[1] Born in Edinburgh, Indiana, Hackney's only formal education was at the local schoolhouse, where he attended for five terms.
Before Hackney's election to the position, the Shelby County Circuit Court judge was his old friend, Kendall M. Hord, who had to resign after being accused of bribery.
Hackney denied wrongdoing while giving a speech about tariffs at the local Shelbyville Opera Hall.
In his opinion, Hackney wrote, "If nature has endowed women with wisdom, if our colleges have given her education, if her energy and diligence have led her to a knowledge of the law, and if her ambition directs her to adopt the profession, shall it be said that forgotten fictions must bar the door against her?"
He worked for the company until retiring in 1928, moving to Winter Park, Florida, where he became a patron of Rollins College.