Son of Aaron Harding & Margaret Campbell
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CAPTAIN JACK HARDING DIES AT PLEASUREVILLE
Attorney for the L & N. for 32 Years Passes Away at Age of 72

EMINENCE, Ky., July 24. - Captain Jack Harding died at his home at Pleasureville this morning at 6:30 o'clock of uraemic poison. He is survived by his wife, who was Miss Julia Downs, a daughter of Major and Mrs. George F. Downs, of Louisville; two daughters, Mrs W L Threlkeld and Miss Dell Harding, of Pleasureville; a brother, Judge Robert Harding, of Danville. His only son, Jack Harding, Jr., died about two years ago. The funeral will be held at the residence Monday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock and the burial will take place in the Pleasureville Cemetery.
Captain Harding was born in Greensburg, April 1, 1843. His father, Hon. Aaron Harding, was a member of Congress. Captain Harding was attorney for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company for thirty-two years, retiring on account of illness about two years ago.

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Kentucky: A History of the State, Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 6th ed., 1887,
Henry Co.

J. HARDING, a noted attorney of Henry County, Ky., was born in Greensburg,
Green Co., Ky., April 1, 1843, a son of Hon. Aaron and Margaret (Campbell)
Harding. His father, Hon. Aaron Harding, was recognized as one of the
ablest lawyers in the Green River country. He was a member of the State
Senate and Legislature, three times elected to the United States Congress,
and once nominated for governor of Kentucky, but declined the nomination.
His (J. Harding's) grandfather, Thomas Harding, of Virginia, was a soldier
in the Revolutionary war; he was a Indian fighter, had many thrilling
adventures with the red men of the forest, and was with Gen. Crawford in
the disastrous "Crawford's Defeat." He immigrated to Kentucky in 1783,
and settled in Green County. His maternal grandfather, Adam Campbell,
emigrated from Virginia about 1802, and he and two brothers settled in
Taylor County, and Campbellsville takes its name from them. J. Harding was
educated at Franklin College, Ind., and Georgetown College, Ky., read law
with his father, located in Louisville, Ky., in 1868, practiced law in
partnership first with Hon. Boyd Winchester, and afterward with Judge Andy
Barnett and Chancellor I. W. Edwards. His health failing in 1876, he
retired from the practice to Henry County, Ky., where he has a fine blue
grass farm of 350 acres, and is extensively engaged in breeding trotting
horses. July 11, 1872, he married Miss Susie Downs, daughter of George F.
Downs, a retired merchant of Louisville. Her mother was a daughter of Dr.
William Murray, in his day one of the first physicians of Louisville.
J. Harding and Susie Harding have three children, viz.: Mary Margaret
Harding, Jack Harding, Jr., and Susie Adel Harding.

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The Advocate-Messenger
July 27, 1915
Page 1

Capt. Jack Harding Buried Yesterday
….
Remains of Prominent Attorney and
Beloved Christian Gentleman
Laid to Rest in Family Lot in
Pleasureville
…

Eminence, Ky., July 24 – Captain Jack Harding died at his home at Pleasureville this morning at 6:30 o’clock of uremic poison. He is survived by his wife, who was Miss Julia downs, a daughter of Major and Mrs. George F. Downs, of Louisville; two daughters, Mrs. W. L. Threlkeld and Miss Dell (Adele) Harding, of Pleasureville; a brother, Judge Robert Harding, of Danville, and a sister, Mrs. James Gentry, also of Danville. His only son, Jack Harding, Jr., died about two years ago. The Funeral will be held at the residence Monday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock and burial will take place in the Pleasureville cemetery.
Captain Harding was born in Greensburg, April 1, 1843. His father, Hon. Aaron Harding, was a member of Congress. Captain Harding was attorney for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad company for thirty-two years, resigning on account of illness about two years ago.
……

A dispatch from Shelbyville Saturday to the Courier-Journal says:

Capt. Jack Harding, a prominent lawyer, farmer and stockbreeder, died this morning at his home, near North Pleasureville, of uremia, following a long illness of Bright’s disease. The funeral will be held from the residence Monday afternoon at 2 o’clock, with services conducted by the Rev. Dr. Eager, of Louisville,. The burial will be in the Pleasureville cemetery.
The pallbearers will be as follows:
Active
…
Justice John D. Carroll, of the Court of Appeals
Senator W. B. Moody
Hon. Sid Douthitt, of New Castle
Judge Frank Peak, of Louisville
Hon. G. Allison Holland, of Lexington
Mayor A. Alexander, of Pleasureville

Honorary
…
Hon. Luther Willis, Shelbyville
Hon. Joseph Maddox, Shelbyville
Judge Nat C. Cureton, of Louisville
Gov. W. P. Thorne, Eminence
D. A. Sachs, Sr., Eminence
Judge Settle, of Frankfort
Judge Hobson, of Frankfort
Hon. Ben Lee Hardin, of Harrodsburg
Hon. Ben Will Penick*, of Greensburg
Mr. E. A. Gullion, of New Castle
Will marshall, of Lexington
H. C. Bird, of Shelby County.

Capt. Harding was born in Greensburg, Ky., on April 1, 1843. He was a son of the Hon. Aaron Harding who represented that district in Congress for several terms. He located in Henry County while still a young man and had been the attorney for the Louisville & Nashville railroad in that County for more than thirty years, retiring from that positon about a year ago on account of failing health.
Capt. Harding was married in 1872 to Miss Susie downs, of Louisville, who survives him, with two children: Mrs. William Threlkeld, the wife of the cashier of the Deposit Bank of Pleasureville, and Miss Adele Harding. His only son, Jack Harding, Jr., died three years ago. He also leaves one brother, the Hon. Robert Harding, and one sister, Mrs. James Gentry, both of Danville.
It was at Greensburg that Capt. Harding studied law and wa admitted to the bar. Soon after he began the practice the Democratic party of his legislative district tendered him the nomination for the General Assembly, but though his election was not a matter of doubt, he declined it for the reason that he preferred to devote himself to the law and avoided politics, so far as seeking office was concerned. He located not long afterward in Louisville, and became a member of the law firm of Barnett, Edwards & Harding, which had much success at the bar, making not a little money.
However, Capt. Harding’s health became bad and he bought a splendid farm in the high country about Pleasureville and became a farmer as well as lawyer. He was especially a breeder of fine saddle and harness horses. His home, Brookwood, became famous on this account. Brookwood was, at the same time, a center of magnificent hospitality. No other man in this section of the State ever entertained so many noted persons – lawyer, statesmen and literati.
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Captain Jack Harding is dead. The announcement will bring sadness to many hearts. He was a royal gentleman – the very flower and fruition of all that is best in Kentucky lie and character. He loved his fellow man; he loved the horses and the dogs; he loved, in fact, all life and nature. He walked beneath God’s trees, and they spoke to him of his friends, and he called them for his friends, for he was a loyal and loving man.
He shirked no duty; he avoided no responsibility; he met with quiet fortitude every misfortune of life, and he sleeps today beneath the sod of the land he loved, while his memory lingers, fragrant in the land, consoling our hearts for his loss.
He was the ideal Kentuckian: into his kindly nature had been taken the warmth and light of Kentucky’s sunshine; his mind was as clear and pure as her running streams; his loyalty was as changeless as her hills; he was learned in many things, but most of all in the history and traditions of his native state, and he lived faultlessly up to every great tradition which Kentuckians cherish, and excelled in all their virtues.
The knightliest and kindliest of men has gone:

“May the grass grow green above you,
Is the prayer of one who loved you;
There ye meadowlark sing in the dawning,
There ye nightingale sing in the gloaming,
While a gentleman takes his rest.”
Contributor: 49568274