Dorsey B. Hardeman

Dorsey Brodie Hardeman (December 11, 1902 – August 11, 1992) was an American Democratic politician, attorney, businessman, farmer, and rancher from San Angelo, Texas.

Background Dorsey Hardeman was born in Henderson in Chester County, Tennessee, the son of Church of Christ minister N. B. Hardeman and Joanna Hardeman. He first studied at Freed-Hardeman College, co-founded by his father, but then attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida and procured his LLB from Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee. Dorsey Hardeman was a descendant of William P. Hardeman and Bailey Hardeman, two of the signers in Washington County in 1836 of the Texas Declaration of Independence.

Move to Texas and political involvement In 1932, Hardeman came to West Texas to practice law in San Angelo, the seat of Tom Green County. In 1936, he was elected mayor of San Angelo, a position that he held until 1938, when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives from District 91 and served two two-year terms before he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the Air Force. Sent to officers training school, he became a judge advocate general. on the Upper Colorado River of Texas.

Private and business life A successful businessman, Hardeman owned the historic San Angelus Hotel in San Angelo and held both ranching and farming interests in Texas and Colorado. He also owned a title company. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, knighted by the Sons of the Republic of Texas in the Order of San Jacinto, a member of Sons of Confederate Veterans, Military Order of the Stars and Bars, the Baronial Order of Magna Charta, The Huguenot Society of America, and the Knights of Malta. He was an honorary member in the Greek order of St. Denis of Zante. Hardeman was a lifetime member of the Texas State Historical Association. He was also affiliated with the American Legion and the State Bar of Texas and additionally the bar associations of Travis and Tom Green counties.