Henderson Documents, Manuscripts, Reports, etc.
Robertus Henderson (of Augusta Co., VA) Family Record
Pages 1 - 4
{There are handwritten notes throughout my copy. These are indicated on this web page by being colored and enclosed in square brackets [ ] }
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FAMILY of ROBERTUS HENDERSON of AUGUSTA COUNTY, VIRGINIA
William Henderson of Fifeshire (County Fife) Scotland, was born April 30, 1676 and died August 1, 1737. On February 7, 1705 he married Margaret Bruce who was born March 1, 1680 and died December 15, 1739. Both William Henderson and Margaret Bruce were members of prominent Scotch families. William Henderson was a lineal descendant of Sir James Henderson, first Knight of Fordell, born about 1450, and who was appointed King's Advocate in 1494. He was killed at the battle of Floddenfield, September 9, 1513, the battle in which King James IV of Scotland lost his life.
From the books "Scottish Clans And Their Tartans", "These Names Of Ours," and "Searching For Your Ancestors," we learn that our ancestors belonged to the Gunn Clan in the Scotch Highlands and were affiliated with Clan McDonald of Glencoe. William and Henry Gunn moved to the south at an early date and the descendants of Henry came to be known as Henry's Sons and then Hendersons.
Three sons of William Henderson and Margaret Bruce, John, James, and Samuel, emigrated to America about 1740, and settled in Augusta County, Virginia. John was born February 9, 1706, James, January 17, 1708, and Samuel, November 28, 1713. All three served in the Augusta Militia in the French and Indian War. A sword which James carried in this war was in the possession of his descendants until stolen by soldiers during the Civil War.
A word about Augusta County. So far as is known the first white person to see the Shenandoah Valley was Governor Spottswood of Virginia in August, 1716. He and his party gave such glowing accounts of the beauty and the fertility of the valley that settlers rapidly began to move in. The first person to settle in what is now Augusta County was John Lewis. He came from Pennsylvania in 1732, with Joist Hite and others. He built a stone house one mile east of the present site of Staunton, which he called "Bellefont" and which was still standing not many years ago.
On September 6, 1736, Governor William Gooch issued a patent to William Beverly for 111,491 acres of land in the valley. This patent was issued on an order from King George II of England, dated August 12, 1736. Most of this land was in what is now Augusta County, and included the present site of Staunton, and was known as Beverly Manor. This land was to be resold and it was advertised in towns in America and England.
Now back to the three brothers from Scotland, John, James and Samuel Henderson, the sons of William Henderson and Margaret Bruce.
1. John Henderson married Rose Finley. In 1747 William Beverly conveyed by deed to John Henderson 520 acres of land in the Beverly Manor tract.
[X -- Great, Great, Great, Great, Grandfather] 2. James Henderson married Martha Hamilton on June 23, 1738. This is our ancestor. He is last mentioned on the Augusta County tax lists as owning at the time 300 acres of land.
In 1771 John Henderson conveyed the land secured from William Beverly in 1747 to Joseph Henderson, a son of his brother James. John Henderson's will was recorded August 20, 1766. He died May 1, 1766. James Henderson's will was probated in Augusta County May 19, 1784. Children of James Henderson and Martha Hamilton: David, John, James, William, Sarah, Joseph (our ancestor), Jean, Samuel, Archibald, and Margaret.
3. Samuel Henderson married Jane -----. He died January 19, 1782. His will mentions four children, James, Andrew, Alexander, and Florence. His son Alexander moved to Kentucky.
[X -- Great, Great, Great Grandfather] Joseph Henderson, son of James Henderson and Martha Hamilton, married Sarah Miller, daughter of John Miller on September 25, 1765. They lived on the farm two miles from Staunton which is still in the family. In 1782 Joseph Henderson was assessed with 520 acres of land. He is last mentioned on the tax lists in 1791 as owning 590 acres. He served in the 3rd. Virginia Regiment in the Revolutionary War. His will was dated April 26, 1791 and probated in January 1792.
Children of Joseph Henderson and Sarah Miller.
Jane, born August 3, 1766. Married Alexander Buchanan.
John, born September 24, 1769. Married Sally Lesly.
[X -- Great, Great Grandfather] Robert (our ancestor) born April 3, 1772. Married Hannah McClung.
Joseph, born September 17, 1776. Married Hannah McCutchen.
Mary, born September 17, 1778. Married Robert Morrison.
William, born October 19, 1781.
Sarah, born December 17, 1784. Married ----- Eldridge.
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In his will, Joseph Henderson left his property that came from his father-in-law, John Miller, to his wife, two daughters, and son, John. He left the remainder of his property to his three sons, Robert, Joseph, and William. Robert received what is now the old Henderson farm. Joseph received what later came to be known as the Tate farm. William received what is now the Harrison farm. Joseph and William later sold their property and moved west. Robert lived the remainder of his life on his share and left it to his son, Robertus.
In Chalkley's "Abstracts of Augusta County" is an item of interest. Randolph's administrators vs. Kinney at {sic} al. On April 7, 1808, William Randolph sold to Chesley Kinney 331 acres in Augusta County. This was resold several times and some disputes arose over titles. David Stuart sold 57 acres to James Miller on August 20, 1748, and on February 14, 1763, sold the whole tract to John Miller. On August 1, 1754 James Miller sold the 57 acres to Jones Henderson, who sold it to John Paris on August 18, 1778. On October 18, 1784 John Miller conveyed the whole tract of 331 acres to the pleader, William Randolph's administrator.
I have given the above item for several reasons. It shows that before the year 1800 there was a Chesley Kinney, who had some connection with our family and whose name occurs frequently in our family. It also shows that at this early date there was a Jones Henderson but I do not know what connection with our family. Robertus Henderson had a brother named Shelton Jones Henderson. Perhaps he was named for this Jones Henderson. The James and John Miller mentioned in the item were no doubt brothers of Sarah Miller who married Joseph Henderson on September 25, 1765, since she had brothers by these names. John Paris is also mentioned. He must have been the father or grandfather of the John Paris who married Nancy Cummins Henderson about 1840.
Robert Henderson, son of Joseph and Sarah Miller Henderson, was born April 3, 1772 on the present Henderson farm and lived there until his death July 31, 1837. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. These items are important for those who desire to form connection with the Daughters or Sons of the American Revolution. Robert Henderson married Hannah McClung, daughter of John McClung of Bath County, Virginia. John McClung was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia. In 1733, and at the age of eighteen years went to Bath County to live. He married Sarah McCutchen. One of their ten children was Hannah McClung, born June 24, 1780, and died March 23, 1849. The following is an excerpt from "The McClung Genealogy" by William McClung. "John McClung went from Rockbridge County to Bath County, Virginia. He was for a number of years proprietor of the hotel at Warm Springs, Va. He used to visit his brothers in Greenbrier County, W. Va., once every year and was greatly beloved by his kindred there. He was a Revolutionary soldier and served in Gen. Porterfield's Regiment. Gen. Porterfield used to say when John McClung would pray before a battle, victory was sure to perch upon the American banners. He was an elder in the Windy Cove Presbyterian Church."
[X -- Great, Great Grandfather] Robert and Hannah McClung Henderson had ten children. Those for whom this paper is chiefly prepared are particularly interested in the eighth child, Robertus [X -- Great Grandfather], but a few items are given on each of the other nine. (The children of Robert and Hannah will be indicated by Roman numerals, as I, the Grandchildren by capitals, as A, the great-grandchildren by small letters, as a.) {I have indented the generations to make it clearer}
I. Joseph Henderson was born April 9, 1804. He married Charity Litton on September 2, 1830. She was born March 27, 1804 and died June 1, 1883. They lived in Augusta County until 1848 then moved to Nicholas County, W. Va. In 1850 he settled on a large farm near Delphia in Nicholas County. This farm was owned a few years ago by his grandson, Charles J. Henderson. On the farm is a family burying ground. Four of Joseph's sons were in the Confederate Army, 36th. Regiment of Virginia Infantry under Col. McCauslin. He died May 28, 1875.
A. Hester Agnes, born February 13, 1832. Married Jordon Wilson August 9, 1852. They and their children lived in Clay County, W. Va.
B. Robert Preston, born January 20, 1834 married Mary Given on November 9, 1858. They had ten children and lived in Webster County, W. Va. He died November 1, 1913.
C. Samuel George, born January 30, 1836. He married Elizabeth Mills of Mercer County, W. Va., on August 27, 1863. They had three children to live to adulthood. The oldest was Charles Robert Henderson, born August 15, 1866, and married Betty Hickman on April 4, 1886. Charles Robert and Betty Hickman Henderson lived in Huntington, W. Va. He died January 30, 1936. I have met and had some correspondence with some of their children. They are Mrs. C. F. Thornburg, {address deleted for privacy}, Springfield, Mass., Mrs. G. W. Minich, Pulga, Cala., Stuart and George Henderson and Mrs. C. T. Dodrill of Huntington, W. Va., Mrs. S. A. McConkey, Barbourville, W. Va., and Miss Rose Henderson, {address deleted for privacy}, Huntington, W. Va.
D. Joseph Addison McClung, born November 22, 1838.
E. William Henry Harrison, born March 9, 1841. Married Lydia Given February 25, 1868. They had four children. He died April 9, 1915.
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F. Shelton Rodney, born April 25, 1843. Married Elizabeth Hanna August 13, 1874. They had eight children. He died September 20, 1917.
G. Nicholas Kinney, born March 15, 1848. Died at age of six years.
II. Sally Henderson, born December 24, 1805. Died at age of six years.
[X -- Grandfather] III. John McClung Henderson, born January 2, 1808. Married Sarah R. Hall on October 20, 1832, and shortly afterwards moved to Roanoke County, Virginia, and settled on a farm a few miles from Salem. This farm is still in the family. He died June 1, 1875 and she died January 20, 1897.
The following appeared in a Salem newspaper at the time of his death:
"Mr. John M. Henderson, of this county, departed this life on the 1st instant, at the age of 67 years. He was born near Staunton, Va., but he has been a resident of Roanoke County for some forty years. He had been for a short time afflicted with a pulmonary affection {sic} which rapidly developed into the worst phases of pneumonia and carried him to his grave, amid the sincere regrets of the entire community. Mr. Henderson was a man of reserved manners, little disposed to communicativeness on matters of private business. But his judgment was excellent, and his purposes were clearly defined in all his business relations. He was a man of sterling integrity and high sense of honor. He was careful in his dealings and prompt to his obligations. He enjoyed a large measure of the respect and confidence of all who knew him. But the fell destroyer has laid him low, and the tears of real grief drop upon his newly made grave, mingled with the sighs of a people and the inexpressible sorrow of a fond, trusting wife, affectionate daughters and sons. Upon these last fall the heaviest blow by far. Oh! how sad is that home where the light of conjugal love and paternal devotion has gone out. None can know the depths of gloom but those who pass through this vale of experience."
"To the bereaved and sorrowing family of Mr. Henderson, let the words of the Apostle be a source of deep consolation, when he says to the christian, "Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!"
A. Sarah Susan, born September 21, 1833. Married John Deeds on July 1, 1852. Large family of children. He died December 25, 1890, and she died June 7, 1906. A daughter, Ruth Deeds Duffey, lives at Troutville, Va.
B. Robertus, born March 16, 1833 {? born in 1833 -- either this year or the one for Sarah Susan must be an error, parents were married Oct 1832, so Sarah Susan's prob. right & year of birth for Robertus prob. wrong}. Married Nancy Looney on March 14, 1861. They moved to Roane County, W. Va.
[X -- Father] C. John A., born August 17, 1840. Married Mollie Moomaw on April 18, 1867. Served in the Confederate Army. He died June 18, 1898 and she died May 24, 1916. A [3rd] son, Charles Robertus Henderson [Paris McClung H - 1st Son, died age 23 No issue. H. A. Arthur H -- 2nd Son, died age about 68 -- 1 son -- 2 daughters. {Anna Lucy} H -- only daughter died age 3] is now living on the family homestead at Catawba, near Salem. Another [4th] son, Robert [E], lived in Miami, Florida. He was formerly a member of the faculty of William and Mary College. A { word "third" crossed through and [5th] inserted} son, [W] Edgar, lives at {address deleted for privacy}, Richmond, Va. Two daughters and a son of Charles Robertus Henderson live in Salem. They are Mrs. Thelma Henderson Macom, Mrs. Mary Henderson White, and Hunter Harvey Henderson. [C -- Wesley Henderson -- Pearl Henderson Chapman]
D. Harvey Henderson, born June 19, 1843. Married Tabitha John on October 29, {"1843" crossed through & "1873?" written over it}. He served in the Confederate Army. Died July 18, 1897. She died December 21, 1877. A son, James [John], born January 10, 1876. Married Eugenia Sanford. [1 Son -- 2 daughters]
E. Louvenia, born January 11, 1846. Married William L. Karr on September 4, 1878.
F. Mollie Shelton, born May 2, 1852. Married H. E. Moomaw.
G. Rachel R, born May 17, 1854. Married J. L. Henderson.
[X -- Great Uncle] IV. Shelton Jones Henderson, born November 7, 1809. He never married. As a young man he settled in Mississippi and owned a plantation in Washington County, near Greenville. He died in 1872 leaving some valuable property. At the time of his death the following appeared in a Greenville paper:
"Died February 16, 1872, at his home on Williams Bayou, Shelton J. Henderson, in the sixty-second year of his age. His last illness was very short and violent. Seized on the 15th., with congestion of the bowels, which was soon communicated to the lungs, in a little more than twenty-four hours he expired.
"The deceased was never married, and leaves but one near relative in this county. He was a native of Virginia but had for many years been an esteemed citizen of Washington County. His generous disposition and conduct made him many friends. It would be difficult to find his enemies. He leaves a memory doubly revered in that his generous deeds were never followed by exactions on the gratitude of the beneficiary."
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V. Adaline McCutchen Hendreson, born September 21, 1811. Married William W. Peaco. They lived on a farm adjoining the Henderson homestead, adn which no doubt was a part of the original estate. On this farm was a mill which served a large community, and which was known far and wide as Peaco's Mill. They had two children.
A. Hannah Virginia Peaco, married James Wright. Children: Nancy Adaline, Ella Belle, James Houston, Rebecca, Lorena, Silva Lee, Pearlie, Junius, Sally, and Calvin.
B. Robert Porterfield Peaco, married Rebecca McDaniel. They had no children.
[X -- Great Aunt] VI. Nancy Cummins Henderson, born February 15, 1814. She married John Paris [X -- my brother Paris named for him & remembered in his will 500.00] and they lived on a farm near Staunton, a farm which had been in the Paris family for several generations. They belonged to the Hebron Presbyterian Church. They had only one daughter, Virginia, who died at the age of sixteen years, and was buried in the Hebron cemetery. John and Nancy Paris left their property to Shelton Adams Henderson, a nephew of Nancy Henderson Paris and the father of the writer of this sketch. He had managed the farm for them for some years prior to their deaths. John Paris was Clerk of the western Section of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
[X -- Great Uncle] VII. William Harvey Henderson, born October 23, 1816. When a young man of twenty-one he rode horseback to Mississippi and spent the winter with his older brother, Shelton Jones Henderson. On leaving the next Spring he went up the Mississippi River by boat and stopped off in Lewis County, Missouri. A couple years later he bought a farm of 306 acres in Lewis County, where he lived until his death on April 2, 1891. He was a Mason and his funeral was conducted by the Masonic Lodge. During the Civil War he sympathized with the Confederacy but took no part in the conflict. He was married three times. First, to Nancy Lavinia McCutchan, March 23, 1843. She too was born in Augusta County, Va., September 27, 1820. Children: Hannah, Elizabeth, Virginia Adaline, Robert John, William Shelton, Joseph McCutchan, Nancy Lavinia. William Harvey Henderson married (2) Susan Ann Montgomery on April 24, 1855. Children of this union: Martha Ann, Nathaniel Montgomery, Helen Taylor, James Bettie, Ida Lee, Matilda Frances, Franklin Willis, Mary Susan. A son of Nathaniel Montgomery Henderson and a grandson of William Harvey Henderson, is Lane Bradshaw Henderson, a lawyer, and lives in Shelbina, Missouri. He has given much time and effort in gathering data on our branch of the Henderson family. I am indebted to him for much of the material in this sketch.
William Harvey Henderson married (3) Sandusky Mitchell on November 16, 1875. She was born March 10, 1835 and died September 29, 1910. No children were born of this marriage.
VIII. Robertus Henderson. (His record is given below.)
IX. Rodney Boys Henderson, born August 22, 1821. He married Ruth Ann Wright. They had two daughters.
A. Sarah Susan (Sallie) born November 8, 1848. Married H. Clay Palmer on February 28, 1871, and they lived in Greenville, Va.
Children:
[X -- Quite a noted singer] a. Clara Belle Palmer. She married Frank A. Straker on February 28, 1906, and lives at {address deleted for privacy}, London England. She has three sons, Austin, living in London; Jack, living in Los Angeles; and Henry with the British Broadcasting Co., in New York.
b. Henry Austin Palmer, born September 1, 1874. Retired dentist, now living in Greenville, Va.
c. Wilbur Henderson Palmer, born January 19, 1878. Married Helen Weaver of Shelbina, Mo. They live in Greenville, Va., and belong to the Bethel Presbyterian Church where she is the organist. They have a daughter, Phyllis.
[X] {no explanatory note for X} d. John Paris Palmer, born November 1, 1881. He lives at {address delted for privacy}, Cincinnati, Ohio.
B. Hannah Christian Henderson, born May 20, 1851. She married J. M. Hiner and lived in Highland County, Virginia. They had no children. She died October 26, 1890.
{This paragraph marked with large opening parenthesis [(] in left margin - no explanatory note} X. Nicholas Kinney Henderson, born July 21, 1824. He married Jane Eliza Denison on July 15, 1847. In 1848 they moved to Nicholas County, W. Va., and settled on 700 acres of land which he and his brother-in-law, John Paris, had purchased. This was near the home of his oldest brother, Joseph. He was brought up in the Presbyterian Church, but in W. Va., united with the Methodist Church since no Presbyterian Church was near. Jane Eliza died April 13, 1872, and he died June-15, 1899.
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Source: Virginia State Library Archives Accession #28332
Photocopied by Susan Shields Sasek 11 Oct 1988; transcribed 3 Feb 2004
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