Countless individuals have migrated to America and journeyed across the vast and varied landscape of our nation. Many in my paternal family were among those pioneers. From the rolling hills of Virginia and North Carolina, they ventured westward, their paths cutting through the Appalachian Mountains and rugged terrains of Tennessee and Arkansas. These pioneers, many of whom fought bravely in our wars, embarked on a relentless pursuit of new beginnings. Traveling in covered wagons, they braved the untamed wilderness, enduring countless hardships as they forged their way to the wide-open plains of Texas. Their stories of courage, resilience, and the quest for a better life are woven into the very fabric of our nation, reminding us of the unyielding spirit that helped shape the American frontier.
My journey began as a project to reconstruct my family tree using Ancestry.com. The online resources available are truly impressive but the most difficult part is separating fact from fiction. What follows is my best effort to distill a vast tree of information based on identifying trusted sources and filtering noisy data. The fifteen (15) generations that were identified represent a large tree containing as many as 32767 (2^15) ancestors. I traced the paternal lineage on my father's side. This lineage represents a very small fraction of my heritage. I observed, as one would expect, that there is a correlation between historical significance and the availability of data.
Benjamin Barnett Hardin (1678-1734) and his wife, Sarah Stanley, established an influential and prosperous Hardin family lineage that spread throughout the emerging, and turbulent, American Colonies.
Colonel Benjamin John Hardin and his son, Private Benjamin Hardin, fought bravely in the Battles at Ramsour's Mill, King's Mountain and Cowpens during the Revolutionary War. Those battles proved to be pivotal victories for the Patriot militias during the British campaign to gain control of the southern colonies. The victory at Kings Mountain directly contributed to the eventual American victory at the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781 and helped set the stage for the ultimate defeat of British General Charles Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown later that year.
During the Civil War, Captain Andrew Johnson Hardin commanded the Sixth Texas Cavalry, Company A for the Confederates. The Sixth Texas Cavalry was a key component of the Confederate cavalry forces in the Western Theater, demonstrating the mobility and combat effectiveness that were crucial to Confederate operations west of the Mississippi River. They are remembered for their spirited service and their ability to adapt to the challenging conditions of Civil War cavalry warfare. I found it interesting that my maternal and paternal families touched during the Civil War as Colonel Barton Warren Stone Jr founded the Sixth Texas Cavalry from volunteers in Kaufman county including the town of Terrell.
"But", as my Dad once said, "If you dig deep enough, you'll find a horse thief". Well, distant-cousin John Wesley Hardin was more than a horse thief. He was a young, vicious outlaw and prolific gunfighter in the Old West, having killed between 27 and 42 men. Buddy Holly, the famous musician born Charles Hardin Holley, also claimed to be related to John Wesley, but I haven't found a credible link.
Our French Connection
My paternal family story reaches back to 16th century France where the surname was Hardouin/Hardewyn (p. "hardy-wine"). This was changed to Hardin/Harding when John Wesley Hardin/Hardewyn migrated to America. (Not the Old West outlaw.)
During the 1500's, the family lived in Normandy France. Normandy's economic and social environment was shaped by its strategic location and involvement in broader European conflicts. As a key region in northern France, Normandy benefited from its ports, such as Rouen, which facilitated trade and commerce, especially with England and the "Low Countries". The region was impacted by the French Wars of Religion, as tensions between Catholics and Protestants led to social unrest and economic disruption, reflecting the broader turmoil across France during this period.
Hardin Paternal Lineage
David B. Hardin Jr
Son of the American Revolution # 228614