Thomas HENDRY

Birth: ABT 1720, Northern Ireland
Death: Mar 1780, Harpersfield, Delaware, NY, U.S.

Marriage: 21 Mar 1742/1743, Bridgewater, Plymouth, MA

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INDEX

Notes

Line in Record @I0001@ (RIN 1) from GEDCOM file not recognized: _FA2 Thomas Hendry This Thomas Hendry is the first Hendry in my direct line in the United States. Although there is more work to do on the Irish origins of this Thomas Hendry, there is a great deal of "associated history" for the period of the American Revolution that provide some knowledge of this person. Thomas Hendry settled in North Bridgewater (now Brockton) and, on March 23, 1743, married Ann Miller at the Presbyterian Church.He was married by the Rev. John Porter, its first pastor. Records of this marriage and the births of several of the children of Thomas and Ann (Miller) Hendry may be found in this church. Records of Plymouth County show that Thomas Hendry, aforetime trader, purchased a farm from John Ames on November 7, 1746. On January 3, 1769, Thomas Hendry sold this farm to his son Thomas Hendry Jr. for the sum of 500 pounds. The witnesses to this sale were Samuel Dunlop and John Harper Jr. This is probably the John Harper who was the principal founder of Harpersfield, Delaware Co. New York. Somehow the deed remained with Thomas Sr. and was not formally recorded until January 16, 1770 before Sir William Johnson in New York. William Johnson was the King's representative to the Indians of the Mohawk Valley. The deed was then recorded at Plymouth County April 30, 1771. About a year later, (1772) Thomas Hendry Jr. sold the farm to Daniel Ames. His mother Ann Hendry signs as witness to the transfer. In about 1769-1771, Thomas Hendry Sr. and all his family except Janet moved west to what is today Harpersfield, Delaware County, NY. Thomas Hendry with John Harper and twenty others were granted twenty-two thousand acres near the headwaters of the Delaware River. The deed was granted November 1, 1769 and signed by Cadwallader Colden,(the Lt. Governor of N.Y.) Andrew Elliott and Alexander Colden. (Ironiclly, it was the Indian Joseph Brant who who was tutored by Sir William Johnson who killed Thomas Hendry Jr. and James Hendry in April of 1780.) Thomas had two sons killed outright (Thomas and James) during the revolution when Joseph Brant, seven Tories and forty-three Indians surprised a "scout" at Harpersfield, Delaware County, New York on April 8, 1780. The third of his five sons, John, was taken prisoner at the same time, was marched overland to Niagra with the other prisoners and died on a prison ship in Quebec. The story of the Hendry brothers being killed and captured in Harpersfield, NY, April 8 178 0 is simple. Most of the Harpersfield, settlers chose to side with the Americans in the Revo lutonary War and were thus subject to the attacks and depradations of the "Torry" settlers an d their Indian allies. There had been direct attacks on Harpersfield and other frontier sett lements and the settlers of Harpersfield, had moved for security to forts on Schoharie Cree k about thirty miles distant from Harpersfield itself. On April 2, 1780, a "scout" of fourte en men, commanded by Alexander Harper, walked to Harpersfild to check the area for hostile (T ory and Indian) activity. The scout, after checking the area, scattered to collect maple sa p for making sugar. On April, 8, 1780, Joseph Brant with seven Tories and forty-three Indian s split their force and fell on each of the scattered sugar gathering groups at the same time . Most submitted peacefully and were taken prisoner. Three Hendry brothers, Thomas, James a nd John, were members of the fourteen man scout. The two oldest Hendry brothers, Thomas an d James, offered resistance and were killed and scalped at once. One other man, James Stephe ns offered resistance, and was killed. John Hendry, the third of the Hendry brothers on th e scout was taken prisoner. He was said to be a recalcitrant prisoner and died on a prison s hip moored in the river by Old Quebec City. According to handwritten notes made by William Hendry, son of David Hendry (the fourth son), Thomas died of consumption in Harpersfield in the spring of 1780 and was buried by his three oldest sons, Thomas, James and John. At the time he died, the two youngest sons, David and William were either at the Schoharrie forts or in Connecticut. (David had served in the Continental Army for 18 months in 1778-9. He contracted smallpox and was unfit for life on the frontier. He spent some time during the war in Connecticut. Just where he was in April of 1780 is not clear.) William, the grandson of the original Thomas, writes that the sons David and William were at the Schoharrie forts in April of 1780. David Hendry was the fourth son and sixth child of Thomas Hendry and Ann Miller. The William Hendry referred above was David's youngest son, born in Harpersfield, Ashatabula County, Ohio in 1807. It is not known where or when Ann Miller Hendry died. David Hendry and William Hendry survived the war as did James' children (4) and John's child. Jennett, the oldest daughter of the original Thomas and Ann Miller Hendry, married Hosea Dunbar of Halifax, Masachusetts, Margaret (Poly) married Henry Montgomery of Harpersfield, NY and Ann, the yougest daughter married one of the well known Wilcox family of Harpersfield, NY. Thomas, our earliest known progenitor, was born in in northern Ireland. The earliest record in America says he "Arrived in Boston about 1740." One record, held by the Daughters of the American Revolution, says Thomas was born in northern Ireland about 1721. His marriage intention filed in Bridgewater in 1743 states he was "of Boston". The name was spelled variously depending on how the recorder heard the name. Among the spellings were: Henry, Hendrey, Handrey and Hendry. The Hendrys were close associates of the Harpers in America. The Harpers were from Newtownlimivaddy in County Derry in the north of Ireland immediately before coming to America in 1720. If the Hendrys and Harpers knew eash other in Ireland, it is possible the Hendrys too came from that area. It should be noted that the Hendry family were Presbyterians and signers of the Confessions of Faith of the Church of Scotland. Contacts I have made in Northern Ireland, are not hopeful of being able to find records that would establish exact place and date of birth for this first American ancestor. Andrew Hendry (1995) Some of the sources that refer to this Thomas Hendry include: Bolton, Charles Knowles. Scotish Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America. Bacon and Brown. 1910. pp154-55 Bridgewater Vital Records, Volumes I and III. Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Clark, William. History of the Century 1797 - 1897. Delhi, NY. Gould, Jay. History of Delaware County and the Border Wars of New York. Roxbury, NY. Reprinted by Polyanthus, New Orleans. 1977 Harper, Richard C. Biographical sketch of Alexander Harper written by his GGGG grandson Richard C. Harper. A copy is at the Old Stone Fort Museum. Schoharie, NY Kingman, Bradford. History of North Bridgewater. Boston. Self published. 1866 Minute Book of the Committee of Safety of Tyron County. Dodd, Mead & Co. MDCCCCV. Mitchell, Naham. History of Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County Massachusetts....Kidder and Wright. Boston. 1840 Munsell, W.W. History of Delaware County, NY. NY. 1880 O'Brien, Michael. Irish Settlers in America. Genealogical Publishing Co. Baltimore. 1979. p. 451. Priest, Josiah. Captivity and Sufferings of Freegift Patchin. Garland Library of Narratives of North American Indian Captives. Vol. 52. Simms, Jeptha. The Frontiersmen of New York...and Border Strife. Vol. II. George Riggs. Albany. 1883. In addition to these sources, there have been a number of Hendrys who have taken an interest in the family history and collected material and commented on various accounts of the Hendrys after 1743 in Bridgewater. Chief among these is an account of The History of the Hendry Family by Thomas P Hendry. This work has been filed with the New England Historical Society. James Abbott Hendry, brother to Thomas P. Hendry has also kept a record of some early accounts and family traditions. Arleigh Hendry, one of the last Hendrys to live in Harpersfield, N.Y. made extensive notes of Hendry history and traditions. These were examined courtesy of his daughter Evangeline Hendry MacLaury, Harpersfield, NY. 1981. Alonzo Hendry, a great grandson of the original Thomas, corresponded with other descendents concerning the early history of the Hendrys. Correspondence from Alonzo to David Brown Hendry dated in the 1870's at Sandusky, Ohio shed valuable information on an early attempt to establish a record. Alonzo also wrote a "Traditional History of the Hendry Family" in a note book. The original is in the possission of the heirs of Thomas Penfield Hendry late of Granville, OH. Dorothy Bruce Hicock, a descendant of William Ormiston Hendry had done extensive work in family history and was able to contribute extensively to the account compiled by Thomas P. Hendry. Her original account of the family of John Hendry, the third son of the original Thomas, is in the New York State Historical Society in Cooperstown, NY. William Montgomery Hendry, another descendent of John Hendry, wrote a short History of the Hendrys. There are other sources some more direct than others including the Samuel Hendry Papers held by the Western Reserve HistoricaL Society in Cleveland, Ohio numbered Mss 3399 (#946) and the William Hendry Papers held by the same organization Manuscript Collection No. 4196. Histories of the Harper family with which the Hendry fortunes and history was closely interwoven also provide insites to the Hendry family before 1850. Scattered newspaper articles in Ashtabula County, Ohio, during the period 1820 to 1870, provide valuable information on the branches of the Hendry family that moved to Harpersfield, Ohio, from Harpersfield, NY early in the 19th century. IMPORTANT NOTE Persons familiar with the Bridgewater Viatal Records will note that this summary does not include a sixth son, nineth child, Samuel. If there was a Samuel, he died in childbirth or as an infant. There is no further mention of this person in any Hendry family accounts or accounts written by others. On occasion, persons researching the Hendrys have confused this Samuel with Samuel the youngest son of James Hendry and Mehitable Hall Hendry. This Samuel is a grandson, not a son, of Thomas and Ann. He was born in 1779 in Harpersfield, or more likely at the forts on Schoharie Creek. REFERENCE NOTE There was a Thomas Hendry in Boston in 1710. He married an Ann Thomas in the Old North Church in 1710. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Cotton Mather. The couple had eight children including a son named Thomas born in 1712. There is no evidence to connect this Thomas Hendry family with the Thomas Hendry who married Ann Miller in Bridgewater in 1743. It has been concluded that the Thomas in Boston in 1710 represents a completely separate Hendry family.


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