charity predominated in her disposition.' : 5 Hardin's father traveled over much of central Texas on his preaching circuit until he settled his family in Sumpter, Trinity County, Texas, in 1859. In his autobiography, Hardin described his mother as 'blond, highly cultured. : 100–108 He was named after John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist denomination of the Christian church. Hardin was born in 1853 near Bonham, Texas, to James Gibson 'Gip' Hardin, a Methodist preacher and circuit rider, and Mary Elizabeth Dixson. Within a year of his 1894 release from prison, Hardin was killed by John Selman in an El Paso saloon.

He was well known for exaggerating or fabricating stories about his life and claimed credit for many killings that cannot be corroborated. While in prison, Hardin studied law and wrote an autobiography. At the time of sentencing, Hardin claimed to have killed 42 men, while contemporary newspaper accounts attributed 27 deaths to him. Pursued by lawmen for most of his life, in 1877 at the age of 23, he was sentenced to 24 years in prison for murder.

He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming he did so in self-defense. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age.

John Wesley Hardin (– August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon.

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