John Wesley Hardin: criminal and lawyer
John Wesley Hardin: criminal and lawyer
Written by compiled by Jim Dawson Tuesday, 07 March 2006
The first two graduates of the Round Rock Academy in 1870 were Joe Hardin and his brother, John Wesley (Wes) Hardin. While visiting his brother, Wes, then 17, attended class for only one day, took the final exam along with his brother, passed the test and was granted a diploma by the school master, J.C. Lundrum.
Even before he came to Round Rock in 1870, Hardin’s violent nature had already surfaced.
In 1867, when he was 14, he stabbed and killed a youth during a school yard squabble. The next year, in Polk County, he shot and killed a man as a result of a chance meeting and an argument. He was arrested and claimed that he killed three Union soldiers who sought to take him to justice for the Polk County shooting.
In 1871, Hardin decided to ride as a cowboy up the Chisholm Trail. En route, he killed seven people and three upon arrival in Abilene, Kansas. He reportedly befriended legendary marshal Wild Bill Hickok, but fled town after an incident in which Hardin killed a man by firing shots through a hotel wall to stop the man from snoring.
Hardin finally settled down long enough to marry Jane Bowen in 1872 and fathered a son and two daughters, but was soon in trouble again in 1874. On his 21st birthday, while visiting in Comanche, he shot Charles Webb, deputy sheriff of Brown County.
Hardin was constantly pursued in Texas. He fled to Florida with his family, adding one certain and five possible names to his death list before being captured by the Texas Rangers on a train in Pensicola, Florida.
Hardin was tried in Comanche and sentenced Sept. 28, 1878, to 25 years in prison.
During this time he made repeated efforts to escape, read theological books, led Sunday School classes and studied law. On March 16, 1894, he was pardoned by Governor Jim Hogg, and was admitted to the bar to practice law.
Hardin moved to El Paso and established a law practice and despite efforts to lead a decent life was killed in the Acme Saloon by Constable John Selman, on August 19, 1895, thus ending the life of “The meanest man in Texas.” He had more than forty notches on his gun. To know more, read Life of John Wesley Hardin as Written by Himself available at amazon.com.
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