Henderson Web Generation Two

5. RICHARD² HENDERSON (James¹); born 1784–1787, probably in what is now Northern Ireland; died circa 1865; married VIOLET HUNTER, born 4 November 1789 in Pennsylvania; died in the 1850s.¹⁴ Violet was a daughter Robert and Elizabeth (Park) Hunter—see the section "Robert Hunter and other early Hunters of Venango-Forrest and Warren counties, Pennsylvania." Hence Richard and Violet were first cousins.

Richard Henderson settled in what is present–day Southwest Township, Warren County. He was taxed in 1806 in that area.¹⁵ In 1810 Richard, wife and one child (son, this would be James), were living in Brokenstraw Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania.¹⁶ No indication that Richard's mother was living with the family at this time. In 1820, Richard and Violet and family were living in Conewango Township (now part of present–day Southwest Township), Warren County;¹⁷ in 1830¹⁸ and 1840, they were in Deerfield Township (now part of present–day Southwest Township), Warren County; and in 1850 they were living with their son John in Southwest Township, Warren County.¹⁹ By 1860, Violet had died, and Richard was still living with son John Henderson.²⁰

There is a biographical of Richard Henderson on page 537 of Schenck (1887):

… he was what other settlers denominated as a “Pennamite,” i. e., a settler from the eastern part of Pennsylvania as opposed to those who came from New England. There was considerable ill feeling between the Pennamites and the other settlers; and Richard Henderson, though a quiet, peaceable man, was not exempt from this dislike, and would not mingle much with his Yankee neighbors. He was a man of sterling character, however, one of the kind fitted by nature to fell the forest of a new country and aid in establishing schools and comfortable homes in the wilderness. He was in no sense of the word a public man, but attended strictly to his home affairs, and family. We have not the date of Henderson’s death, but it must have been as late as 1850, for settlers who did not come here [present–day Southwest Township, Warren County] until 1847 or 1848 remember him. He and Selden Spencer were for a number of years the only Whig voters in the township [in context of the time, Whigs were people opposing Jacksonian doctrine; the Whigs were forerunners of the Republican Party].

**Children of Richard and Violet (Hunter) Henderson:**

+	10	i.	James³ Henderson, born circa 1810; married Mary Alcorn.
+	11	ii.	William Henderson, born circa 1814; married Margaret Alcorn.
+	12	iii.	Elizabeth Henderson, born circa 1816; married William T. Alcorn..
	13	iv.	daughter (possibly Sarah) Henderson, born circa 1816–1818 (see after list of remaining children).
+	14	v.	Martha Henderson, born circa 1821; died before 1860; married Robert P. Watson.
	15	vi.	John Henderson, born circa 1823. John was alive in 1850, being enumerated in Southwest Township, Warren County.²¹ John married and had issue, Polly M. Henderson. This is based on a 9 December 1864 petition to sell real estate in Southwest Township, Warren County, by Samuel Evarts, guardian of Polly M. Henderson, minor child of John Henderson, deceased.²² Samuel Evarts (Evartz) was the husband of Julia Henderson, see #18. In 1860, Mary M. Henderson (Polly?), age 11, was living with Samuel and Julia (Henderson) Evartz in Southwest Township (census page 1036).
+	16	vii.	Richard Henderson, born circa 1826; married Sarah [—?—].
+	17	viii.	Daniel Henderson, born circa 1825; died 29 July 1886; married Mary J. [—?—].
+	18	ix.	Julia Henderson, born April 1826; died 30 January 1890; buried in Union Cemetery, Oil Creek Township Crawford County; married Samuel Evartz (or Evarts)
+	19	x.	Violet Henderson, born 13 February 1830; died 20 May 1888; buried in Union Cemetery, Oil Creek Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania; married Charles Stearns.
	20	xi.	Jahu (Josiah?) Henderson, born circa 1836. He was possibly the Josiah Henderson who was living with Daniel Henderson (#20) (his brother) in 1850.

The Holmden Family Tree²³ lists Sarah Henderson, born 21 September 1818; died 8 November 1870; married 1 March 1841 Thomas Holmden, born 13 November 1817; died 2 February 1886. After Sarah died, Thomas married (second) 11 December 1871 Jerusha Mackey of Trumbull County, Ohio (or they were married in Trumbull County). There are several reasons for this Sarah Henderson possibly being a daughter of Richard and Violet (Hunter) Henderson:
(1). Richard and Violet did have a daughter born at the right time to be Sarah.

(2). The two families would have been in the same general area; and I know of no other early Henderson family of that area. Pithole is in Cornplanter Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.

(3). Thomas Holmden’s sister Elizabeth Ann Holmden was known to have married William Broadfoot Watson, who would have been a first cousin of Sarah, if Sarah (Henderson) Holmden indeed was the daughter of Richard Henderson.

(4). Both Richard’s brothers, Samuel and David, named a daughter, Sarah, presumably after their mother; and one would suspect that Richard would have as well. Admittedly the names of Thomas and Sarah (Henderson) Holmden’s children do not have a “Henderson ring.” But the names do not have a “Holmden ring” either.

Without further evidence, Sarah is not even tentatively listed as a daughter of Richard and Violet (Hunter) Henderson, but I believe she could be a daughter.

The children of Thomas and Sarah (Henderson) Holmden were²⁴
1. Elbridge J. Holmden, born 20 April 1842; died 15 July 1926; married 21 September 1865 Ellen E. Rohrer, born 10 September 1844; died 2 November 1926.

2. Lucy Jane Holmden, born 30 December 1844; died 24 December 1885; married 4 February 1864 Abraham C. Prather. They had a son, John H. Prather, born 21 November 1866, who married 8 June 1898 Margaret E. McFate. I cannot place this Margaret E. McFate. See Culbertsons.

3. Lyde Holmden, born 13 April 1846; died 1916; married 10 October 1872 Leonard G. Foster, born 10 September 1840; died 1937.

4. Henry Clay Holmden, born 31 August 1847; married 31 October 1873 Mary O. Claremore, born 14 February 1851.

5. Miles W. Holmden, born 25 October 1850; died 26 January 1915; married (first)10 April 1872 Hattie E. Hibbard, born 20 March 1848; died 6 November 1876; married (second) 10 May 1877 Jennie Richardson, born 14 February 1853; died 1928.

6. Mary Helen Holmden, born 16 July 1857; died 2 December 1903; married 6 December 1883 William E. Craig, born 31 August 1857; died 13 May 1906.

6. SAMUEL² HENDERSON (James¹), born 6 June 1790; died 24 April 1855; buried in Pioneer Cemetery, Titusville, Oil Creek Township, Crawford County—he was re-interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Titusville, Pennsylvania.²⁵ Samuel married in 1814 REBECCA MITCHELL (daughter of William Mitchell), born circa 1790 in Pennsylvania.²⁶ Samuel was apparently the Samuel Henderson listed as a Private in the War of 1812, being in the same company (7th) as Ezekiel Fleming and Robert W. Watson, ²⁷ who married Samuel's sister Margaret Watson (#7). In 1820 and 1830, Samuel and Rebecca Henderson were in Oil Creek Township, Crawford County;²⁸ in 1840 in Summerhill Township, Crawford County, and in 1850, again in Oil Creek Township, Crawford County.²⁹ In the household of Samuel and Rebecca Mitchell Henderson in 1850, in addition to their children, were an Andrew Simms, born circa 1841, and Jane Mitchell, born circa 1793; she would probably be either a sister or sister–in–law of Rebecca (Mitchell) Henderson.

Samuel's will was written 28 November 1848 in Oil Creek Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania; recorded 24 April 1855. Those mentioned were wife Rebecca, sons William M. and Joseph C., daughters Elizabeth Poor, Harriett R. Henderson, Mary Smith, and Sarah Ann Henderson. Executors were Rebecca (wife) and son William M. Henderson; witnesses were William Kelly and Alonzo Poor (see #22).³⁰

**Children of Samuel and Rebecca (Mitchell) Henderson (apparently all born in Pennsylvania):**

+	21	i.	William³ Mitchell Henderson, born 1816; died 5 May 1900 in Titusville, Pennsylvania; married (first) Rachel Fleming; married (second) Mary Jane Brawley; married (third) Mary B. Haskins.
+	22	ii.	Elizabeth Henderson, born 12 April 1818; died, 3 March 1882; buried in Miller Farm Cemetery, Oil Creek Township, Venango County; married Alonzo Poor.
	23	iii.	Mary Ann Henderson, born circa 1820; married George Smith Jr. The following is tentative: In 1850, 1860 and 1870, a George Smith, born circa 1812 in New York state, a laborer, and wife Mary Ann, born circa 1820 in Pennsylvania, were living in Chautauqua County, New York.³¹ Their children known from the federal censuses (all born in New York state): (a) Charles H. Smith, born circa 1840. (b) William E. Smith, born circa 1843. (c) Olive E. Smith, born circa 1845. (d) Mercy Ann (Marcie) Smith, born circa 1847. (e) Theresa Smith, born circa 1853.
	24	iv.	James P. Henderson, born 11 August 1822; died 25 February 1838; buried in Pioneer Cemetery, Titusville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.³²
	25	v.	Sarah Ann Henderson, born September 1824; married William Andre, born circa 1821 in England. In 1850 Sarah Ann was living with her parents. In 1870 and 1880, William, enumerated as a laborer, and Sarah, no children, were living in Oil Creek Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.³³ At the time of Sarah's brother's death in 1900, she was living "near Pleasantville."³⁴ In 1900, she was a widow, living by herself.³⁵
+	26	vi.	Susan Jane Henderson, born July 1827; married David White.
	27	vii.	Harriet Henderson, born circa 1831. In 1850, Harriet was living with her parents in Oil Creek Township, Crawford County.
+	28	viii.	Joseph C. Henderson, born March 1834; died 19 August 1924 in Oil Creek Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania

7. MARGARET² HENDERSON (James¹), (great great grandmother of the author), born circa 1791 in Pennsylvania; died 12 February 1870; buried in the Concord Presbyterian Cemetery, Venango County Pennsylvania; Her tombstone reads: “Margaret, wife of Robert Watson, died February 12, 1870 in the 79th yr. of her age.”³⁶ Margaret married ROBERT W. WATSON, born 1780–1790,³⁷ possibly in the north of Ireland; died March 1845 in Allegheny Township, Venango County, place of burial not known, perhaps in the Concord Cemetery, Allegheny Township, Venango County.

In 1850, after Robert was deceased, Margaret was enumerated in Allegheny Township, Venango County (census page 203) with her youngest child and only daughter, Susan Jane Watson. Her age for this census was reported as 64, probably erroneously, because this would mean she would have been about 50 when Susan was born in 1836. Margaret and Susan were enumerated in dwelling #840. On one side of Margaret, in dwellings #838 and #839 were, respectively, her son John Watson and family and a Martha Biglow, born circa 1785 in Pennsylvania, living alone; on the other side of Margaret, in #841 and #842, were her sons Zachary Watson and family and James Watson and family. And in #844 was another son, Joseph M. Watson and family.

Margaret Watson left her entire estate to her daughter, Susan Jane Lytle, who was also executrix of the will.³⁸ Witnesses were her nephew David W. Henderson (#43) (son of David and Jane Watson Henderson) and James Henderson, probably also a son of David and Jane Henderson.

Robert Watson's name, along with a John Watson, appears on the 1805 tax assessment list for Allegheny Township, Venango County. Robert was not in the 1800 census for Venango County. In 1810 he was listed in Allegheny Township: one male 16 and under 26 and one female 16 and under 26.³⁹ In 1820 and 1840, Robert and Margaret and family were still in Allegheny Township.⁴⁰ By 1837, Robert W. Watson had parts of three tracts (#80, #111, and #112, see below) of Holland Land Company land. In 1850, after Robert had died, Margaret and daughter Susan were living alone in Allegheny Township.⁴¹

Robert Watson died intestate before 7 March 1845. On 7 March 1845, letters of administration were granted to Abraham Lovell and Robert’s son John P. Watson.⁴² Several quit claims in the name Robert’s estate list Robert and Margaret’s children and their spouses. The heirs to “the old Robert Watson place” (sons John P., James, Robert, daughter Susan, and widow Margaret) sold the land to a group oil investors from New York in 1865.

From Venango County Deed Book RR, p. 387, instituted 31 July 1865, recorded 29 August 1865:⁴³

John P. Watson and Margaret, his wife [John P’s second wife]; James Lytle and Susan Jane, his wife; James Watson and Martha, his wife, and Margaret Watson, widow of Robert W. Watson, all of Allegheny Twp., Venango County, and Robert Watson [a grandson of Robert W. Watson] and Harriett, his wife of Medina Co., Ohio, convey to a group of men from New York, the Watson farm of Allegheny Twp., it being part of Tracts #80, #111 and #112 of the Holland Land Company Lands which was conveyed to Robert W. Watson by Isaac M. Tyson on June 12, 1837. This deed is dated July 31, 1865 for consideration of $8,000. [At that time there was considerable oil excitement in that area].

The above Robert Watson (husband of Harriett) of Ohio was a son of John P. Watson, not the Robert Perry Watson, son of Robert W. Watson. In 1848 Robert Perry Watson and wife Martha [Henderson] quit claimed to John P. Watson their rights to Robert W. Watson’s real estate.

Children of Robert and Margaret (Henderson) Watson (for more information on all of Robert and Margaret's children and their descendants see the web site Watsons (*in preparation), and the section "Watsons" in Volume Two of *The Oil Creek Flemings and related families*; see also Heinen, Patricia. 1992. *Watson*. Privately published, 555 pages:

29	i.	John³ P. Watson, born 29 November 1812; died 22 September 1894 in Sadsbury Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania; married (first) Mary M. Luce; married (second) Margaret Watson.
30	ii.	James W. Watson, born 29 June 1815; died 9 March 1887 in Evansburg, Conneaut Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania; married (first) Susannah McConnell; married (second) Martha McConnell.
31	iii.	William Broadfoot Watson, born circa 1817–1819; died after 1880; married Elizabeth Ann Holmden.
32	iv.	Robert Perry Watson, born circa 1820; died 31 August 1869; married Martha Henderson (#14), daughter of Richard and Violet (Hunter) Henderson.
33	v.	Joseph M. Watson, born circa 1823; married Mary Jane Courson.
34	vi.	Zachariah (also Zachary) Hatton Watson, born circa 1826; died circa 1874; married Sinea Watson. See also the section "Robert Hunter and other early Hunters of Venango-Forrest and Warren counties, Pennsylvania."
35	vii.	Susan Jane Watson, (my great grandmother), born 1836, probably in Oil Creek Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania; died 22 February 1899 in Oil Creek Township; married James Lytle. For more information on James and Susan (Watson) Lytle, see the Lytle web site.

9. DAVID² HENDERSON (James¹), born 30 September 1794,⁴⁴ in Pennsylvania, died 11 September 1859 ; buried in Old Brown Cemetery in Pleasantville, Pennsylvania. Many of those buried in Old Brown Cemetery were eventually reinterred in Memory Acres Cemetery, also known as the Old Pleasantville Cemetery, Pleasantville, Pennsylvania. (David Henderson’s name is in a Memory Acre cemetery list of the Venango County Genealogical Club.) David married JANE WATSON, born 25 April 1795; died 1877; buried in Old Brown Cemetery, Pleasantville.

Jane Watson was a daughter of John and Rebecca (Bradley) Watson. David, Jane and family lived in the Pleasantville area, Allegheny Township, Venango County.⁴⁵ In 1860, Jane, widow, was living by herself in Allegheny Township, Venango County (census page 14), but next door to her daughter Julia Brazee. In 1870, Jane was probably the Jane Henderson, age 73, enumerated in Oil Creek Township, Venango County, with “D. C.” Henderson (Don Alonzo Cashman Henderson (#144), who would have been her grandson by son John.⁴⁶

David Henderson helped build the Pleasantville Methodist Church in 1846,⁴⁷ and was keeping church class records as early as 1821.⁴⁸ There is a document dated 28 November 1859, pertaining to the inventory of David Henderson’s personal property, in which the Court confirms that the amount of personal property set aside for Jane Henderson is $300.⁴⁹

**Children of David and Jane (Watson) Henderson:**

+	36	i.	Sarah³ Henderson, born circa 1816; died circa 1858; married Nathan Folwell.
+	37	ii.	Elizabeth Henderson, born December 1819; died 28 September 1851; buried Union Cemetery, Oil Creek Township, Crawford County; married Walker H. Sedorus.
	38	iii.	James W. Henderson, born circa 1820; died 27 June 1895;⁵⁰ married Maria Louise Cornwall, born circa 1822; died 1899. They did not have children. James and Maria lived in the Pleasantville area, Venango County. They are buried in Fairview Cemetery, Pleasantville. In 1850, they were living in Allegheny Township, Venango County,⁵¹ next to the dwelling of Walker and Elizabeth Sedorus. Also enumerated in the Henderson household in 1850 were a Francis M. Caswell (could this be Cornwall?), born circa 1849 and Arch Stewart, born circa 1837. James Henderson’s will, written 11 August 1893, recorded 17 July 1895,⁵² mentions his wife Maria Louise and “my nephew James H. Cornwall,” who was also executor. James and Maria were still in the Pleasantville area in 1870 and 1880.⁵³
+	39	iv.	Robert A. Henderson, born February 1821; died 13 May 1864; buried Union Cemetery, Oil Creek Township, Crawford County; married Margery Coyle.
+	40	v.	John W. Henderson, born 26 November 1822; died 9 March 1861; buried in Memory Acres, Pleasantville, Venango County; married Hannah Pauline Tyrell.
+	41	vi.	Rebecca Henderson, born 1823; married Warren A. Lyon.
+	42	vii.	Esther Jane Henderson, born 8 February 1824; died 25 July 1903 in Portland, Chautauqua County, New York; married John Fleming.
+	43	viii.	David W. Henderson, born circa 1824–1827; died 10 January 1907; married Louisa Jane [—?—].
+	44	ix.	Marcus P. Henderson, born 1828; died 20 October 1897 in Oil Creek Township, Venango County; buried Fairview Cemetery, Pleasantville; married Esther Jane Kerr.
+	45	x.	Lucy Ann Henderson, born 11 July 1830; died 6 February 1901; married Samuel Parshall.
+	46	xi.	Margaret Marie Henderson, born circa 1832; married David B. Hotchkiss.
+	47	xii.	Martha Minerva Henderson, born July 1833; married Alfred Ross.
+	48	xiii.	Dorcas Adelia Henderson, born circa 1835; married Samuel C. Davis.
+	49	xiv.	Louisa Melissa Henderson, born 16 March 1836; married Warren House.
+	50	xv.	Julia Henderson, born circa 1840; married Charles F. Brazee.
	51	xvi.	Elias Henderson, born circa 1842.⁵⁴ There was also an Elias C. Henderson (#139), son of John and Hannah Pauline (Tyrell) Henderson, born circa 1841 who married Hannah Kerr. Since each was enumerated in a different household in 1850, they would not appear to be the same person, unless Elias was enumerated twice.