William Alexander Henry (abt. 1784 - 1864)

Born about 1784 in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1864 at about age 80 in Ontario, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: C Anonymous [send private message]

Biography

Quote from Wikipedia (Wikipedia is about William's father, Alexander Henry "The Elder"- but in "Family", you will see information on William): "William Henry (1784–1864), was a fur trader with the North West Company and later a surveyor and civil engineer at Montreal. He carried several scars from knife wounds received in quarrels with various Indians, and in the Rocky Mountains he had his scalp torn off by a Grizzly bear before being rescued by an Indian. He was inducted into the Beaver Club in 1817. He was married to Jane Doe Felton, sister of The Hon. William Bowman Felton. They had several children including Charles Henry (1832–1897), who ran away from home at the age of thirteen to lead an adventurous life on the seas which included being shipwrecked on one of the islands off Hawaii, for a brief period, where he was married to a native."

[1] From Overland from Canada to British Columbia: By Mr. Thomas McMicking of Queenston, Canada West (UBC Press, 1981 - History - 121 pages): (excerpt) "The original Henry's House was built in the winter of 1810-11 by William Henry, a cousin of Alexander Henry "The Younger" and an associate of David Thompson. The camp must have been set up just after Thompson left William Henry in the Jasper valley with their party's horses on December 29 and "set out with dogs and sled to make the final dash across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia river." (Richard Glover, David Thompson's narrative 1784-1812 [Toronto Champlain Society, 1962], p. 318). There is some doubt about the exact location of Henry's House. According to Elliott Coues, Thompson's reading put it "precisely" at the confluence of the Miette and Athabasca rivers, apparently on the east bank of the Athabasca (The Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry and David Thompson 1799-1814 [New York: Francis P. Harper, 1897], 2: 642), ^[1]. J.G. MacGregor discusses the evidence for other locations, showing that Thompson gave three different readings for the latitude...." -End excerpt. (Henry House information here: [2])

One of William's spouses is listed as Agathe Letendre (confirmed with Marriage certificate, as well as Marriage file for his son, Alexis, which lists parents, and Warren Sinclair's Metis Genealogy, Glenbow Museum). I am still working on getting more information (sourced). I will be adding more information soon. There is much debate about the children, and wives of William. Allery-7 Allery-8 Henry-823 Henry-819 are listed as children (I will try and source this)).

There is also another spouse who had children with him- her name is Charlotte Felton[3] (born in Hackney, England). Felton-79 "In 1826, at the age of 46, William re-married to 35 year old Charlotte FELTON, near Sherbrooke, PQ. Charlotte was born in 1791 in England, the daughter of Sir John FELTON, who was a Governor of the Balearic Islands near Spain. William had several more children by Charlotte." From [4] Red River Ancestry (not showing sources).

Confirmation is given in the Glenbow Museum, Warren Sinclair's Metis Genealogy" fonds, showing that Alexander 'The Elder' has a son- William - when he was 44 years old). Alexander the Elder (b. August 1739) [5]

From Red River Ancestry: "William Henry was born on Mar 4, 1784 (baptized March 17 in Montreal), the eldest child of Alexander Henry the Elder (1739-1824), a prominent merchant in Montreal. William’s mother is presumed to have been an Indian woman of uncertain origins. In 1785 William’s father formally married Widow Julia (nee Calcutt) Kittson from Newton-Limavady, Ireland. She was the widow of John Kittson (born c1747) who came to Canada from England in 1759. William was raised by his step-mother (Julia) in Montreal."

According to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (N.H.S.), William (and his half brother, Alexander) went by the last name "Kittson" (this could help suss out more information/sources).

Sources

(includes Metis scrip files, and other documents for children- which shows William and spouse/s)

1. ↑ New Light on the Early History of the Greater northwest-The Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry (Fur Trader of the Northwest Company and of ) David Thompson (Official Geographer and Explorer of the same Company) 1799-1814 https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_Light_on_the_Early_History_of_the_Gr/CYIlAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fur+trapper,+trader,+Canada,+Metis,+Augustin+Hamelin,+Hamell,+Red+River,+Cree&printsec=frontcover

• Glenbow Museum, Warren Sinclair's Metis Genealogy. Listed under ref. M-8736-339 "HENRY, ? & ?" (Shows Multigeneration lineage) [6] [7]
• Item: Alexis Henry. Given Name(s): Alexis. Surname: Henry. Age: 21 years. Date of Baptism: 1833-04-06. Parish: St.Boniface Roman Catholic Church, St.Boniface, Manitoba. Priest: Georges Antoine Belcourt. Godfather: Louis Letendre. Father's Surname: Henry. Father's Given Name: William. Mother's Surname: Letendre. Mother's Given Name: Agathe. Fonds: Kipling Collection. Finding Aid: FA-1368. Library and Archives Canada only has this index. The actual records are held at the Heritage Centre (La Société historique de Saint-Boniface). Reference: MG 25 G62. Item Number: 4384. [8]
• Marriage between Alexis Henry and Marie Lyonnais: Item: Alexis Henry. Given Name(s): Alexis. Surname: Henry. Spouse's Surname: Lionnais. Spouse's Given Name: Marie. Date of Marriage: 1834-03-26. Parish: St.Boniface Roman Catholic Church, St.Boniface, Manitoba. Priest: Georges Antoine Belcourt. Witnesses: Francois Lionnais, Louis Letendre. Father's Surname: Henry. Father's Given Name: William. Mother's Surname: Letendre. Mother's Given Name: Agathe. Fonds: Kipling Collection. Finding Aid: FA-1368. Library and Archives Canada only has this index. The actual records are held at the Heritage Centre (La Société historique de Saint-Boniface). See Search Help (on linked page) for more information. Remarks: The wife's parents are Francois Lionnais and Louise (Sauteuse Indian Woman). Reference: MG 25 G62. Item Number: 4385 [9]
• [10] Scrip affidavit for Henry, John, alias Honore, alias Allary; born: June 17, 1823; father: Wm. Henry (Scot); mother: Agathe Letendre (Métis); claim no: 1829; scrip no: 10726; date of issue: September 20, 1876; amount: $160. File part of Métis and Original White Settlers affidavits [textual record] (R190-43-X-E). Inventory no.: 15-11. Microfilm reel C-14928. Volume 1321. Former archival reference no. RG15-D-II-8-a. Finding aid no. 15-19. Additional information: Certificate missing/Certificat manquant. Source: Government of Canada. Other system control no. FIND015/33149. MIKAN no. 1501481.
• [11] Document Information: GS Film Number: 001030064. Digital Folder Number: 007859253. Image Number: 00676. William Henry mentioned in the record of Mary A Holmes and Charles Henry. Name: William Henry, Sex: Male, Wife: Sarah Felton, Child: Charles Henry. Other information in the record of Mary A Holmes and Charles Henry from Ontario, County Marriage Registers: Name: Charles Henry, Event Type: Marriage, Event Date: 20 Nov 1866, Event Place: Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, Birthplace: Canada. Father's Name: William Henry, Mother's Name: Sarah Felton. Spouse's Name: Mary A Holmes, Spouse's Birthplace: Canada, Spouse's Father's Name: Wm Holmes, Spouse's Mother's Name: Caroline Wager. Event date: Nov 20 1866.
• From The Red River Ancestry page (links and sources can be found, including Wiki Page for William) [12] [13]
• HENRY, WILLIAM ALEXANDER. File part of Service records (textual record) (R196-158-9-E). Inventory no.: 18-1. File no. (creator) 3366. Volume 3413. Former archival reference no. RG18-G. Finding aid no.18-25. Subject heading: HENRY WILLIAM ALEXANDER. Source: Government of Canada. Other system control no.FIND018/3588 [14]
• [15] Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.
• [16] Kittson Family Genealogy page (via the wayback machine). William Henry (and some family) mentioned here as well on the Kittson family genealogy page.
• [17] (page 29, under editors note) Photograph of William Alexander Henry- from the book "Travels & adventures in Canada and the Indian territories between the years 1760 and 1776, by Henry, Alexander, ("The Elder") 1739-1824" (Bains edition) [18] Publication date 1901. Topics Indians of North America -- Canada, Canada -- Description and travel. Publisher Boston, Little, Brown, & company. Collection americana. Digitizing sponsor University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Contributor University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Language English. Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT

• https://albertaonrecord.ca/is-jas-pa+6-23

• http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM90PV_Henry_House_Jasper_Alberta

William's children- other information, and sources

• [19] Document Information: Reference ID yr 1917 cn 1902. GS Film number: 1862470. Digital Folder Number: 4170909. Image Number: 172. William Hendry mentioned in the record of Julia Murray. Name: William Hendry. Sex: Male. (Mother's name not given). Daughter: Julia Murray. Other information in the record of Julia Murray from Ontario Deaths and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947: Name: Julia Murray. Event Type: Death. Event Date: 13 Feb 1917. Event Place: Toronto, York, Ontario. Gender: Female. Age: 88. Birthplace: Montreal, P.Q.. Birth Year (Estimated): 1829. Father's Name: William Hendry. (Unsure if this is a transcribing error spelling name as Hendry, instead of Henry- or if this is how Julia Murray got attached to William Henry; by accident)

Research notes

Re: Family tangles (children/parents). Warren Sinclair's Metis Genealogy has long been the go-to for Metis Genealogy- however... (what a headache this will be)- I found two primary sources (for Alexis Henry) which show his father is "William Henry, and mother is Agathe Letendre".... Warren Sinclair has a long genealogy showing this family descendancy (through all the attached names)- and he attributes them all to Alexander Henry "The Younger". He also has (this is the important bit) Alexis (who married Marie Donaise, and Genevieve Contre) as being the child of Alexander Henry "The Younger". The issue is that the primary sources which I found in Kipling fonds (marriage between Alexis and Marie) and the baptism for Alexis, both show his parents as William Henry and Agathe Letendre.

This is going to cause a LOT of untangling- through MANY Metis family lines (because Warren Sinclair has been used as the source- and the Kipling fonds).

William is the son of Alexander Henry (the Elder).

On the question of William's Mother- by Alexander (the Elder), see: [20] This is a fantastic resource in helping address some of the questions about the family (genealogy and ancestry lines). The "Veil" Surrounding Alexander Henry, the Elder's Mixed-Blood Sons. by Anatol L Scott. Abstract: Fur traders have played an inordinately important role in western Canadian history; their records and their published journals are the bedrock of our historiography. Paradoxically, we know little about the private lives of many of these traders. By assembling a readily available and conflicting body of knowledge on Alexander Henry, the Elder, and by linking it to other scattered bits of information, this paper presents a profile of Henry and his family that differs considerably from the traditionally accepted view.

Apparently, Alexander Henry the Elder has quite a curious background (full of questions)- and he has been the bane of researchers (and historians, and Societal groups) for quite some time... who knew!

[21] Author of Article: Barry M. Gough Title of Article: HENRY, ALEXANDER (d. 1814) Publication Name: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5 Publisher: University of Toronto/Université Laval Year of publication: 1983

And his own written works: "Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories Between the Years 1760 and 1776 by Alexander Henry (the Elder)" by Henry, Alexander, 1739-1824; Joseph Meredith Toner Collection (Library of Congress) DLC. Publication date 1809. Topics Indians of North America. Publisher New-York : Printed and Published by I. Riley[22]

And- Red River Ancestry: [23]

Siblings

This is a bit of a mystery. If one reads all of the material and questions regarding this family you will see much shame (from the men) about having children with First Peoples women. There are also problems because in the days of these people's lives there was shame for other things (such as "illegitimate" children)... This all led to children (and 'wives') being swept away- or downright erased from "upper societal" annals and records. Hardly what I would call respectable behaviour (yet they saw themselves as "Upper Society"). I digress.

There is a William Henry, whose father is 'unknown', or said to be the child of Alexander Henry "The Younger"- he is (supposedly) the 'nephew' of Alexander Henry The Elder- whom he also lived with (and was recorded in censuses). Alexander... That William has siblings: Ann Henry, Julia (Henry) Lépine, and Elizabeth (Henry) Collin.

And there is also other mention of siblings on [24] Alexander Henry the Elder had several children with Julia (born Calcutt) Kittson Henry (1756–1835). Henry was step-father to two Kittsons, and the father of six known children.

• Martha Henry (1777–1849), natural daughter by Henry's (Indigenous) wife. At Albany, New York, 1798, Martha married William Hallowell (1771–1838).
• Julia Henry (b.1780), died unmarried.
• William Henry (1784–1864). He was married to Jane Doe Felton, sister of The Hon. William Bowman Felton[25]. William and Jane had several children including Charles Henry (1832–1897), who married to a native woman of Hawaii.
• Alexander Henry (1785–1812), not be confused with his first cousin Alexander Henry the younger.
• Robert Henry (born after 1785-). He married Christine Bethune (1787–1865), daughter of Rev John Bethune.
• John Henry (1786–1787), died an infant.

• Mary Kittson, Henry's stepdaughter, married to John Cates.
• George Kittson (1779–1832), Henry's stepson, married Anne Tucker.

Information on the two "William Henry" found on Wikitree

There is some mystery surrounding this family, due to various reasons. There are two William Henrys (on WikiTree)- One is the son of Alexander Henry "the Elder", and the other is marked as the son of Alexander "the Younger" Henry-8361 (who is a nephew of Alexander the Elder)[26]. More on the family- See: "A Mother and Father of Pembina: A N W C Voyageur Meets the Granddaughter of The Buffaloe" by Ruth Swan (Winnipeg) and Edward A. Jerome Hallock (Minnesota). Available from the Archives of The Algonquin Papers /Les Actes du Congres des Algonquinistes [27] [28]

Alexander Henry 'The Younger' (nephew of Alexander 'The Elder') was born 1765- which would make him 19 years old at the time William was born. More on Alexander 'The Younger" at Wikipedia: [29] also see: [30]. As far as which Alexander this William is the son of: The maths is not the best way to figure out which William is which.

There is also William Alexander Henry Henry-3153 born 1816, whose father is Robert Henry. This is unrelated to this family- BUT one may get the families confused due to the similar names (see Warren Sinclair's Metis Genealogy fonds at Glenbow Museum- showing Alexander Henry "The Elder" having son's William Alexander, and Robert Henry).

About William's wife, Agathe Letendre

Agathe LETENDRE was the daughter of a Cree woman named Josephte and Jean-Baptiste LETENDRE (1762-1827), a NWC voyageur from Sorel, Quebec.

• [31] More about Jean Baptiste Letendre from Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

DCB citing: Arch. de la Soc. hist. de Saint-Boniface (Saint-Boniface, Man.), Dossier Marius Benoist; Dossier famine Letendre; Notes généal. de l’abbé Pierre Pictou sur la famille Letendre, dit Batoche. Arch. hist. oblates (Ottawa), Reg. de baptêmes de Lac-Sainte-Anne (Alberta), 1. Bureau of Indian Affairs (Belcourt, N.Dak.), Pembina reg. PAM, HBCA, D.4/7: ff.59, 160; E.5/1–9; E.24/3, 1825–26: 67; F.2/1; MG 7, D8. Saskatchewan Arch. Board (Regina), A. S. Morton, “Historical geography of Saskatchewan,” 10, map. Les bourgeois de la Compagnie du Nord-Ouest (Masson), 1: 397. New light on the early history of the greater northwest: the manuscript journals of Alexander Henry . . . and of David Thompson . . . , ed. Elliott Coues (3v., New York, 1897; repr. 3v. in 2, Minneapolis, Minn., [1965]), 2. W.-J. Letendre, Dictionnaire généalogique des Letendre d’Amérique (Canada & États-Unis) (6v., Sherbrooke, Qué., 1981), 1: 15, 25. A.-G. Morice, Dictionnaire historique des Canadiens et des Métis français de l’Ouest (Québec et Montréal, 1908), 186. George Dugas, La première canadienne du Nord-Ouest ou biographie de Marie-Anne Gaboury . . . (Montréal, 1883), 48–49, 59. Marcel Giraud, Le Métis canadien; son rôle dans l’histoire des provinces de l’Ouest (Paris, 1945), 1047. Diane Payment, “Monsieur Batoche,” Centre d’études franco-canadiennes de l’Ouest, Bull. (Saint-Boniface), no.10 (février 1982): 2–11; no.11 (mai 1982):2–16;” Monsieur Batoche,” Saskatchewan Hist. (Saskatoon, Sask.), 32 (1979): 81–103.

[32] From Red River Ancestry: "It was around 1809 that William HENRY began his connubial relationship with Agathe LETENDRE (a more lasting one), and around 1810 Agathe gave birth to his first child, daughter Nancy at Fort Alexandria, far up the Assiniboine River."

Same family, several profiles that need sorting

The two (three profiles) William Henrys: Henry-8648 Henry-8361 Henry-828

The two Alexander Henrys: Henry-8717 Henry-7276

Two Julie/Julias: Henry-1387 and Henry-7274

Merged profile information

Removed Pemikgwa-1 as there was no source information, and the profile was abandoned (originally a GEDCOM dump).

Birth

Date: 1783, Newmarket, , Ontario, Canada (not showing sources from the profile I merged)

Death

Date: 1864, Ontario, Canada (not showing sources from the profile I merged)