The goal of this project is:
- To determine the correct ancestry of Jean (Robertson) Henry, grandmother of Rev. War patriot Gov. Patrick Henry.
- To improve the profiles of her descendants
- To use this as a space to document our conclusions so others can see
Contents |
Overview of Problem
In the older genealogies dating back a hundred years or more, she was noted down as either the sister of Rev. William Robertson of Greyfriars Chuch, or his daughter, making her either the aunt or the sister of the famous Scottish historian William Robertson.
It was accepted as fact for a long time, and her son Col. John Henry was included in lists of "Gateway Ancestors" by virtue of this link to Rev. William Robertson giving him royal ancestry.
A problem has come to light since, when it was discovered that there is, as yet, no primary documents that attest to this link. There are also lots of incorrect pedigrees for Rev. William Robertson's family, but there are some sources from which we can glean what we know right now.
What We Know
At this point in time, until further documentation can be found, all we know about her is:
- She lived in the Aberdeen region of Scotland, based on her husband being listed as a school teacher in Aberdour Parish and a farmer in Old Machar Parish
- She had two sons who emigrated to Virginia, Rev. Patrick Henry and Col. John Henry
- That she had a brother who emigrated to Virginia[1]
- She had a husband named either Alexander or Patrick. Primary documents indicate it as Patrick, whereas his granddaughter Margaret Donald writing in 1790, said it was Alexander.[1]
- She had three daughters, according to the Margaret Donald letter, long dead before 1790, and can be stated, with varying degrees of confidence, to be:
- Jean Henry who m.1 William Duguid and m.2 Alexander Donald. Proven due to the fact that she is Margaret Donald's mother, the writer of the letter
- Isabel Henry who m. Alexander Milne. A record of her birth exists in the Aberdour Parish records listing her parents as Jean Robertson and Patrick Henry[2]
- Elizabeth Henry who m. William Simpson/Simson. Tentative. A record exists in Aberdour Parish records for the birth of Ann Simson, identifying her mother as Elizabeth Henry and the witness being "Mr. Patrick Henry, Schoolmr"
For an excellent analysis of Margaret Donald's letter and the information gleaned from it, see Karen Lucas Williams's page Margaret Donald Letter to Gov. Patrick Henry
Profiles
These are the main profiles affected:
- Jean (Robertson) Henry, the profile whose ancestry this project is about
- Alexander Henry, her husband
This is the profile of the previously accepted brother:
Members
Right now this project just has one member, me. I am Angela Trigg.
Tasks
Here are some of the tasks that I think need to be done. I'll be working on them, and could use your help.
- Add in the descendants of Jean Robertson using only reliable sources, with emphasis on branches that could inherit her X chromosome or her mtDNA in hopes we can find matches to a line farther back from her.
- Collaborate on solving the puzzle using traditional paper trails
- Monitor her and her husband's profile to make sure they aren't added to undocumented parents, or that undocumented children aren't added
Primary Sources
- Margaret Donald Letter to Gov. Patrick Henry
- Rev. Patrick Henry's University Records in Scotland which list his father as Patrick Henry, his location, and occupation
- Col. John Henry's University Records in Scotland again naming his father's name as Patrick
Joining
Will you join me? Please post a comment here on this page, in G2G using the project tag jean_robertson_puzzle, or send me a private message. Thanks!
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Margaret Donald's Letter to her cousin, Gov. Patrick Henry of Virginia, 1790
- ↑ "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XY6T-W59 : 2 January 2015), Isabel Henry, 03 Apr 1706; citing ABERDOUR,ABERDEEN,SCOTLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 991,252.
Inbound links
