Tombstone Tuesday

Having finally run out of my own tombstone photos, I have been locating the graves of famous [or infamous!] individuals.

Today's is one of my political heroes of the past. And he is my husband's 1st cousin, 7 times removed.

American Patriot and Statesman, Patrick Henry.

The following BIO on Patrick Henry comes from FindAGrave and is written by Kit and Morgan Benson:

Birth:	May 29, 1736
Death:	Jun. 6, 1799
American Patriot. He is best remembered for his stirring phrase "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death." Born in Hanover County, Virginia, he attended public school for only a short time, and was taught by his father, who had a good education. He began a career as a shopkeeper, but was a poor businessman and soon deeply in debt. He then studied law and received his attorney's license in 1760, which helped his oratory skills when he had to argue cases in court. In 1764, Henry was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he soon became a leader of the frontier people against the old, established plantation aristocracy. His speech in the House of Burgesses in 1765 against the Stamp Act is considered one of his greatest orations. In it he argued, "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it." In 1774, he was elected a delegate to the First Continental Congress, and the following year, to the Second Continental Congress. He left the Congress before the resolution for independence was put to a vote, to become Commander-in-Chief of Virginia's militia, a position he resigned in February 1776 when he realized his limitations and lack of military experience. A few months later, he became a member of the committee to write the Virginia Constitution. As soon as Virginia eliminated their royal governor and set up a constitution government, Patrick Henry was elected as its first Governor, and moved into the palace in Williamsburg, where the English royal governors had lived. A hard working administrator, Henry worked to solve the many problems caused by the American Revolution. He recruited the state's quota of 6,000 men for the Continental Army, as well as 5,000 men for the Virginia Militia. He obtained and supplied the Continental Army with clothing, shoes, and cattle, as well as lead and gunpowder for ammunition. He was reelected in 1777, 1778, 1784 and 1785. During his second term as Virginia Governor, he supplied the George Rogers Clark Expedition, which conquered the Northwest Territory from the British. In 1788, Henry served in the Virginia delegation to ratify the US Constitution. Although he was initially against ratification of the US Constitution because he believed it lessened the rights of the states, after its ratification, he joined the Federalist Party and supported the document. He was largely responsible for the adoption of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which we call the Bill of Rights. As public service had left Henry in debt, he returned to his law practice in 1788, and soon became a successful criminal lawyer. In 1794, he retired to his estate near Appomattox, Virginia. In his remaining five years, Henry was offered many public offices, including US Senator, Minister to Spain, Minister to France, Secretary of State in President Washington's cabinet, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, all positions which he refused. In 1796, he was elected Virginia Governor for a sixth time, but refused to take office. Finally, his close friend George Washington convinced him to run for representative in the Virginia State Legislature, and after winning the election, he died before he could take office. Inscription on crypt reads: In Memory of Patrick Henry Born May 29, 1736 Died June 6, 1799 His fame his best epitaph  Patrick Henry, as well as his second wife, Dorothea Dandridge Henry, are buried on the old Red Hill Plantation [now called the Red Hill Shrine] in Charlotte County, Virginia. The old Red Hill Plantation. The Henry and Carter Cemetery on Red Hill Plantation.

Surname Saturday - Henry

My surname is now Henry. It hasn't always been. You see I married a man whose last name was Henry back in 1998. It wasn't the first marriage for either of us. And at first I was a wee bit reluctant to even take on the same surname as he had, always waiting for the other shoe to drop, as had become my norm since a failed first [and second!] marriage. But I did. And I am so glad that I did.

Little did I know that I would be taking on the surname, from the same ancestry, as one of my childhood hero's. You see, I grew up in the naval seaport of Norfolk, Virginia. Right in the heart of the birthplace of our nation!

As a young girl I visited Jamestown, Williamsburg, Washington D.C., Yorktown, Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and so many more places!

But it was the scene of the old church in Colonial Williamsburg, and the re-enactor portraying Patrick Henry, giving his infamous "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech that made the historic figure one of my hero's! Little did I then know that one day I would be marrying a man who's ancestry lead me to Patrick Henry's uncle. And a shared grandfather!!!

Next week I'll begin posting that surname summary. But for now, I thought I'd share with you the Henry family crest, from England. You see, there are SEVERAL Henry family crests, including France, Ireland and Scotland! Are they real? I don't know. I've been taught in genealogy that most families did NOT have a crest, unless they were quite wealthy. Still, it's fun to view them, tear apart their adornments to determine what each means, and dare to fantasize on their originations!

So, who is the Henry descendant I married???

Would you believe John Henry? [Seriously... that's his name!]

Oh yes, I married myself a man with a real hero name!!! Just goes to show you, a little girls dreams can really come true!

John & Cyndi Henry

February 1998

On our honeymoon at Natural Bridge, Virginia

Surname Saturday

Patrick Henry

"Give me liberty, or give me death!"

I've been married to the most wonderful man in the world since 1998. He does have a rather unique name, however.

Johnnie Henry.

Yes, Johnnie is his real name, and not a nickname. However, it has caused a bit of consternation now and again.

Like, once he was pulled over for a traffic violation [speeding], and the trooper asked him to sign his "John Henry" on the ticket. Johnnie proceeded to sign "John Henry" to the document.

"Very funny, son" the trooper remarked, until he saw Johnnie's drivers license.

Or the time we made an appointment with a minister to perform our wedding. We went into Virginia, obtained our marriage license, and I called a local minister to perform the ceremony. We set the date, and he asked for our names: Cynthia Beane and Johnnie Henry. "Is this some kind of joke?", he asked. I assured him I was most serious! And he proceeded to set the appointment. On the day of our wedding, we showed up with most of my family at our side, and one close friend, for the private ceremony. We waited and waited. No minister showed! Finally we called him at home and he rushed to the church. "I guess I forgot to write it down in my date book!", he exclaimed. "What were your names again?" When I reminded him of our names he told on himself, "Oh! You weren't joking were you!"

When we began researching my husband's genealogy about nine years ago, we were fairly stymied and started with nothing more than his father's name. [Johnnie's mother and father were divorced when he was 2 years of age, and he never saw his father again.] It took a bit of work, but we finally located his father's whereabouts. We were a bit late, however. Johnnie's father, Joe, had passed away in 1993. We later found his father's parents, William having died in 1965 and Emma in 1985.

It didn't take us long to locate William in early census records, and work our way back from there. We soon located other researchers and were able to take the Henry name back quite a way. Having grown up in the historic areas of Jamestown and Williamsburg, Virginia, I had wondered if there was a tie to Patrick Henry, the famous statesman who gave the "Give me liberty or give me death!", speech.

After a bit of work, just a couple of years ago, we discovered that there is indeed a tie.

Johnnie's 6th-great-grandfather was William Henry [1709-1769], and Patrick Henry's father was John [1704-1773]. The two were brothers. Which means that their father, Alexander [b.1674, Scotland] is the common ancestor. So, Johnnie's 7th great-grandfather, and Patrick Henry's grandfather, were one and the same individual.

It appears that William's line went through South Carolina and into Virginia. From here they migrated into what is now West Virginia [Monongahela County]. And from there they migrated further west into Kentucky [Johnnie's great-great-grandfather, John]. And here the family pretty much remained.

Since I grew up fairly living in the lap of history, and especially Patrick Henry memorabilia, I was so excited to find this link! No other Patriot shows more dedication to the building of this great country than does that of Patrick Henry. Others were just as influential, but none more so.

What a history worth knowing!