From the Fort Collins Courier; Fort Collins, Colorado; 19 Feb 1908, excerpted from c2 "Wayfaring In The Rockies," p5 c1-3:

…Then you meet such interesting characters among the ranchmen. There is Uncle John Hardin, who has lived since time immemorial up on the Lone Pine, forty-five miles northwest of Fort Collins. Always jolly and sociable is Uncle John. He was one of the original California Argonauts. He went from his boyhood home in Missouri to New York and sailed thence around the "Horn" to the gold coast. He made a small fortune there, returned to his old home, lost his money in a bad speculation, and then crossed the plains by bull team to herd cattle and fight Indians. Away back in the sixties he was herding cattle for a big outfit in Larimer county. There came an Indian scare and all the settlers for miles around flocked to Fort Collins, where the military were then stationed, to seek protection under the wing of Uncle Sam. Not so John Hardin. He kept right on herding cattle, though left solitary and alone, and came out without losing his scalp or seeing a red man. Then Uncle John went back to Missouri, got married, returned to his beloved hills of Larimer county, where he has lived ever since, raising a large and lusty family, making a living by ranching, hauling lumber, etc. His laugh is just as hearty as ever, and the grasp of his hand has not grown lax with years. Humble though his station may be, he is loved and respected by all who know him…

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From The Weekly Courier; Fort Collins, Colorado; 11 Aug 1911, p1 c3:

Another Pioneer Called By Death: John Hardin, an Early Settler in Larimer County and a Rugged Mountaineer, Responded to Death's Summons on Tuesday, August 8th

Word came from the mountains on Tuesday evening that John Hardin, one of the first settlers in the Livermore county, and a well known and highly esteemed citizen, had passed on to "that bourne whence no traveler returns," that afternoon.

The separation of soul and body was painless, as the aged pioneer had been failing in strength for several weeks, and the end was not unexpected.

Among the sturdy pioneers of Larimer county who helped to subdue the wilderness and make it habitable for civilized men and women, John Hardin, in his life time, took high rank. He was born January 13th, 1826, in Henry Co., Kentucky, coming of a long lived, hardy race. At the age of fourteen he moved with his father's family to Missouri where he lived and worked on his father's farm until he attained his majority. That year (1847) he joined a party of traders a crossed the plains to California, driving an ox team all the way and being six months on the road. There he worked in the mines two winters, returning then to Missouri.

On June 22, 1852, Mr. Hardin married Sarah J. Hand. The succeeding twelve years were spent at farming and, in '64 he came to Colorado, locating in Pleasant Valley, where he worked for Abner Loomis and B. G. Whedbee until 1865, when his wife died, leaving him with four children. He took his motherless children back to Missouri that fall and placed the eldest in school. He remained east until the following winter, when he returned to Colorado with a wagon load of flour which he sold for $20 per hundred pounds and went back to Missouri.

On the 13th of November 1866, Mr. Hardin married Miss Mahalah Hand, a sister of his first wife, who survives him. In 1869 he again came to the Cache la Poudre valley and worked a rented farm near Bellvue for a year, raising a crop of potatoes which brought a goodly sum of money. He drove a bunch of cattle across the plains the last time he came west, and in the spring of 1870 he took up a homestead on the South Lone Pine, forty-eight miles northwest of Fort Collins, moving his family and cattle there that year. That was his home for 41 years, and until he died.

For more than twenty years after Mr. Hardin moved to the mountains he followed freighting and hauled lumber, fence posts and firewood to Fort Collins with a mule team, camping out wherever night overtook him. At his death he owned a well improved 320 acre stock ranch and a fine herd of cattle. He was a genial, kind hearted man, and a true and faithful husband, a loving father and a good citizen and obliging neighbor. He is survived by ten children: Louisa F., George W., Amanda, Montana J., Martha E., Matilda, John W., Mark, Allen R. and Edna R.

Rev. J. G. Klene went to Westlake this morning to conduct funeral services over the body of the aged man, and the burial will be at the Livermore cemetery.

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from Fort Collins Courier personal mentions:

12 Nov 1885 "Uncle John Hardin, one of the straightest haired democrats in Larimer county and the owner of a fine and well-stocked cattle ranch on the headquarters of the south Lone Pine, was in town last week laying in a store of supplies for the winter"

22 Jan 1891 "Uncle John Hardin, who lives up near the headwaters of the South Lone Pine and who keeps the Medicine Bow range from tumbling down onto the plains, was in town on Wednesday."

16 Jun 1898 "Uncle John Hardin, who has been ranching and raising cattle up on the South Lone Pine ever since Columbus discovered the continent, was in town today loading up with ranch supplies."

14 Mar 1901 "Uncle John Hardin, who has spent almost a life time in the mountains, and helped lay the foundation for the Medicine Bow range, was in town on Tuesday. Uncle John is one of those rugged characters who will have to be shot or poisoned if they ever appear at the day of judgment."

Researched by Sean Barbezat, user 50131825

Contributor: Sean Michael (50131825)