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Hardin-Stark Family Materials

 Collection
Identifier: MC 1865

Scope and Content Note

The Hardin-Stark Family Materials contain the genealogy of several families including, Bollinger, Faqua, Greathouse, Hardin, Harton, Melvill, Mitchell, Moore, Quinn, and Stark. Also include in this collection are tax and deed records relating to the Hardin-Stark family holdings in Arkansas. In addition, the collection contains photographs and a scrapbook belonging to Martha Mitchell Stark tracing her experiences as a senior a Brackenridge High School, her years enrolled at Arkansas State Normal College, and her early courtship with Hardin Stark.

Materials include correspondence, genealogical materials, deeds, receipts, newspaper clippings, scrapbook, and photographs.

Dates

  • 1790-1999

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

The Greathouse and Hardin families were some of the earliest settlers of Arkansas. Gabriel Greathouse was born in 1761 in Frederick County, Maryland. Gabriel moved with his father, Harmon Greathouse, to Brook County, West Virginia. In 1815, Gabriel and his wife, Ruth, and their three children, Daniel, John, and Mary left Burbon County, Kentucky and moved to Pulaski County, Arkansas where Gabriel had acquired 320 acres of land. In 1820, Gabriel was appointed sheriff of Pulaski County and served for two years. Daniel his oldest son was born in Kentucky in 1802 and was thirteen years old when he and his family moved to Arkansas. Daniel married Elizabeth Magness in Little Rock in 1825. Together they had three children. Daniel Greathouse was a prosperous farmer and land owner. In addition, Daniel was active in numerous enterprises such as serving as second lieutenant in the Arkansas Militia and contracting with the government for the removal of Seminole Indians from the White River to Indian Territory in present day Oklahoma. Daniel died April 2, 1836 leaving his wife, Elizabeth, in charge of his estate.

There were three generations of Hardins who were pioneers in Arkansas at the time it became a territory. The first, Benjamin Hardin, Jr., was born in Mechlenburgh, North Carolina March 15, 1764. During the Revolutionary War, the Hardin family was forced to flee their homes and settle in Rowan County, North Carolina where Benjamin joined a volunteer horse company and fought in the Battle of Cowpens and the Battle of Kings Mountain. After the Revolutionary War, he lived in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky. In 1815, with his four sons, Joseph, Benjamin III, Joab, and Jacob, he moved into what was to become Lawrence County, Missouri, later to become Arkansas territory. They settled in an area that is today Independence County, Arkansas. The Hardins soon became prominent among the early settlers. When Arkansas territory was created, Joseph and Joab Hardin were elected to the first General Assembly which convened at Arkansas Post in February 1820. In 1820, Cadron was being considered by the state legislature for both the territorial capital and the seat of Pulaski County. The county seat petition was presented first, on February 10th by Joab Hardin. Meanwhile, on February 20, 1820, a bill was introduced to move the territorial seat of government from Arkansas Post to Cadron. The bill was approved with amendments, and one of those amendments changed Cadron to Little Rock. Governor Miller signed the bill on October 18, 1820 and it went into effect on June 1, 1821. In 1823, Joab Hardin moved from Lawrence County, Arkansas to an area north of Cadron, present day Faulkner County, which became known as the Hardin Hill settlement in Pulaski County, Arkansas. He died in the spring of 1824. Joab’s son, Jonathan Hardin, was thrifty and invested his money in land. About 1840, Jonathan moved to Hardin Hill and married his second wife, the widow Elizabeth Greathhouse. Jonathan had two children living with him at the time. Elizabeth and Jonathan had four more children together. Over the years, Jonathan Hardin built up his estate and acquired a considerable amount of land mainly through lands forfeited to the state for non-payment of taxes. Jonathan Hardin died December 16, 1869, at the age of 69 years old.

Oliver Porter Stark and Harriett Stark were dedicated ministers and teachers who came to work at the Goodland Mission in present day Oklahoma in the 1850s. After the Civil War, they moved to Paris, Texas were they continued to preach and teach for several years. Together they had ten children. One of these ten children was William B. Stark who married the great-great-granddaughter of Joab Hardin, Flora Hardin Stark.

Extent

5.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

Arrangement of the Papers

Materials are arranged by topic.

Acquisition Information

The Hardin-Stark Family Materials were donated to the Special Collections Department, University of Arkansas Libraries, on December 11, 2008, by R.K. Bollinger of West Memphis.

Processing Information

Processed by Krista Jones; completed in May 2010.

Creator

Source

Title
Hardin-Stark Family Materials
Status
Completed
Author
Krista Jones
Date
2010
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Department Repository

Contact:
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444