Elizabeth Higgason (Rice) Harding (1817 - 1860)

Born 3 Sep 1817 in Caswell, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Walter Philip Harding — married 27 Oct 1835 in Logan, Kentucky, United States [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 22 Feb 1860 at age 42 in Logan, Kentucky, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Bob Sparanese [send private message] and Lucy Schumer [send private message]

Biography

1817 Birth and Parentage

Elizabeth Higgason Rice b. 03 Sep 1817^[1] Caswell Co, NC d/o Jeremiah Rice and Elizabeth HIggason Hornburger b. VA.^[2]

Research Note

Note that in Kentucky Death Records for her child Lucy Rice Harding,^[3] Elizabeth's name is spelled Elizabeth Hickerson Rice, but her middle name is likely a spelling error. Also on Lucy's 1930 death record it shows Elizabeth b. KY.^[3] This is incorrect because Elizabeth is the half-sister of Thompson Hardin, her sister Margery Harding's husband. Thompson was the son of Henry Harden of Caswell Co, NC and Elizabeth Higgason Hornburger b. VA. When Henry died, Elizabeth (Hornburger) Harden married her plantation overseer, Jeremiah Rice and birthed this Elizabeth with him.^[2]

1820-30 KY Life

On 07 Aug 1820 Russellville, Logan Co, KY the Jeremiah Rice household consisted of 1 male <10 yo, 1 male 26-44 yo (inferred Jeremiah), 1 female <10 yo (inferred daughter Elizabeth), 1 female 26-44 yo (inferred spouse Elizabeth), 2 male slaves <14 yo, 1 male slave 14-25 yo, 2 female slaves 1-25 yo, 1 female slave >45 yo; total 10 persons.^[4]

In 1830 Russellville, Logan Co, KY the Jeremiah Rice household consisted of 1 male 40-49 yo (inferred Jeremiah); 1 female 10-14 yo (inferred daughter Elizabeth); one female 50-59 yo (inferred spouse Elizabeth); 3 male slaves 10-23 yo; 1 male slave 36-54 yo; 1 female slave <10 yo; 2 female slaves 10-23 yo; total 10 persons.^[5]

1835 Marriage

Elizabeth m. 27 Oct 1835 likely Logan Co, KY Walter Philip Harding s/o Elias Harding and Eleanor Harding.^[1][2]

1850 KY Life

On 02 Sep 1850 Dist 1, Logan Co, KY the Harding household consisted of Walter P Harding 38 yo, b. KY, farmer, real estate valued at $1,140, literate; Elizabeth Harding 33 yo, b. NC, literate; and their children George P Harding 8 yo, b. KY, literate, attended school; Eliza Harding 7 yo, b. KY, attended school, literate; and Lucy K Harding 2 yo, b. KY. Also living with them was Elizabeth Rice, inferred mother of Elizabeth Harding, 75 yo, b. abt. 1775 VA, literate and Louisa McClonna, unknown relationship, 13 yo, b. KY, literate.^[6][7] In 1850, Walter also reported owning slaves^[8] totaling 26: black male 50 yo, mulatto female 44 yo, mulatto female 21 yo, mulatto male 20 yo, mulatto male 18 yo, mulatto female 17 yo, mulatto female 13 yo, mulatto male 11 yo, mulatto female 9 yo, mulatto female 7 yo, mulatto male 5 yo, mulatto male 2 yo, mulatto male 1 yo, mulatto female 4 mo, mulatto male 2 mo, black male 40 yo, black male 32 yo, black male 32 yo, black male 20 yo, black female 36 yo, black female 14 yo, black female 7 yo, black female 5 yo, black male 17 yo, black male 17 yo.^[9]

1860 Death

Elizabeth d. 22 Feb 1860^[1] Logan Co, KY bur. next to her husband Walter in the Harding Cemetery.^[2]

Children

Elias and Elizabeth had issue:

1. Walter Philip Harding Jr. (adopted son) aka George P Harding; moved to California as an adult.^[2]
2. Lucy Rice Harding b. 08 Apr 1848; m. John G. Orndorff of Russellville, KY and had daughters. ^[1][2]
3. Elizabeth Ellen Harding b. 19 Mar 1842; m. Edward Burr and had one child Dr. Edward Burr, Jr.^[1][2]

It's been reported that Walter and Elizabeth had another son George Phillip Harding b. 20 Jan 1842^[1] but the birth date is too close to daughter Elizabeth's Ellen Harding's birth date for that to be the case.

Research Note

There is no mention of a son named Walter Philip Harding, Jr. in the US 1850 Census. There is mention of a son, Walter Philip Harding, Jr. and his parents and sisters in the Yearbook of the American Clan Gregor Society (1937) on p.80-81.^[2] The Yearbook also says that Walter Philip Harding Jr. was adopted, and that he moved west. The most likely resolution of this issue is that the Yearbook of the American Clan Gregor Society is in error with respect to the name of the adopted son, that the son's name was George P Harding.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} William Neal Hurley, Jr., Our Maryland Heritage, Book 39: Harding Families, 2002, Heritage Books, pp. 25.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} "The Kentucky Harding-Drane Descendants of Samuel Magruder of Maryland", Mary Hardin Bernard, Kentucky, Year Book of the American Clan Gregor Society Containing the Proceedings of the Twenty-Eight Annual Gathering, The American Clan Gregor Society, John Bowie Ferneyhough, Editor, 1938, Richmond Virginia, pp 78-87; accessed 23 Aug 2017 at [1]
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1963," database, FamilySearch ( [2] : 20 October 2016), Elizabeth Hickerson Rice in entry for Lucy Orndorff, 1930; citing , Logan, Kentucky, United States, Office of Vital Statistics, Frankfort; FHL microfilm 1,913,061.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGC-3PC : accessed 2 June 2021), Jeremiah Rice, Russellville, Logan, Kentucky, United States; citing p. 47, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 26; FHL microfilm 186,186.
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch : accessed June 2, 2021 at [3]
6. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch : accessed April 22, 2021 at [4]
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch ( [5] : 12 April 2016), Walter P Harding, Logan county, part of, Logan, Kentucky, United States; citing family 837, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
8. ↑ Ancestry.com. Kentucky, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999 : accessed April 22, 2021 at [6]
9. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004 : accessed April 22, 2021 at [7]