Person:William Henderson (79)

Information on William Henderson

WILLIAM HENDERSON was born 30 April 1676 in Scotland, and died 01 August 1737 in Scotland*. The name of his first wife is unknown**, married abt. 1698, she died before 1705. He married (2) MARGARET BRUCE 07 February 1704/05. She was born 01 March 1679/80. (*Note: some sources have claimed in error that William Henderson died on 1 Augusta 1757 in Augusta County, Virginia, which is incorrect; there is no record of a William Henderson's will or estate records in Augusta County during that time period).

Child of WILLIAM HENDERSON and first wife (**Note: some sources, without specific information, have identified her as Grissel Russell) is:

WILLIAM HENDERSON, b. Abt. abt. 1699, Scotland; d. Bef. September 1770, Augusta County, Virginia (date of probate in Augusta County)

Children of WILLIAM HENDERSON and MARGARET BRUCE are:

JOHN HENDERSON, b. 9 February 1706, Scotland, d. 1766

JAMES HENDERSON, b. 17 January 1708, Scotland, d. 1784

BRUCE HENDERSON, b. 10 May 1710, Scotland, d. Sept. 1719, Scotland

SAMUEL HENDERSON, b. 28 November 1713, Scotland, d. 1782, Augusta County, Virginia

JEAN HENDERSON, b. September 1719, Scotland, married a Stuart, d. March 1729/30, Scotland

Note: Thomas Henderson, born abt. 1715 is missing from this list and overlooked in many accounts of this family, but is probably also a child of William Henderson, Sr. and Margaret Bruce. Thomas received a patent from William Beverley adjoining that of his half-brother, William Henderson, Jr. in Beverley Manor on 20 February 1738/9.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sassytazzy/family/surnames/henderson/docs/robtva1/hendersonrobtva1.html

William Henderson of Fifeshire (County Fife) Scotland, was born April 30, 1676 and died August 1, 1737. On February 7, 1705 he married Margaret Bruce who was born March 1, 1680 and died December 15, 1739. Both William Henderson and Margaret Bruce were members of prominent Scotch families. William Henderson was a lineal descendant of Sir James Henderson, first Knight of Fordell, born about 1450, and who was appointed King's Advocate in 1494. He was killed at the battle of Floddenfield, September 9, 1513, the battle in which King James IV of Scotland lost his life.

From the books "Scottish Clans And Their Tartans", "These Names Of Ours," and "Searching For Your Ancestors," we learn that our ancestors belonged to the Gunn Clan in the Scotch Highlands and were affiliated with Clan McDonald of Glencoe. William and Henry Gunn moved to the south at an early date and the descendants of Henry came to be known as Henry's Sons and then Hendersons.

Three sons of William Henderson and Margaret Bruce, John, James, and Samuel, emigrated to America about 1740, and settled in Augusta County, Virginia. John was born February 9, 1706, James, January 17, 1708, and Samuel, November 28, 1713. All three served in the Augusta Militia in the French and Indian War. A sword which James carried in this war was in the possession of his descendants until stolen by soldiers during the Civil War.

A word about Augusta County. So far as is known the first white person to see the Shenandoah Valley was Governor Spottswood of Virginia in August, 1716. He and his party gave such glowing accounts of the beauty and the fertility of the valley that settlers rapidly began to move in. The first person to settle in what is now Augusta County was John Lewis. He came from Pennsylvania in 1732, with Joist Hite and others. He built a stone house one mile east of the present site of Staunton, which he called "Bellefont" and which was still standing not many years ago.

On September 6, 1736, Governor William Gooch issued a patent to William Beverly for 111,491 acres of land in the valley. This patent was issued on an order from King George II of England, dated August 12, 1736. Most of this land was in what is now Augusta County, and included the present site of Staunton, and was known as Beverly Manor. This land was to be resold and it was advertised in towns in America and England.

Now back to the three brothers from Scotland, John, James and Samuel Henderson, the sons of William Henderson and Margaret Bruce.

1. John Henderson married Rose Finley. In 1747 William Beverly conveyed by deed to John Henderson 520 acres of land in the Beverly Manor tract.

[X -- Great, Great, Great, Great, Grandfather]

2. James Henderson married Martha Hamilton on June 23, 1738. This is our ancestor. He is last mentioned on the Augusta County tax lists as owning at the time 300 acres of land.

In 1771 John Henderson conveyed the land secured from William Beverly in 1747 to Joseph Henderson, a son of his brother James. John Henderson's will was recorded August 20, 1766. He died May 1, 1766. James Henderson's will was probated in Augusta County May 19, 1784. Children of James Henderson and Martha Hamilton: David, John, James, William, Sarah, Joseph (our ancestor), Jean, Samuel, Archibald, and Margaret.

3. Samuel Henderson married Jane -----. He died January 19, 1782. His will mentions four children, James, Andrew, Alexander, and Florence. His son Alexander moved to Kentucky.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 The West Virginia historical magazine quarterly
   Vol. 4-5, pg. 109.

   John Henderson, Gent., of Fyfeshire, Scotland, with whom begins the records preserved by the family of Virginia Hendersons. This John Henderson married and had a son William, b. April 30, 1676; d. Aug. 1, 1737. According to the old records, Feb. 7, 1705, "William Henderson, Gent.," married Margaret Bruce, who was born Mar. 1, 1680, and d. Dec. 15, 1739. They had John, b. Feb. 9, 1706; d. 1766; James, b. Jan. 17, 1708; d. 1784; Bruce, b. May 1710; d. 1719; Samuel, b. Nov. 28, 1713; d. 1782; Jean, b. 1711; married a Stuart, and d. in Mar., 1730. About 1740, John, James, and Samuel came to America and settled in Augusta county, Virginia.