John Henry (abt. 1704 - abt. 1773)

Born about 1704 in Foveran, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Winston) Henry — married 1 Nov 1734 in Studley Plantation, Hanover, Virginia

Descendants

Died about 1 Feb 1773 at about age 69 in Studley, Hanover, Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Michelle Brooks [send private message], Gail Willard [send private message], Angela Trigg [send private message], Chryse L [send private message], Elizabeth Stone [send private message], Albert Colbert [send private message], and Travis Riggs [send private message]

Biography

John Henry, born about 1704, is the son of Alexander (or Patrick) Henry and Jean Robertson of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The exact year and location of his birth is unknown, so the year is an estimate based on his attendance at Kings College. His sister Isabel was born in 1706 in Aberdour Parish, in Aberdeenshire, so it's possible John was born there as well.

Around the age of fifteen, John attended Kings College at Aberdeen University on a scholarship. He attended for four years, but didn't earn his degree.^[1]

John emigrated to Virginia, arriving in February of 1727 and lived at the home of Col. John Syme, "a close friend of his family back in Aberdeen."^[1] He was a friend of Robert Dinwiddie, who became Governor of Virginia in 1752, and it is said Henry brought a letter of introduction from him to Col. John Syme. It is thought that the families of Henry and Syme were connected in Scotland and that this fact caused John Henry to make his way to Hanover on his arrival in Virginia, where he soon became domesticated in the family of Colonel Syme. ^[2]

His brother, Rev. Patrick Henry, an Episcopalian minister, soon followed him to Virginia in April, 1733. The two brothers were very much attached to each other and ever afterwards lived not far apart. They were cousins of David Henry, who went from Scotland to London at the age of fourteen, and became a journeyman printer in the same office with Benjamin Franklin. He married a sister of Edward Cave, the found of the "Gentleman's Magazine," in London.

John was Colonel of the Virginia Militia and Presiding Magistrate of Hanover County.

He married around 1733 Sarah Winston, the widow of Col. John Syme.^[3] The couple had eleven children together. Two daughters died at young ages in 1769, leaving two sons and seven daughters in the family.^[4] They moved to Mount Brilliant from Studley about 1748. At one point he established a store for his sons. The store apparently was not a success because of his benevolence, John Henry being a better neighbor than businessman.

John Henry died in 1773 and was buried at Mount Brilliant Cemetery, Farrington. His Find A Grave: Memorial #31012799 has pictures, a brief biography, and links to those of family members.^[5]

Early Henrys in Virginia

The name of Henry appears in the land records of Virginia as early as 1627, when a John Henry took up 150 acres in Elizabeth City County Dec 20, 1627; a John Henry, in Hanover county in 1736; a Hugh Henry in Lunenburg County, 1758, etc.

Land owned in Hanover County, Virginia

"William Morris, Gent. of New Kent County, was granted 400 acres in Hanover County on 20 May 1734; the land was bound by the land of John Henry on the head of Roundabout Creek." ^[6]

Family

John and Sarah had the following children:

1. Mary Henry 1732–?, married Luke Bowyer.^[7][8][9]
2. William Henry 1734–1784, married Alice Taylor^[3][10]
3. Patrick Henry 1736–1799^[3][10]
4. Anne Henry 1738–1790, married Col. William Christian.^[7][8][9]
5. Jane Henry 1738–1819, married Col. Samuel Meredith^[7][11][12]
6. Susannah Henry 1742–1831, married Gen. Thomas Madison^[7][8][13]
7. Lucy Henry 1743–1826, married Col. Valentine Wood^[7][14]
8. Elizabeth Henry 1749–1825, married (1) Gen. William Campbell, married (2) Gen. William Russell^[15]
9. Sarah Henry, married Thomas Thomas^[7][13]

NOTE: Other than two daughters who died in 1769, the established genealogies relate the above nine children only. As yet, there is no documentation of additional children.

Death

John died in 1773, in Hanover, Virginia, USA and buried at Mount Brilliant Cemetery, Farrington, Hanover County, Virginia, USA.^[5]

Research Notes

There is a Jean Robertson Puzzle page for anyone interested in figuring out the origins of Jean's ancestry (with sources, please). One of our goals is to study the various relationships of this family in the hope of discovering her origins. This is a space to leave more informal notes.

Name: John Henry. ^{[16] [17]}

Born 9 MAY 1704. Foveran Parish, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire County, Scotland, UK. ^{[16] [17]}

Died 1 FEB 1773. Studley, Hanover, Virginia, USA. Map: Latitude: N37.6756. Longitude: W77.2911. ^{[16] [17]}

Buried Farrington, Hanover, Hanover, Virginia, USA. ^{[16] [17]}

Arrival USA ^[18]

Departure Scotland Map: Latitude: N56.8397. Longitude: W4.1906. ^[18]

Residence ABT 1773. Hanover County, Virginia. ^[18]

Marriage Husband @I13070@. Wife @I13071@. Child: @I8187@. Marriage 1733 ^{[19] [20]}

External Files

• File M8370 File: C:\Program Files\Family Tree Maker 2019\ryan_masters_compiled Media\U.S., Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825.jpg Format: jpg. U.S., Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. II; Author:: David Dobson.

• File M8411 File: C:\Program Files\Family Tree Maker 2019\ryan_masters_compiled Media\North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000(35).jpg Format: jpg. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000. Book Title: Henry Genealogy : The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 a.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Beeman, Richard R. Patrick Henry: A Biography. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1974. p. 2
2. ↑ Eldridge, William Henry. The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 and Lurana (Cady) Henry, his wife : with an appendix containing brief accounts of other Henry families. T.R. Marvin & Son, Boston, Mass (1915). p. 198
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Eldridge, William Henry. The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 and Lurana (Cady) Henry, his wife : with an appendix containing brief accounts of other Henry families. T.R. Marvin & Son, Boston, Mass (1915). p. 199
4. ↑ Meade, Robert Douthat. Patrick Henry: Patriot in the Making. J.B. Lippincott & Company (1957), p. 357
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #31012799 for John Henry at FindAGrave.com
6. ↑ The Virginia Genealogist, (accessed 1 March 2015), Washington, DC: J. F. Dorman, 1957 - 2006. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.) The Morris Family by Isobel Baylor Woodson, Vol. 11, (1967) page 51 - 52
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5} Eldridge, William Henry. The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 and Lurana (Cady) Henry, his wife : with an appendix containing brief accounts of other Henry families. T.R. Marvin & Son, Boston, Mass (1915). p. 200
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Meade, Robert Douthat. Patrick Henry: Patriot in the Making. J.B. Lippincott & Company (1957), p. 234
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Henry, William Wirt. Patrick Henry, life, correspondence and speeches. Volume 2, Scribner (New York, 1891), p. 641 online access
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Henry, William Wirt. Patrick Henry, life, correspondence and speeches. Volume 2, Scribner (New York, 1891), p. 634 online access
11. ↑ Meade, Robert Douthat. Patrick Henry: Patriot in the Making. J.B. Lippincott & Company (1957), p. 45
12. ↑ Henry, William Wirt. Patrick Henry, life, correspondence and speeches. Volume 2, Scribner (New York, 1891), p. 639 online access
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Henry, William Wirt. Patrick Henry, life, correspondence and speeches. Volume 2, Scribner (New York, 1891), p. 640 online access
14. ↑ Henry, William Wirt. Patrick Henry, life, correspondence and speeches. Volume 2, Scribner (New York, 1891), p. 643 online access
15. ↑ Henry, William Wirt. Patrick Henry, life, correspondence and speeches. Volume 2, Scribner (New York, 1891), p. 642, 643 online access
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3} Source: S51
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3} Source: S340 Book Title: Henry Genealogy : The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 a File @M8411@
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2} Source: S4577 File @M8370@
19. ↑ Source: S340 Book Title: Henry Genealogy : The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 a File @M8411@
20. ↑ Source: S340 Book Title: Henry Genealogy : The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 a File @M8368@

• Ancestry.com, U.S. Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data - Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M246, 138 rolls); War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93; Record ID Number: MH:S56
• Ancestry.com, U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data - Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 roll Record ID Number: MH:S42
• Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection - Births Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. Record ID Number: MH:S44
• Edmund West, comp. Title: Family Data Collection - Individual Records Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Record ID Number: MH:S50
• Gale Research, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.Original data - Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Record ID Number: MH:S52
• Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, Publication: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004

• Source: S340 Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.;

• Source: S4577 Ancestry.com U.S., Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2021; NOTEDavid Dobson. Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: 1988.

• Source: S51 Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; NOTEFind A Grave