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Governor Patrick Henry[1, 2]

Male 1736 - 1799  (63 years)


Personal Information    |    Media    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Patrick Henry 
    Title Governor 
    Born 29 May 1736  Hanover Co., Colonial Virgnia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 6 Jun 1799  Charlotte County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Henry Cemetery Charlotte County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Person ID I17078  My Reynolds Line
    Last Modified 21 Feb 2018 

    Father John Henry,   b. 1704,   d. 1773, Halifax Co., Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 69 years) 
    Mother Sarah Winston,   b. Est 1709,   d. 1784  (Age ~ 75 years) 
    Married 1732  Hanover Co., Colonial Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • CHILDREN OF JOHN HENRY AND SARAH WINSTON ARE:
      Jane Henry 1734-1760
      Gov. Patrick Henry, 1st and 6th Governor of Virginia 1736 - 1799
      Ann Henry ABT 1740 -
      Susannah Henry 1742 - 1831
      Lucy Henry 1743 - 1826
      Elizabeth 'Betsy' Henry 1747 - 1825
    Family ID F2006  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sarah 'Sallie' Shelton,   b. 1738, Middlesex, Virginia Colony Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Feb 1775, Hanover County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 37 years) 
    Married 1754 
    Last Modified 16 Oct 2017 
    Family ID F7109  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Documents
    Patrick Henry-Death Notice
    Patrick Henry-Death Notice
    Hartford Courant
    Jun 24, 1799

    Headstones
    Patrick Henry-Headstone
    Patrick Henry-Headstone
    HenryPatrickHeadstone.jpg

    Histories
    Patrick Henry-Chosen Governor
    Patrick Henry-Chosen Governor
    The Virginia Gazette
    Jul 6, 1776
    Patrick Henry-Letter from Baptist Churches
    Patrick Henry-Letter from Baptist Churches
    The Pennsylvania Packet
    Sep 3, 1776
    Patrick Henry-A Proclamation
    Patrick Henry-A Proclamation
    Purdie's Virginia Gazette
    Dec 27, 1776
    Patrick Henry-A Proclamation
    Patrick Henry-A Proclamation
    Purdie's Virginia Gazette
    Feb 21, 1777
    Patrick Henry-A Proclamation
    Patrick Henry-A Proclamation
    The Virginia Gazette
    May 15, 1779
    Patrick Henry-Declines Accepting Office of President of The United States
    Patrick Henry-Declines Accepting Office of President of The United States
    The Pennsylvania Gazette
    Nov 16, 1796
    Patrick Henry-8,000 Acres of Land to be Sold for Back Taxes
    Patrick Henry-8,000 Acres of Land to be Sold for Back Taxes
    The North Carolina Gazette
    Oct 3, 1799
    The Grave of Patrick Henry
    The Grave of Patrick Henry
    Richmond Dispatch
    Jan 12, 1858
    Patrick Henry-Montville Home Full of Bats
    Patrick Henry-Montville Home Full of Bats
    Detroit Free Press
    Apr 22, 1908
    Patrick Henry-Red Hill Home Destroyed by Fire
    Patrick Henry-Red Hill Home Destroyed by Fire
    The Washington Post
    Feb 21, 1919
    Patrick Henry-Red Hill Home Ruined by Fire
    Patrick Henry-Red Hill Home Ruined by Fire
    The Times Dispatch
    Feb 23, 1919
    Patrick Henry-Red Hill Home Acquired by Foundation
    Patrick Henry-Red Hill Home Acquired by Foundation
    Daily Press
    May 12, 1945
    Patrick Henry-Red Hill Home For Troubled Boys
    Patrick Henry-Red Hill Home For Troubled Boys
    The Danville Bee
    Mar 23, 1950
    Patrick Henry-Scotchtown Home Restored
    Patrick Henry-Scotchtown Home Restored
    Chicago Tribune
    Jun 29, 1975
    Patrick Henry-Scotchtown Va. Home
    Patrick Henry-Scotchtown Va. Home
    Reno Gazette Journal
    Jul 8, 2001

  • Sources 
    1. [S223] Olen Lewis Jr. , Halifax Co. Judgement 1817 John Henry Petition for Road.
      Petition ask and granted a good road from said Hagood County Store crossing Birch Creek near Thomas Dodson Sen, thence leaving Robert Walton's on the left to the land of James Henry and through that to the land of John Henry thence his land to his mill" The road will only be conducted through the land of Thomas Davenport, Thomas Dodson Sr., The estate of Elias Dodson, Decd thence the lands of James Henry and John Henry, with your petitioners pray your worship to make an order to have the same received and reported and will forever pray.........Petition Signed by Watkins Hobson, Walker Dodson, Joshua Dodson, George M. Marable, William T. Dodson, Martin Dodson, w. W. Hayes, Tho Herndon, Thomas Davenport, Jarratt W. Cook.

    2. [S82] Wikitree, http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Family:Valentine_Wood_and_Lucy_Henry_%281%29.
      Col. Valentine Wood
      b. 2 Sep 1724
      d. 13 Mar 1781 Goochland County, Virginia
      Parents: John Henry and Sarah Winston
      Lucy Henry
      b. 29 Mar 1743 Prob. Hanover County, Virginia
      d. 14 Jul 1826 Flavanna County, Virginia
      m. 3 Jan 1764 Poss. Hanover County, Virginia
      CHILDREN OF JOHN HENRY AND SARAH WINSTON ARE:
      Jane Henry 1734-1760 -
      Gov. Patrick Henry, 1st and 6th Governor of Virginia1736 - 1799
      Ann Henry ABT 1740 -
      Susannah Henry 1742 - 1831
      Lucy Henry1743 - 1826
      Elizabeth 'Betsy' Henry1747 - 1825

    3. [S32] Find-A-Grave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=henry&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1799&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=472&df=all&.

    4. [S100] Internet Source, http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/patrick-and-sarah-henry-mental-illness-18th-century-america.
      "Give me liberty, or give me death!" School children learn these words that Patrick Henry exclaimed on the eve of the American Revolution. However, that is nearly all most Americans know about this Founding Father from Virginia. This year's anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act is a good time to recover the history of how people in the past, including statesmen such as Patrick Henry, understood disability. Henry's wife, Sarah Shelton Henry, dealt with depression and violent outbursts. Despite recommendations, together they refused to place her in a hospital, instead providing care for her at home until her death.
      Patrick and Sarah knew each other from childhood and fell in love. They married in 1754 at a very young age, even by 18th century American standards. He was 18 and she 16, and together they had six children. After the sixth child, Sarah became increasingly unwell.

      There is little information on the specific nature of Sarah's illness, nor is there a record of Sarah's participation in decisions about her treatment. But there is no doubt that she experienced mental instability. She was ill in 1774 with signs dating back to 1767. She was emotionally unsettled and became violent at times, to the point that she had to be restrained by a strait-dress (an early form of a strait-jacket) to prevent her from harming herself and others. Patrick knew he had to do something to help his wife and care for his family.

      Mental illness was understood very differently in the 18th century compared to now. The populace generally viewed it as sinful and criminal, a sign of the devil. A new hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia, the Eastern State Hospital, opened in 1773 specifically for the mentally ill. It served as an alternative to prison or other punishments. The treatments were harsh but also common?patients were bled, blistered, subjected to pain, shock, and terror. They were dunked in water and restrained, resulting in injury or death. The fact that there was an institution separate from almshouses and hospitals for treating the mentally ill is noteworthy. Eastern State Hospital represented progress in care for the mentally ill.
      Patrick Henry, who had spent much time in Williamsburg, knew about the hospital and refused to send Sarah there. The Henrys were a family of some wealth, and this probably helped in the decision for Sarah to remain at their home, Scotchtown Plantation. They created a small apartment for her in a sunny section of the mansion's basement. Patrick assigned a slave to serve as a nurse to her, and he also aided directly in her care. He and the children visited her often, and their eldest daughter and her husband moved home to help care for her mother. Sarah died in 1775, possibly of suicide, but historians do not know the exact cause of her death.
      Patrick had the option to send Sarah away to an institution, and although ground-breaking at the time, hospitalization would have resulted in a much lower quality of life for his wife. Whether his decision was a result of love for his wife or concern for his reputation and political ambition, his approach to mental illness was remarkably innovative for the 18th century. The example of Sarah Shelton Henry and the Eastern State Hospital mark the beginning of a wave of reform in the approach to mental illness and disability.