Henry Harding
The Hartland Historical Society is the proud owner of surveying equipment owned by Henry Harding. We also have in our possession a note as follows,
“Washington Dec 14, 1857Dear Sir,
Your of the 11th inst has been received and I have enclosed it to the Hon John B. Floyd my successor as Secretary of War.
Very Respectfully
Yrs.
Jefferson Davis
Henry Harding Esq
Hartland, Vt.”
Having a hand written letter from the President of the Confederacy got my attention and I decided to see what else I could find out about the recipient.
Henry was born and raised in the home now owned by Peter Gordon on the Brownsville Road in Hartland Four Corners. This beautiful brick home was built by his father, the second Dr. John Harding and his wife, Lucy Willard Harding with help from her Willard relatives. Dr. John and Lucy were married on Feb 27, 1820 and had nine children, some of which died in childhood, with Henry being number eight. Henry was born on Dec. 10 in 1837.
Henry Harding’s home
Henry’s obituary
Died October 23d, 1910
Henry Harding was born on December 10th 1837, at Hartland, Vt., where his father, Dr. John Harding, was a physician for many years.
He studied engineering under Mr. Job Atkins, a mining engineer of Richmond, Va., during 1859-60 and was afterward engaged on the construction of the Hudson River Railroad.
From 1865 to 1870, Mr. Harding was employed, under General Grenville M. Dodge, on the survey and construction of the Union Pacific Railway. He was also employed on the Adirondack, Housatonic, and Naugatuck Railroads, in charge of construction and in various other capacities.
From 1871 to 1895, he was engaged at intervals by the United States Corps of Engineers in charge of river and harbor improvements and other work, and was wont to recall with especial pride the construction of the fortifications of Fort Adams, at Newport, R.I. in 1871-73.
While in the employ of the Government, Mr. Harding contracted malaria, and, in 1895, he retired to his home at Hartland Four Corners, Vt. where he continued to live until his death.
Mr. Harding was a man of wide acquaintance and high reputation in his Profession, to which he was devoted, and, although living in a secluded country village, he kept well abreast of all the improved methods and was familiar with all the new instruments used in engineering work. At the time of his death, he was engaged as Engineer in charge of the construction of the new sewerage system of Windsor, Vt.
Mr. Harding was the embodiment of painstaking accuracy and scrupulous honor, and any work done under his superintendence was honestly constructed and fully served its purpose. He was of a genial and courteous manner, modest, kind-hearted, and drily humorous, an agreeable and interesting social companion. He never married, and is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Mr. Harding was elected a Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers on May 7th 1873.”
Although Mr. Harding’s health must have been impacted by the malaria, he did continue to be active in the engineering field as is indicated by the mention of the sewerage system in Windsor. We also have evidence of his activities from news clips of the time. C.Y.M.
1898 “ Civil engineer, Henry Harding was surveying in Plainfield Plain for water works last week.” “ Henry Harding, the distinguished civil engineer of this town, has put in two more of the Hodgkins patent double acting hydrolic rams, one being for Fred A. Rogers, the other for S.W. Clark of Plainfield Plain, N.H. Both of these rams are the No. 2 and each one delivers daily eleven barrels of water, and supplies both house and stock at barn by the introduction of a branch pipe to the latter. Mr. Harding is one of the best civil engineers in the state, having been actively engaged in the business since 1865. Now that he has settled down permanently here, a good opportunity is offered for obtaining surveys or advice regarding water supplies. There are two hydraulic rams now in successful operation in this village, one on the Steele, the other on the Daniels places.”
1900 “ Being at the Four Corners, Sunday, we made a brief call on Civil Engineer, Henry Harding, the sole owner of the John Harding estate. We found our friend had just put the finishing touches to a finely drawn plan of Hartland cemetery, for the better convenience of the officers of that association. It is an elaborate and beautifully executed piece of work, such as we should expect from this distinguished and experienced engineer. His library and working room has been much improved of late. New wallpaper of a light color and elegant pattern has been substituted for the old, dark paper, which gives the room a much lighter and more cheerful appearance. His library contains a vast number of works on all branches of civil engineering science, both ancient and modern. The Harding estate is easily one of the finest at the Four Corners village, and has never known an owner outside the family name”
1906 “ Mr. Harding is to superintend the construction of the new sewer to be built at Woodstock this season”
I have no idea why Henry was corresponding with Jefferson Davis in 1857 as this was before he became a student of civil engineering in 1859, but here again, we have an accomplished and interesting man who is a product of the Town of Hartland. C.Y.M.
Extracted from the Spring 2009 Hartland Historical Society Newsletter.