This hypothetical tree is a work in progress and there are still many questions, as we have not been (and may never be) able to establish an iron-clad paper trail connecting James "Isaac" Henderson of Onslow Co NC to the Hendersons of early Somerset Co MD. Having said that, DNA testing has proven what we had long suspected: that James "Isaac's" descendants are genetic matches to the Hendersons of Somerset Co MD. We speculate that he came to Onslow Co NC along with (or even ahead of) a number of other Somerset Co MD families who had connections to the Hendersons of Maryland's Eastern Shore (Houstons, Bishops, McClammys, and Newbolds, just to name a few).
This tree has been pieced together using a combination of DNA test results and an extensive, detailed (and ongoing) study of records from Accomack and Northampton Co's, VA, Somerset Co MD, and Onslow Co NC. We keep our working notes online (publicly viewable), and continue to log, comment and source records as we find them.
View notes for Eastern Shore Hendersons | View notes for Onslow County NC Hendersons
This tree represents what we currently believe to be true based on the evidence we have found so far. This tree is subject to change as additional information is discovered. The chart is followed by notes and explanations for each generation. **Note: the first line should read "Ancestor b bef 1600"
Click on the chart to enlarge.
R1b-U106-S23346
This designation represents our "deep ancestry." Our line's SNP value is S23346, a signature currently believed to have originated in the Lower Rhine River region (present-day Netherlands) at least 2,000 years ago. A native Dutch tester who shares our SNP can trace his family back to an area near Molenaarsgraaf, where there is an archaeological dig dating back several millennia. (Unfortunately there are not yet any viable DNA tests from the site.) There was a prosperous trading route connecting the Lower Rhine and the area of Perth in Scotland, which could explain why our ancestors emigrated to Scotland from mainland Europe. At this point, we have absolutely no idea when that move occurred. It could have been very recent (at any point bef ca 1600) or it could have occurred more than a millennia ago.
1 - Jhone Hendersone of Perth b ca 1610?
Robin and I are speculating that (1.1) Gilbert "of Accomack VA" Henderson and (1.2) James "of Somerset MD" Henderson were brothers. They are both found in the parish register of Northampton Co VA baptizing firstborn children in 1661. Both men named their eldest sons "John," which, if they were following the traditional naming convention of the time, would indicate that both men had a father named "John Henderson" -- possibly the same father. There is a single record in 1664 for a contemporary of the two men, (1.3) "Robert Hinderson, mariner" who sued a next-door neighbor of James Henderson for debt. We therefore do not discount the possibility that this Robert may have had a family connection with Gilbert and/or James. Since we have no further records of this Robert, we also cannot with absolute certainty discount the remote possibility that our line from Onslow (or a mysterious matching line from early Kent Co DE) may be attributable to him. We have no idea where he settled, or how many children he had. No DNA testers have come forward who identify Robert or Gilbert as ancestors.
Based on the records we have found, we estimate that James and Gilbert were born around 1630. I looked through old commissariat records to see where the highest frequency of the more distinctive name (Gilbert) occurred and found a significant preference for that name in the 16th and 17th century among Hendersons in and around Perth. I found records for a Gilbert baptized on 28 Dec 1630 to a Johne Hendersone of Perth, a James baptized on 5 Oct 1632 to a Johne Hendersone of Perth, and a Robert baptized 23 Sep 1634 to a Johne Hendersone of Perth. There is no way to be sure that all three of these men were born to the same "Johne Hendersone" since there was more than one John Henderson living in Perth at the time, but these three records did seem to fit our theory very neatly (which probably means we're wrong...). I have included all three men as brothers, sons of a "Johne Hendersone of Perth" in our hypothetical tree. Whether there was any relationship between Gilbert, James and Robert is at this point only speculation, however, there are copious records from the Eastern Shore which do help us trace Gilbert and James's descendants with a higher degree of certainty, and there is circumstantial evidence of a family connection.
(1.1) Gilbert married Mary Major had only two known children: Bridget b 1661 (no further info); and (1.1.2) John b 1666. Both children were born in Northampton Co VA, probably in the area that later became Accomack County. (1.1) Gilbert appears to have died sometime between 1664-1677 with no additional known issue. His grandchildren (via only known son 1.1.2 John) were (1.1.2.1) Gilbert the Younger m Mary Green; (1.1.2.2) Robert m Elizabeth Unknown and had only one son that we've identified, Daniel; and (1.1.2.3) John Jr. m Comfort, widow of Argoll West, only one known son, George. With the exception of (1.1.2.2) Robert, (1.1) Gilbert's descendants tended to stay south of the Maryland boundary line in Accomack and Northampton Counties, and they are therefore usually easy to distinguish from the line of (1.2) James "of Somerset MD", whose descendants tended to stay in Maryland and Delaware (before our specific line moved to NC).
(1.1) Gilbert's grandson (1.1.2.2) Robert is of interest because he sold his land in Accomack Co VA and moved north to Somerset Co MD. Although he only had one known son, Daniel, tax lists of the mid-18th century show other Hendersons coming and going in his household. These Hendersons appear to be connected with our James "the Mariner" Henderson of Onslow Co NC. This is circumstantial evidence of some kind of familial connection between descendants of the original immigrants, Gilbert "of Accomack VA" and James "of Somerset MD".
1.2 - James "of Somerset MD" Henderson b ca 1632
(1.2) James "of Somerset MD" may have immigrated to America with (1.1) Gilbert, but we have no proof or immigration records for either man. Robin Henderson thinks the two men may have been part of a small contingent of surviving Scottish prisoners of war who had originally been bound for forced labor in the West Indies. The prisoners were diverted instead to Virginia. At around the time we suspect the two men arrived (ca 1652), there is a story of the Royalist city of Perth making a half-hearted show of sending out about 100 able-bodied men to "defend" the city from the advance of Cromwell's far superior forces during the English Civil War. Most of the men were promptly killed and/or captured, but no one at the archives in Perth was able to enlighten me about their specific fates. During a 2016 research trip to Perth, I found myself entirely unable to read the 16th and 17th century records in the archives due to a combination of them having been written in Old Scots dialect and an antiquated script called "Secretary's Hand." (Apparently the retiring archivist was the only one capable of deciphering the books, and he was not able to help due to training a replacement in management duties.) Just as discouragingly, the archivists seemed impressed that we had been able to trace the family back into the mid-1600's in Virginia -- they told me that most native Scots who come to the archives can't trace their lines prior to about 1700 unless they were from landed families. Maybe if I can find translator, I'll have another go at the records in the future.
But...back to James, our immigrant...
(1.2) James married Mary Unknown and their first son, (1.2.1) John, was baptized at Hungars Parish in Northampton Co VA on 5 May 1661 and eventually married Elizabeth Barnaby. (1.2) James and Mary had two additional children before 1668: (1.2.2) William "the Sawyer" Henderson Sr. who married Sarah Bishop; and (1.2.3) Jane or Jeane, who married John Williams Jr.
At some point, probably in 1668, Mary died, possibly of a smallpox epidemic or a remarkably destructive hurricane, both of which events afflicted the Eastern Shore that year. (1.2) James then married a woman named Alice (possibly the Alice Stewkley who was listed as one of his headrights when he moved to Maryland), and had a fourth child, (1.2.4) James Jr.
The lineage of eldest son (1.2.1) John tended to stay on the Eastern Shore and is well researched. We have been able to rule him out as an ancestor of (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" Henderson who moved to Onslow Co NC bef 1738. (1.2.1) John did have a grandson, Barnaby, who moved to Onslow Co NC in the 1760's. All of the Hendersons who are still living in Onslow Co NC today appear to trace back to Barnaby (with the exception of a family of Hendersons who descend from a man named Jonas Solomon who moved to Onslow from New Jersey and assumed the name "Thomas Henderson" -- just to make this a bit harder for us).
Little is known of the descendants of youngest son (1.2.4) James Henderson Jr. who married Esther Unknown. He died intestate and had a son, (1.2.4.1) Francis, who was designated "heir at law." This does not mean that there were no other children (I suspect a daughter, [1.2.4.2] Elizabeth who may have been the wife of Thomas Lambden), but there could have been more children. Therefore, we cannot at this point conclusively rule (1.2.4) James Jr. out as the father of (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" Henderson of Onslow Co NC and/or (1.2.2.4) Charles "the Mariner" Henderson, however, circumstantial evidence points more strongly towards James Sr. and Mary's middle son (1.2.2) William "the Sawyer" Henderson Sr. as the father of these two mariners.
1.2.2 - William "the Sawyer" Henderson b bef 1668 m Sarah Bishop
(1.2.2) William "the Sawyer" Henderson was the middle son of (1.2) James "of Somerset MD" Henderson and his first wife, Mary Unknown. William "the Sawyer" was born between 1662 and 1668 and he married Sarah Bishop (probably the d/o Lt. Henry Bishop and second wife Ann, widow of William Bowen) on 10 Aug 1685 in Somerset Co MD. Their eldest son, (1.2.2.1) William "the Cordwinder" Henderson Jr. was baptized on 9 Jan 1686. The younger William (Cordwinder) died bef 20 Jan 1708/09, apparently without issue.
There was a (1.2.2.2) Bishop Henderson born ca 1687 whom we also attribute to this couple for obvious reasons. Little is known of him and we believe he died, probably in Somerset/Worcester Co MD, after 1739. There was a Bishop "the Younger" Henderson b bef 1767 d bef Aug 1802, who was the father of Lemuel Henderson b ca 1784 in Worcester Co MD. The younger Bishop and son Lemuel may also be from this line. Nothing further is known of Bishop Henderson's family.
There were two additional Henderson males, James and Charles, contemporary with William "the Cordwinder" Henderson Jr. and Bishop "the Elder" Henderson. Both James and Charles appear to have been mariners, as early-to-mid 18th century tax rolls frequently identify them living with other mariners in the households of prosperous seafaring merchants of Somerset County. Therefore we have called these two men (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" Henderson and (1.2.2.4) Charles "the Mariner" Henderson. We estimate that James was b ca 1690-1700 and Charles bef 1702.
I am less certain attributing Charles's parentage to William and Sarah Bishop Henderson than I am about James. I am certain Charles "the Mariner" didn't belong to (1.2.1) John and Elizabeth Barnaby Henderson (who already had a Charles), although Charles "the Mariner" could have belonged to (1.2.4) James Jr. and Esther Henderson. Almost nothing is known of Charles "the Mariner" or his family, although I suspect that he may be responsible for the Hendersons who are found in Delaware in subsequent generations, especially in and around Sussex and Kent counties. This remains to be proven or disproven.
1.2.2.3 - James "the Mariner" Henderson of Somerset Co MD and Onslow Co NC
The primary reason we attribute (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" and (1.2.2.4) Charles "the Mariner" to (1.2.2) William "the Sawyer" Henderson and Sarah Bishop has to do with connections between James "the Mariner" and the Bishop family. The Bishops were known to be seafaring merchants and there are records for branches of this family in Somerset Co MD, Sussex Co DE and Onslow Co NC. A lineage of Bishops with connections to the McClammy family of Somerset Co MD settled in early Onslow Co NC and there are numerous records in both Somerset Co MD and Onslow Co NC connecting the Bishop and McClammy families to James "the Mariner" Henderson of Somerset Co MD and Onslow Co NC. (You can just trust me on this or you can spend hours poring over the two chronology documents and notes I linked out to at the beginning of this document.) Robin tells me that I'm a dab hand at spotting and remembering the obscure connections between people and families as we do this research, and I can only tell you that there is a thick web of personal entanglements between our James "the Mariner" and the Bishops and McClammys of both areas.
Now we arrive at a particularly sticky wicket. It is remotely possible that (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" Henderson (Sr.) of Somerset Co MD and Onslow Co NC and his "son" (1.2.2.3.1) James "Isaac" Henderson (Jr.) of Onslow Co NC may be one and the same. It's something we haven't yet been able to work out. We thought they were two different men, but new records have thrown some doubt on that.
We originally believed that (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" had traveled back and forth between MD and NC on timber-buying expeditions for his father, (1.2.2) William "the Sawyer," probably bringing (1.2.2.3.1) James "Isaac" Henderson along with him. At this point I'm going to dispense withe numbering and start calling them William "the Sawyer," James "the Mariner" (Sr.) and James "Isaac" (Jr.)
We thought it was James "the Mariner" (Sr.) who purchased 320a of land from Nathaniel Averitt in Onslow Co NC in 1738. We thought he called that purchase "Henderson's Landing" (same name as his grandfather, James "of Somerset Co MD," gave his original property on the Pocomoke River in Somerset County). We thought that James "the Mariner" (Sr.) died sometime after 1750, probably in Somerset Co MD and willed Henderson's Landing in Onslow to his "son" James "Isaac" (Jr.), who (we know) made a will in 1770 leaving the Onslow property to his daughter Lucy Henderson, later Lucy Loyd (who was a sister to Argalus of Chatham Co NC). We know that in 1792, Lucy Loyd and her brother Argalus Henderson "of Onslow and Chatham Counties" sold that same piece of property to James Foy.
Wording in recently discovered abstracts throws that sequence of events into doubt. The upshot is that the man who bought property from Nathaniel Averitt in 1738 was the same man we know as James "Isaac" Henderson (Jr.), the father of Lucy Henderson Loyd, Argalus Henderson, Betty Henderson Jenkins, Bethany Henderson Nixon, and Nanny Henderson. This leaves us wondering about the exact identities and relationships of the two James Hendersons who were in Onslow contemporaneously during the 1730's and 1740's, distinguished from each other by "Sr." and "Jr." I can hypothesize 4-5 different scenarios, so I am not going to go into them here, and am instead going to devote my energy to attempting to prove or disprove each theory and try to arrive at a the most likely conclusion.
In the mean time, and until such time as we have clarity on this, I believe we should proceed under the existing assumption that James "the Mariner" (Sr.) was in fact the father of James "Isaac" (Jr.) -- while bearing in mind that we must go where the evidence leads, and we may eventually need to merge the two men into one in our records.
This designation represents our "deep ancestry." Our line's SNP value is S23346, a signature currently believed to have originated in the Lower Rhine River region (present-day Netherlands) at least 2,000 years ago. A native Dutch tester who shares our SNP can trace his family back to an area near Molenaarsgraaf, where there is an archaeological dig dating back several millennia. (Unfortunately there are not yet any viable DNA tests from the site.) There was a prosperous trading route connecting the Lower Rhine and the area of Perth in Scotland, which could explain why our ancestors emigrated to Scotland from mainland Europe. At this point, we have absolutely no idea when that move occurred. It could have been very recent (at any point bef ca 1600) or it could have occurred more than a millennia ago.
1 - Jhone Hendersone of Perth b ca 1610?
Robin and I are speculating that (1.1) Gilbert "of Accomack VA" Henderson and (1.2) James "of Somerset MD" Henderson were brothers. They are both found in the parish register of Northampton Co VA baptizing firstborn children in 1661. Both men named their eldest sons "John," which, if they were following the traditional naming convention of the time, would indicate that both men had a father named "John Henderson" -- possibly the same father. There is a single record in 1664 for a contemporary of the two men, (1.3) "Robert Hinderson, mariner" who sued a next-door neighbor of James Henderson for debt. We therefore do not discount the possibility that this Robert may have had a family connection with Gilbert and/or James. Since we have no further records of this Robert, we also cannot with absolute certainty discount the remote possibility that our line from Onslow (or a mysterious matching line from early Kent Co DE) may be attributable to him. We have no idea where he settled, or how many children he had. No DNA testers have come forward who identify Robert or Gilbert as ancestors.
Based on the records we have found, we estimate that James and Gilbert were born around 1630. I looked through old commissariat records to see where the highest frequency of the more distinctive name (Gilbert) occurred and found a significant preference for that name in the 16th and 17th century among Hendersons in and around Perth. I found records for a Gilbert baptized on 28 Dec 1630 to a Johne Hendersone of Perth, a James baptized on 5 Oct 1632 to a Johne Hendersone of Perth, and a Robert baptized 23 Sep 1634 to a Johne Hendersone of Perth. There is no way to be sure that all three of these men were born to the same "Johne Hendersone" since there was more than one John Henderson living in Perth at the time, but these three records did seem to fit our theory very neatly (which probably means we're wrong...). I have included all three men as brothers, sons of a "Johne Hendersone of Perth" in our hypothetical tree. Whether there was any relationship between Gilbert, James and Robert is at this point only speculation, however, there are copious records from the Eastern Shore which do help us trace Gilbert and James's descendants with a higher degree of certainty, and there is circumstantial evidence of a family connection.
(1.1) Gilbert married Mary Major had only two known children: Bridget b 1661 (no further info); and (1.1.2) John b 1666. Both children were born in Northampton Co VA, probably in the area that later became Accomack County. (1.1) Gilbert appears to have died sometime between 1664-1677 with no additional known issue. His grandchildren (via only known son 1.1.2 John) were (1.1.2.1) Gilbert the Younger m Mary Green; (1.1.2.2) Robert m Elizabeth Unknown and had only one son that we've identified, Daniel; and (1.1.2.3) John Jr. m Comfort, widow of Argoll West, only one known son, George. With the exception of (1.1.2.2) Robert, (1.1) Gilbert's descendants tended to stay south of the Maryland boundary line in Accomack and Northampton Counties, and they are therefore usually easy to distinguish from the line of (1.2) James "of Somerset MD", whose descendants tended to stay in Maryland and Delaware (before our specific line moved to NC).
(1.1) Gilbert's grandson (1.1.2.2) Robert is of interest because he sold his land in Accomack Co VA and moved north to Somerset Co MD. Although he only had one known son, Daniel, tax lists of the mid-18th century show other Hendersons coming and going in his household. These Hendersons appear to be connected with our James "the Mariner" Henderson of Onslow Co NC. This is circumstantial evidence of some kind of familial connection between descendants of the original immigrants, Gilbert "of Accomack VA" and James "of Somerset MD".
1.2 - James "of Somerset MD" Henderson b ca 1632
(1.2) James "of Somerset MD" may have immigrated to America with (1.1) Gilbert, but we have no proof or immigration records for either man. Robin Henderson thinks the two men may have been part of a small contingent of surviving Scottish prisoners of war who had originally been bound for forced labor in the West Indies. The prisoners were diverted instead to Virginia. At around the time we suspect the two men arrived (ca 1652), there is a story of the Royalist city of Perth making a half-hearted show of sending out about 100 able-bodied men to "defend" the city from the advance of Cromwell's far superior forces during the English Civil War. Most of the men were promptly killed and/or captured, but no one at the archives in Perth was able to enlighten me about their specific fates. During a 2016 research trip to Perth, I found myself entirely unable to read the 16th and 17th century records in the archives due to a combination of them having been written in Old Scots dialect and an antiquated script called "Secretary's Hand." (Apparently the retiring archivist was the only one capable of deciphering the books, and he was not able to help due to training a replacement in management duties.) Just as discouragingly, the archivists seemed impressed that we had been able to trace the family back into the mid-1600's in Virginia -- they told me that most native Scots who come to the archives can't trace their lines prior to about 1700 unless they were from landed families. Maybe if I can find translator, I'll have another go at the records in the future.
But...back to James, our immigrant...
(1.2) James married Mary Unknown and their first son, (1.2.1) John, was baptized at Hungars Parish in Northampton Co VA on 5 May 1661 and eventually married Elizabeth Barnaby. (1.2) James and Mary had two additional children before 1668: (1.2.2) William "the Sawyer" Henderson Sr. who married Sarah Bishop; and (1.2.3) Jane or Jeane, who married John Williams Jr.
At some point, probably in 1668, Mary died, possibly of a smallpox epidemic or a remarkably destructive hurricane, both of which events afflicted the Eastern Shore that year. (1.2) James then married a woman named Alice (possibly the Alice Stewkley who was listed as one of his headrights when he moved to Maryland), and had a fourth child, (1.2.4) James Jr.
The lineage of eldest son (1.2.1) John tended to stay on the Eastern Shore and is well researched. We have been able to rule him out as an ancestor of (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" Henderson who moved to Onslow Co NC bef 1738. (1.2.1) John did have a grandson, Barnaby, who moved to Onslow Co NC in the 1760's. All of the Hendersons who are still living in Onslow Co NC today appear to trace back to Barnaby (with the exception of a family of Hendersons who descend from a man named Jonas Solomon who moved to Onslow from New Jersey and assumed the name "Thomas Henderson" -- just to make this a bit harder for us).
Little is known of the descendants of youngest son (1.2.4) James Henderson Jr. who married Esther Unknown. He died intestate and had a son, (1.2.4.1) Francis, who was designated "heir at law." This does not mean that there were no other children (I suspect a daughter, [1.2.4.2] Elizabeth who may have been the wife of Thomas Lambden), but there could have been more children. Therefore, we cannot at this point conclusively rule (1.2.4) James Jr. out as the father of (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" Henderson of Onslow Co NC and/or (1.2.2.4) Charles "the Mariner" Henderson, however, circumstantial evidence points more strongly towards James Sr. and Mary's middle son (1.2.2) William "the Sawyer" Henderson Sr. as the father of these two mariners.
1.2.2 - William "the Sawyer" Henderson b bef 1668 m Sarah Bishop
(1.2.2) William "the Sawyer" Henderson was the middle son of (1.2) James "of Somerset MD" Henderson and his first wife, Mary Unknown. William "the Sawyer" was born between 1662 and 1668 and he married Sarah Bishop (probably the d/o Lt. Henry Bishop and second wife Ann, widow of William Bowen) on 10 Aug 1685 in Somerset Co MD. Their eldest son, (1.2.2.1) William "the Cordwinder" Henderson Jr. was baptized on 9 Jan 1686. The younger William (Cordwinder) died bef 20 Jan 1708/09, apparently without issue.
There was a (1.2.2.2) Bishop Henderson born ca 1687 whom we also attribute to this couple for obvious reasons. Little is known of him and we believe he died, probably in Somerset/Worcester Co MD, after 1739. There was a Bishop "the Younger" Henderson b bef 1767 d bef Aug 1802, who was the father of Lemuel Henderson b ca 1784 in Worcester Co MD. The younger Bishop and son Lemuel may also be from this line. Nothing further is known of Bishop Henderson's family.
There were two additional Henderson males, James and Charles, contemporary with William "the Cordwinder" Henderson Jr. and Bishop "the Elder" Henderson. Both James and Charles appear to have been mariners, as early-to-mid 18th century tax rolls frequently identify them living with other mariners in the households of prosperous seafaring merchants of Somerset County. Therefore we have called these two men (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" Henderson and (1.2.2.4) Charles "the Mariner" Henderson. We estimate that James was b ca 1690-1700 and Charles bef 1702.
I am less certain attributing Charles's parentage to William and Sarah Bishop Henderson than I am about James. I am certain Charles "the Mariner" didn't belong to (1.2.1) John and Elizabeth Barnaby Henderson (who already had a Charles), although Charles "the Mariner" could have belonged to (1.2.4) James Jr. and Esther Henderson. Almost nothing is known of Charles "the Mariner" or his family, although I suspect that he may be responsible for the Hendersons who are found in Delaware in subsequent generations, especially in and around Sussex and Kent counties. This remains to be proven or disproven.
1.2.2.3 - James "the Mariner" Henderson of Somerset Co MD and Onslow Co NC
The primary reason we attribute (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" and (1.2.2.4) Charles "the Mariner" to (1.2.2) William "the Sawyer" Henderson and Sarah Bishop has to do with connections between James "the Mariner" and the Bishop family. The Bishops were known to be seafaring merchants and there are records for branches of this family in Somerset Co MD, Sussex Co DE and Onslow Co NC. A lineage of Bishops with connections to the McClammy family of Somerset Co MD settled in early Onslow Co NC and there are numerous records in both Somerset Co MD and Onslow Co NC connecting the Bishop and McClammy families to James "the Mariner" Henderson of Somerset Co MD and Onslow Co NC. (You can just trust me on this or you can spend hours poring over the two chronology documents and notes I linked out to at the beginning of this document.) Robin tells me that I'm a dab hand at spotting and remembering the obscure connections between people and families as we do this research, and I can only tell you that there is a thick web of personal entanglements between our James "the Mariner" and the Bishops and McClammys of both areas.
Now we arrive at a particularly sticky wicket. It is remotely possible that (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" Henderson (Sr.) of Somerset Co MD and Onslow Co NC and his "son" (1.2.2.3.1) James "Isaac" Henderson (Jr.) of Onslow Co NC may be one and the same. It's something we haven't yet been able to work out. We thought they were two different men, but new records have thrown some doubt on that.
We originally believed that (1.2.2.3) James "the Mariner" had traveled back and forth between MD and NC on timber-buying expeditions for his father, (1.2.2) William "the Sawyer," probably bringing (1.2.2.3.1) James "Isaac" Henderson along with him. At this point I'm going to dispense withe numbering and start calling them William "the Sawyer," James "the Mariner" (Sr.) and James "Isaac" (Jr.)
We thought it was James "the Mariner" (Sr.) who purchased 320a of land from Nathaniel Averitt in Onslow Co NC in 1738. We thought he called that purchase "Henderson's Landing" (same name as his grandfather, James "of Somerset Co MD," gave his original property on the Pocomoke River in Somerset County). We thought that James "the Mariner" (Sr.) died sometime after 1750, probably in Somerset Co MD and willed Henderson's Landing in Onslow to his "son" James "Isaac" (Jr.), who (we know) made a will in 1770 leaving the Onslow property to his daughter Lucy Henderson, later Lucy Loyd (who was a sister to Argalus of Chatham Co NC). We know that in 1792, Lucy Loyd and her brother Argalus Henderson "of Onslow and Chatham Counties" sold that same piece of property to James Foy.
Wording in recently discovered abstracts throws that sequence of events into doubt. The upshot is that the man who bought property from Nathaniel Averitt in 1738 was the same man we know as James "Isaac" Henderson (Jr.), the father of Lucy Henderson Loyd, Argalus Henderson, Betty Henderson Jenkins, Bethany Henderson Nixon, and Nanny Henderson. This leaves us wondering about the exact identities and relationships of the two James Hendersons who were in Onslow contemporaneously during the 1730's and 1740's, distinguished from each other by "Sr." and "Jr." I can hypothesize 4-5 different scenarios, so I am not going to go into them here, and am instead going to devote my energy to attempting to prove or disprove each theory and try to arrive at a the most likely conclusion.
In the mean time, and until such time as we have clarity on this, I believe we should proceed under the existing assumption that James "the Mariner" (Sr.) was in fact the father of James "Isaac" (Jr.) -- while bearing in mind that we must go where the evidence leads, and we may eventually need to merge the two men into one in our records.
