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- He was an early settler of Texas and a signer of its Declaration of Independence from Mexico. Earlier, they lived in Maury County, Tennessee, where Augustine married Mary Elizabeth Garner in 1819... In 1825 he served there as deputy sheriff and constable while his father served as justice of the peace. His first wife, Mary Garner, had an affair with one Isaac Newton Porter. This precipitated a gunfight in October of 1825. Augustine fatally shot Porter, and his brother Benjamin Franklin Hardin killed Porter's companion, William Williamson. He subsequently returned his unfaithful wife and their one son and left for Texas.
He arrived at Nacogdoches in the fall of 1825 and settled on the Trinity River in what is now Liberty County before being indicted for murder on December 21, 1825. Other Hardin family members arrived in Texas by the end of 1828, and no extradition occurred, despite requests from the United States. Augustine Hardin received his land grant in 1831.
On January 16, 1827, he enlisted in a volunteer company organized by Hugh Blair Johnston. ... Hardin represented the Liberty District at the Consultation in 1835 at Columbia and San Felipe de Austin, and again at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. After the convention, Augustine was in charge of escorting the Hardin family members to Louisiana during the Runaway Scrape. After returning to Texas, he served in the Army of the Republic of Texas from July 7 to October 7, 1836. ...
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hardin Papers, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, Liberty, Texas. Thomas L. Miller, Bounty and Donation Land Grants of Texas, 1835-1888 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1967). Miriam Partlow, Liberty, Liberty County, and the Atascosito District (Austin: Pemberton, 1974). Camilla Davis Trammell, Seven Pines, Its Occupants and Their Letters, 1825-1872 (Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1986).
Robert L. Schaadt
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"HARDIN, AUGUSTINE BLACKBURN." The Handbook of Texas Online.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fha59
Robert L. Schaadt, Historical Author and Editor. Part 1, 1858-1869, Creation of a County, Page 16.
THE HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY, TEXAS
Franklin Hardin supported the notion that the new county should be "named in honor of the Hardins of Liberty" since he was one of those Hardins. This family came from Tennessee in 1825, locating near Liberty in the Atascosito District and played vital roles in not only local history, but in the history of the Republic of Texas. The family was without doubt an honorable family who had served their new homeland well.
John Wesley Hardin, the famous gunman and son of J.G. Hardin, was not one of the Hardins for whom the county was named in 1858.
The Hardin Family, actually the five sons and one daughter of Swan and Jerusha Blackburn Hardin, were very prominent and respected in Southeast Texas from the pre-Republic days until well after the Civil War. Their family members and descendents continued the family tradition of community service and hard work.
The five sons were Benjamin Watson (1796-1850), Augustine Blackburn ( 1797-1871), Benjamin Franklin, "Frank" (1803-1878), Milton Ashley (1813-18 98), William(1801-1839), and the one daughter was Elizabeth (1799-1856 ). Their accomplishments and contributions to Texas were numerous and it was not surprising that a new county would be named for them. Augustine Blackburn Hardin was a member of the 1833 Convention, the 1835 Consultation and 1836 Convention, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence as a delegate from Liberty County. William Hardin was an early alcalde and judge. After the Battle of San Jacinto, he housed at his Liberty plantation many of the Mexican officers as prisoners of war. Benjamin Franklin Hardin was probably the one most familiar with the land of Hardin County since he was the district surveyor for many years and actually traversed the thicket on foot. His surveys and field notes are found in many early Hardin County land records. Benjamin Franklin, better known as Franklin or Frank, took part in the Siege of Bexar in 1835, the Battle of San Jacinto and was a commander of the Home Guard in the 1840's. Benjamin Watson Hardin was a member of the Ninth Congress of the Republic and Sheriff of Liberty County. Milton Ashley operated a sawmill and eventually relocated in Johnson County, Texas. After marrying Thomas Rhoads, Elizabeth and her family settled in Liberty County, becoming prominent community members. Hardin County was indeed named after an outstanding Texas family.
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1797 - 1871 (74 years)
