My husband is related to him; I just came across this video so thought I'd check it out. I didn't realize he was "famous" but my hubby shares passed-down stories sometimes. For what it's worth his family apparently considered him more of a very mean dude than what we'd normally think of as a serial killer nowadays. He's told me the story about "Uncle John" shooting a man for snoring too loud and says it was told in the family. Not sure that makes it any more likely to be true, but figured I'd share.
They were part of the State Police, the governor was a Yankee. Very corrupt, they were disbanded, the Rangers came back. The state police, a lot of them Sherman's scavengers, were out for revenge. Sheridan, the Union general of burning the Shenendoah valley fame, was in charge of District 13, Texas. Hardin called the soldiers he killed wooleyheads, he was known to be a tad bit racist. Against, blacks, Mescans, Indians, and anybody else that displeased him.
@@SomeMoreofit We can assuredly say John Wesley Hardin was a white boy. And probably as racist as the State Police out for revenge. But that was over 100 years ago, we are supposed to learn from mistakes. supposed to
@LazerDog Laz I don’t done for coolness I do for history and what these people said in their lifetime. You call that an insult it pathetic you more like a teenager who hasn’t left high school grow up your an adult be one
@@MartinsGarage97 some people get naturally offended by anything that the deem “pretentious” though often that just means “intelligent” or “thoughtful”
Well I too am from El Paso-and my name is John Wesley Tapp. I did the reverse of killing. I saved about three souls and donated blood. And yes, I snored until I got a C-pap.
His story isn't played down. I know what he was but the reason he's a legend is because El Paso used to be part of the wild West and it was lawless. Believe me, there's people fascinated with the Old West history.
a VERY quick man on the draw .. maybe the quickest ever ... and a crack shot .. to survive all those 1 on 1 conflicts in such times took skill and nerves of steel
@@yankee2666 he was very good with a gun . Yes he shot some in the back . He was a cold blooded killer . If you went back in time I'm sure you wouldn't say boo in front of him . Not a movie , he was a really good gunman and crazy too . Which made him deadly
Dio did nothing wrong U GOTSTA BELIEVE IN THE ME THAT BELIEVES IN YOU. Now close your eyes, reach for the sky and don’t you dare stop reaching till you can feel the sky in your hands. Once you feel it, grab onto it, each finger that clenches, you will achieve enlightenment, power, absolute empathy, wisdom, and as your pinky grasps on, absolute madness. Once you got ahold of it, pull it down! Down down down! And let it cleanse your heart and ease your soul! Now, take a hit of this wax! Ghost it! And join in.
Yep. He was known fer that. He also once had a 15 minute debate with a mule over who was "the stupid one", and the mule clearly won according to onlookers, so Simp shot him dead.
Great vid Simon. Ty. When my fellow Texans and I chat about outlaws we always conclude that Hardin was a true socio-path (like Bonny, the Youngers, and the Jameses). Your Old West Outlaw bio-graphics are truly inspirational!
Hardin and the James younger gang were southern patriots, and the Civil War made them what they were same with the Hatfield and Mccoy families. Bonnie and Clyde can't say though I have heard the woman manipulated the man into doing what he did.
My ancestor, Jesse Turner Evans, was the first man Hardin ever saw killed. This happened in Sumpter Texas. Hardin even wrote about it in his autobiography. Evans throat was slit in a confrontation. Evans started it and the other man finished it.
1:10 - Chapter 1 - Early years 3:50 - Chapter 2 - On the run 7:40 - Chapter 3 - Hardin meets wild bill 12:20 - Chapter 4 - The snoring man 14:40 - Chapter 5 - The sutton taylor feud 16:45 - Chapter 6 - Prison , freedom & death
Still hoping for a bio of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. He was wounded 17 times during his life and left for dead four times. He is credited with having killed between 53 and 70 people. He also hunted down and killed Bonnie and Clyde Maybe a video on the Texas Rangers in general. They started off more of a military force to protect the Texas Border and fight the Indian Wars that also acted as Law Enforcement made up of soldiers and gun fighters. Also, they left out here the law enforcement that caught Hardin in Florida was Texas Rangers. They bordered a train he was on and Hardin attempted to draw his revolver but the Ranger was faster and cracked him in the head with his pistol knocking him unconscious. "On August 24, 1877, Rangers and local authorities confronted Hardin on a train in Pensacola, Florida. He attempted to draw a .44 Colt cap-and-ball pistol but it got caught up in his suspenders. The officers knocked Hardin unconscious. They arrested two of his companions and Ranger John B. Armstrong killed a third, a man named Mann, who had a pistol in his hand. Hardin claimed that he was captured while smoking his pipe and Duncan only found Hardin's pistol under his shirt after his arrest."
Gungriffen I have heard that Frank Hamer was as good as Hardin was bad. He was said to have rescued men from lynching, never bragging about his exploits, and serving the citizens of Texas faithfully. I would love to see a movie about what is known of his career.
Johnny Trigger I have seen it, I thought it was quite good. I read a book out of my college library about him. It was an amazing story, all the more because he had refused to discuss many of his exploits because he thought it in poor taste to talk about his shooting outlaws in the line of duty. A very humble and God fearing man. Have a great day.
@@johndilday1846 i will have to see what books can be found, i would like to find out more about him. He surely was, but also a man you wouldnt want to mess with. I think that says alot about men of his time with the not boasting about lives he had took etc. I wonder how it effected him. You saying that reminds me of my great grandfather, i never met him, but he made it back from ww1. The somme, ypres etc and refused to talk about anything he had seen or done. Men where different imo back then. Thanks for the replie, you have a great day also.. 2:40am where i am 🤣 must get some sleep
I remember reading about the rangers who went to Florida looking for Hardin. Supposedly, when he saw their big hats, that evidently, stood out from other Southerners, Hardin exclaimed “Texas, by God!” and reached for his gun. That’s when his got hung up in his suspenders and they got him.
This was really cool to watch. I just found out yesterday upon going through my great grandmother's things that John Wesley Hardin is related to me. And he's really not that distantly related to me and we still live in Texas. I just shared this with my mom as we are both super interested in learning more as my great grandmother was not proud of this part of our family.
Yeah, Dylan changed the last name to "Harding", with a "g" on the end. I doubt that he intended the song to be an accurate biography of the actual John Wesley Hardin. Rather, he was simply writing a fairly typical "outlaw as Robin Hood helping the poor" type of song in the style of Woody Guthrie, and probably using it as a metaphor for his Dylan's own life in certain symbolic respects. It's a symbolic song about, not a literal story about the historical outlaw. Dylan has always loved "outlaw" songs, and has written several of them in his long career, probably seeing himself in the romantic "outlaw" role as someone who follows his own code, not society's code, someone who resists authority. His song closely resembles Woody Guthrie's well known song about Pretty Boy Floyd...not that it's a copy of the Guthrie song in either its music or its words...but it follows much the same theme and tells a very similar story, but only in 3 brief verses. The Guthrie song is considerably longer, having several more verses. Put succinctly, the "John Wesley Hardin" sung about in Dylan's song is not the historical outlaw John Wesley Harding at all. It's Bob Dylan himself, masquerading in the role of the outlaw.
As an El Paso native born and raised i can vouch for Hardin's gravesite being a major tourist attraction he's buried in old Concordia cemetery it's one of the oldest cemeteries in that area besides La Isla cemetery. Hell I remember when I was in school they taught us of John Wesley Hardin, I think they still talk about him in history class to this day, also Billy the kid since he spent a night there in the El Paso jail
@@Winteramen in his biography hardin said his cousin joined to kill Yankees (the first generation kkk was more anti union than anti black)until he was killed was he probably racist yeah but he mostly hated Yankees which was sort of normal in the south even today
It's almost as if most people have the entirety of human knowledge at their fingertips. Doesn't take long to find an american teaching a brit about the uk. Crazeee
I find John Wesley Hardin one of the most fascinating of the Old West outlaws. I will admit some partiality as a Texan who is very familiar with the part of the State in which Hardin grew up and rose to fame. For better or worse, I wouldn't be surprised if some of my ancestors knew him or of him. What I do find interesting is that Harden was the real deal and the type of deadly killer and gunfighter that more famous outlaws were only rumored to be. The other thing is that Harden shows a lot of signs of being very intelligent even with the limited formal education of the time. He wrote his autobiography and after prison became a licensed attorney. He is one of those people who you wonder how he would've turned out under different circumstances or in a different time period. I'm rather surprised Hollywood hasn't made a movie about him yet.
Hardin is buried in the Concordia cemetery near 5 points in El Paso which in itself is a fascinating place historically. It's exactly what you'd expect of an old west cemetery. A separate section for Chinese people, lots of unmarked graves and sadly a lot of children's graves.
@Biographics I would really like you to make a video about a lady named Milunka Savic. She is the most-decorated female combatant in the entire history of warfare. She survived all kinds of tragedies, had multiple gun wounds she survived and had the most unfortunate end of her life... Anyway, I believe her life is extraordinary, would really motivate a lot of men and women to keep up in this shaking times we live in!
As an American from the Great State of Arizona, I am familiar with the gunfighters, lawmen, outlaws, and cowboys. Oh, and the "Indians" (Native Americans), too. As someone absolutely NOT from this region of the world, I REALLY appreciate your input. You made my day. Thank you, Simon! 🤠👍
My suggestions for next biographies: Sir Nicholas Winston Nicolas Flamel Akhenaten Bartholomew Roberts aka Black Bart Madame Voisin Cesare Borgia D B Cooper
@3:43 Damn handsome example of the way early Colt Cartridge revolvers looked. Even if its a reproduction id still love to own one. Maybe one day. Tho the revolvers in Hardin's childhood were primarily Cap and ball not Cartridge fired and Hardin preferred the 1860 Colt Army.
Texas was its own country for three years and has never let go of that attitude. The Texas Embassy in London became a Tex Mex restaurant that served huge Bach platters.
Nice of you to cover another great Wild West icon. Though he was one of the most violent men of the era. There are still some left like Texas Stoudemeyer or Tom Horn. In addition, I just love the vintage blues tracks on this video.
@Cfc7ninja 12 Alright! Thanks! He was a real badass and a crazy ass as well. 😁 They also say that his way of dying was an anti-climax if you think of his rowdy ways.
I was stationed at Fort Bliss TX. El Park. Saw the marker where he was killed. Downtown old El Paso. Talked to some old timers. This was in the 70s. And these stories was passed down to them. He was kind because the man was plain scared. He was so afraid that Hardin was going to kill him. He was a very deadly man. And El Paso was a very dangerous and deadly town. Only the hearty lived there.
John Wesley Harding Was a friend to the poor He traveled with a gun in every hand All along this countryside He opened a many a door But he was never known To hurt an honest man It was down in Chaynee County A time they talk about With his lady by his side He took a stand And soon the situation there Was all but straightened out For he was always known To lend a helping hand All across the telegraph His name it did resound But no charge held against him Could they prove And there was no man around Who could track or chain him down He was never known To make a foolish move, Banger of a song so it is
i love your work, simon- thank you. you are helping me thru another bout of insomnia (because i have something to do not because you put me to sleep). :) i listen to all of your stuff, but i love the casual criminalist the most. thanks again
Nice - and some of that story is about my stomping grounds in Central Texas. I believe he met Frank Polk after Hardin's dad insisted he get a regular job, and he found a position in Pisgah Ridge as a schoolteacher. It didn't work for him and I think he quit after a month or two. One could imagine what that was like, but there are probably people around here who could answer the question. There are still Hardin family members in the area. Polk ended up in a vendetta against law enforcement in Wortham, Texas, and ended up getting killed in a gunfight in Wortham.
Since I'm so early i wonder if you'd ever consider doing a Biographics episode on Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda. He was a Malawian autocrat, doctor and Anglophile with a cult of personality and multiple degrees. Information on him is conflicting and in my opinion, unreliable depending on who you ask, but intriguing nonetheless.
Gus Grau Kamuzu Banda of Malawi: A Study in Promise, Power, and Legacy by John Lloyd Lwanda but only cause I’ve found it in my dad’s library back home. There are a few scholarly articles and such you could find online but if you live near a national library, especially in the UK, you might be more in luck.
Snoozer Vine it’d definitely be more interesting than difficult. the difficult part is using the information to classify him into any common mould. Totalitarian? Visionary? Fascist? Meritocrat? As I understand, for example, he is one of, is not the only African leader who decided to found a grammar school to have its students learn the classics, Ancient Greek and Latin. Still, because we don’t learn about him much besides biased stories from relatives, it gets difficult the more you want to know.
Best exposition of harding I've seen yet. Cudos. for superlative delivery with emphasis on important points; thanks for video lesson refresh. Keep up the great work!
My great grandma was married and had 3 children by his brother. Not sure if she's the woman they fought over but John was my grandpa's uncle although he never met the man. John's pistol spin has been called many things but great grandma called it the border roll. That's apparently what John called it and it was fast. I grew up around the three kids related and Grandma " Ida May Croussoure finally packed up their kids and disappeared later marrying a man named Inskeep in independence Missouri. She went on to have 11 kids and my grandad was the youngest. Missouri state university printed a true genealogy book called " the amilies of Inskeep Hardin and Garwood in. Early 70s and collected the recollections of Ida may and several of the other family members that I believe is out of print now but it is said to be the most accurate accounts from John Hardins sister in law who knew him well and said his brother was as mean of an " SO.B. as John ever was.
I will not stop asking. Please make more videos covering the people in the American Civil War, for example; Thomas Jackson, better known as Stonewall General William T. Sherman, who I really couldnt say anything about without someone getting pissed Confederate President Jefferson Davies Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who commanded the first African-American Regiment in the Civil War Ulysses S. Grant, who needs no introduction Etc. I just wish there were more videos that tackled the people in the Civil War on your channel
I don't know if it's true, but if anyone could have pulled off a border roll, on Hickok, Hardin would have been the man to do it. Thanks for another great video and for all the hard work you put in. peace
'On May the 26th, 1874, John Hardin celebrated his 21st birthday' - Em, what? With that rap sheet, I thought he was at least 40 by then. Definition of an overachiever I guess.
I don't get why killing the three soldiers is what proves he was a psycho. They were coming to arrest him it's not like he just didn't like their uniforms
@@jeremystewert4303 it wasn't so much his age that seems off but the time he actually spent in Texas because I dont believe he ever took his wife with him when he was away. I guess he was around enough though
Theres a lot you dont know about his history, the man lived and hid out in a little town of moscow texas down a dirt road named, hardin hideout rd in polk county . Only 1 way in and 1 way out, easy to see anyone coming, there are local stories that have been passed down through families around here for generations.
This may sound pretty unbelievable but my grandpa had told us that our great great great great grandfather was John Wesley Hardin. I think he said his mother or his mother’s mother was a Hardin
Egill Skallagrimsson chopped his friend's head off with an axe after the other kid cheated at the game iirc. Then what happened? His mother applauded him in front of the whole village and proudly hailed her son as a warrior and a killer. He later went on to become one of the most famous warrior poets and adventurers of the vikings.
He was my cousin. My great grandma was his aunt. she had his guns and diaries and journals and other stuff that had been passed along in the family including some letters from him to my great grandmother, but she sold everything to the Smithsonian before she died and it's never been seen since nor did they actually pay her the money.
The old gun on a string trick huh? I've used that once myself. Gun was hidden on the ground a short distance away that I could pull to me with a quick snap.
As a direct descendant of Wesley, the whole El Paso burial is quite upsetting. Yeah the guy was a pretty messed up fella, but still family. We bought our farm in Yorktown, as close to nixon as possible 26 years ago, because my grandpa was convinced he would be the one to finally bring his body home. He was absoultely obsessed with the man. Heard the tale of Wesley many, many times.
John Selman was an El Paso city marshal who shot Hardin in the back of the head when he found Hardin ,unarmed, in a saloon in the middle of the day throwing dice with the bartender. It was straight up murder.
@@danielblackburn1241 Might as well have been unarmed for all the chance that Selman gave him to use it. 1 shot to the back of the head and then 3 more shots with Hardin dead on the floor.
@@paulherzog9605 You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray You may call me anything but no matter what you say Still, you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes You're gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody
Fun fact not included: as mean and tough as he was he was also a really terrible bank robber, though he attempted many times the most he ever got away with was 6 bucks and some change 😂
Hardin's Wild Bill story is basically the first account of a "then everyone clapped" post.
Tbf pretty much all of wild bills stories were “and then everyone clapped” tier as well. Lol.
Lol.
"Only 25 men..." Was he an outlaw or a serial killer? The point could be made. Either way, he killed a boatload of men. Not a safe guy to be around.
I don't really think anybody in the old west was really all that safe to be around
Safe if you were southern
He wasn't as dangerous as you think. He was only getting rid of people who snore and other things society just can't handle.
Most people who get shot deserve it. He was only doing society a favor.
My husband is related to him; I just came across this video so thought I'd check it out. I didn't realize he was "famous" but my hubby shares passed-down stories sometimes. For what it's worth his family apparently considered him more of a very mean dude than what we'd normally think of as a serial killer nowadays. He's told me the story about "Uncle John" shooting a man for snoring too loud and says it was told in the family. Not sure that makes it any more likely to be true, but figured I'd share.
I know this was a rough era, but damn 15yo kills 3 soldiers and burys there bodys in the creek. He was a psychopath.
They were part of the State Police, the governor was a Yankee. Very corrupt, they were disbanded, the Rangers came back. The state police, a lot of them Sherman's scavengers, were out for revenge. Sheridan, the Union general of burning the Shenendoah valley fame, was in charge of District 13, Texas. Hardin called the soldiers he killed wooleyheads, he was known to be a tad bit racist. Against, blacks, Mescans, Indians, and anybody else that displeased him.
@@jakeroberts7435 Yeah yeah yeah he wasn't blk
@@SomeMoreofit We can assuredly say John Wesley Hardin was a white boy. And probably as racist as the State Police out for revenge. But that was over 100 years ago, we are supposed to learn from mistakes. supposed to
@@jakeroberts7435 Do yourself and the immediate world a favor...shut up.
@@yankee2666 What is it, feelings?
“A bullet to the front of the head demonstrates good marksmanship. A bullet to the back of the head demonstrates good judgement”
John Wesley Hardin
Do u really feel cooler for all that hatin
@LazerDog Laz I don’t done for coolness I do for history and what these people said in their lifetime. You call that an insult it pathetic you more like a teenager who hasn’t left high school grow up your an adult be one
@LazerDog Laz why so mean? I honestly don't understand. Not glorifying his crimes at all, just wondering why this made you so upset.
@LazerDog Laz Thanks, Karen.
@@MartinsGarage97 some people get naturally offended by anything that the deem “pretentious” though often that just means “intelligent” or “thoughtful”
Biographics is fantastic for exploring characters about which many of us have never heard or know little about. Keep up the great work!
biographics is great if you dont want to read the wikipedia page but would rather have a british guy read it to you.
I'm from El Paso, Texas and his story is still taught in the local schools. He's still a legend.
Well I too am from El Paso-and my name is John Wesley Tapp. I did the reverse of killing. I saved about three souls and donated blood. And yes, I snored until I got a C-pap.
So a murderous confederate who thought slavery was the white mans right is a legend in Texas😂😂 ofc he is
His story isn't played down. I know what he was but the reason he's a legend is because El Paso used to be part of the wild West and it was lawless. Believe me, there's people fascinated with the Old West history.
That’s sick.. not I’m the cool way either lol
@tony john I was never planning on going😂
Why do i so enjoy a serious and professional delivery of the line, "... the two saloon keepers hated Wild Bill's guts."
Jesus.....that look in his eyes is enough to convince me he did most of it.
Ikr... He looks EVIL!!!!!
@George Lynch Dixon yep that'd be my ancestor, crazy to think a killer is one of my close relatives from the wild west😅
a VERY quick man on the draw .. maybe the quickest ever ... and a crack shot .. to survive all those 1 on 1 conflicts in such times took skill and nerves of steel
@@cunn9305 He shot most of them in the back. There was no such thing as a 'quick draw'. You're watching too many movies.
@@yankee2666 he was very good with a gun . Yes he shot some in the back . He was a cold blooded killer . If you went back in time I'm sure you wouldn't say boo in front of him . Not a movie , he was a really good gunman and crazy too . Which made him deadly
I'd love as many wild west tales as you can muster, Simon. One of my favorite times in all of American history.
There's not much history to choose from 😂
Dutch we should recruit this guy !
We just need more money and faith
We need to stay STRONG.
Dutch: I HaVE A PLaN.
Tahiti
Van Der Linde ain't gonna want this guy. Too much trouble.
James Hardin kills Tom Brady sounds like an NBA Celebrity game headline
NBA?? Tom Brady plays in the NFL
This comment is going to blow up sir. Nice one!!
Jonathan Allard thats why he said celebrity game
Surely does. 2 athletes facing off.
@@adnault1288 kk Don't know what means.
This guy sounds like an IRL version of Micah Bell.
"John [Wesley Hardin] made it... he's the only one who did..."
@@Biographics I gave you all I had....
Chandler Rivera HE HAD A PLAN!!!!!
HAVE SOME FAITH
Dio did nothing wrong U GOTSTA BELIEVE IN THE ME THAT BELIEVES IN YOU.
Now close your eyes, reach for the sky and don’t you dare stop reaching till you can feel the sky in your hands. Once you feel it, grab onto it, each finger that clenches, you will achieve enlightenment, power, absolute empathy, wisdom, and as your pinky grasps on, absolute madness.
Once you got ahold of it, pull it down! Down down down! And let it cleanse your heart and ease your soul!
Now, take a hit of this wax! Ghost it! And join in.
I heard Simp Dixon would go to brothels and pay the working girls just to say hi to him.
Yep. He was known fer that. He also once had a 15 minute debate with a mule over who was "the stupid one", and the mule clearly won according to onlookers, so Simp shot him dead.
fiddlestix
The original Simp of Simps
@@billbuyers8683 evade CFC kids
P
I’ll lld
Nip C BBC g
Great vid Simon. Ty. When my fellow Texans and I chat about outlaws we always conclude that Hardin was a true socio-path (like Bonny, the Youngers, and the Jameses). Your Old West Outlaw bio-graphics are truly inspirational!
Hardin and the James younger gang were southern patriots, and the Civil War made them what they were same with the Hatfield and Mccoy families. Bonnie and Clyde can't say though I have heard the woman manipulated the man into doing what he did.
*"You yee'd your last haw."*
My ancestor, Jesse Turner Evans, was the first man Hardin ever saw killed.
This happened in Sumpter Texas.
Hardin even wrote about it in his autobiography.
Evans throat was slit in a confrontation.
Evans started it and the other man finished it.
cap
@falloutboskid Who is John?
@haloodst4800 we are related some how my grandmother was a hardin
I’m related to Hardin 6 generations back
@falloutboskid related to him as well last name is Gibson his dads middle name was Gibson
James Hardin, Tom Brady, John Lackey? Didn’t know this many American Athletes were in the wild west
I was looking for this comment 😂
@@dansand5020 He's almost actually old enough.
1:10 - Chapter 1 - Early years
3:50 - Chapter 2 - On the run
7:40 - Chapter 3 - Hardin meets wild bill
12:20 - Chapter 4 - The snoring man
14:40 - Chapter 5 - The sutton taylor feud
16:45 - Chapter 6 - Prison , freedom & death
Man: *snores*
John Wesley Hardin: Anyway I started blasting.
HAHA XD
The thumbnail makes him look like a poorly rendered Fallout character.
My thoughts exactly.
He had a serious case of 'Bethesda face'
Big iron intensifies
Minecraft Face
Minecraft Face
Patrolling Navarro County, Texas almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter
Fr
Still hoping for a bio of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer.
He was wounded 17 times during his life and left for dead four times. He is credited with having killed between 53 and 70 people.
He also hunted down and killed Bonnie and Clyde
Maybe a video on the Texas Rangers in general.
They started off more of a military force to protect the Texas Border and fight the Indian Wars that also acted as Law Enforcement made up of soldiers and gun fighters.
Also, they left out here the law enforcement that caught Hardin in Florida was Texas Rangers.
They bordered a train he was on and Hardin attempted to draw his revolver but the Ranger was faster and cracked him in the head with his pistol knocking him unconscious.
"On August 24, 1877, Rangers and local authorities confronted Hardin on a train in Pensacola, Florida. He attempted to draw a .44 Colt cap-and-ball pistol but it got caught up in his suspenders. The officers knocked Hardin unconscious. They arrested two of his companions and Ranger John B. Armstrong killed a third, a man named Mann, who had a pistol in his hand. Hardin claimed that he was captured while smoking his pipe and Duncan only found Hardin's pistol under his shirt after his arrest."
Gungriffen I have heard that Frank Hamer was as good as Hardin was bad. He was said to have rescued men from lynching, never bragging about his exploits, and serving the citizens of Texas faithfully. I would love to see a movie about what is known of his career.
@@johndilday1846 i would also, I love Frank Hamer. Good film The Highwaymen if you havent already seen in netflix 👍
Johnny Trigger I have seen it, I thought it was quite good. I read a book out of my college library about him. It was an amazing story, all the more because he had refused to discuss many of his exploits because he thought it in poor taste to talk about his shooting outlaws in the line of duty. A very humble and God fearing man. Have a great day.
@@johndilday1846 i will have to see what books can be found, i would like to find out more about him. He surely was, but also a man you wouldnt want to mess with. I think that says alot about men of his time with the not boasting about lives he had took etc. I wonder how it effected him. You saying that reminds me of my great grandfather, i never met him, but he made it back from ww1. The somme, ypres etc and refused to talk about anything he had seen or done. Men where different imo back then. Thanks for the replie, you have a great day also.. 2:40am where i am 🤣 must get some sleep
I remember reading about the rangers who went to Florida looking for Hardin. Supposedly, when he saw their big hats, that evidently, stood out from other Southerners, Hardin exclaimed “Texas, by God!” and reached for his gun. That’s when his got hung up in his suspenders and they got him.
This was really cool to watch. I just found out yesterday upon going through my great grandmother's things that John Wesley Hardin is related to me. And he's really not that distantly related to me and we still live in Texas. I just shared this with my mom as we are both super interested in learning more as my great grandmother was not proud of this part of our family.
Hey I think we’re related
Don’t shoot anybody, Janae! 😳😉
That’s Awesome my cousins are Hardin,s. They are from west Texas. They are my third cousins. Wes harding was there grandpa way back
Bro I’m also related to him but I’m from Pennsylvania
Hey were probably related then
"John Wesley Harding was a friend to the poor, he traveled with a gun in every hand"
Yeah, Dylan changed the last name to "Harding", with a "g" on the end. I doubt that he intended the song to be an accurate biography of the actual John Wesley Hardin. Rather, he was simply writing a fairly typical "outlaw as Robin Hood helping the poor" type of song in the style of Woody Guthrie, and probably using it as a metaphor for his Dylan's own life in certain symbolic respects. It's a symbolic song about, not a literal story about the historical outlaw. Dylan has always loved "outlaw" songs, and has written several of them in his long career, probably seeing himself in the romantic "outlaw" role as someone who follows his own code, not society's code, someone who resists authority. His song closely resembles Woody Guthrie's well known song about Pretty Boy Floyd...not that it's a copy of the Guthrie song in either its music or its words...but it follows much the same theme and tells a very similar story, but only in 3 brief verses. The Guthrie song is considerably longer, having several more verses. Put succinctly, the "John Wesley Hardin" sung about in Dylan's song is not the historical outlaw John Wesley Harding at all. It's Bob Dylan himself, masquerading in the role of the outlaw.
Different guy.
Maybe a friend to poor white people
Something about old school photo's are just eerie, brings out the eye's ... you can see just how evil this man was by looking at them.
Maybe the look in his eyes was the lack of sleep from snoring men. From a relative!
Those are the eyes of a cold blooded killer!
He may have lived his life as an evil killer, but he died as a licensed lawyer who had made a huge effort to turn straight.
No you can't.
Here in Texas, we commonly call that move of reversing a brace of pistols a " Border-Roll." I never heard it called those other things.
That's what I call it. From a 7th generation Texan.
Do a "Border-Roll". Do a "Border-Roll".
I've heard it called a road agents spin
"The people that he killed needed killing." I'm dying here!
I'm glad that is not an acceptable defense or there would likely be a lot fewer of us around.
It always seems that way to the one doing the killing.
Be a dead victim or a living villain.
As an El Paso native born and raised i can vouch for Hardin's gravesite being a major tourist attraction he's buried in old Concordia cemetery it's one of the oldest cemeteries in that area besides La Isla cemetery. Hell I remember when I was in school they taught us of John Wesley Hardin, I think they still talk about him in history class to this day, also Billy the kid since he spent a night there in the El Paso jail
Legend has it that an old man named Brushy Bill Roberts who died in Hico,Texas was Billy the Kid.
Last time I was so early the West was still Wild.
It's still pretty wild in northern BC heh
Huh, interesting! Last time I came so early, I was in my girlfriend.
It was never wild. Hardin’s escapades we’re probably the wildest it ever got.
@@byrde4329 The last time I was this early I was in your girlfriend
Agent K that was weak.. but I appreciate it
"Went into a private room and came out as friends" - that's dodgy af
I laughed at that longer than I should have.
Some one got the mutton.gun
Sounds pretty gay!!!!
"Rest to this day?"
👺"Mr Hardin, Welcome I've been expecting you, I hope
you enjoy our accommodations"🔥
I'm glad you made this video, the only reason I'd even ever heard of Hardin was because of his brief appearance in Maverick.
i'm sorry... did you say that there was a man named Simp Dixon? and you were able to say that with a straight face?
Imagine being stuck with the name Simp 😂😂
Clearly a contraction of simpson
yes, not everyone is 13
Makes sense. Simps and incels tend to join groups like KKK
@@Winteramen in his biography hardin said his cousin joined to kill Yankees (the first generation kkk was more anti union than anti black)until he was killed was he probably racist yeah but he mostly hated Yankees which was sort of normal in the south even today
I love it...a british guy teaching us about the american wild west..
It's almost as if most people have the entirety of human knowledge at their fingertips. Doesn't take long to find an american teaching a brit about the uk. Crazeee
@@joenobody5913 you don't say. The age of technology truly is marvelous.
@Mike Arnold
yeah i rather want to hear
American history by a american.
Because that soothing.
Also because its RIGHT
@@JuniorJuni070 I can see that. I'm English and I love your history specifically the Old West. Most English people do
The legend from my hometown of Bonham Texas
HI. I'm a relative from the Clements side of the family. Gip, his cousin, was my uncle several times removed.
@@bettykuykendall2083 evidently he was my Great Grandfather’s, (John Wesley Vance) uncle.
I'm not saying he was right but I definitely understand why he shoot the guy snoring.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Haha indeed.
Fr
Thank you for all the great content Simon. Keep it up.
I find John Wesley Hardin one of the most fascinating of the Old West outlaws. I will admit some partiality as a Texan who is very familiar with the part of the State in which Hardin grew up and rose to fame. For better or worse, I wouldn't be surprised if some of my ancestors knew him or of him. What I do find interesting is that Harden was the real deal and the type of deadly killer and gunfighter that more famous outlaws were only rumored to be. The other thing is that Harden shows a lot of signs of being very intelligent even with the limited formal education of the time. He wrote his autobiography and after prison became a licensed attorney. He is one of those people who you wonder how he would've turned out under different circumstances or in a different time period. I'm rather surprised Hollywood hasn't made a movie about him yet.
Freakin' psycho - probably would have had a job in the White House today.
@Mike Arnold his grandfather didn't make sign the Texas declaration. That was the result incorrect research that has been disproven.
Muricans don't relate to intelligent, complex, serially amoral characters.
Hardin is buried in the Concordia cemetery near 5 points in El Paso which in itself is a fascinating place historically. It's exactly what you'd expect of an old west cemetery. A separate section for Chinese people, lots of unmarked graves and sadly a lot of children's graves.
I'm from Arkansas, some family still left in Texas. He's supposedly an ancestor and my namesake. Excellent video as always.
This is crazy.
My dad was a history buff & loved late 1800s gunfighters and was actually named me after him. Finally looked him up... whew boy lol thanks pops!
Weird
@Biographics
I would really like you to make a video about a lady named Milunka Savic. She is the most-decorated female combatant in the entire history of warfare. She survived all kinds of tragedies, had multiple gun wounds she survived and had the most unfortunate end of her life...
Anyway, I believe her life is extraordinary, would really motivate a lot of men and women to keep up in this shaking times we live in!
The lighting and camera quality on these productions are excellent!
I spit up my soup when he said "Dick Chisholm" hahaha good thing I didn't have a sandwich... I would have choked to death!
As an American from the Great State of Arizona, I am familiar with the gunfighters, lawmen, outlaws, and cowboys. Oh, and the "Indians" (Native Americans), too.
As someone absolutely NOT from this region of the world, I REALLY appreciate your input.
You made my day. Thank you, Simon! 🤠👍
One of my favorite old west gun fighters
Keep on making videos about the old west, and I will keep watching them.
My suggestions for next biographies:
Sir Nicholas Winston
Nicolas Flamel
Akhenaten
Bartholomew Roberts aka Black Bart
Madame Voisin
Cesare Borgia
D B Cooper
Nicholas Flamel!!!!!!!!!
And Simon Whistler
Akhenaten!!!!!
And Augustus
Id love to see one on Madame Voisin. Such an interesting life
@3:43 Damn handsome example of the way early Colt Cartridge revolvers looked. Even if its a reproduction id still love to own one. Maybe one day. Tho the revolvers in Hardin's childhood were primarily Cap and ball not Cartridge fired and Hardin preferred the 1860 Colt Army.
During the road agents spin part, this man literally invented “and then everyone started clapping”
Gosh, I've had the album for probably over twenty years and never knew who it related to until now. Thanks!
I clicked so quick I've been waiting for this one
I love my state. Always has the craziest men and stories to go with
Texas was its own country for three years and has never let go of that attitude. The Texas Embassy in London became a Tex Mex restaurant that served huge Bach platters.
@@RedBear535 texas is alright
My dad has a picture of Hardin with my great great grandmother. Supposedly we’re related. What a crazy world.
Can I see the picture? My last name is Hardin, I look and act like a short temper Wes Hardin the genes are strong!
@@JD5133 very cool. I wish I had that picture.
"pardoned hardin" ...idk why I find these 2 words together so funny sounding.
Nice of you to cover another great Wild West icon. Though he was one of the most violent men of the era. There are still some left like Texas Stoudemeyer or Tom Horn. In addition, I just love the vintage blues tracks on this video.
@Cfc7ninja 12 Yes of course. Him as well. The one who got trambled by horses while stealing a wagon?
@Cfc7ninja 12 Alright! Thanks! He was a real badass and a crazy ass as well. 😁 They also say that his way of dying was an anti-climax if you think of his rowdy ways.
I was stationed at Fort Bliss TX. El Park. Saw the marker where he was killed. Downtown old El Paso. Talked to some old timers. This was in the 70s. And these stories was passed down to them. He was kind because the man was plain scared. He was so afraid that Hardin was going to kill him. He was a very deadly man. And El Paso was a very dangerous and deadly town. Only the hearty lived there.
John Wesley Harding
Was a friend to the poor
He traveled with a gun in every hand
All along this countryside
He opened a many a door
But he was never known
To hurt an honest man
It was down in Chaynee County
A time they talk about
With his lady by his side
He took a stand
And soon the situation there
Was all but straightened out
For he was always known
To lend a helping hand
All across the telegraph
His name it did resound
But no charge held against him
Could they prove
And there was no man around
Who could track or chain him down
He was never known
To make a foolish move, Banger of a song so it is
Bobs the best
I was just about to reference the Bob song 🤘
Nicky Vasquez had to do it to em
brandon kunkel the greatest
i was about to ask, "¿didn't Bob Dylan do a song about J.W.H.?"
i love your work, simon- thank you. you are helping me thru another bout of insomnia (because i have something to do not because you put me to sleep). :) i listen to all of your stuff, but i love the casual criminalist the most. thanks again
Thanks for telling us about him, I live in El Paso and had no idea
He is in the cemetery where the 5 and 54 meet. I visited his grave when I was at Fort Ignorance.
@@0311Mushroom Hi. "Fort Ignorance". An interesting place name. My "ignorance" is intrigued. Regards.
@@mikeneill6813 there is a major Army base in El Paso called "Fort Bliss". And as the saying goes, "Ignorance is bliss". Ergo, Fort Ignorance.
Nice - and some of that story is about my stomping grounds in Central Texas.
I believe he met Frank Polk after Hardin's dad insisted he get a regular job, and he found a position in Pisgah Ridge as a schoolteacher. It didn't work for him and I think he quit after a month or two. One could imagine what that was like, but there are probably people around here who could answer the question. There are still Hardin family members in the area.
Polk ended up in a vendetta against law enforcement in Wortham, Texas, and ended up getting killed in a gunfight in Wortham.
In the mini series "The Streets of Laredo" Randy Quaid (not all there himself) does a interesting job in portraying John Wesley Harden.
This is one of the best channels on TH-cam. Really enjoy the videos. Thank you
Since I'm so early i wonder if you'd ever consider doing a Biographics episode on Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda. He was a Malawian autocrat, doctor and Anglophile with a cult of personality and multiple degrees. Information on him is conflicting and in my opinion, unreliable depending on who you ask, but intriguing nonetheless.
Sounds like a fascinating character. Any there any books you could recommend?
Gus Grau Kamuzu Banda of Malawi: A Study in Promise, Power, and Legacy by John Lloyd Lwanda but only cause I’ve found it in my dad’s library back home. There are a few scholarly articles and such you could find online but if you live near a national library, especially in the UK, you might be more in luck.
Snoozer Vine it’d definitely be more interesting than difficult. the difficult part is using the information to classify him into any common mould. Totalitarian? Visionary? Fascist? Meritocrat? As I understand, for example, he is one of, is not the only African leader who decided to found a grammar school to have its students learn the classics, Ancient Greek and Latin. Still, because we don’t learn about him much besides biased stories from relatives, it gets difficult the more you want to know.
Snoozer Vine yup, but that’s why I love Biographics and history in general. You can learn a lot from other people’s stories (:
@Snoozer Vine is
Best exposition of harding I've seen yet. Cudos. for superlative delivery with emphasis on important points; thanks for video lesson refresh. Keep up the great work!
*kudos
Love these Wild West Videos. Good Job Simon and Co. Still waiting on that Clamity Jane video :)
My great grandma was married and had 3 children by his brother. Not sure if she's the woman they fought over but John was my grandpa's uncle although he never met the man. John's pistol spin has been called many things but great grandma called it the border roll. That's apparently what John called it and it was fast. I grew up around the three kids related and Grandma " Ida May Croussoure finally packed up their kids and disappeared later marrying a man named Inskeep in independence Missouri. She went on to have 11 kids and my grandad was the youngest.
Missouri state university printed a true genealogy book called " the amilies of Inskeep Hardin and Garwood in. Early 70s and collected the recollections of Ida may and several of the other family members that I believe is out of print now but it is said to be the most accurate accounts from John Hardins sister in law who knew him well and said his brother was as mean of an " SO.B. as John ever was.
5:21
Damn I also would be filled with unbridled rage when my name was Simp Dixon
Love the background music.
Wish u'all would do more on the old west stuff....Excellent...Thanks
I will not stop asking. Please make more videos covering the people in the American Civil War, for example;
Thomas Jackson, better known as Stonewall
General William T. Sherman, who I really couldnt say anything about without someone getting pissed
Confederate President Jefferson Davies
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who commanded the first African-American Regiment in the Civil War
Ulysses S. Grant, who needs no introduction
Etc.
I just wish there were more videos that tackled the people in the Civil War on your channel
Im inly commenting hoping that ut will boost the comment closer to the top so that simon will see it, it sounds unteresting
@Frank Robinson woah thats awsome too id love to learn about that....egghhemm Simon,
@Frank Robinson woah
Also thank yoh for sharing i love when the internet and strangers help me learn new things, never let anyone take your curiosity
@Frank Robinson will do ✌😂 conversations like this is why i love the internet
I don't know if it's true, but if anyone could have pulled off a border roll, on Hickok, Hardin would have been the man to do it. Thanks for another great video and for all the hard work you put in.
peace
Dang, I didn’t know chills was such a good shot
That yellow lamp behind you looks like a giant creepy eyeball spying on you. Love it.
'On May the 26th, 1874, John Hardin celebrated his 21st birthday' - Em, what? With that rap sheet, I thought he was at least 40 by then. Definition of an overachiever I guess.
Gotta start young.
I don't get why killing the three soldiers is what proves he was a psycho. They were coming to arrest him it's not like he just didn't like their uniforms
I've always wondered how he got married and had 3 children in a timeline that doesn't seem to give him enough time to do that
The kids are 9 months and 15 minutes apart.
@@jeremystewert4303 lol they almost have to be
@@Kuwaitisnot_adeployment well people did get married at 12. It’s still legal in Texas to marry at 14 if the parents consent.
@@jeremystewert4303 it wasn't so much his age that seems off but the time he actually spent in Texas because I dont believe he ever took his wife with him when he was away. I guess he was around enough though
Hardin was closed knit with my family and acted as an enforcer for them in their feud with a neighboring family. Interesting stuff
Theres a lot you dont know about his history, the man lived and hid out in a little town of moscow texas down a dirt road named, hardin hideout rd in polk county . Only 1 way in and 1 way out, easy to see anyone coming, there are local stories that have been passed down through families around here for generations.
Fascinating. Maybe you should make your own channel and do a video on him. Since there's a lot Simon doesn't know. 🙄
When I saw the thumbnail , I thought this Biographics was about a NPC in Fallout New Vegas
Time Life Old West Book commercial from childhood...
“He once killed man for snoring too loud” 😴
First thing that popped into my head when I seen the thumbnail..
This may sound pretty unbelievable but my grandpa had told us that our great great great great grandfather was John Wesley Hardin. I think he said his mother or his mother’s mother was a Hardin
He's my great great great maternal uncle
How about a video on “H” from the unbelievably talented band Steps? Another controversial bandit...
Great. A new upload :)!
He stabbed another student twice and he wasn't expelled? I would like to hear the argument he used to convince the principal to not to kick him out.
Egill Skallagrimsson chopped his friend's head off with an axe after the other kid cheated at the game iirc. Then what happened? His mother applauded him in front of the whole village and proudly hailed her son as a warrior and a killer. He later went on to become one of the most famous warrior poets and adventurers of the vikings.
Glad to have this guy as my ancestor.
He was my cousin. My great grandma was his aunt. she had his guns and diaries and journals and other stuff that had been passed along in the family including some letters from him to my great grandmother, but she sold everything to the Smithsonian before she died and it's never been seen since nor did they actually pay her the money.
Also thanks for sharing
I am decended from Hattie Hardin & Andrew Bearden.
@@sageandcandle awsome👍✌
@@sageandcandle so you would be a cousin of mine too
Probably
Some people deserve a whole lot of leavealone...he was one of them.
"Hardin wouldn't run" by Steve Earl is a good song.
Steve Earle is pure garbage.
@@TheRealCaptainFreedom rubbish , he has some great song's
The old gun on a string trick huh? I've used that once myself. Gun was hidden on the ground a short distance away that I could pull to me with a quick snap.
You should do your biography next.
It would take an hour just to list all his TH-cam channels.
Absolutely fascinating! Keep up the great work
As a direct descendant of Wesley, the whole El Paso burial is quite upsetting. Yeah the guy was a pretty messed up fella, but still family. We bought our farm in Yorktown, as close to nixon as possible 26 years ago, because my grandpa was convinced he would be the one to finally bring his body home. He was absoultely obsessed with the man. Heard the tale of Wesley many, many times.
How direct? Because this is my great great grandfather
While he was a messed up fella, he's still the most legendary and feared gunslinger in american history with proof to back it up.
yo we could be long lost bros!!@@blu1029
@@blu1029 hes mine too
Thanks for the top class content
😁😂
self defence every time. ironic that the man that killed him. Said the same thing.
Good.
- The ancestor of for slaves
John Selman was an El Paso city marshal who shot Hardin in the back of the head when he found Hardin ,unarmed, in a saloon in the middle of the day throwing dice with the bartender.
It was straight up murder.
@@txgunguy2766 Hardin was carrying a colt inside his vest when he was killed ! He was never unarmed .
@@danielblackburn1241
Might as well have been unarmed for all the chance that Selman gave him to use it.
1 shot to the back of the head and then 3 more shots with Hardin dead on the floor.
@@txgunguy2766 yes totally agree . Not a fair fight at all
Hardin was said to have hold up in Longhorn Cavern just outside of Kingsland Texas.
I can´t believe Bob Dylan would lie to me.
He always lies. His name isn't even Bob.
@@jakekraweckyj2801 Robert?
@@junglejimbo2000 Zimmerman
@@paulherzog9605 You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say
Still, you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody
@@junglejimbo2000 Just his real name. always loved Bob
I love the channel, and the haughty khant delivery! Keep it up!
Fun fact not included: as mean and tough as he was he was also a really terrible bank robber, though he attempted many times the most he ever got away with was 6 bucks and some change 😂
Nobody would've gotten away w crawdading Wild Bill. But it's a helluva story!
"once killed a man for snoring"
Did he have a choise? What would you have done?
I believe him LOL
Ikr. I'd be in trouble then...
@@o.wikstrom9008 well I snore too as does my husband (loudly)...
We've all thought about it....
Lived in Bonham my whole life, still do. Never knew John was from my home town. And the guy who took the teinamen square tank man photo