Pioneer, lawyer, and state senator who settled in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania
| When Burke met | 1818 |
| Where Burke met | Eaton, PA |
| Occupation | Civil Office |
| Interaction with Burke | Hosted Burke until his horse could recover |
| Identity Status | Probable |
| Genealogy | Wikitree |
| Memoir Pages | 96 |
Notes
Elisha Harding (August 6, 1763 – August 1, 1839) was a pioneer, lawyer, and state senator who settled in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania. Born in Colchester, Connecticut, to Captain Stephen Harding and Amy Gardner, he relocated to the Pennsylvania frontier and, as a youth, assisted in building Fort Jenkins, surviving its 1778 surrender during the American Revolution. In 1786, Harding married Martha Rider and eventually settled in Eaton, Luzerne County. Serving as a local magistrate—recorded officiating marriages in Tunkhannock as early as 1808—and later as a state senator, he became a prominent civic leader. Harding died in Eaton and is buried at the Old Brick Church Cemetery in present-day Wyoming County, Pennsylvania.
Sources
Burke, William. Memoir of William Burke: A Soldier of the Revolution, Reformed from Intemperance, and for Many Years a Consistent and Devoted Christian; Carefully Prepared from a Journal Kept by Himself; to Which Is Added, an Extract from a Sermon Preached at His Funeral, by Rev. Nathaniel Miner. Hartford, CT: Case, Tiffany, 1837.