When Jess Willard Henderson was born on July 30, 1932, [1] in Muson, Florida, his father, William Henderson, was 41 and his mother,Anna (Johnson) Henderson, was 34. He was the third youngest of 12 children. His father painted houses for a living, frequently buying them for resell, so the family moved around frequently. [2]
In 1934, they lived on 512 E Wright Street in Pensacola, Florida. His dad worked as a grocery selling fruit. [3] According to the family, their dad painted, and their mom ran the store.
By 1935, the family had moved to Wright Street in Pensacola. His dad still worked as a painter, and his mother worked as a merchant. [4]
Sadly, in 1944, when Willard was 11 years old, his brother WL "Lonnie" Henderson died [5] from a botched spinal surgery. [2]
The next year, his family had moved to Gadsden Street in Pensacola. His father's divorced brother (and his own brother's namesake), Lonnie Henderson, lived with the family. Uncle Lonnie helped Willard's father with painting. His married sister, Lyndall Henderson, and her infant daughter also resided with the family. Willard attended 5th grade. [6]
Military
When he was 18 years old, Willard enlisted in the Army, serving from 1 Jan 1951 to 1 Jan 1963. His service took him through the Korean War and part of the Vietnam Era. [7]
Upon enlistment, he and 37 other men from Escambia County, Florida received recruiting examinations at Panama City, Florida [8]
While he was stationed in North Carolina around 1953, Jesse Willard Henderson met and married Clara Belle Plyler. The couple had three daughters before they divorced on 27 October 1958 in Union, North Carolina. [10]
Shirley Lajuanna Porter
In February 1962, Shirley Porter and Jesse Willard Henderson married in Escambia County, Florida. [11]
The couple had two daughters before they divorced in Escambia County, Florida in April 1968 [12]
However, I also found a marriage record for Shirley Lajuana Henderson in June 1967 - before Willard and Shirley divorced. Her spouse's name is unattached, so either they divorced, remarried, and divorced in a short amount of time, or she married someone else while still married to Willard. I'm still researching this.[13]
Edna Pearl Revill
One month after he and Shirley divorced, Willard marriedEdna Revill in May 1968 in Escambia County, Florida. [14]
The couple had no children of their own, but stayed together until her death on 2 Mar 2002 in Escambia County, Florida.
Personal Life, Hobbies, and Community
After leaving the military, he followed in his father's footsteps and became a painter. He enjoyed fishing, cooking, and won several pool tournaments. [9]
Death and Burial
He died on June 11, 2004, at the age of 71, and was buried in Pensacola, Florida. [9] He is buried in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery along with Edna Pearl and his parents. [15][1]
Sources
↑ 1.01.1Social Security:
"U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007",
Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007,
Ancestry Record 60901 #18374636 (subscription required, accessed 1 November 2022),
Name: Jess Willard Henderson [Jess W Henderson]; Gender: Male; Race: White; Birth Date: 30 Jul 1932; Birth Place: Munson Santa, Florida [Munson, Florida]; Death Date: 11 Jun 2004; Father: William H Henderson; Mother: Anna Johnson; Notes: Oct 1950: Name listed as JESS WILLARD HENDERSON; 17 Jun 2004: Name listed as JESS W HENDERSON.
↑ 2.02.1 Personal Knowledge related by Lonnie's still living sisters
↑ "Florida State Census, 1945," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNXZ-3VK : 9 August 2017), Willard Henderson, Escambia, Escambia, Florida; citing line 5, State Archives, Tallahassee; FHL microfilm 2,425,189.
↑Ancestry Record 2441 #7441470 Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
↑Ancestry Record 1115 #2777575 North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. North Carolina Divorce Index, 1958-2004. Raleigh, NC, USA: North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, 2004.
Name: Jess Henderson
Spouse: Clara Henderson
Divorce Date: 27 Oct 1958
Divorce Place: Union, North Carolina, USA
↑ "Florida Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VJKD-CJB : 28 November 2014), Shirley Lajuana Armstrong, Jun 1962; from "Florida, Marriage Collection, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2006); citing Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida; and Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research.
↑ "Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK4Z-KK2 : 25 December 2014), Jess W Henderson and Shirley L A Henderson, Apr 1968; from "Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Escambia, Florida, certificate 8301, volume 1287, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville.
↑ "Florida Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VJDM-5X8 : 28 November 2014), Shirley Lajuana Henderson, Jun 1967; from "Florida, Marriage Collection, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2006); citing Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida; and Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research.
↑ "Florida Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VJ8G-NPN : 28 November 2014), Jess Willard Henderson, May 1968; from "Florida, Marriage Collection, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2006); citing Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida; and Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research.
↑ Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98042810/jess-willard-henderson: accessed 01 November 2022), memorial page for Jess Willard -Gator- Henderson (30 Jul 1932–11 Jun 2004), Find A Grave: Memorial #98042810, citing Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, USA; Maintained by Alicia Taylor (contributor 49419954) .
Death:
Name:
Jess Willard -Gator- Henderson
Birth Date:
30 Jul 1932
Death Date:
11 Jun 2004
Cemetery:
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
Cemetery Address:
Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, USA
Paternal and Maternal relationships are both confirmed by an autosomal AncestryDNA test match between CLawson and Alicia (Bonner) Taylor, his . Their most-recent common ancestors are William Henderson and Anna Johnson, the great grandparents of both CLawson and Alicia (Bonner) Taylor. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 2nd Cousin, based on sharing 302 cM across 14 segments.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Jess by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Jess: