Friday, October 16, 2015

Photos and Video from Visits to the New River (Onslow Co NC) and the Pocomoke River (Somerset Co MD)

I have just uploaded a number of photos and videos of interest to the Hendersons of Somerset County, MD and Onslow County, NC.

Last month during a trip to Onslow County, Tom and I visited Sneads Ferry so that I could finally see the New River property where mariner ancestor James Henderson Sr. settled in the early 18th century. Henderson's original deed from Nathaniel Averitt was lost in the 1752 hurricane that destroyed the county courthouse, but we know that he was a neighbor to Edmond Ennett (who operated Ennett's Ferry, now known as Sneads Ferry). I believe Everett's Creek was the dividing line between the Henderson and Ennett properties. The mouth of creek can be seen in this video, and James Henderson's property is to the right (north) side. The property is now part of Camp Lejeune and access to the area is restricted due to blasting.

I took a number of photos of the New River, and also of Stump Sound, where the property of the allied Nixon family was located.

Just this past week I met with fellow-researcher Robin Henderson at the Nabb Research Center in Somerset County, Maryland. After the library closed we drove down to the ruins of Coventry Parish in Rehobeth, Maryland. Across the street is Old Rehoboth Church, the oldest Presbyterian Church in America. Both churches are located just a few hundred yards from banks of the Pocomoke River. This river, which flows through the Great Cypress Swamp, has the distinction of being the deepest river for its width in the world. The eerily still, black water served to act as a mirror in my photos and video.

Across the river is the Hickory Point Natural Area. As best we can tell from original plats and land grant records, James Henderson Senior (the original immigrant bef 1661 and progenitor of our line) probably owned property somewhere along the river in the Hickory Point Natural Area, and therefore his land is likely within range of the camera as we pan past the area. His son, John Henderson Sr., operated a ferry across the river, which likely landed near the docks where we are filming, as it would have been convenient to the church and village.

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