JOHN H. HENSON

The following bio was taken from page 233 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Cemeteries of Texas

W. M. Henson and his six brothers and one sister came from Virginia to North Carolina just prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. All of the brothers took part in the battles of Cowpens and King’s Mountain. None lost his life.

After the war was over they all moved to South Carolina, and then to Georgia. The Henson’s were of English descent and were makers of shoes. They were all of the Baptist faith. W. M. Henson died in Sumner County, Tennessee. From these brothers are all the descendants named Henson, Hanson, or Hinson.

The Hensons and the Millers, who were friends in Georgia, came to Texas by covered wagon in 1852. They settled on adjoining land west of what is now Henderson. Both families continued to live on the north side of what is today Texas Highway 64 near Joinerville.

A. B. Henson married Angelina Able, and his son, John Henson (June 16, 1845) married Lydia Lambeth, August 9, 1883. (See Josiah Lambeth Family.) John Henson joined the Confederate forces in Rusk County during the Civil War. He served in Company D, 24^th Texas Volunteer Cavalry under Captain C. J. Garrison and Colonel J. M. Barton.

John and Lydia Henson had six children. Their first son, William Virgil born August 16, 1884, married Bennie Gray. Their first daughter, Annie Pearl, born December 27, 1886, married Walter H. Stroud. Their children were James Clifton, who has a son, Jimmy C., Jr.; Walter Vernon (1908-1980), who had three children – Gloria (now deceased) and twins Dean and David. Gloria married Ed Dorset and had two children. Dean is a professor of languages at the University of Iowa, and David is professor of Social Sciences at Kilgore College.

Other children of John and Lydia Henson are Andrew Byron Henson (December 13, 1888-November 3, 1902), who is buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery; Lessie Lucinda (September 19, 1890), who married Claud D. Ashby, November 6, 1906 and had three children; Angie Mattie Henson (January 8, 1892), who married W. O. Baker, November 28, 1909 and had three children; and John Eugene "Gene" Henson (August 23, 1897), who married Valera Weaver of Nacogdoches, October 25, 1934. The latter’s children are: Carol Jean, March 17, 1940 and John Virgil, July 31, 1944. Gene died June 13, 1977.

Of these six children of John and Lydia Henson, Mrs. Pearl (W. H.) Stroud is the only living child, a daughter of a confederate veteran. Mrs. Stroud says that she married her "door neighbor," meaning that Walter H. Stroud’s family lived across the road on the land the Stroud family owned. She had known Walter Stroud all her life, and when she was seventeen she married him. Miss Ottie Strickland (Mrs. Ed Tallaferro) was the maid of honor. The couple were married by the Reverend Bill Brown, a Methodist minister who lived near Mt. Hope. He had special chairs decorated for the bride and groom, and he married the couple as they were seated in these chairs. The Stroud’s moved into the home of his parents. Mrs. Stroud has lived on Stroud or Henson property all her ninety-five years.

During the oil boom of the 1930’s, Mrs. Stroud’s husband was struck by a car on New Year’s Eve in a hit-and-run accident that took his life. The guilty party was never found. During the boom, Mrs. Stroud built the brick home she occupies today, a dream of her life. In this home she made room for her two sons and their wives on the second floor, and she also had rooms for many Gaston School teachers, at one time numbering eight.

Mrs. Stroud’s recollections of life long ago are those of many Rusk County families. They lived in a weatherboard house; a horse named "Mary" pulled their buggy; a spring branch ran through the property; and they raised cotton and had a large garden.

Incidents that remain in her mind concern the boom days when Joinerville became a thriving town overnight. Mr. Stroud went out to milk the cows one evening. When one cow didn’t show up, he went to look for her when he finished milking the others. He found the cow being milked by a woman who was a stranger. Another evening none of the cows came in for milking, and when they did come, they had all been milked.

Mrs. Stroud also recalls a time when their sow got so very hot that she decided to pour cool water over the animal. Four hours later the sow was dead. She was quite upset, but Walker told her not to mind.

One of the stories told by Mrs. Stroud concerns the Indian Wars. Mrs. Motley, whose husband had gone to fight, and five other neighbor women who were alone banded together at night for protection. In the daytime, each returned to her home to spend the day. One day word was brought that the Indians were coming. The ladies decided to hide in a canebrake. As they ran, Mrs. Motley remembered that her little baby was in the house. She ran back even though the others told her she would be killed. She grabbed the baby and some of its clothes and hid under the house. While the Indians were in the house, she saw a pony running loose. She put the baby on a tree stump, stripped her apron into shreds and made a loose halter. Then she caught the pony, jumped astride, rode by the stump, grabbed her baby, and fled down the wooded lane toward San Augustine. All the five who remained behind were killed, but Mrs. Motley was safe. The baby that she rescued married Mrs. Stroud’s grandfather.

Mrs. Stroud lives at Joinerville and is visited each day by her sister-in-law, Mrs. Valera Henson. They talk of old time, present times, and their beloved kin.

Submitted by Virginia Knapp