I am currently in search of a direct-line male descendant of Gilbert Henderson of Northampton and Accomack Counties, Virginia, to do a Y-DNA test for our Henderson family. We hope the results of the test will reveal whether or not Gilbert was related to James Henderson Sr. who can be found in records of those counties contemporaneously. We have a number of strongly-matching DNA signatures for descendants of James, but no tests for any of Gilbert's descendants.
Gilbert Henderson (frequently also spelled Gilbert Hinderson) first appears in the records of Northampton County, Virginia, in May of 1652 when Thomas Johnson Jr used him as a headright to patent 450 acres in the Pongoteague Creek area.
This does not necessarily mean that Gilbert was an indentured man of Johnson's, nor does it mean Gilbert ever lived on or near the Pongoteague Creek property, nor does it even mean that 1652 is the year Gilbert arrived in Virginia. Headright certificates could be bought, sold, traded and held for years before an owner used them to stake an actual claim to property. (Due to systemic fraud, a person could even be claimed as a headright of multiple properties for various enterprising land grabbers.) The only thing we can know for sure from this record is that Gilbert Henderson had entered the colony of Virginia sometime prior to May 1652. He may have been an indentured man to Johnson. He may have lived on the property Johnson patented. But then again, he may not have.
In 1657 Nicholas Waddelow assigned a 400 acre patent called "Gabriel's Island" to Robert King, John Watts, Gilbert Henderson and Robert Blake (the latter of whom deeded his quarter back to Waddelow's widow). It is not clear what Gilbert did with his portion of the island (now called Watts Island). The records tell that "after severall other assignments" the island was sold to Walter Taylor.
Gilbert makes his next appearance in the records of Hungars Parish (Northampton County, VA) on 25th March 1660 when he married Mary Major, daughter of William and Mary Major. Here he is called "Gilbert Hinders." In April of 1661 the couple baptized their only known daughter, Bridget (entered in the parish register as "ye daughter of Gilbert and Mary Henderson").
Sometime around 1666 (per a 1688 Northampton record) Gilbert and Mary had had their only other proven child, John. The fact that both Gilbert Henderson and James Henderson Sr named their firstborn sons John allows me to nurse the tenuous hope that the two men might have been brothers. Naming conventions of the era often saw the firstborn son named for the father's father. If one or both of these Henderson men were following the traditional naming scheme, then one or both had a father named John. Ideally, the same John. But only the DNA can tell.
By October of 1664, Gilbert Henderson was moving up in the world. Using headrights Wm. Cartright, Wm. Chamberlain, John Clark, Robert Compton, Thomas Jones, Thomas Walter, George Crooke, Edward Lenthall, Robert Dormer, and Timothy Terrill, Gilbert patented 500 acres for himself and Mary near the Makepungo River in Accomack County (which had until recently been the northern half of Northampton County). This land was neighboring that of Henry Bishop, whose daughter (or possibly granddaughter), Sarah, would marry a son of James Henderson Sr.
In 1665, Gilbert and Mary sold 250 acres of their newly-acquired tract to Edmond Joynes, in whose care the widowed Mary would leave 11yo son John upon her own untimely death. Edmond may have been connected with Mary's family in some way, as he used her maiden name, "Major," as his second son's given name in 1687. Although his wife's name was believed to be Mary, I do not think Edmond married Mary Major Henderson since he married in 1685 (per Miles Files) and the widow Henderson was dead by December 18, 1677. In the 1677 record which directs the custody of John Henderson to Joynes, John is called an orphan, so both Gilbert and Mary Major Henderson were dead. John was the only child mentioned, leading me to believe that Bridget. who would have been about sixteen in 1677, had either died in childhood, or was already married. In 1712, Gilbert Henderson the Younger (son of John Henderson, and grandson of the original Gilbert and Mary) would witness Edmond Joynes's will.
According to Whitelaw's Virginia's Eastern Shore, Gilbert Henderson the Elder died in intestate. We have no way of knowing if he and Mary had children other than Bridget and John, however, not a single record has come to light to indicate that there are descendants from Gilbert Henderson other than through his sole known surviving son, John Henderson of Accomack County, Virginia.
John Henderson, son of Gilbert the Elder and Mary Major Henderson, married twice, By his first wife (name unknown) he had three sons: Gilbert the Younger, Robert, and John Junior. By his second wife, Mary Ann Savage, he had no sons. The ideal candidate for our DNA test will be able to prove a direct-line male Henderson ancestry back to one of John's three sons or five known grandsons, as follows:
Gilbert the Younger of Northampton or Accomack County VA married Mary Green and had sons John (b ca 1710), Gilbert III (b ca 1717), and Jacob (b ca 1720). Gilbert and Mary Green Henderson also had three daughters, but their descendants do not carry the Y-chromosome.
Robert Henderson m Elizabeth _______ and sold his land in Accomack to brother Gilbert the Younger in 1725. Shortly thereafter (1727) a Robert Henderson appears in the Nanticoke Hundred of Somerset County, MD. In 1740 a dependent, Daniel, appears in the household of Robert Henderson. They will remain together in the household until 1748, when Robert disappears, presumably having passed away. Daniel will continue to appear on the Somerset County tax lists until they end in 1759, and he can be found in subsequent records of the county.
John Henderson Jr is not mentioned in the 1722 will of John Henderson Sr, however, the will of Gilbert the Younger clearly mentions his brother John Henderson. A George Henderson is mentioned in John Sr's will, and since neither Gilbert the Younger nor Robert were known to have had a son named George, we can only presume that George belonged to John Jr.
All three of these men and their descendants are believed to have lived on the Eastern Shore for at least 1-2 more generations, and descendants are doubtless still living there today. There are a number of websites that attempt to connect the Hendersons of the western shore (Virginia's Tidewater and Northern Neck) to the elder Gilbert Henderson of Accomack and Northampton Counties in Virginia. None of these sites provide any documentation or offer any proof of such a connection and I believe that earlier researchers may have simply jumped to conclusions since Gilbert is one of the earliest Hendersons to appear in America. A simple review of proven parish dates, land records and court orders for Gilbert and Mary Major Henderson quickly disprove a number of the supposed connections found in online trees.
Bearing this in mind, the DNA tester we seek will be able to provide solid documentation back to one of the three sons of John Henderson Sr of Accomack Co VA, or to one of his known grandsons, John the Younger, Gilbert III, Jacob (not to be confused with the son of Francis Henderson of Somerset Co MD), Daniel, or George.
If you believe your lineage leads back to one of these men, please contact me to discuss potential DNA testing suitability.
UPDDATE 10/30/15: An old article in the Clan Henderson newsletter An Canach mentions Gilbert Henderson and states "Gilbert and his descendants have a provable lineage down to this day..." and implies a relationship to the early Tidewater Virginia Hendersons, however, as far as I or anyone involved in the Henderson DNA project knows, there are no confirmed (or claimed) DNA testers from Gilbert's line to prove or disprove a connection with the Tidewater Hendersons. DNA test results from a tester whom we believe descends from Gilbert's line (but have not yet proved) matches the results of descendants of James Henderson of Somerset County MD.
No comments:
Post a Comment