William McHenry

William McHenry
William McHenry
Member of the Illinois Senate
	In office; 1832 – February 3, 1835
Member of the Illinois General Assembly; from White County
	In office; October 4, 1818 – February 19, 1827
Preceded by	Constituency established
Personal details
Born	1771; Kentucky, U.S.
Died	February 3, 1835 (aged 63–64); Vandalia, Illinois, U.S.
Military service
Allegiance	Price's Battalion of Mounted Volunteers
Battles/wars	War of 1812; Battle of Fallen Timbers; Tecumseh's War; Black Hawk War

William McHenry was an American politician and military leader.

Early life

McHenry was born in Kentucky in 1771.[1][2]

Career

McHenry served as a lieutenant in Price's Battalion of Mounted Volunteers and participated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, near modern Toledo, Ohio.

McHenry moved from Henderson County, Kentucky in 1810. The family settled in what is now White County, Illinois, along the trail between the salt works near Old Shawneetown, Illinois and Forts of Vincennes, Indiana.

In 1811, McHenry served in the Illinois Militia during Tecumseh's War, which culminated in the Battle of Tippecanoe in the Indiana territory. After the outbreak of the War of 1812, he participated in the attack on the Native American village at Peoria, which was allied with the British.

McHenry served as a major, leading the Mounted Spies, in the Black Hawk War in 1832. He became ill during the campaign.

Politics

McHenry was elected to the 1st Illinois General Assembly and served until the end of the 5th.

McHenry was a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention in 1818, and elected to the first Illinois House of Representatives. McHenry served as a member of the Illinois Senate from 1832 until his death in 1835.[3]

Personal life

He married Hannah Ruth Blackford in the late 1790s in Logan County, Kentucky.

McHenry died on February 3, 1835 in a boarding house in Vandalia, Illinois, which was then the location of the state capitol.[4]

Legacy

McHenry is the namesake of McHenry County and McHenry, Illinois, located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.[5]

References

Walker, Glynnis; Anderson, Arabella (2010). Lost Farms of McHenry County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-7798-2.
"Major William McHenry biography". www.genealogytrails.com. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
Blue Book of the State of Illinois. The Secretary. 1908.
http://www.mchenrycountyhistory.org/day-mchenry-county-history
Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 100.

External links

Major William McHenry

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[1] Walker, Glynnis; Anderson, Arabella (2010). Lost Farms of McHenry County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-7798-2.

[2] "Major William McHenry biography". www.genealogytrails.com. Retrieved 2020-05-04.

[3] Blue Book of the State of Illinois. The Secretary. 1908.

[4] ttp://www.mchenrycountyhistory.org/day-mchenry-county-history

[5] Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 100.