John Hardie

1796 - 1848

        John Hardie (II) is the logical progenitor of the American branch of the Hardie family as it developed in the southern part of the United States.  He was the son of John Hardie (I) of Kinross, Scotland.  He was not the first "Hardie" to move from the old country to America, for James Hardie, a brother of John of Kinross, preceded him.  James resided in New York and died there without heirs before John reached the shores.

        John Hardie of Kinross, the elder, was born in Scotland about1763, and died in Kinross, Scotland, about 1833.  He married Isabelle Cousin, a farmer's daughter of the same village in which he farmed - Saline, County of Fife.  Their small farm there was known as "Broomie Knowe."  According to the book "John Hardie of Thornhill", written by Benjamin Palmer Lewis, they apparently adapted themselves to farming a piece of rented land and lived in a stone cottage in Saline.  Later, as the family grew and they became more prosperous, they moved to Kinross, and it was there that John (I) built the first home that he chose to name "Thorny Hill."

        The tombstone inscriiption in the Saline Old Church churchyard gives the following entry:

In Memory

of

John Hardie Fueur of Viewfield

Tenant of Broomie Knowe

died 20th day of May 1833

And of his Wife

Isabel Cousin

died June 12, 1837

And of

Joseph Hardie

Merchant in Kinross

died 11 January 1845

 

        John (I) and Isabel had eleven children:

  1.         Joseph Hardie, who was baptized June 15, 1787, at Halcroft, lived and died in Kinross.  As a young man he established a successful manufacturing plant in Kinross.  He married Marion Messar in Clackmannan.

  2.         Isabelle Hardie was baptized October 26, 1788.  She was married to Peter Sands and she died in 1818.

  3.         William Hardie, was baptized April 13, 1790, remained a farmer and located at Ross, Belford, Northumberland, Scotland.  He married Kate McFarland and they reared eight children.

  4.         John Hardie, baptized March 15, 1792, died at a very early age.

  5.         Marion Hardie was baptized May 18, 1794.  Other than this fact, little is known of her life.

  6.         John Hardie (II), the fourth son born March 6, 1796, is the subject of the sketch that follows.  He is the father of the American branch of the Hardie family as we know it.

  7.         David Hardie, born february 18, 1798, and baptized february 25, 1798, married christine Black and lived in Marklehead, East Lothian.

  8.         Robert and

  9.         James Hardie, a set of twins, were born August 12, 1800.  the onle information known is that Robert, who never married, became a merchant and died in Edinburgh at a youthful age.  James married Sarah Bladsworth.

  10.         Helen Hardie was born December 1, 1802.  As a young woman, she followed her brother to Alabama.  It is not known as to whom she was married but she gave birth to five sons.  She died in Talladega County, Alabama.

  11.         Alexander Hardie, the youngest child, was born April 12, 1807, while his father was still a tenant at "Broomie Knowe".

        Of the eleven children, the most accurate record shows that the fourth son, JOHN HARDIE (II), was born in Saline, Scotland, on March6, 1796.  As he grew up, he was fascinated by the land of opportunity, America, which he had heard discussed by travelers in the Post House.  Their stories Whetted his appetite.

        In November, 1816, john Hardie decided to leave Kinross and seek work in Edinburgh.  Kinross is about 20 miles from Edinburgh, as the crow flies, but this distance was not great to john Hardie, especially since he was not the type to spend money unnecessarily.  According to the book by Benjamin Palmer Lewis, he sent his trunk with a few necessities by freighter, then with "high hopes" he proceeded to walk to the city of Scotia, just as Thomas Carlyle had made the journey a couple of years before.

        the reason the life of John Hardie is so well documented is due to the fact that he was given to writing frequent letters, and the family retained these letters.  Most of the letters were addressed to his brother, Joseph, with whom he was very close, but regrettably few of John's letters were answered.  This must have been a great disappointment, for his letters were carefully written and represent an American saga, a history of that day.  These letters, which are quoted in Benjamin Palmer Lewis' book, were borrowed from Miss Ella Frierson Hardie, the only daughter of William T. Hardie.