky, ...
and granddaughter of Civil War financier Jay Cooke.