Henderson
Select
Henderson Genealogy
Henderson has Scottish roots. It comes from the first name Henry or in Gaelic Earnruig. Son of Henry became Henryson. The Scots found Henryson a bit of a mouthful. So Henderson emerged; and has remained.
Scotland. Unlike some Scottish clans, the Hendersons do not really have a focal point and have, through history and a diversity of origins, spread over Scotland and later overseas. Perhaps their old traditions have been best preserved in their remotest outpost, the Shetland Isles. In the 1620's, Magnus Henderson of Nordic roots was the first there to take the Henderson name. He became a patriarch of a large family which is traceable down to the present day. Bruce Henderson from Yell has kept up the old art of story-telling; and traditional arts of fiddle playing and singing are still appreciated.
The Hendersons had held sway at Glencoe in the Highlands from early times. The last Henderson chief at Glencoe was Dugald MacEanruig. The leadership then passed through marriage to the MacDonalds. But both were wiped out in 1692 by the English at the massacre in Glencoe.
Many Hendersons had slipped away before that time. One group established themselves in Caithness; others in the Lowlands (Robert Henderson at Fordell in Fife and various Hendersons at Liddlesdale and elsewhere in the Border country). By the mid-eighteenth century, Hendersons had spread to Caithness and Aberdeen in the north, to Fife and to Perth, but the numbers had started declining in the Borders.
Perth produced Hamish Henderson (or Seamus MacEanruig) who did much to revive traditional Scottish culture in the twentieth century. After a nomadic early life, he returned home and lived for months with travellers, collecting and recording their oral repertoire of songs, ballads, and stories. In the 1950's, he was instrumental in starting the People's Ceilidh, a forerunner to today's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Ireland. The Borders were economically ravaged during the seventeenth century. Many Hendersons took up the chance for a new life and new lands in Ulster. They settled first in Donegal and later in Tyrone and Antrim. But many did not stay. Another exodus began, this time to America and Australia. Alexander Henderson and his family left their lands at Killybegs in Donegal for America in the summer of 1803. Ten years earlier, Thomas and Mary Henderson with their infant son had been transported to Australia on the Sugar Cane.
England. Other Hendersons moved to England, to Northumberland and to Durham (where many became miners). There was a cluster of Hendersons along the Tyne river. The splendidly named Charles Chipchase Henderson took over the Hexham racecourse there in 1890 and made it a premier place for steeplechasing. Further south in Yorkshire, a Henderson family had been clockmakers at the seaside town of Scarborough since the 1680's. Their name appeared in the local press in tragic circumstances in 1791 when Robert Henderson, known as the sailing Quaker, was drowned in his coble in the sight of the whole town.
America. The Scots Hendersons first crossed the Atlantic in the 1650's. The first influx was into Virginia. James Henderson was an early settler on the Eastern Shore. A century later, the Virginian Alexander Henderson was a friend and confidant of George Washington. His family settled in the Ohio valley where Henderson Hall still stands.
A later and larger Henderson influx (including many more Ulster Scots) was into North Carolina. A number here became local judges and then achieved a greater prominence. One such was Richard Henderson, a pioneer merchant who hired Daniel Boone to open up Kentucky for settlement: another, later, was James Pinckney Henderson who moved to Texas and became the first Governor of that state. Many Hendersons owned plantations, in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and in Louisiana. Stephen Henderson had arrived in New Orleans from Scotland in 1790. He made his money, married well, and inherited the Destrehan plantation. However, his wife Zelia died young, he died a few years later, and his ghost is still believed to haunt the Destrehan manor.
There is a long history of African American Hendersons. Some, like the Hendersons of Dudley, date from the early 1800's in North Carolina where there was a free black population. A marker in Meadville, Maryland is "dedicated to Richard Henderson who escaped slavery around 1824 and helped others in their own escape on the underground railway." More Hendersons came from the plantations after emancipation. Cornelius Henderson, who family had migrated to Detroit, bacame an accomplished civil engineer in the 1920's at a time when racial prejudice was still strong. Edwin Henderson, who lived around the same time, has been called "the father of black basketball." More recently, Hendersons have distinguished themselves in American sports, in basketball, baseball, and football.
Australia and New Zealand. The first Henderson arrivals into Australia were convicts, more than fifty between 1790 and 1840 (Thomas and Margaret Henderson from Tyrone in Ireland are among the few whose lines have been traced). The first free settler was probably Robert Henderson who farmed land near Lake Macquarie in the 1830's. Thomas Henderson was a pioneer settler in New Zealand, arriving in 1840 and starting his Henderson's Mill outside Auckland. David Henderson from Fife arrived at the Nelson settlement in South Island in 1842. These numbers increased appreciably as the nineteenth century proceeded.
Select Henderson Miscellany
Select Henderson Names
Robert Henryson was a fifteenth century Scottish poet of fables.
Alexander Henderson, a Presbyterian minister, drafted the National Covenant in 1636 and was largely responsible for keeping the Church of Scotland Presbyterian.
Richard Henderson was the pioneer merchant in North Carolina who hired Daniel Boone in the 1770's to cut a wilderness trail through the Cumberland Gap and open up Kentucky for settlement.
James Pinckney Henderson was Texas's first Governor in 1845.
Fletcher Henderson, who grew up in Georgia, was the big-band jazz leader of the 1920's.
Arthur Henderson from Glasgow was part of Labor's first Government in the 1920's and became Foreign Secretary in 1929.
D.A. Henderson was the American physician who headed the international team that eradicated smallpox as a disease.
Select Hendersons Today
Henderson has Scottish roots. It comes from the first name Henry or in Gaelic Earnruig. Son of Henry became Henryson. The Scots found Henryson a bit of a mouthful. So Henderson emerged; and has remained.
Select Henderson
Resources on
The
Internet
- Henderson Clan. Henderson clan website.
- Henderson Scottish Branches. Genealogy section/minibios - Henderson family.
- Hendersons from Ireland to Australia.
Irish/Australian Henderson family tree.
- Henderson Records.
Surnames - Henderson. US-based Henderson genealogy.
- Henderson
Miscellany.
Henderson background and names.
- James Henderson. An early settler in Virginia and Maryland..
Scotland. Unlike some Scottish clans, the Hendersons do not really have a focal point and have, through history and a diversity of origins, spread over Scotland and later overseas. Perhaps their old traditions have been best preserved in their remotest outpost, the Shetland Isles. In the 1620's, Magnus Henderson of Nordic roots was the first there to take the Henderson name. He became a patriarch of a large family which is traceable down to the present day. Bruce Henderson from Yell has kept up the old art of story-telling; and traditional arts of fiddle playing and singing are still appreciated.
The Hendersons had held sway at Glencoe in the Highlands from early times. The last Henderson chief at Glencoe was Dugald MacEanruig. The leadership then passed through marriage to the MacDonalds. But both were wiped out in 1692 by the English at the massacre in Glencoe.
Many Hendersons had slipped away before that time. One group established themselves in Caithness; others in the Lowlands (Robert Henderson at Fordell in Fife and various Hendersons at Liddlesdale and elsewhere in the Border country). By the mid-eighteenth century, Hendersons had spread to Caithness and Aberdeen in the north, to Fife and to Perth, but the numbers had started declining in the Borders.
Perth produced Hamish Henderson (or Seamus MacEanruig) who did much to revive traditional Scottish culture in the twentieth century. After a nomadic early life, he returned home and lived for months with travellers, collecting and recording their oral repertoire of songs, ballads, and stories. In the 1950's, he was instrumental in starting the People's Ceilidh, a forerunner to today's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Ireland. The Borders were economically ravaged during the seventeenth century. Many Hendersons took up the chance for a new life and new lands in Ulster. They settled first in Donegal and later in Tyrone and Antrim. But many did not stay. Another exodus began, this time to America and Australia. Alexander Henderson and his family left their lands at Killybegs in Donegal for America in the summer of 1803. Ten years earlier, Thomas and Mary Henderson with their infant son had been transported to Australia on the Sugar Cane.
England. Other Hendersons moved to England, to Northumberland and to Durham (where many became miners). There was a cluster of Hendersons along the Tyne river. The splendidly named Charles Chipchase Henderson took over the Hexham racecourse there in 1890 and made it a premier place for steeplechasing. Further south in Yorkshire, a Henderson family had been clockmakers at the seaside town of Scarborough since the 1680's. Their name appeared in the local press in tragic circumstances in 1791 when Robert Henderson, known as the sailing Quaker, was drowned in his coble in the sight of the whole town.
America. The Scots Hendersons first crossed the Atlantic in the 1650's. The first influx was into Virginia. James Henderson was an early settler on the Eastern Shore. A century later, the Virginian Alexander Henderson was a friend and confidant of George Washington. His family settled in the Ohio valley where Henderson Hall still stands.
A later and larger Henderson influx (including many more Ulster Scots) was into North Carolina. A number here became local judges and then achieved a greater prominence. One such was Richard Henderson, a pioneer merchant who hired Daniel Boone to open up Kentucky for settlement: another, later, was James Pinckney Henderson who moved to Texas and became the first Governor of that state. Many Hendersons owned plantations, in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and in Louisiana. Stephen Henderson had arrived in New Orleans from Scotland in 1790. He made his money, married well, and inherited the Destrehan plantation. However, his wife Zelia died young, he died a few years later, and his ghost is still believed to haunt the Destrehan manor.
There is a long history of African American Hendersons. Some, like the Hendersons of Dudley, date from the early 1800's in North Carolina where there was a free black population. A marker in Meadville, Maryland is "dedicated to Richard Henderson who escaped slavery around 1824 and helped others in their own escape on the underground railway." More Hendersons came from the plantations after emancipation. Cornelius Henderson, who family had migrated to Detroit, bacame an accomplished civil engineer in the 1920's at a time when racial prejudice was still strong. Edwin Henderson, who lived around the same time, has been called "the father of black basketball." More recently, Hendersons have distinguished themselves in American sports, in basketball, baseball, and football.
Australia and New Zealand. The first Henderson arrivals into Australia were convicts, more than fifty between 1790 and 1840 (Thomas and Margaret Henderson from Tyrone in Ireland are among the few whose lines have been traced). The first free settler was probably Robert Henderson who farmed land near Lake Macquarie in the 1830's. Thomas Henderson was a pioneer settler in New Zealand, arriving in 1840 and starting his Henderson's Mill outside Auckland. David Henderson from Fife arrived at the Nelson settlement in South Island in 1842. These numbers increased appreciably as the nineteenth century proceeded.
Select Henderson Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Henderson Names
Robert Henryson was a fifteenth century Scottish poet of fables.
Alexander Henderson, a Presbyterian minister, drafted the National Covenant in 1636 and was largely responsible for keeping the Church of Scotland Presbyterian.
Richard Henderson was the pioneer merchant in North Carolina who hired Daniel Boone in the 1770's to cut a wilderness trail through the Cumberland Gap and open up Kentucky for settlement.
James Pinckney Henderson was Texas's first Governor in 1845.
Fletcher Henderson, who grew up in Georgia, was the big-band jazz leader of the 1920's.
Arthur Henderson from Glasgow was part of Labor's first Government in the 1920's and became Foreign Secretary in 1929.
D.A. Henderson was the American physician who headed the international team that eradicated smallpox as a disease.
Select Hendersons Today
Site Map: Select Names
The Origin/Spread of Surnames