Benjamin Hardin

Benjamin Hardin
A man with wispy, black hair and a prominent nose wearing a dark jacket, light tie and vest, and high-collared white shirt
27th Secretary of State of Kentucky
In office September 4, 1844 – September 6, 1848
Governor	William Owsley
Preceded by	James Harlan
Succeeded by	George B. Kinkead
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 7th district
In office March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837
Preceded by	John Adair
Succeeded by	John Pope
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 10th district
In office March 4, 1815 – March 4, 1817 March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823
Preceded by	William Pope Duval Thomas Speed
Succeeded by	Thomas Speed Francis Johnson
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office 1828–1832
Member of the Kentucky Senate
In office 1810–1811 1824–1825
Personal details
Born	(1784-02-29)February 29, 1784 Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, US
Died	September 24, 1852(1852-09-24) (aged 68) Bardstown, Kentucky, US
Party	Democratic-Republican National Republican
Relations	Father-in-law of John L. Helm Cousin of Martin Davis Hardin Cousin of Charles A. Wickliffe
Profession	Lawyer
Signature	Ben Hardin

Benjamin Hardin (February 29, 1784 – September 24, 1852) was an American politician who was a United States representative from Kentucky. Martin Davis Hardin was his cousin.

Biography

Hardin was born at the Georges Creek settlement on the Monongahela River, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and then moved with his parents to Washington County, Kentucky in 1788. He attended the schools of Nelson and Washington Counties, Kentucky before studying law. Admitted to the bar in 1806, he commenced practice in Elizabethtown and Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky, and then settled in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1808. He owned slaves.

Hardin was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1810, 1811, 1824, and 1825 and served in the Kentucky Senate 1828–1832. He was elected as a Republican to the Fourteenth Congress (March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817) and reelected as a Republican to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses (March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823). He was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837).

After leaving Congress, Hardin served as the Secretary of State of Kentucky 1844–1847. He served as a member of the Kentucky constitutional convention in 1849.

Death and interment

Hardin died in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1852 and was buried in the family burying ground near Springfield, Kentucky.