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N. B. Hardeman

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Nicholas Brodie Hardeman
Born(1874-05-18)May 18, 1874
Milledgeville
Chester County
Tennessee, USA
DiedNovember 6, 1965(1965-11-06) (aged 91)
Memphis
Shelby County, Tennessee
Resting placeHenderson City Cemetery in Henderson, Tennessee
Alma materWest Tennessee Christian College
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJoanna Tabler Hardeman (married 1901-1940, her death) (2) Annie Brown Hardeman (surviving spouse)
ChildrenDorsey B. Hardeman

Nicholas Brodie Hardeman (May 18, 1874 - November 6, 1965) was an educator, debater, and a gospel preacher within the Church of Christ. Along with Arvy G. Freed, Hardeman in 1907 co-founded what became the Freed-Hardeman University, first known as the National Teachers Normal and Business College, or NTN&BC, in Henderson, Tennessee. In 1919, the institution was renamed the Freed-Hardeman College. In 1990, it acquired university status. From 1925 to 1950, Hardeman was the president of Freed-Hardeman. He was also an avid horse enthusiast, having participated in the Tennessee Walking Horse competitions as an owner, rider, and a judge.

Early years

Hardeman was born in Milledgeville in western Tennessee, the son of Dr. John B. Hardeman, Sr., a physician, and his wife, Nancy. He graduated in 1895 with a Bachelor of Arts from West Tennessee Christian College in Henderson. Thereafter, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received thereafter a Master of Science degree from the same college. This institution was renamed Georgie Robertson Christian College.

On April 21, 1901, Hardeman married the former Joanna Tabler. The service was performed in Henderson by the clergyman A. G. Freed. "Miss Jo", a lifelong resident of Henderson, attended Georgie Robertson, excelled in music, and headed the Instrumental Music and Voice Department at Georgie Robertson and then Freed-Hardeman until her death on May 6, 1940.

While Hardeman was a student at West Tennessee Christiam College, he was baptized there by R. P. Meeks.[citation needed] Hardeman became an instructor at Georgie Robertson and served as the vice president of the institution. A charismatic gospel preacher, he served as the minister or assistant minister of the Henderson Church of Christ at various times periods. He was also a trustee of that congregation. Hardeman served too as superintendent of the Chester County School District even while he was an instructor, vice president and later president of Freed-Hardeman College.

In the late 1890s and early 1900s a split occurred within the local Christian Church/Church of Christ in regard to the use of musical instruments in the worship services. In January 1903, after much discussion and prayer, a majority of the members left the church and formed what is now the Henderson Church of Christ. Hardeman and his family, including his father, the families of his brothers and sisters, and followers in the faith, joined the new congregation. Because the Georgie Robertson administration was pro-musical instruments, Hardeman resigned as vice president of the institution.

The roots of Freed-Hardeman

Because of the lack of funding from private sources, mostly a result of the withdrawal of members and opposition to the use of musical instrument in worship, Georgie Robertson ceased operations after the 1906-1907 school year.

Hardeman and A. G. Freed, the former president of Georgie Robertson College and subsequently the president of the since defunct Texas Southwestern Christian College,[1] Freed were approached by local businessmen about opening a new institution of high learning. Wanting the new facility to remain in Henderson, Freed and Hardeman offered to purchase the land and buildings of Georgie Robertson. However, the entity that owned the land and buildings, the Tennessee Missionary Association, a branch of the Christian Church, refused the offer because of the ongoing dispute between the Christian Church and the Church of Christ. Hardeman and Freed hence purchased land across the street from Georgie Robertson, with their own monies. Construction then began on what is now known as the Old Main Building. Because construction was underway on the new school, the 1907-1908 academic year was conducted in local businesses along Front Street. Several years later, some of the oldest buildings along Front Street were razed for redevelopment. A notebook filled with class notes belonging to A.G. Freed was found on an upper floor. In the fall of 1908, NTN&BC opened for its first school session in its final location. Freed became the first president of NTN&BC, and Hardeman became vice president.

The former lands and buildings of Georgie Robertson College were later donated to the Chester County school system and served as the county high school and later an elementary school. Hardeman, meanwhile, continued to serve as the public school superintendent. In 1963, the buildings were sold to Freed-Hardeman by the school system and renamed the Milan-Sitka Building, in honor of the Churches of Christ at Milan and Sitka, Tennessee, which had raised funds for the purchase. Primarily used by the theatre, business, and mathematics departments, the building was demolished in 2004. The new Bulliner-Clayton Visual Arts Center, built on the site of the old Milan-Sitka Gymnasium, opened at the beginning of the Fall 2007 semester. The original gymnasium floor serves as a patio to the new building.

In 1919, NTN&BC was purchased from Freed and Hardeman, and a board of trustees composed of Church of Christ members was authorized to operate the college. By unanimous decision, NTN&BC was renamed in honor of the two founders and became Freed-Hardeman College. The building, known as the Main Administration Building (later, Old Main), was designed by local architect Hubert Thomas McGee. McGee was originally from Chester County, but had moved to Memphis, Tennessee, by 1910. He was the architect for the original Georgie Robertson building and eventually designed ten buildings for the school. His most well-known building is the Clarence Saunders estate, the [Pink Palace] in Memphis.

Hardeman kept busy with his duties with Freed-Hardeman College and the Chester County schools. He was also was a widely regarded preacher and speaker. He was often invited to hold gospel meetings throughout the country; some of the revivals lasted for several weeks. One meeting that lasted a week at the Union Avenue Church of Christ in Memphis resulted in ninety-four baptisms with fourteen others after the close of the revival.[citation needed]

Hardeman was a prolific debator for the cause of Christ. His first debate occurred when he was twenty-five; he had been preaching for only two years at that time. His debate with the Missionary Baptist clergyman, Ben M. Bogard of Little Rock, Arkansas, was considered one of his finest performances in the exchange of theological views.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

In 1932, Hardeman came to West Texas to practice law in San Angelo, the seat of Tom Green County. In 1936, he was elected mayor of San Angelo, a position that he held until 1938, when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives from District 91 and served two two-year terms[2] before he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the Air Force. Sent to officers training school, he became a judge advocate general.[3]

After his military service, Hardeman was elected in 1946 to the Texas State Senate from District 25, which then included Brewster, Coke, Coleman, Crane, Crockett, Edwards, Glasscock, Irion, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Runnels, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, and Val Verde counties. Hardeman served in the upper legislative chamber for twenty-two years.[2]

Hardeman became a powerful, well-known senator because of his knowledge of the lengthy and intricate Texas Constitution, implemented in 1876 and still in use. Through his chairmanship of the Senate State Affairs Committee, Hardeman became a master of legislative procedures. He worked to revise the code of criminal procedure. He pushed for completion of Angelo State University, a four-year state-supported institution in San Angelo. He supported the construction of the Stacy Dam and Reservoir on the Upper Colordao River of Texas.[3]

In 1969, Governor Preston E. Smith named Hardeman executive director of the Texas Water Commission, a position which he retained for two years. From 1971 to 1982, he was a commissioner of the agency.[4]

Dorswey Hardeman was a descendant of William P. Hardeman and Bailey Hademan, two of the signers in Washington County in 1836 of the Texas Declaration of Independence. A successful businessman, Hardeman owned the historic San Angelus Hotel in San Angelo and held both ranching and farming interests in Texas and Colorado. He also owned a title company. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of the Republic of Texas, Knights of San Jacinto, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Order of Stars and Bars, the Baronial Order of Magna Carta, the Huguenot Society, and the Knights of Malta. He was an honorary member in the Greek order of St. Denis of Zante. Hardeman was a lifetime member of the Texas State Historical Association. He was also affiliated with the American Legion and the bar associations of Texas and Travis and Tom Green counties.[3]

Dorsey Hardeman was married to the former Geneva Moore (born 1918) of Brownwood, Texas. He died in Austin at the age of eighty-nine and is interred there at the Texas State Cemetery.[5]

References and sources

  1. ^ Freed was not the president of the current Southwestern Christian College, an historically black institution affiliated with the Churches of Christ and located in Terrell, Texas. This insitution was not founded until 1948, and Freed died in 1931.
  2. ^ a b "Texas Legislative Reference Library". lrl.state.tx.us. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference bio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Inscribed on Dorsey Hardeman gravestone, Texas State Cemetery, Austin, Texas
  5. ^ "Geneva Moore Hardeman". cemetery.state.tx.us. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  • Bradshaw, Joanne Powers. Personal Interview. August 4, 2008.
  • Freed-Hardeman University Catalog, 2006–2007, 'History of Freed-Hardeman University", Freed-Hardeman University Publisher, 2005, page 10.
  • Hardeman Family Papers, December 3, 1985. Tennessee State Library & Archives. [1]
  • Hardeman, N.B, Hardeman Tabernacle Sermons, Vol. 1, Freed-Hardeman University, Publisher, 1977
  • Hardeman, Hardeman Tabernacle Sermon, Vol. 2
  • Hardeman, Hardeman Tabernacle Sermon, Vol. 3
  • Hester, Samuel, History of the Restoration Movement, Freed Hardeman University, 1990
  • Howell, Ellenor J. Hardeman. "The Hardeman Family of West Tennessee." 2004

See also

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