Hardie Family Plat 1, lot 26 Old Natchez Cemetery

James Hardie, the builder/contractor for St. Mary Cathedral in Natchez, has no grave marker. His wife, Jane, and daughter, Margret, and brother, Alexander, are buried in Plot 1, lot 26.

James Hardie was born in Scotland in 1806. He had four brothers and two sisters. James and Jane (Irvine) had three daughters: Margret or Margarette, Mary and Sarah. James, an architect, came to Natchez in the early to mid-1830’s, and became superintendent of construction for Neibert and Gemmell, a large contracting firm.

1836 D’Evereux
1836 Choctaw
1836-1837 St. Mary’s gothic chapel at Laurel Hill
1842-1843 St. Mary Cathedral
1846 Natchez Institute on South. Commerce Street
1851 Presbyterian Church, remodeled and enlarged in Greek Revival style
1852 Methodist parsonage
1852 Wall Street Baptist Church (demolished)
1855-1860 Homewood for Balfour and Catherine Hunt (burned)
1880’s Rivara Building on the north side of Franklin Street between Union and Rankin Streets
1889 September 10 James died in the care of the Masonic Order in their lodge rooms.
Information provided by Historic Natchez Foundation

“Being a builder by trade he has left many monuments of his skill as such throughout Adams County and this city notably the grand and beautiful Saint Mary’s Cathedral, which was the thorough work of his hand.”
Obituary inThe Weekly Democrat, 18 September, 1889.

SMBA for All Soul’s Day Cemetery Procession November 5, 2017