small child, he was the eldest of eight children born to George Tryon Harding (1843–1928; usually known as Tryon) and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Dickerson) Harding (1843–1910). Phoebe was a state-licensed midwife. Tryon farmed and taught school near Mount Gilead. Through apprenticeship and a year of medical school, Tryon became a doctor and started a small practice. Some of Harding's maternal ancestors were Dutch, including the wealthy Van Kirk family. Harding also had ancestors from England, Wales and Scotland. It was rumored by a political opponent in Blooming Grove that one of Harding's great-grandmothers was African American. His great-great-grandfather Amos Harding claimed that a thief, who had been caught in the act by the family, started the rumor in an attempt at extortion or revenge. In 2015, genetic testing of Harding's descendants determined, with more than a 95% chance of accuracy, that he lacked sub-Saharan African forebears within four generations. In 1870, the Harding family, who were abolitionists, moved to Caledonia, where Tryon acquired The Argus, a local weekly newspaper. At The Argus, Harding, from the age of 11, learned the basics of the newspaper business. In late 1879, at the age of 14, Harding enrolled at his father's alma mater—Ohio Central College in Iberia—where he proved an adept student. He and a friend put out a small newspaper, the Iberia Spectator, during their final year at Ohio Central, intended to appeal to both the college and the town. During his final year, the Harding family moved to Marion, about from Caledonia, where he joined them upon graduation in 1882. Editor In Harding's youth, the majority of the population still lived on farms and in small towns. He spent much of his life in Marion, a small city in rural central Ohio, and became closely associated with it. When Harding rose to high office, he spoke of his love of Marion and its way of life, telling of the many young Marionites who had left and enjoyed success elsewhere, while suggesting that the man, once the "pride of the school", who had remained behind and become a janitor, was "the happiest one of the lot". Upon graduating, Harding had stints as a teacher and as an insurance man, and made a brief attempt at studying law. He then raised $300 () in partnership with others to purchase a failing newspaper, The Marion Star, the weakest of the city's three papers, and