U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Henderson, Henry Clay (1845-1926) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Men of West Virginia, Volume II Biographical Publishing Company George Richmond, Pres.: C. R. Arnold, Sec'y and Treas. Chicago, Illinois, 1903 Pages 634-635 HON. HENRY CLAY HENDERSON, president of the Parkersburg National Bank, president of the Williamstown National Bank, president of the West Virginia Western Telephone Company, was born September 24, 1845, in Wood County, near Williamstown, Virginia, now West Virginia. He is a son of Hon. George Washington and Elizabeth Ann (Tomlinson) Henderson, the former of whom was born in Wood County, Virginia, now West Virginia, on the Kanawha River, and died in 1866, at the age of 64 years. He was one of the section's largest farmers and stock raisers and foremost citizens. For many years he was a director in the Parkersburg National Bank. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates; formerly a Whig, during the Civil War a Union man, afterward a Democrat. Both he and Mrs. Henderson were members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Mrs. Henderson was a daughter of Joseph and Susan (McMahon) Tomlinson, the latter a daughter of Maj. William McMahon. Mrs. Henderson was born in 1810 near Williamstown in a house which was built in 1809 and is now the oldest in the vicinity, and died May 20, 1888. The children born to Hon. George Washington and Elizabeth Ann (Tomlinson) Henderson were 12 in number, as follows: Joseph T., deceased; Mary P., wife of Benjamin T. Beeson; Alexander, deceased; Georgiana H., deceased; Alexander Lithgow, deceased; Anna Maria, deceased; Lucy L., deceased; Margaret W., wife of Dr. C. H. Bartlett, of Parkersburg, president of the State Dental Association; George W., deceased; Henry Clay, of Williamstown, our subject; Jock Bedell, on the farm; and Arthur Taylor, who is also engaged in farming. Senator Henderson received his primary education in the common schools and later spent two years in college at Marietta and the two succeeding years at Darmouth College, where he graduated in the class of 1867. After leaving college, he returned to the farm and soon became interested in general farming and the raising of fine stock; he made his home on the farm until 1901, when he moved into Williamstown. In the fall of 1902 he was elected president of the Parkersburg National Bank to succeed the late Thomas G. Smithy having been a director of the institution for 14 years preceding. On July 28, 1902, the Williamstown National Bank opened for business and he was elected president of this bank also. On December 19, 1877, Senator Henderson was married to Caroline Virginia Snodgrass, who was born in Marietta, Ohio, and was a daughter of John W. and Eunice F. Snodgrass. They have a family of four children, namely: Elizabeth Eunice; Helen Tomlinson; Caroline Virginia, who married Rev. Harris Bush Thomas, who sailed December 6, 1902, to Ponce, Puerto Rico, as a missionary; and Edward Earl. The family belongs to the Protestant Episcopal Church. Senator Henderson has been a leading factor in Democratic politics in West Virginia, and his entrance into public life was as a member of the House of Delegates, in 1876. In 1892 he was elected to the State Senate. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tombstones in Henderson Cemetery, Boaz, Wood County, WV Henry Clay Henderson September 24, 1845 September 19, 1926 Caroline Virginia, wife of H. C. Henderson Feb. 19, 1859 Apr. 15, 1906 ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other biographies for Wood County, WV by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/wv/wood/bios.html -------------------------------------------------------------------