Barnfield and Rodriguez Family Trees

[hardin.FTW]

"Since the Handbook of Texas (Vol. 1 P. 767-769) indicates that some of the Hardin brothers "fled" to Texas to escape trial on a murder indictment in Tennessee, and since the whole affair in Tennessee and its brief repercussions in Texas were not explained, it should be noted that the Tennessee indictments against the father, Swan Hardin, and the four older sons grew out of a feud in Maury County, TN between the Hardin's and the Porter family. As was customary in such early day feuds, the father and his four sons rode into Columbia, TN armed for battle because they though the Porter's were planning violence to them. The Porter's were entrenched in various offices, with Joseph B. Porter (the County Clerk), his brother (the Sheriff) and another family member (the prosecuting attorney). The cause of the feud between the families is not known, but it is true that one or more of the Hardin's shot and killed Isaac Newton Porter and William H. Williamson, October 1, 1825 in Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee. A.B. and Franklin Hardin did not believe that they could receive a fair trial and therefore left the County before being arrested.

Swan, Benjamin Watson Hardin and William Hardin were arrested and pled not guilty of murder. Their trials were transferred to Rutherford County, TN, where the father moved for and obtained a separate trial on March 4, 1826. The jury found him "Not Guilty" of murder, but an accessory to "manslaughter", for which he was to be "branded on the brawn of the left thumb" and imprisoned in jail for three months. He gave notice of appeal to the Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee, no records have been found of the results. Benjamin Watson Hardin and William Hardin escaped before being tried. The family history and research indicates that they had found Rutherford County, Tennessee to be dominated by the Porters and a fair trial unlikely.

The Hardin brothers had become leaders and officials in the Atascosito District of Texas before extradition proceedings were initiated by the Porters in 1828. while Sam Houston was governor of Tennessee and James K. Polk was a member of the U.S. Congress from Tennessee, Polk wrote a letter to Secretary of State, Henry Clay, in April 1828, asking that the U.S. seek extradition of Franklin, William, A.B., and Benjamin Watson Hardin. Clay addressed the request to the government of Mexico through Joel R. Poinsett, Minister from the U.S. to Mexico, on April 21, 1828. Upon result of the request by Ramon Musquiz, senior political chief for the Department of Texas, he commissioned Stephen F. Austin to arrest the brothers. Austin, although friendly and having marched with two of them in support of Mexican troops against the "Fredonian Rebellion" in 1827, apparently took his instructions seriously and personally organized a group of militia to march to Atascocito for the purpose of effecting their arrest. On August 3, 1828, Austin was notified by Musquiz that William Hardin had been apprehended and detained at Bexar and that Franklin Hardin had been arrested in La Bahia and Musquiz requested that Austin "proceed without further delay" to arrest Benjamin Watson Hardin and A.B. Hardin at Atascocito.

Austin marched his eight militiamen from San Felipe to the Trinity River observing the greatest secrecy and exercising every possible precaution to avoid being detected" hiding his men in the woods west of George Orr's home while he proceeded under cover of darkness to secure the information from Orr about the Hardins. He reported to Musquiz from the home of George Orr on August 9, 1828 that Orr had advised him to bring his militia across the river on the night of August 7, 1828 in order to arrive at Orr's home before midnight, and then to divide his forces so as to surround the house of B.W. Hardin, which was four miles to the north. Austin's report continued "I devided my force into two groups having augmented it by five men that Senor George Orr had ready in his house," and led by guides provided by Orr. Each group made its way to its assigned house and surrounded it to prevent escape. At daylight, entrance was made at each house, but neither of the Hardins was at home and "had not slept there the night before". Austin and his men searched the surrounding area with no success, and he blamed the failure of his mission on one of the Hardin's friends having seen his party marching toward the Trinity and probably sending warning to the Hardins. Austin then turned the assignment of apprehending the Hardins over to George Orr on Augus 9, 1828, apparently without suspicion that George Orr himself might be as friendly to his Hardin neighbors as anyone connected with the matter.