Joe Hardin

Joseph Hardin the first child born to James and Mary was Joseph Gibson Hardin, born Jan. 5, 1850 in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas. He married to Arabella "Belle or Allie" Adams on Sep. 7, 1871 in Comanche County. She was born on Aug. 31, 1850 in Tennessee and died in 1929 in Coleman Co., Texas. Joe was a practicing attorney, postmaster, and Mason. He became Treasurer of Comanche County and was a State Land Agent. In 1873, he was also credited for helping Comanche get it's first newspaper, the "Comanche Chief." Joe and Belle had two children; Dora Dean Hardin born Oct. 15, 1872, and Joe G. Hardin Jr. born May 24, 1874. Dora married John Franklin Henderson on Dec. 18, 1895 and they had three children; John Henderson born Sep. 28, 1896, Ada Irene Henderson born Jun. 29, 1898, and Dora Belle Henderson born Jun. 13, 1901. Dora died on Nov. 7, 1951. Joe G. Hardin Jr. married Ada Gurry, and they had five children; Pauline Hardin, Robert Hardin, Lee Hardin, Garland Hardin, and Ann Hardin. Joe died on Jun. 22, 1929.

Joseph Gibson Hardin was killed Jun. 6, 1874 in Comanche County, when a hostile mob lynched him because his brother John Wesley Hardin had killed deputy Sheriff Charles Webb in Comanche, Texas. Belle managed to contact her family in Mount Calm, and a relative went to Comanche, and took her and the little ones back with him. She was only able to save a few personal items of Joe's: "his desk name plate, his bank book, a permit to practice law, a certificate of his appointment as Comanche County Treasurer, and a commission of his appointment as a postmaster of Comanche in 1872..." By 1880, Belle had remarried to Joseph Peirce and they settled in Limestone County, Mt. Calm, Texas.

The Hardin Brothers

by Bob Bowman

More than 110 years have passed since East Texas outlaw John Wesley Hardin was shot down in an El Paso saloon, but he remains one of the most intriguing badmen in history. Almost lost in Hardin's history are his three brothers, Joe, Jeff and Gip, whose lives were also singed with violence.

John Wesley, named for the founder of Methodism, was born at Bonham in Fannin County on May 26, 1853, the son of Methodist circuit rider James Gibson Hardin. Another son, Joe Gibson, was born in 1850. Jefferson (Jeff) Davis, named for the Confederate president, came into the world in 1861, a few years after the Hardin family moved to Moscow in Polk County and then to Sumpter in Trinity County. James Barnett (Gip) Gibson was born in 1874.

In 1868, during the aftermath of the Civil War, John Wesley shot and killed his first man, a free slave. While on the run from Reconstruction soldiers, Hardin and his brother Joe fled to Northeast Texas and linked up with unrepentant Rebels during their raids on Union Army troops.

In May of 1874, while living in Brown County, the Hardin brothers ran afoul of the law when John Wesley killed Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb. A warrant was issued for Hardin and on June 1, Sheriff John Carnes and a squad of Texas Rangers surprised and captured brother Joe and cousins Bud and Tom Dixon. John Wesley was nowhere around.

Joe and his cousins were placed in a rock building used as a jail, but at midnight on June 1, a posse of men angry over Webb's death disarmed the jail's guards, took the three prisoners, and hanged them from the limbs of an oak tree a few miles south of Comanche. Jefferson Davis Hardin, often known as "J.D.," also followed in John Wesley's footsteps. He and his older brother shared horse race bets, drank heavily and traded gunshots with more than a few men.

In June of 1874, John Wesley sent 13-year-old Jeff to collect $500 at a stockyard in Kansas City, which owed him money from the sale of cattle. John Wesley used the money to flee to Florida, where he was arrested on a railroad car at Pensacola in August of l877.

In May of 1900, while operating a saloon at Clairemont, Texas, Jeff started arguing with customer John Snowden, but the argument was broken up by bystanders. Hardin approached Snowden again later in the evening, but was found dead with a bullet in his heart. Snowden surrendered to the local sheriff, but he was never tried.

John Wesley's third brother, Gip Hardin, was a teacher at Junction in March of 1896 when he shot and killed a friend, deputy sheriff John Turman, during a dinner argument. A jury found Gip guilty and he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. But a new trial resulted in a term of only two years.

After his release, Gip separated from his wife and two daughters. During World War I, he was working on a ship carrying horses to Europe for U.S. troops. In 1918, somewhere off the coast of Florida, he was crushed to death by two shifting boxcars.

Gip's death ended the violent legacy of the four Hardin brothers.

John Wesley also had three sisters--Elizabeth, Martha and Nancy--but as far as we know, none of them carried a gun.

Joseph HARDIN Family History

4th Cousin, once removed of John Henry "Doc" Holliday

Mark HARDIN Henry HARDIN Alice (Alis) HARDIN William Everett HARDIN Joseph CLOUD Swan HARDIN Jane CLOUD Benjamin Watson HARDIN Alice Jane McKEY James Gibson HARDIN John Henry "Doc" HOLLIDAY John Wesley "Wes" HARDIN John Henry "Doc" HOLLIDAY is the 4th cousin, once removed of John Wesley "Wes" HARDIN

3 Jun 2001 Family Group Sheet Husband: James Gibson HARDIN died at age: 53 Born: 2 Mar 1823 in Wayne Co, TN Died: 2 Aug 1876 in Red River County, TX Occupation: Reverend Father: Benjamin Watson HARDIN Mother: Martha Ann BARNETT James Hardin was a Methodist preacher. Wife: Mary Elizabeth DIXON died at age: 58 Married: 19 May 1847 in Navarro Co, TX his age: 24 her age: 20 Born: 7 Dec 1826 in Sullivan Co, IN Died: 26 May 1885 in Ennis, TX Father: William DIXON Mother: Malinda McARTHUR M Child 1: Joseph Gipson HARDIN died at age: 24 Born: 5 Jan 1850 in Bonham, Fannin Co, TX Died: 31 May 1874 in Comanche Co, TX Spouse: Arabella ADAMS Married: 7 Sep 1871 in Comanche Co, TX M Child 2: John Wesley "Wes" HARDIN died at age: 42 Born: 26 May 1853 in Bonham, Fannin Co, TX Died: 19 Aug 1895 in Acme Saloon, El Paso. El Paso Co, TX Buried: 1895 in Concordia Cemetery, El Paso, TX Occupation: Infamous Gunfighter of Western Lore Spouse: Jane BOWEN b. 1857 d. 6 Nov 1892 Married: 29 Feb 1872 in Riddlesville, Gonzales Co, TX Spouse: Callie LEWIS b. ABT 1879 Married: 8 Jan 1895 in Junction, TX 3 Jun 2001 Family Group Sheet Husband: John Wesley "Wes" HARDIN died at age: 42 Born: 26 May 1853 in Bonham, Fannin Co, TX Died: 19 Aug 1895 in Acme Saloon, El Paso. El Paso Co, TX Buried: 1895 in Concordia Cemetery, El Paso, TX Occupation: Infamous Gunfighter of Western Lore Father: James Gibson HARDIN Mother: Mary Elizabeth DIXON John Hardin is credited with forty killing in stand-up gunfights, ambushes and running battles on horseback. It had been said that whenever Hardin rode out of a town, dead men were always left behind. By the time he reached his 20th birthday, John was regarded as one of the deadliest gunfighters in the West, had killed a number of men, had a confrontation with Wild Bill Hickok in Abilene, and was wanted by the Texas State police and the Texas Rangers. John Wesley Hardin was killed by John Selman, Sr. when Selman shot Hardin in the back of the head in the ACME Saloon in El Paso, TX. Wes Hardin's last words were, "Four sixes to beat." Wife: Jane BOWEN died at age: 35 Married: 29 Feb 1872 in Riddlesville, Gonzales Co, TX his age: 18 her age: 15 Born: 1857 in Karnes Co, TX Died: 6 Nov 1892 in Mound Creek, Gonzales Co, TX Buried: in Asher Cemetery, Gonzales Co, TX Father: Neill BOWEN Mother: Mary WESTERN F Child 1: Mary Elizabeth HARDIN died at age: 65 Born: 6 Feb 1873 in Karnes, Gonzales Co, TX Died: 18 Apr 1938 in TX Buried: in Billings Cemetery, Gonzales, TX Spouse: Charles R. BILLINGS b. 1874 d. 1940 Married: 16 Dec 1894 in DeWitt Co, TX M Child 2: John Wesley HARDIN died at age: 56 Born: 3 Aug 1875 in Jacksonville, FL Died: 24 Oct 1931 in Runge or Nixon, TX Spouse: Lillie HOUSE b. 6 Jan 1882 d. 23 Jun 1937 Married: 17 Feb 1898 in DeWitt Co, TX F Child 3: Jane Martina HARDIN died at age: 54 Born: 15 Jul 1877 in Alabama Died: 12 Oct 1931 in Kenedy, Karnes Co, TX Spouse: John Ross LYONS Married: 9 Oct 1898 in Karnes Co, TX F Child 4: Callie HARDIN died at age: 93 Born: 15 Jul 1877 in AL Died: 1891-1971 in TX Spouse: John LYONS b. 1860-1880 d. 1894-1966 Married: 1891-1924 in TX Wife: Callie LEWIS age: 122 Married: 8 Jan 1895 in Junction, TX his age: 41 her age: 16 Born: ABT 1879 in Father: Mother:

Comanche County

Marker Title: Comanche County
City: Comanche
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: 0.25 mile west of town on US 377/67.
Marker Text: First settled in 1854 by five families, the county, created and organized 1856, was named for Comanche Indians, Lords of Texas frontier, who were losing hunting grounds to settlers. First county seat was Cora. Comanche has been county seat since July 18, 1859. Indians harassed settlers, stealing cattle and horses, and keeping farmers out of fields. Food from neighboring bell county kept people here from starvation in 1862. By 1879 a stage line crossed county; the Texas Central Railroad came through in 1880; Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad in 1890. An oil boom occurred in 1918-1920. Agriculture has long been major industry. (1967) 1936 Text: Created January 25, 1856; Organized May 17, 1856; Named for the Comanche Indians, nomads of the Plains; successful hunters, superb horsemen, and courageous warriors; the terror of Texas frontier settlers, who dispossessed them of their hunting grounds. County Seat Troy (changed to Cora), 1856; Comanche, since July 18, 1859.