Sarah (Winston) Henry (abt. 1709 - 1784)

Born about 30 Nov 1709 in Studley, Hanover, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Wife of John Syme Sr — married 1728 (to 7 Oct 1732) in Virginia

Wife of John Henry — married 1 Nov 1734 in Studley Plantation, Hanover, Virginia

Descendants

Died 25 Dec 1784 at about age 75 in Amherst, Amherst, Virginia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Gail Willard [send private message] and Albert Colbert [send private message]

Biography

Sarah did NOT have a middle name - Her Mother was Sarah ____. Isaac Winston's last wife was Mary - not mother of any of his children. She died in about 1771 in Dinwiddie Co., still embrolled in lawsuits with her Winston step children. Her father, Isaac was born in Virginia. The biography below is old and very much out of date.

She could not have been BORN at Studley - it was built by her husband. She did NOT have a sister, Catherine Sharpe. She had 2 sisters - Lucy (Winston) Dabney-Coles & Mar Ann (Winston) Coles - these sisters married the Coles brothers. She had NO step-sisters or step-brothers. Her father, Isaac Winston's Will is available.

The Secret Diaries of William Byrd of Westover -
07 Oct 1732 (Progress to the Mines) -
I discoursed Thomas Tinsley, one of the overseers, who informed me how matters went. In the evening Tinsley conducted me to Mrs. Sym's house, where I intended to take up my quarters. This lady, at first suspecting I was some lover, put on a gravity that becomes a weed; but so soon as she learned who I was, brightened up into an unusual cheerfulness and serenity. She was a portly, handsome dame, of the family of Esau, and seemed not to pine too much for the death of her husband, who was of the family of the Saracens.

Amherst Co., Va. Will Book 2, pg. 229 In the name of God, amen...I Sarah Henry of Amherst, widow... To sons, John Syme, William Henry & Patrick Henry - each a mourning ring. My son Patrick Henry's daughter, Elizabeth Henry - my negro man Rueben now in the possession of my daughter Elizabeth Russell & her husband William Russell. My son-in-law, Samuel Meredith's daughter Jane Henry Meredith - my negro boy Simon. My daughter Lucy Wood - a mourning ring My daughter Annie Christian a mourning ring & her daughter Sarah Winston Christian a negro boy Charles. My daughter Susanna Madison a mourning ring & my negro woman Fanny. Her son John Henry Madison 20 pounds, & her daughter Sarah Madison - 20 pounds. Lend my daughter Elizabeth Russell negroes Simon, Aggy, Kiah, Delphia, James Allen to be divided at her death between her children with James Allen to descend to my grandson, Charles Henry Campbell. In case debts of my deceased husband, John Henry should cause my negroes to be sold, then my children to pay proportionally according to the number of the mortgaged negroes. I give to my grandchildren, Charles Henry Campbell & Sarah Buchanan Campbell - 8000 pounds of tobacco, out of the reserve of Peter Roppto for a tract of land which I sold the said Rippoto lying in this county..to be put out to Interest until my two grandchildren are of age or marry. The remainder of the tobacco I give to my son-in-law, Samuel Meredith on his paying John Lankester his charges for his employment which he made on the land after Lankester went to live on it. My wearing apparel to be divided among my daughters. My son-in-law, Samuel Meredith & son Patrick Henry, son-in-law William Christian & son-in-law Thomas Madison & friend Edmund Winston to be my exors. This 12th day of Mar 1784.
signed Sarah Henry
Wit: James Franklin, James Higginbotham, Jos. Barnett

Produced in court for Amherst Co on 2nd day of May 1785.

Sarah Winston Syme Henry was the mother of Patrick Henry (1736-1799), the great orator.

Sarah was the daughter of Isaac Winston II, an immigrant to Virginia and Mary Ann (d'Aubigne) Dabney of Hanover, Virginia. She was born about 1710 on Studley Planataion, Hanover County, Virginia. ^[1][2][3] (Estimated records of her birth vary from 1696 to 1710.)

In addition, Sarah was the great aunt of Dolley (Payne Todd) Madison, the fourth First Lady of the United States of America as wife of President James Madison. Sarah was the sister of Lucy Dabney Winston Coles who was Dolley Madison's Grandmother.

Sarah had three brothers, William Winston, Isaac "Ike" Winston; Anthony Winston, and two sisters, Catherine Sharpe and Mary Winston.

She was the half sister of Susannah Dabney; Mary Winston; Susannah Strother and Sarah Dabney (still cleaning this up)

In 1726 Sarah married Colonel John Syme, Jr. a gentleman who had recently come from Aberdeenshire in Scotland and had made his fortune in Virginia. He was an older man and a widower who had inherited a great deal of Tidewater property from his first wife. Colonel Syme built the Studley House for Sarah in 1730. Colonel Syme owned a large plantation in Hanover County in Virginia, comprising several hundred acres. It was called Studley Farm, and Colonel Syme and his workers spent most of their time cultivating tobacco.

Sarah and John had one son, John Syme, Jr., born in Hanover, Virginia around 1727. In 1731, Colonel Syme died unexpectedly, leaving his 21 year old widow and young son John Syme. Jr.

A visitor to Studley Plantation, Colonel William Byrd II described Sarah as “a portly, handsome Dame… much less reserved than most of her countrymen… (which became her well and set off her other agreeable qualities to good advantage.” (Colonial Women, p. 112).

Archeological excavations and surviving insurance maps for Studley show that by 1796 the main 40-by-30-foot brick structure stood two stories high with a one-story brick wing and an attached porch. It was surrounded by a variety of outbuildings including a kitchen, dairy, study, stables, barn, and granary. The house burned in 1807. In 1995, Preservation Virginia purchased the property to ensure its protection and preservation.

After the death of Colonel Syme in 1732, Sarah married Colonel John Henry, an immigrant from Scotland, who came to Virginia in April 1733 (some records say 1725. John was a nephew of Dr. William Robertson, the historian, and a cousin of Lord Brougham. He had worked on the Studley Plantation, which is how he met Sarah. They were married at Studley Plantation on October 07, 1732.^[4] They had eleven children.

John Henry was an Anglican while Sarah became a Presbyterian during the "Great Awakening" in Virginia. This caused a rift in the family as Sarah's independence led her to attend one church on Sunday while her Scottish husband attended the Anglican Church. Sarah is reported to have asked her son, Patrick Henry, to repeat the Sunday sermons to her while he drove her and the family home from church on Sunday mornings since Col. John Henry was absent attending the Anglican church. (These Sunday drives are believed to be the start of Patrick Henry's practice in oral presentation as he kept his mother and siblings entertained.)

Patrick Henry was born at Studley on May 29, 1736--the house is no longer standing-- in Hanover County, the second son of the Henrys. Two of the Henry children died at young ages leaving two sons and seven daughters in the family.

In 1750, the family moved to Colonel Henry's home, Mount Brilliant, later called The Retreat. It was on the South Anna River near Rocky Mills, about 22 miles from Richmond.

Sarah Winston Syme Henry became a great influence on her son Patrick Henry and upon her son-In-law Col. Samuel Meredith, Jr., to the point that the colonel requested to be buried at her feet.

She died on December 25, 1784, at Clifford in Amherst County, Virginia, and is buried in the Graveyard on Winton Plantation,^[5] located 200 yards west of the Manor House and adjacent to the Winton Country Club Golf Course.

Family links: Parents: Isaac Winston (1681 - 1760), Mary Ann Dabney Winston (1679 - 1760); Spouses: John Henry (1704 - 1773), John Syme (1690 - 1732); Children: John Syme (1729 - 1805), William Henry (1734 - 1784), Patrick Henry (1736 - 1799), Mary Jane Henry Meredith (1738 - 1819), Anne Henry Christian (1738 - 1790), Susannah Henry Madison (1742 - 1831), Elizabeth Henry Russell (1749 - 1825); Siblings: Lucy Dabney Winston Coles (1703 - 1791), Mary Ann Winston Coles (1721 - 1758).

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Gail Willard, Shasta Seagle, for creating WikiTree profiles.

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S20 Source number: 540.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JLB Page Source number: 540.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JLB
2. ↑ * SheWalksTheseHills, "Sarah Winston Henry," Findagrave.com. Record added: Nov 13, 2008. URL: https://image2.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31363931. Accessed 19 June 2017 by Patricia Prickett Hickin.
3. ↑ Source: #S20 Source number: 17.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JH1 Page Source number: 17.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JH1
4. ↑ Source: #S23 Book Title: Henry Genealogy : The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 and Lurana (Cady) Henry, his wife : with an appendix containing brief accounts of other Henry families Page Book Title: Henry Genealogy : The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 and Lurana (Cady) Henry, his wife : with an appendix containing brief accounts of other Henry families
5. ↑ * SheWalksTheseHills, "Sarah Winston Henry," Findagrave.com. Record added: Nov 13, 2008. URL: https://image2.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31363931. Accessed 19 June 2017 by Patricia Prickett Hickin.

• Sarah Winston Henry on Find A Grave Memorial# 31363931

• Historic Marker about Sarah's grave

• More Colonial Women: 25 Pioneers of Early America By Carole Chandler Waldrup, p. 112

• Information on Studley Plantation found on Historical Marker Database, originally submitted on September 2, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia.

• Source: Author: Ancestry.com Title: OneWorldTree Publication: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA.

• Source: Author: Yates Publishing Title: U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Publication: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004.

• Source: Eva C. Hartless, Sarah Winston Syme Henry, mother of Patrick Henry , Published 1977 by Branden Press in Boston.

• Henry Genealogy: The Descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Mass ... - William Henry Eldridge - Google Books

• SheWalksTheseHills, "Sarah Winston Henry," Findagrave.com. Record added: Nov 13, 2008. URL: https://image2.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31363931. Accessed 19 June 2017 by Patricia Prickett Hickin.

• Source: Abbreviation: U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Title: U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Reference: 1,2204::0 Repository: #R12

• Source: Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Ancestry.com Operations Inc) ncestry.com Operations Inc. TID 0 Footnote Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Ancestry.com Operations Inc) ShortFootnote Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Bibliography Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900. Ancestry.com Operations Inc. Repository: #R1 Source number: 540.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JLB Page Source number: 540.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JLB

• Source: Ancestry.com, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.) perations, Inc. TID 0 Footnote Ancestry.com, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.) ShortFootnote Ancestry.com, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Bibliography Ancestry.com. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Repository: #R1 Book Title: Henry Genealogy : The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 and Lurana (Cady) Henry, his wife : with an appendix containing brief accounts of other Henry families Page Book Title: Henry Genealogy : The descendants of Samuel Henry of Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts, 1734-1790 and Lurana (Cady) Henry, his wife : with an appendix containing brief accounts of other Henry families