Thomas Harding

A Patriot of the American Revolution for PENNSYLVANIA with the rank of Private. DAR Ancestor # A050327

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=91263998

In the fall of 1799 Mark (Short Mark) and Little John Hardin visited the Falls (of the Ohio), and scouted as far out as the Salt River, up to Harrods Creek. This embraced nearly the whole of what is now Jefferson County and parts of Oldham, and Bullitt Counties. They were so pleased that they determined to search no farther, but go home and return with their effects and locate as much of the fine land as possible. Neither of them had families. The glowing account they gave of the country fired the restless spirits of whole race on either side of the Mononogahela, and the general preperations commenced to move to and take possession of the rich lands on and near Beargrass Creek, which empties into the Ohio River, or did originally, at the foot of First Street, in the (now) center of Louisville KY.

A number of them were in the old Continental Army; these were summoned home for the move. Two flatboats were rebuilt during the winter of 1799 and the spring of 1780. On the first of March, fifteen families, composed entirely of kindred by blood or marriage, embarked with their effects, bade farewell to their old homes and floated down the Mononongahela, many of them never to see the proposed new homes. They had one large boat. This was loaded with their horses, cattle and heavy moovable property. The other was a small, light boat prepared especially for the families and lighter effects. The heavy boat required nearly all the stregnth of the party to navigate it and care for the stock onit. It was arranged that the family boat should be manned by two of the men and some boys, and that it should keep immediately in rear of the heavy boat in order that any assistance should be needed in managing it, it would be in reach, or in case of an attack by the indians it could be defended.

All went well with them up to the 20th of March, when near the mouth of the Limeston they were furiously attacked by a large force of Indians of the tribes from the Sandusky towns and Chillicothe or Scioto. The men steering the family boat were both killed by the first volley fired. The other boat was being riddled with balls. THe man near half were soon killed or crippled. No assistance could be given to the family boat. It soon drifted on to the northern shore and was stormed by the Indians after one of the most heroic defenses possible. The Indians were kept at bay until the last man and boy were killed on board the boat/ The last to fall was Stephen Hardin, a boy of ten years old, a son of John Hardin (Jack Hardin Sr.) This little fellow had been exposed through the whole fight, but had loaded and fired his rifle over twenty times. When the Indians had killed all but him, he abandoned his place and planted himself by the side of his mother, saying, "Mother, the last shot shall be in your defense." The words of the brave boy were hardly uttered when the Indians came pouring into the boat; two of them, tomahawk in hand, rushed in on him; he shot one of them dead, the other one paused and at that moment another Indian shot Stephen through the head and he fell dead at his mothers feet.

Mary Hardin and her 4 year old son Robert were captured along with a man named Robertson's wife and two children, another wife and two daughters, and others were all taken captive of the Indians that attacked the Hardin Famliy boats that day. Jack Hardin, Thomas Harding, Robertson, Mordecai Lincoln, and many others made many attempts to resque Mary and the others in the months they were captives, several men were wounded and a few died in the attempts. At least one man was captured and tortured to death in the ordeal. The book gives great detail to the events following the attack on the 20th of March 1780.

Mary Hardin and her son Robert were captives for two and a half years, during which time Mary gave birth to a daughter she named Mary, they were ransomed from the Indians by the French in November of 1781. The were taken to Montreal and then to Quebec(Canada). Not being able to travel with two small children Mrs. Hardin was cared at the expence of the kind-hearted French People, until a means of transportation was available. In February of 1782 a means was presented to transport her and her children to Philidelphia. When she arrived a number of members of the Continental Army were there who knew her family, these men took up a small collection for her to send her and her children to her family on the Monongahala.

Jack and Mary were reunited in April of 1782 on the Monongahala, where they stayed until March of 1785. Jack and Mary Hardin settled on Cartwright Creek, two miles below where Springfield, where St. Rose Catholic Church now stands, and built his cabin about one hundred yards above where the mill now stands at a large spring on the bank of the creek.

I assume Jack & Mary Hardin were buried in the cemetery Col. John Hardin started on Pleasant Run, which eventually had around two hundred people buried in it. It was destroyed in the 1800's by a man named Charles Cameron, who wished to use this particular piece of land for a mule lot. He commenced to removing all of the crudely marked stones, with the names of most of the families of the original settlers of Pleasant Run carved in them, from the cemetery.

Most of this story is taken from a book titled 'History of the Hardin Family in the early Setteling of Kentucky', written by Jack Hardin Jr, grandson of Jack Hardin Sr & Mary Harding.

T homas Harding, 1759-1840

Buried in Lingerman Cemetery southwest of Brownsburg. Served as a spy in Pennsylvania under Capt. McCleary, Col. McFarland, Capt. Cross, Col. Evins, Col. Gaddis. His wife was Sarah Payne and his children were John, Samuel, Rebecca, Sally, Amy, Noah, Ruhamy, Payne, and Aaron.

A Patriot of the American Revolution for Pennsylvania with the rank of Private & Spy. DAR Ancestor #: A050327