Benjamin F. Harding

Infobox Senator
name= Benjamin F. Harding

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width=
jr/sr and state= United States Senator from Oregon
party= Democratic Party
term= September 12 1862 – March 3 1865
preceded= Benjamin Stark
succeeded= George Henry Williams
office2 = Secretary of the Oregon Territory
term_start2 = January 27 1855
term_end2 = March 3 1859
predecessor2 = George Law Curry
successor2 = position dissolved upon statehood
office3 = Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
term_start3 = 1860
term_end3 = 1861
predecessor3 = William G. T'Vault
successor3 = Joel Palmer
date of birth= January 4 1823
place of birth= Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania
date of death= death date and age|1899|06|16|1823|01|04
place of death= Cottage Grove, Oregon
spouse= Elizabeth Cox (d. 1868)
F. W. Bush
profession= attorney
religion=
footnotes=

Benjamin Franklin Harding (1823-1899) was an American attorney and politician born in Pennsylvania. He held political offices in the Oregon Territory and later served as a United States Senator from the state of Oregon.

Early life

He was born near Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania on January 4 1823. [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000189 United States Congress Bioguide: Benjamin Harding] ] Harding was educated in the public schools before he studying law. He passed the bar in 1847, and then set up practice in Joliet, Illinois in 1849. In 1850, he moved first to California, and then to the Oregon Territory.

Oregon politics

Harding was elected to the Oregon Territorial Legislature in 1850 to represent Marion County. [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/territorial/1850reg.htm Oregon Legislative Assembly (2nd Territorial) 1850 Regular Session] ] Two years later he returned to that body and served as Speaker of the House of Representatives. [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/territorial/1852reg.htm Oregon Legislative Assembly (4th Territorial) 1852 Regular Session] ] Harding was then selected as United States district attorney in 1853. From 1854 to 1859 he served as the Secretary of the Oregon Territory, predecessor to the office of Oregon Secretary of State.

In 1858 Harding was elected to the Oregon State Legislature, but as Oregon had not yet been admitted to the Union, the assembly only met briefly before disbanding until 1859, when a special session was held and Harding served at the session. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1858regpre.htm Oregon Legislative Assembly (1st Pre-Admission) 1858 Regular Session] ] [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1859spec.htm Oregon Legislative Assembly 1859 Special Session] ] In 1860, he was elected again as a Democrat representing Marion County. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1859spec.htm Oregon Legislative Assembly 1859 Special Session] ] At the next session of the legislature Harding was elected as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, and this would be his final session in the state legislature. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1860reg.HTM Oregon Legislative Assembly (1st) 1860 Regular Session] ]

Harding was elected to the United States Senate to fill Edward D. Baker's seat after the latter had died. He served from September 12 1862, to March 3 1865.

Later life and family

Harding was married twice, first in 1851 to Elizabeth Cox, with whom he had several children. After she died in 1868, he married F.W. Bush, a relative of Asahel Bush.Corning, Howard M. "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] After serving in the Senate, Harding retired to his farm near Salem. A few years later he moved to Cottage Grove, Oregon where he died on June 16 1899 and was buried at Cottage Grove Cemetery.

References

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5891369 Find-A-Grave]