Benjamin Hardin

Benjamin Hardin
A man with wispy, black hair and a prominent nose wearing a dark jacket, light tie and vest, and high-collared white shirt
27th Secretary of State of Kentucky
In office
September 4, 1844 – September 6, 1848
GovernorWilliam Owsley
Preceded byJames Harlan
Succeeded byGeorge B. Kinkead
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 7th district
In office
March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837
Preceded byJohn Adair
Succeeded byJohn Pope
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 10th district
In office
March 4, 1815 – March 4, 1817
March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823
Preceded byWilliam Pope Duval
Thomas Speed
Succeeded byThomas Speed
Francis Johnson
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office
1828–1832
Member of the Kentucky Senate
In office
1810–1811
1824–1825
Personal details
Born(1784-02-29)February 29, 1784
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, US
DiedSeptember 24, 1852(1852-09-24) (aged 68)
Bardstown, Kentucky, US
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
National Republican
RelationsFather-in-law of John L. Helm
Cousin of Martin Davis Hardin
Cousin of Charles A. Wickliffe
ProfessionLawyer
SignatureBen Hardin

Benjamin Hardin (February 29, 1784 – September 24, 1852) was a United States representative from Kentucky. Martin Davis Hardin was his cousin.

Biography

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Hardin was born at the Georges Creek settlement on the Monongahela River, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and then moved with his parents to Washington County, Kentucky in 1788. He attended the schools of Nelson and Washington Counties, Kentucky before studying law. Admitted to the bar in 1806, he commenced practice in Elizabethtown and Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky, and then settled in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1808. He owned slaves.[1]

Hardin was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1810, 1811, 1824, and 1825 and served in the Kentucky Senate 1828–1832. He was elected as a Republican to the Fourteenth Congress (March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817) and reelected as a Republican to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses (March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823). He was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837).

After leaving Congress, Hardin served as the Secretary of State of Kentucky 1844–1847. He served as a member of the Kentucky constitutional convention in 1849.

Death and interment

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Hardin died in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1852 and was buried in the family burying ground near Springfield, Kentucky.

References

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  1. ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-19, retrieved 2022-07-10


U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 10th congressional district

1815-1817
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 10th congressional district

1819-1823
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 7th congressional district

1833-1837
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Kentucky
1844–1848
Succeeded by