© 1976-2001, P. Beggs, Portland, Oregon; updated December 2009

There is some discrepancy on the spouse(s) of James Henry, Sr, born ca. 1720, possibly Scotland, died 1809, Sterling, Windham, Connecticut.

Before we delve into those discrepancies, one thing should be made clear. It is evident that this James Henry, Sr., is indeed the James who is father to our James Henry, Jr., born ca 1770, Sterling, Connecticut and died 1841, Portage County, Ohio.

James Jr.'s son Warren Henry, in a 1906 history of Branch County, Michigan, was well aware of who his father and grandfather were. "Warren Henry, a retired farmer of Sherwood, was born in Sterling township, Windom [*Windham] county, Connecticut, July 6, 1819, and has therefore passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey. His father James Henry, was born in the same house in which his son's birth occurred. The grandfather, James Henry, Sr., was a native of Scotland, and when a young man came to America, being married after his arrival in this country. He died in 1809. James Henry, Jr., removed from New England to Portage county, Ohio, in 1831, locating on a farm in Highland [*Hiram] township. .... his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years of age. ... Mr. Henry had served as a lieutenant in the war of 1812, and his commission is now in possession of Warren Henry." ¹⁵ [*my inserted corrected spelling]. Clearly our James, Sr. who died in 1809, Sterling, Windham, Connecticut is not the James discussed below who removed to Maine circa 1761 and died there in 1785.

What is not yet clear is whether James Henry, Sr. who died 1809 in Sterling, Connecticut was the son of John and Elizabeth Henry of Providence, Rhode Island as presumed in the genealogy by William Henry Eldridge.¹

Many sources list Hannah MCKNESS as the wife of this James Henry, Sr. and mother of the family that includes our James Henry, Jr. on the basis of the Eldridge genealogy.¹ This genealogy is also listed the basis of the DAR record for James Henry ².

However, there exists information suggesting that the James Henry who married Hannah McKness may have been a different James Henry. The Eldridge genealogy itself casts doubts on one hand, only to have the author countermand this doubt on the very next page. In The Henry Genealogy (Eldridge, p.144) Eldridge states “James Henry then disappears from the records of this vicinity, but in 1771 a James Henry, “of Killingly, Conn.”, where Francis Henry’s sons were living, buys land in Voluntown, Conn...”. The very next page is where the author’s assumption, which has led most of us to accept this family, begins: On (page 145) Eldridge then states “It is considered here that this James Henry was the one who married April 25, 1742, in Providence, R.I., Hannah McKness, and who was made a freeman of Providence in May, 1756. (Colonial Rec. R.I., 5-487). Eldridge goes on to comment that James may have had a second wife.

The other James Henry who has been listed as the spouse of Hannah McKness is the son of James Henry of London Derry, North Ireland and his wife Elizabeth. Born in 1711, this James was of Johnston, RI until 1761, later moving to Topsham, Maine, where he died in 1785. The 1742 Providence, RI marriage of James Henry and Hannah McKness also appears in Topsham, Maine vital records. ³

Trying to confirm the family groups by research of the McKness family has provided the same confusion, attaching Hannah to both James Henrys. The death for Hanna McKness Henry was reported by Velma Grames on the NSDAR Application of James Henry, Sr. to be 1821, in Sterling, CT, but it is not clear which of the sources listed on the application provided this information.⁴ Volume 3 of Virkus’ Compendium of American Genealogy lists a 1928 submission by Leo Crafts of Minneapolis, MN showing Hannah McNess born 1713 Scotland as the wife of Deacon James Henry, b.1711. James death is listed as 1785; Hannah’s as 1801. According to this submission, Hannah came from Scotland with her parents in 1731, when she was 18 years old.⁵

Some researchers of the James Henry of Johnston, RI/Topsham, ME family claim the same children with the same birthdates as listed by the Eldridge genealogy for our James Henry (of Scotland), with the additional females Ann and Jennett. The son James Henry in this family group is listed with a different birth date of June 1743 in Providence, RI, marriage to Mercy Bevridge in 1776 ⁶ and a death date of 2 Nov 1831, Topsham, ME. ^{7 8 9 10} The children’s names are common enough that it is not impossible for both families to have had children of the same names; but the above discrepancies do cast doubt on whether or not the birth dates listed in the Eldridge genealogy for the children of James Henry and Hannah McKness are the dates for the children in this family group, or if they are correct for the family group headed by James of Topsham, ME. Also note the birth date of ca. 1770 for our James Henry, almost 20 years later than any of his siblings, if we use the birth dates provided by the Eldridge genealogy. Not at all impossible, but it is another suggestion that more research is required.

The will of Jeams HENRY was dated 20 Oct 1791, bequeathed to wife NANCY* Henry, sons William Henry, John Henry, Francis Henry and Jeams Henry, and daughters Jean Hill, Mary Kinsle, Martha Henry, and Elisabeth Cutteler. The witnesses were John Henry, John Williams, Jr., and Francis Henry. Since quite a bit of time elapsed between the writing of the will and entrance into probate, the customary testimony by the witnesses was a problem. A note attached to the will, dated 19 Sept 1811 and notarized in the State of New York, Otsego Co., said that Francis Henry had appeared and testified that he did see Jeams Henry sign his will. Another note, dated 19 Feb 1812, said that John Henry (the one who had witnessed the will) was now dead, and the John Williams, Jr. “is gone to parts unknown and supposed to be dead.”¹¹

Distribution of the estate of James Henry to his wife Anna* was made 19 Feb 1812 in Sterling, CT. Executor was James Henry with Parker Hill and Obidiah Brown, either as executors or surety. ¹²

There is record of a marriage between a James Henry of Voluntown, CT and Mrs. Anna Northup, of North Kingstown, daughter of James, 5 Jan 1786 in North Kingston, RI. ¹³ Anna is probably Anna CLARK. She married James NORTHUP in 1760 in North Kingston, RI. James died in 1785. They had two children, both born North Kingston, RI. James, born 1760 and Elizabeth, born 1775. ¹⁴ According to the 1790 US Census of Connecticut (Roll M637-1, p.152) there was only one James Henry of Voluntown, CT--ours. But it is unknown if there were other James Henrys were in Voluntown four years earlier in 1786. Also of note here, is that this marriage date is earlier than either of the two reported death dates (listed above) of Hannah McKness.

Unfortunately, all these female names are nicknames for each other (*Ann, Anna, Anne, Annie, Hannah, Nan, Nanny, Nancy, Nana, Susanna) so there is still not enough proof to positively determine whether it is our James who married Anna Northup, or whether the Nancy/Anna in the probate records is Hannah McKness, Anna Northup, or another person unknown to us.

The Hale Headstone Inscriptions Index in the Connecticut State Library in Hartford, CT lists Henry, James, d. 10 Oct 1809, ae. 89, Sterling cemetery #4, p.4 ¹⁶

The only conclusions that can probably be made from the sources found at this time is that the James Henry who was born in 1720 and who died in 1809 was the father of our James Henry, Jr. and of children with the same names as on this group sheet, although we cannot confirm the birth dates listed in the Eldridge genealogy as belonging to this family group, or to any other James Henry family. The only children who can be traced at this time are the female daughters with married names. The mother of this James Henry’s children obviously cannot be Mrs. Anna Northup, due to the marriage date of 1786.

At this time, there is no confirmed information providing us with the spouse of our James Henry, Sr. and the mother of our James Henry, Jr.

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¹ (378M) Eldridge, Wm. Henry "Henry Genealogy-The Descendants of Samuel Henry and Lurana (Cady) Henry" Boston: TR Marvin & Son, 1915 pp 142-146

² (359-1M) National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Application No. 587088 (submitted by Velma Henry Grames, 19 Feb 1974)

³ (513M) Henry, Alan D. "The Henry Family History Descendants of James Henry Sr, of CT" 1993 p 1.

⁴ (359-1M) National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Application No. 587088 (submitted by Velma Henry Grames, 19 Feb 1974)

⁵ (365M) Virkus’ “Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy-First Families of America” Vol. 3, 1928 p.138

⁶ (564M) LDS Family History Search Site - James Henry of Providence, RI married Mercy Bevridge, 1776 <http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/PRF/individual_record_prf.asp?recid=230030399> Accessed April 28, 2001

⁷(365M) Virkus’ “Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy-First Families of America” Vol. 3, 1928 p.138

⁸ (564M) LDS Family History Search Site <http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp> Ancestral File. James Henry of Topsham, Maine search. Accessed April 28, 2001

⁹ (504-2M) “Henry Family in Maine” compiled by Rev Charles N. Sinnet; The Boston Transcript, 29 Mar 1922, article #9716. Copies sent by Alan D. Henry, Temperance, MI.

¹⁰ (378M) Eldridge, Wm. Henry "Henry Genealogy-The Descendants of Samuel Henry and Lurana (Cady) Henry" Boston: TR Marvin & Son, 1915 pp 140-147

¹¹ (243-4M) Probate Index, Connecticut State Library. Plainfield Probate District Microfilm #1026638, Box #1192. Packet #1038, 1812 (Will of Jeams Henry dated 20 Oct 1791)

¹² (243-3M) Probate Index, Connecticut State Library. Plainfield Probate District Microfilm #1026638, Box #1192. Packet #1037, 1809 (Distribution of estate of James Henry, 19 Feb 1812)

¹³ (468M) From Alan D. Henry, excerpts from "Vital Records of Rhode Island" Volume 2 by Arnold. Probate Book 5, Page 2.

¹⁴ (564M) PIERCE, R. Andrew. Northup Project. 1990. (on file at New England Historical Genealogical Society, Boston, MA). As researched by Earl P. Crandall email: eperry@capital.net <http://www.my-ged-com/db/page/crandall/1851> and http://www.my-ged-com/db/page/crandall/1855> Accessed April 28, 2001.

¹⁵ (464M) Collin, Rev. Henry P. "A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Branch County, Michigan" New York; Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1906. p.480 - 1

¹⁶(243-6M) Hale Headstone Inscriptions Index, Connecticut. Sterling Cemetery #4, p.4