Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-11-07
daughters of 1912 UnveiI
Marker On Harding's Grave

~
lille and looked al The years of hts
young manhood and advanced age
ana nave seen typical American
Need we say more in his praise?
He dwell In a land of prmeyal
forests, the native haunts of birds and
beasts. and as The mammoth oak thai
"eatherS The storm and sinks deer
ITS roots into Mother Earth. he drew
! from the soil and from God his
/ strength and caught The Wild birds
I 1lulc-Ilke notes 10 delight his com
! panions with. Today all is changed g;
great throbbing cities have displaced
the forests, and the hum Of machin-
cry is vocal thru the land, but We who
have followed after him would rover
emily build our characters to the type
OF this simple sublime life We here
commemorate.
You, the members of tho Simon
Bradford chapter, Daughters Of 1872,
have Wreathed . garland Of immOr-
tality for a pioneer today; you have
spanned the hundred years that inter
vened between the then and now,
and touched the hearts of three gener
atoms as you paid this tribute to 2
noble man.
Orators have been fired by the
lofty inspiration that the American
soldier life Of 1912 produced, and en-
riched literature with their praises;
but il has been given to the women
of America to do a greater service.
You of the local chapter, Daughters
of 1912, have broken the alabaster
box of love upon the grave Of the
revered Dexter Harding and this act
shall be a memorial unto you and be
told unto the generations that in time
will look upon this marker. and be
touched with its significance.
sIn the name of the descendants OF
Dexter Harding, | thank YOU
Interesting History.
The historical sketch by Miss Fox
was as follows:
"The generation to which Dexter
Harding belonged has long since pass
ed Off the stage. Some few still re-
member him, as an old man of COM
manding presence, uncommOnly tall
and large whose handsome face en-
pressed kindness and hnmor.
''He possessed uncommon personal
attraction and love of the beautiful
in nature and art.
Grown to maturity in the wilds of
the then far West, he with his BROTH
ers welded the axe, the great civiliZer
in the western part OF New YORK
state in Madison county.
1.-The means for intellectual devel-
opment were very scant, most of the
reading being done from the Bible
the only book in the house-and lis
tening to the few preachers who gath
cred together in the forest settlement
to hear the gospel
cat this time war was declared be-
tween the United States and Great
Britain. Caught up in the patriotic
enthusiasm that rolled over the coun-
try, Dexter Harding was one of the
first to enlist. Too young for active
service he was enrolled as a drum
mer boy, and was called to his post at
Oswego, New York.
"After six months he was relieved
by his brother Chester, and returned
home where he worked on a contract
with the United States government
for the drums to be used by the army
"The Harding family were a family
of portrait painters, the most cele-
brated being Chester Harding, whose
portraits were famous both in this
country and abroad.
"Following in Chester Harding's
wake, Dexter moved to Hickman, KY,
where he was married to Jane Allen.
There were thirteen children in the
80 xr,1a
Hickman.
anxious to give his children the
benefit of an education, and having no
public schools, Dexter contracted one
winter to paint the portrait OF the
school teacher in return for the tutor
ing of his children.
with much care the portrait was
finished, but the teacher was much
hated by the boys, and finding the
coast clear, they removed the portrait
to the back yard, and threw bricks
through the canvas until the lady was
demolished. The record failed to
state what happened to the boys, but
the portrait had to be repainted.
''For service in the war OF 1917
Dexter Harding was given grant OF
land in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and IN
the early forties, with his wife and
children he moved to Arkansas. Part
of the trip was made by boat, and the
rest of the way overland.
1.-THE old Harding home (now occu-
MED by Fred Fox), stands on part Of
This grant today. After he arrived In
pine Bluff he engaged in the lumber
business. and Harding's Mill, as il
was called, kept up steady hum.
"When the civil war was declared
his sons rallied to the aid of thu
South, and the mill was changed tt
a grist mill, to supply the communit!
with flour: The mill was run b.
Dexter Harding, Jr., the youngest son
who was too young for service, bu
later, in spite of his youth. he Wen
to the aid of the South, in her ex
tremity, as courier.