Hardin D. Runnels

Hardin D. Runnels
Born(1789-05-31)May 31, 1789
Elbert County, Georgia
DiedJune 29, 1839(1839-06-29) (aged 50)
Madison County, Mississippi

Hardin Dudley Runnels (May 31, 1789 – June 29, 1839) was a Mississippi state Senator and a sheriff of Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States.[1]

He was born in Georgia and moved to Mississippi Territory around 1809 where he served as a territorial officer.[2] He was said to be less of his father Harmon Runnels' "temperament" than his brothers Hiram G. Runnels, and Howell W. Runnels.[1]

In 1813 he was responsible for collecting taxes in the vicinity of what is now Lawrence and Marion counties.[3] In 1814 he married Martha "Patsy" Burch Darden in Elbert County, Georgia.[4]

In 1824 he was elected to the Mississippi State Senate from the district composed of Hinds, Yazoo, Copiah, and Jefferson counties.[5]

In 1835 John H. McKennie testified before Congress that Hardin D. Runnels was part of a land company in partnership with Robert J. Walker, Thomas G. Ellis, Thomas Bernard, Franklin E. Plummer, Wiley Davis "and perhaps some others," all devoted to purchasing, though the Chocchuma land office, tracts of the newly opened lands recently appropriated from the Choctaw and Chickasaw.[6]

Hardin Runnels fathered four sons: Edmond S. Runnels (b. 1816), Hiram A. (b. 1818), Hardin Richard Runnels (1820–1873), and Howell Washington Runnels Sr. (1823–1895).[4] Hiram A. Runnels and Edmund S. Runnels attended the University of Alabama.[7]

Hardin D. Runnels was visiting Texas with his family in 1839 when he fell ill, and he died shortly after returning to Mississippi.[4] At the time of his death one of his brothers was president of Union Bank.[8] The minister at his funeral service on the third Sabbath of September was Rev. Nathan Morris.[9] His son Hardin Richard "Dick" Runnels moved to Texas after his death, along with his brothers and their widowed mother, and became a farmer and politician, elected governor of Texas in the 1850s.[10] According to a 20th-century account, "at first they located in Central Texas, but later the widow and her sons moved to Red River County and purchased land a few miles northeast of Boston, now the county seat of Bowie County."[11]

References

  1. ^ a b Powell (1938), p. 17.
  2. ^ "Obituary for the Mississippian". The Weekly Mississippian. July 5, 1839. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  3. ^ "Roots & Records: This concludes 1814 list of county taxes by Joyce Shannon Bridges". Columbian-Progress. December 29, 1994. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  4. ^ a b c Daughters of Republic of Texas - Vol I. Turner Publishing Company. June 15, 1995. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-56311-214-0.
  5. ^ "Election Results". State Journal. August 17, 1824. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  6. ^ United States (1835–1836). "Testimony of Col. John H. McKenie". United States Congressional Serial Set. 267: 102–106. ISSN 1931-2822.
  7. ^ University of Alabama; Palmer, Thomas Waverly (1901). A register of the officers and students of the University of Alabama, 1831–1901. Tuscaloosa, Ala.: The University. p. 46.
  8. ^ "Married & Died". The American Citizen. July 6, 1839. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  9. ^ "Communicated". The Weekly Mississippian. August 16, 1839. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  10. ^ "Hardin Runnels only for to defeat Hardin". The Houston Post. March 9, 1986. p. 24. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  11. ^ "Body of Governor Runnels Will Be Reburied in Austin". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 27, 1929. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-09-26.

Sources

  • Powell, Susie V., ed. (1938). Lawrence County (PDF). Source Material for Mississippi History, Volume XXXIX. WPA Statewide Historical Research Project – via Mississippi Library Commission (mlc.lib.ms.us). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Further reading

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