Thursday, June 26, 2014

HENDERSON 1ST POST

HENDERSONS

     In relation to this blog and the Butter and Dunn families, the Henderson family ties in through Sarah Frances Henderson who married James Dudley Dunn.  They had fifteen children the third of which, born in 1881, was Lavinia Matilda Dunn who married Henry Robert Butter.  They were discussed in an earlier post.
     Sarah Frances Henderson was born 18 February 1861 in Summit, Pike County, Mississippi.  She married James Dudley Dunn; she died on 14 August 1924 and is buried in the Butter Cemetery in Forest Hill, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. This couple will be covered later under the Dunn family but below is a picture of the tombstone for Sarah Henderson Dunn.


     Sarah Frances Henderson was one of eight children born to James H. Henderson (1821 - 1909) and Sarah Frances Odom (1826 - 1910).  The following list are the names, dates and spouses of the eight children.
     1. Allen W. Henderson b. 1847; d. 27 May 1925; married Melissa Peavy.
     2. Richard C. Henderson b. 15 Dec. 1849; d. 1 Dec. 1901; married Tobitha Bush.
     3. Dorothy Henderson b. Oct 1851; d. 14 June 1921; married Hughey Thompson.
     4. Caroline Elizabeth Henderson b. 5 Mar. 1854; d. 11 Aug. 1902; married Sylvester Jefferson Dunn.
     5. James W. Henderson b. 24 June 1856; d. 1 Aug. 1914; married Laura Josephine Dunn.
     6. Henry Henderson b. 4 Sept. 1858; d. 18 Apr. 1920; married Mary E. Bond.
     7. Sarah Frances Henderson b. 18 Feb. 1862; d. 14 Aug. 1924; married James Dudley Dunn.
     8. Yosebia Lavinia Henderson b. 5 July 1865; d. 10 Aug. 1940; married John Griffin Perry.
(The three Dunn spouses are siblings - the children of David William Dunn and Elizabeth Jane Hammock.)

     In order to properly document this family, following are the census records beginning with 1850 which is the first census that enumerated each person in a household.  It also is the first census taken after the marriage of James Henderson and Sarah Odom.

1850

The James Henderson family is listed in Simpson County, Mississippi on the 21st August 1850; Dwelling and family number 25.
James Henderson          age 21     Male     Farmer     Born Alabama       Cannot read or write
Sara           "                  age 24     Female                 Born Mississippi    Cannot read or write
Allen          "                  age  2      Male                               "
Richard      "                  age 5/12  Male                               "

     There is a discrepancy with James Henderson's birth date and this census is one example.  If he were 21 years old in 1850, he would have been born in 1829.  This date is much later than all other records indicate as his age. This could be the enumerators mistake - writing 21 rather than 29. Two houses down is an Oldham family misspelled, as it should be Odom. This is the family of Sarah Frances Odom Henderson. They will be discussed in a future blog post.

1860    
 
 The Henderson family has not been found in the 1860 census even though extensive searches in Mississippi and Louisiana have ensued.  If anyone finds them, please make those findings known through e-mail or a comment on this blog.

1870
     In 1870 the Henderson family is enumerated in Township 5 Range 11, Lawrence County, Mississippi; Dwelling and Family number 302.
Henderson, James          49     Male       Farmer               Born Alabama       Cannot read or write
       "          Sarah           46     Female    Keeps House     Born Mississippi    Cannot read or write
       "          Richard        20     Male       Farm Hand                  "
       "          Caroline E    16     Female                                       "
       "          James           14    Male                                           "
       "          Henry           11    Male                                           "
       "          Sarah F          8    Female                                        "
       "          Cely L            4    Female                                        "
     As seen in this census record, James is 49 years old which would indicate a birth year of 1821.  Two of the children are now gone from the household: Allen who would now be 22 years old and Dorothy who would be 19 years old.

1880

     The 1880 census is interesting in several ways. First, the name is misspelled which made for a challenge in finding any of the family; evidently, the enumerator could not spell Henderson so it became Henneson for every family member on the page.
     1880 - Ward #1, Enumeration District 6, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana; 8 June 1880, Dwelling 111, Family 112.
                                                                                                         Born           Father       Mother            
Henneson, James          61          Laborer     cannot read or write      Alabama   Alabama  Alabama
       "         Sarah          58          Wife                       "                      Mississippi  Mississippi Mississippi
         "           Ceby L       15           Daughter                "                            "          Alabama        "

The next dwelling #112, family #113 is James D. Dunn and Sarah F(rances Henderson) daughter of above couple.
Dwelling # 114, Family #115 is Richard Henneson 28 (Henderson), son of James H. & Sarah F. Henderson along with his family: wife Mahaly 20, Son James C. 3, Daughter Emily P. 1; Adopted daughter Emily J. Bush 17 & Adopted Son James Baley 13.  (Emily J. Bush, 17 is probably the sister of Mahaly as she was a Bush)
Dwelling #115, Family #116 - James Henneson 24 (Henderson) son of James H. and Sarah F.  Wife Laura J. 20 (daughter of above James D. and Sarah Frances Dunn); Children - Daughter Margarit A and Son Alexander 2/12 (born in April).
Below is a copy of the section of the page where these families appear.


1900
        There is a twenty year skip before the next census record as virtually all of the 1890 census was destroyed by fire in Washington, D.C.  So, we move ahead to the 1900 census where there is now an added feature especially helpful for genealogists - it asks the month and year of each person's birth.  This data must be cautiously considered as the informant is not known but, presumably, is someone in the same household.  In 1900 James and Sarah Henderson are enumerated in the Ward of Spring Hill, Rapides Parish, Louisiana; Dwelling #376, Family #377; enumerated on the 19th day of June 1900; Enumeration District 129.
     James Henderson is the Head of the house; born Aug 1822, age 77, Married 50 years; Born Alabama, Father and Mother born South Carolina; he is a farmer and rents.
     Sarah Henderson is Wife; born Aug 1826, age 73, Married 50 years; Mother of 8 children, 8 children living.  Born Mississippi, Father and Mother's birthplace Unknown; Cannot read or write.
     Helpful information for Sarah is that we now know that she gave birth to eight children and they are all still living in 1900.  This means that none were missed that may have been born and died between census years. A discrepancy appears in number of years married - 50; they were actually married between 54 and 56 years at this time. 1900 is the last census for James H. Henderson as he died in 1909 at the age of 88.


1910
     To complete the census records for this couple, below are the 1910  records for Sarah Frances Odom Henderson, which is the last year she appeared in the census.  She died in 1911.
Sarah is still in Spring Hill, Rapides Parish, Louisiana.  Now she is in the household of her son James Henderson and his family.  The enumerator has her age at 94 which is incorrect.  Her age has varied through the census years but only by a year or two so she was probably born in 1826 as was stated in the 1900 census.  If this is true, then she would be 83 in the 1910 census.


     This concludes the census records for this couple.  In the next post will be other records and pictures to complete what is known of their lives.

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