Dear Henderson researchers, There have been many misstatements about the parentage of Samuel Henderson (wife Elizabeth Williams) of colonial Granville Co., NC. Please correct your lineage if you descend from this particular Henderson family. There seems to be little evidence to link other Henderson families to this particular one, although new evidence is always being located. There is good indication in extant colonial Virginia records that the father of Samuel Henderson, later of Granville Co., NC and two of his brothers was one Richard Henderson and that Richard's wife was Henrietta. They were of Goochaland Co. VA (formed from Henrico Co., Tuckahoe Creek being part of the natural boundary) and later of Cumberland Co., south of the James River. There may be earlier patents of Henrico co. (If so, please inform me.) Index cards of land office grants at the Virginia State Archives given the following information (gathered before the internet became popular with genealogists): Henderson, Richard 30 Jun 1743 Goochland Co. 450 A. on both sides of Great Guinea Creek. Patent Bk 21 (1742-43), p. 378. 1748 Goochland Co., VA will of Richard Henderson WB?-424 (abstracted) Will of Richard Henderson of Southam Parish, Goochland to sons Samuel, James, and Nathan, and to daughters Mary Henderson and Henrietta Henderson, 1 shilling each, at 21. To my brother Edward Henderson, 200 acres off of tract I live on, between his plantation and mine. To my wife Henrietta, all rest of my land and estate and she to be executrix. Dated 10 Feb 1745. Wit: John (X) Cook, Tyree Harris, Nathaniel Henderson. /s/ Rich. Henderson. Recorded 21 Jun 1748. (Benjamin B. Weisiger, GOOCHLAND CO. WILLS, p. 24.) CUMBERLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA RECORDS Abstracted deed of Cumberland Co., VA, reads: Cumberland Co. DB 1-113 I, Henneratta Henderson of the Parish of Southam and C[umberland], for divers causes and for the natural love I have for my sons, Samuel Henderson, James Henderson, & Nathan Henderson, & for their better advancement in the world, at my decease, I give them a certain tract of 250 acres whereon I now live, in the Parish of Southam and C[umerland] & on the branches of Great Guinea [Cr]. The land is to be equally divided among my said 3 sons (but with the provision that my son Nathan shall have the plantation whereon I now live included in his third part of the land). Signed Aug 28, 1749 - Henereter H Henderson. Wit - Aaron Butler, Nathaniel Henderson, Edward Henderson. Recorded Feb 26, 1749. (TLC Genealogy, CUMBERLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA DEEDS, 1749-1752 [Miami Beach, FL: TLC Genealogy, 1990], p. 12) The evidence is clear that Samuel Henderson, son of Richard I, was physically present in Granville Co., NC before the 1749 recordation of the will of Richard Henderson of Goochland Co. (the probable patriarch). The abstracted will does not indicate the father is bequeathing land to his children, either sons or daughters, but instead to his brother, Edward, but his wife Henrietta is executrix. However, later, the widowed Henrietta Henderson of Cumberland Co., in Feb 1749, deeded the land to her three sons, and evidence is that Samuel Henderson "of Granvel Co." later sold his share. (In Granville Co., Samuel Henderson was witness to the first deed recorded in Granville Co., DB A-1, John Wade to Peter Hill, dated 1 Sep 1746. He may have been "commuting" from North Carolina to Virginia.) The Family History Library film for Cumberland Co., VA grantor index is is 30,743, I believe. (Double check the FHL online catalog to see if I have this correct.) DB 1-333 May -- 1757 Edward Henderson to Lee, Charles - 200 A - Southam Parish [This is the elder Richard Henderson's brother] Deed Bk 2-34 - Mar 26, 1753 Nathaniel Henderson to Lee, Charles - 230 A Guinea Cr. DB 2-485 - June 23, 1759 [4?] Samuel Henderson to Lee, Charles - 200 A Guinea Cr DB 3-66 June 23, 1760 James Henderson to Lee, Charles - [acreage not given] A puzzle: A deed to Charles Lee in the same time period: 1754 Lee, Charles from Cooke, Clayton DB 2-163 250 A Guinea Creek The deed from Samuel Henderson to Lee specifies that he is of Granville Co. NC. Please check these documents for more detail. Probably all the films are at the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, and may be borrowed through your nearby LDS FHC for a small fee, for a limited time. Samuel Henderson is not my direct ancestor. Samuel's wife, Elizabeth reported to be Williams. If her surname is correct, as so many genealogies specify, then she would be my umpteen great-aunt!!! Please pass this on to other lists which you think might be interested. E.W.Wallace