kind in the United States. The family of Nathan M. Harding and his wife consisted of the following children: Joseph E., cashier of the Thornton Bank, of Nevada; Ora, residing in Nevada; James W., a teacher in Oklahoma; Yancey and John T., of Nevada, and Leof, a lieutenant in the United States Navy, now seeing service in the Philippine Islands. Soon after the birth of the subject of this sketch his parents removed to Nevada, and in that city his early education was received. After completing the prescribed course in the public schools there, he attended the Southwest Normal School, at Fort Scott, Kansas, following which he entered the Missouri State University, and took the academic and law courses. In 1889 he was admitted to the bar in Nevada, and immediately afterward began his professional career with the firm of Burton & Wight, then regarded as the strongest alliance of legal talent in that section of Missouri. When Judge Burton was elected to Congress, Mr. Harding opened an office and practiced alone, but upon the expiration of the former's congressional term in 1898, he entered into a partnership with the latter, under the style of Burton & Harding, which relation still continues. Mr. Harding has always remained firm in his allegiance to the Democratic party, and as its candidate was elected to the office of city attorney and city counselor, serving from 1891 to 1896. In Masonry he is a member of the Lodge, Chapter and Commandery, and of Ararat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Kansas City. He is also an Odd Fellow. In religion he is identified with All Saints' Protestant Episcopal Church, of Nevada, of which he is now a senior warden. His marriage occurred November 4, 1891, and united him with Mary Joel Atkinson, daughter of Edwin J. Atkinson, M. D., a prominent physician of Nevada. They are the parents of one daughter, Patti Douglas Dyer Harding. Mr. Harding is highly esteemed by his fellow practitioners as a man of merit, whose foundation of learning in the law is secure. Few attorneys have the opportunities which were extended to him in the earlier days of his career, and his association in practice with such men as Honorable Charles G. Burton and Honorable S. A. Wight has had a marked influence upon his professional life. Older members of the profession prophesy that his future public

Vol. III-12

career will depend practically upon his own inclination in the matter, for his administration of the legal affairs of the city of Nevada was conducted in a manner which demonstrated his fitness for the higher and more responsible public duties which none but men of recognized ability and integrity should be called upon to fulfill.

Harding, Russell, railway builder and manager, was born July 24, 1856, in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, son of William H. and Mary E. Harding, the father a native of Massachusetts, and the mother of Virginia. He was educated in the public schools of Portland, Maine, and was fitted by a thorough course of training for the profession of civil engineering. His father, who was a member of the firm of Fuller & Harding, and who lived at Portland, Maine, until his death, January 24th, 1900, was extensively engaged for many years in railway building in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Indiana, Illinois and the Canadas, and from 1880 to 1884 he was president of a Texas Railroad Company. Under the guidance of his father, who was an accomplished man of affairs, the son became connected with railway construction work in 1870, first as an office boy in his father's office. A little later he became paymaster for his father, who was then engaged in contract work on the Portland & Ogdensburg Railway. From 1873 to 1876 he was connected with the engineering department of his father's business, and from 1877 till 1880 he was station agent, operator and ticket seller on the Portland & Ogdensburg line. From 1880 till 1883 he was assistant engineer, in charge of construction of the International & Great Northern Railway of Texas, and from 1883 until 1884 engineer and superintendent of construction on that line. From 1884 until 1886 he was resident engineer in charge of tracks, bridges and buildings on the same road. From January 1, 1886, to August 21, 1894, he was superintendent and engineer of the lines of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, in southern Kansas, with his headquarters at Wichita, Kansas. He then went to Grand Forks, North Dakota, as superintendent of the Dakota division of the Great Northern Railway, and filled that position until March Ist of 1896. He then became general superintendent of the Western Division of the

Great Northern Railway, at Spokane, Washington, and was thus engaged until February 15, 1897. From that date until November 1, 1898, he was general superintendent of the Great Northern system, at St. Paul, Minnesota. He was then made vice president and general manager of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and this brought him to St. Louis. January 6, 1899, he was elected president of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company of Texas. March 12, 1900, he was elected vice president and general manager of the Missouri Pacific Railway system. As the representative in St. Louis of this great railway system Mr. Harding is a conspicuous figure in the railway circles of the city, and his long connection with Western railroads. has made him widely known. Few men in the railway service have a broader or more thorough practical knowledge of everything pertaining to railway management, and his advancement from one position of responsibility to another of greater responsibility has been a systematic progression which is the best evidence of his capability. While living in New Hampshire he served at one time as a member of the Legislature of that State, but with this exception he has held no political office. In 1887 he married Miss Isabel Rowsey, daughter of Charles A. Rowsey, of Toledo, Ohio. Mrs. Harding's father, who was one of the early settlers of Toledo, and who served as a captain in the War of the Rebellion, is still living in Toledo, being at this date, 1900, eighty-five years of age.

Harding, Joseph Edmund, banker, was born in Vernon County, Missouri, October 30, 1847, a son of Nathan M. and Emily D. (Badger) Harding, of whom more extended mention will be found in the foregoing sketch of John T. Harding. During the childhood of the subject of this sketch his parents removed to St. Louis County, Missouri, locating at Webster Groves, where he attended the common schools. Upon the completion of his elementary studies he entered the college at that place, where his education was finished. In 1866 he accompanied his parents to Vernon County, where he has since continuously resided. after his removal to Nevada Mr. Harding received an appointment of deputy county surveyor. In 1868 he was elected county surveyor, serving in that office four years,

Soon

though he left the duties of the office principally in the hands of a deputy during the greater portion of that period, enabling him to engage in the book and stationery business with H. L. Tillotson, which partnership continued about a year. In 1871 he was appointed cashier of the newly organized bank now operated by the Thornton Banking Company, and since that time has occupied the same position, with the exception of five years. During that period the management of the bank's interests has been chiefly in his hands, and largely through his sagacious conduct of its affairs it has become recognized as one of the most prosperous financial institutions of southwestern Missouri. Aside from his banking experience, Mr. Harding has been interested in other ventures. He was one of the incorporators of the Nevada Gas Company, and its first president. Always firm in his allegiance to the Democratic party, he was chosen as the candidate of that party, first mayor of the city of Nevada, filling the office one term. He was also for one term presiding justice of the Vernon County court. A member of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Nevada, for several years he filled the office of warden. In Masonry he has filled the highest chairs in the Lodge, Chapter and Commandery. Mr. Harding was married, on January 2, 1873, to Kate A. McNeil, daughter of Colonel Robert W. McNeil, one of the pioneers of Vernon County, and an influential citizen of Nevada. Mrs. Harding died in Nevada, February 18, 1898. To Mr. and Mrs. Harding were born a family of nine children, of whom three are deceased. Those now living are: Murray, Anna, Emma (Mrs. C. H. Graves), Robert, Amy and Josephine, all of whom reside at home.

Hardy, Joseph Allen, mine-owner and operator, was born August 15, 1840, in Ralls County, Missouri, son of Joseph Arnold and Julia Anna (Gardner) Hardy. Both his parents were born in Frankfort, Kentucky, the father in 1812 and the mother in 1810. The first named died in 1879 and the last named in 1890. A short time previous to the Black Hawk War, Joseph Arnold Hardy went from Ralls County to Illinois, and during the war with the Indians he saw active military service, becoming well acquainted with Abraham Lincoln, who was also a par