JAMES H HENDERSON - UPDATE ON PARENTS

 

The last post about James H. Henderson still had the dubious parents Richard Henderson and Temperance Unknown. The problem was that there was not a son of the correct age in the household of Richard Henderson in Clarke County, Alabama in 1830. The second problem was that Richard Henderson died in 1839, Temperance and the children disappeared; she did not make an ordered second court appearance in Clarke County, Alabama concerning the appointment of and administrator for the estate of Richard and there was no other record.

Another issue was that James H. Henderson somehow traveled to and ended up in Simpson County, Mississippi and still with no apparent family. People did not take off by themselves in those early years to travel through the wilderness and still occupied Native Indian land.

Now, James H Henderson has a birth family. Daniel Henderson lived in Clarke County, Alabama during the years when James Henderson was born and growing up. On the 1830 census there are three sons in the same age group as James. In the 1830’s and before the 1840 census Daniel Henderson appeared in Smith County, Mississippi. There, in the 1840 census there are two possibilities for James Henderson to be one of the sons in the proper age category.

Smith County is adjacent to Simpson County where James Henderson and wife Sarah plus their children were living in the 1850 census. There was a record loss in Smith and Simpson Counties so many records were lost including marriage and land records. Piecing together James with his birth family has not been easy but with the help of descendants of Daniel Henderson, it has all come together.

The children of James had the following names: Allen W (maybe William), Richard C., Dorothy, Caroline Elizabeth, James W. (some have Walter), Henry, Sarah Frances and Yosebia Lavinia (these last two are Odom family names).

The children of Daniel which includes James H. and his siblings: William David, Caroline, James H., Newton, Richard Henry, Alexander. (these are James’ full siblings). There are three half-siblings: Nathan, Harriett and Benjamin Franklin. James did not name a child Newton but this name popped up as a grandchild of James and Sarah Frances. Alexander and Lydia also appeared as grandchildren’s names. Lydia was a name also from the Odom family.

The solidifying evidence that this is James’ birth family is the DNA evidence. There are descendants from several of Daniel’s children who match descendants of James H. Henderson. Matches appear on Ancesty DNA, FamilyTree DNA and on GedMatch. The matches appear in the range of 4^th cousins plus or minus a degree, which is the expected range of relationships.

Link to James H. Henderson profile on WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Henderson-5678