The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964 Page: 58
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Southwestern Historical Quarterly and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
In 1873, the nearest one was only ioo miles from Comanche.
The town could be reached from the north on horseback by
way of Fort Griffin and Fort Belknap and the Western Cattle
Trail. It could be entered from the east over a road that was a
single wagon trail cut through dense woods and so deep in sand
it was difficult to travel.
In 1871, a black-haired, blue-eyed, dapper-looking young
lawyer, Joe Hardin, moved to Comanche. He brought with him
his wife and their baby daughter, Dora Dean Joe Belle Hardin.
Ambitious and energetic, Joe was taking an active part in the
affairs of the town by the time he had unpacked his saddlebags.
He became a Mason, a member of the Friends of Temperance,
and a real estate agent in addition to practicing law. A year or
two later he was appointed postmaster.
Other members of the Hardin family moved to the town:
Joe's parents, "Preacher" and Mrs. Hardin, their daughter Matt,
their young son Jeff, and several other children. Some of Mrs.
Hardin's nephews and their families also moved there. Among
the nephews were Ham Anderson, Alec Barrickman, and Tom
and Bud Dixon.
The pioneers of Comanche were a friendly folk. They wel-
comed the Hardins and made them feel at home. An especially
warm handshake was given the family by stalwart Mart Fleming,
who had known Preacher Hardin's brother Bob when he lived
in Brenham.
The Hardin family had long been prominent in Texas. Men
of the generation just older than that of Preacher Hardin had
held important offices and performed notable services for the
state. One had signed the Texas Declaration of Independence;
another had fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. And Preacher
Hardin's father had served in the Texas Congress that worked
out the details for annexation of Texas by the United States.
About April 28, 1874, another member of the Hardin clan
came to Comanche, a harmless-looking young man with slightly
curly hair and fathomless gray eyes, Preacher Hardin's outlaw
son John Wesley Hardin.
From what has been written about the killers of the "Old
West" the surest way for one of the gunslingers to become
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964, periodical, 1964; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101197/m1/78/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.