HARDIN, Judge Franklin

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Death of Judge Franklin Hardin.

Judge Franklin Hardin died at his home in White River Township, on Tuesday morning at six o’clock, after an illness of several days. The funeral, which was largely attended, took place from his late residence on Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock, the remains being interred in the cemetery at Glenn’s Valley.

Judge Hardin was born July 27th, 1810, in Nicholas County, Ky. His family were of French descent. On the death of his father, October 5th, 1825, he studied surveying at Carlyle semin­ary, Ky., a knowledge that was very useful to Johnson County in later years. In 1825 when fifteen years of age, with his mother the family immigrated to White River Township on horseback. In his eighteenth year he began life as a school teacher, and in 1829 he entered into the study of law. Sickness caused him to desist, and upon his recovery he again entered the school room. In 1831 he returned to Kentucky where he mar­ried. In the fall of 1832 he moved to Johnson County and located the farm upon which he lived and died. A year’s severe illness followed for he was far from being a robust youth and he was compelled to return to Kentucky. Re­turning in the fall of 1833 he was made assessor of White River Township. In the spring of 1836 he received the ap­pointment of county surveyor from Judge Wick, which he held for six years, an office for which he was quali­fied in a high degree to fill. Politics in the county had never cut much figure until about 1840 when the whig and democratic lines began to be closely drawn, and the year 1842 saw Judge Hardin in the political arena as the democratic nominee for representative to the legislature and without much opposition he was elected. In 1843 he was again nominated and elected, and in 1844 was again elected to the same office. In 1845 he was elected as State Senator and in 1849 was again elected to the same office. In 1850 he was elected a delegate to the constitutional convention, having the distinguished honor of being a State Senator and a delegate both at the same time. “Three years in the house and six in the senate, rounded off with a seat in the conven­tion that changed the organic law of the land, was a line of honorable legislative service that has fallen to the lot of but a limited number throughout the state.” On his return home, he was again made county surveyor in 1851 and held the office one year, when by an act of the legislature approved May 14, 1852, a new court, the common pleas, was or­ganized, and Mr. Hardin was nominated and elected as Judge, defeating A. B. Hunter, of Franklin, who was brought out in opposition. In 1856 he was re-elected as Judge and at the conclusion of his second term he retired to private life and had since held no public office. In every position he held, he discharged the duties thereof actively, honestly, fearlessly and with ability. He was an authority with themes relating to geol­ogy, astronomy, anthropology and chemistry and he had pursued the study of Greek with such success he was able to read the New Testament in the original tongue. He was a delegate to the national convention which nomin­ated Mr. Buchanan and in 1860 was a candidate for elector in support of the Breckenridge wing of democracy.

In all things he was a man among men. He was a firm believer in reli­gious teachings and in early life united with the Presbyterian church of Green­wood and to his death had strongly adhered to that faith. His declining days were spent in the bosom of his family, loved and revered. He was the father of eight children.

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The Franklin Democrat, Friday, Friday, August 8, 1890,
Volume XXXI Number 7, page 3 column 2

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Bro. Aikens, of the Star, says that we copied his biographical sketch of the late Judge Hardin. This sketch was taken from the “History of Johnson Coun­ty”† and this is the first intimation we have had that he is the author of that work. It requires a considerable gall for a man as handy with the shears as Bro. Aikens to make such an asser­tion. The Star is made up daily from clippings from other papers and they are almost invariably run without credits.

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†Banta, D. D. History of Johnson County, Indiana. Chicago, IL: Brant & Fuller, 1888, page 899.

Link to Judge Franklin Hardin’s grave

Submitted by Mark McCrady, Cathea Curry and Lois Johnson