Hardy Family
 

The Hardy individuals in the line described here are primarily from the following states, in the approximate order of their movement:  Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Hardy Names in Database

Hardy Descendant Tree - 1816 to Present

Hardy's in the Civil War


Hardy Family History

My great-great-grandfather, John Hardy (1816-1859), was born in Virginia.  I have not been able to discover anything about John's ancestors or his early life.  (If anyone reading this has any information or clues about John Hardy, please contact me!)  He married Charlotte Bridges (1818-1850), thought to be a native of  Mississippi, in 1834.  The couple lived for a few years in Tennessee, where their first two sons were born.  They apparently moved to Mississippi between 1837 and 1839, where several more children were born.  The family migrated to Lafayette County, Arkansas between 1842 and 1846, where the last of their eight children were born (according to my best information).

After Charlotte died in the late 1840's, John was remarried to Elizabeth Jones Holloway in 1850, and they had four children.  John, Elizabeth, and seven of John's children from his previous marriage are listed in the 1850 Lafayette Co. Census.  Columbia County was formed from part of Lafayette and other counties in 1851, and John lived and farmed there until his death in 1859 from pneumonia at age 42.  He is listed as one of the pioneers of Columbia County.  There is a biographical sketch of John Hardy in the Goodspeed book titled "Biological and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas", Columbia County, Arkansas, Page 497.  The 1860 Census for Columbia County shows the widowed Elizabeth Hardy living with five of John's children.

Take a look at the original Columbia County, Arkansas Marriage Certificates for four of John Hardy's children, Beverly D., Molias, Sarah J. C., and Susan Caroline.

The Descendants of John Hardy outline descendant tree, as currently known, is available for browsing.

One of the sons of John and Charlotte Hardy was John R. Hardy (1839-1921), my great-grandfather.  Records show that he served in the Confederate Army throughout the Civil War and experienced heavy fighting, was wounded, and spent time in a POW camp.  John R.'s brothers Molias Hardy and Beverly D. Hardy also served in the Confederate army, and Molias died in a Union prison camp.  This page describes their Civil War records and experiences.  Included are fascinating letters written home by John and Molias from their army camps, as well as the Confederate Service Records of the three Hardy brothers.  There is some evidence that a younger brother, Jesse, also served in the Confederate Army, and died in a Union prison camp.  This is as yet unproven.

John R. was referred to as "Rile" and "Riley" in several records, so it is highly probable that his middle name was "Riley".  He married Margaret Jane (Greer) Wheeless (1842-1898) after returning home from the war in 1865.  Margaret was a widow and had possibly three children by her first marriage.  John and Margaret had eight children, all born in SW Arkansas.  John R. Hardy was a farmer and a preacher, being ordained a full Minister of the Gospel in 1888.   See the original Statement of John's Ordination.  Records show that he served as Pastor of several Baptist churches in Pike, Nevada, and surrounding counties.  Accounts handed down in the family describe John R. as a "hellfire and brimstone" preacher.  He lived his later years in Pike City, Arkansas, active in church and community affairs until his death.  His tombstone inscription reads "ELD. JOHN R. HARDY", referring to his position as an Elder of his church.  One of John's sons was Henry Harrison Hardy (1876-1949), my grandfather.  Another of his sons, George B. Hardy (picture), was also an ordained Minister.  After Margaret's death, John R. married Phoebe Elizabeth Duke (36 years his junior), in 1903.  In 1904 he fathered a son at the age of 65.  A very interesting obituary of John R. Hardy written by his son, Rev. George B. Hardy, gives many details about John's life.

I also have an obituary of Rev. George B. Hardy, who died in 1933.

Henry Harrison Hardy farmed and worked in the Arkansas oil fields, among other endeavors.  He married Adeline Cynthia (Addie) Harris (1883-1965) in 1901 (picture).  The Harris family and with the Webb family on her mother's side both had a large number of members in Southwestern Arkansas, (Hempstead and surrounding counties) and do to this day.  Henry and Addie had seven children, including Roe Coy Hardy (1913-1997), my father.  Henry and family moved to Gregg County, Texas, near Longview, around 1931 at the beginning of the oil boom.

In the late 1930's, Roe Coy Hardy (or R. C., as he was called) was in the Army Air Corps serving as a gunner on attack aircraft, stationed at Barksdale Field, near Shreveport, Louisiana.  There he met my mother Ruth Evelyn Ferguson (1919-1984), who was a native of Shreveport.  They were married in 1940 and had two sons, making their home in Shreveport.  R. C. spent the war years working in defense plants as a sheet metal worker.  Switching to welding as a trade in the  mid-fifties, he worked for many years on the construction of power plants, oil and chemical refineries and other projects throughout Louisiana as a member of the Boilermakers Union, Local 79.  He retired in the late seventies and lived in Shreveport until his death in 1997 at the age of 83.

Check out my Hardy Family Pictures.


Hardy Names in Database

Hardy's in the Civil War

Hardy Marriage Certificates

Hardy Descendant Tree - 1816 to Present

Biographical Sketch of John Hardy from Goodspeed Book

Ordination of John R. Hardy

Obituary of John R. Hardy

Obituary of George B. Hardy

My Hardy Family Pictures

Hardy Birth Records for Texas 1903-1997

Hardy Death Records for Texas 1956-1963

 

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