HENDERSON, William J. S., b 1839 1905 Bio, Mesa County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/mesa/bios/hendersonwjs.txt --------------------------------------- Donated September 13, 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- William J.S. Henderson One of the oldest settlers now living in Grand valley, he having come to this part of the state and taken up one hundred and sixty acres of land just after the Ute reservation was opened for settlement, and while the whole country was yet an unbroken wilderness, without roads, ditches, dwellings or other conveniences of life, William J.S. Henderson, of Mesa county, living three miles east of Grand Junction, has been of great service in clearing up and settling this section and developing its resources, awakening its activities to vigorous life and starting it on the march to full and energetic beneficence. He was born in county Londonderry, Ireland, on December 25, 1839, and is the son of Robert and Isabelle (Stone) Henderson, also natives of Ireland whose lives were wholly passed in that country, where they were farmers. An uncle of Mr. Henderson, James Nolan, was a soldier in the British army and served under Wellington in the Peninsular war and at the battle of Waterloo. Later he received a pension from the government for his services. Four children were born to the Hendersons, two of whom are living, William and an older sister who is now a resident of her native county in Ireland. William was the youngest of the family. He was reared and educated in Ireland, having but slender opportunities for schooling, being obliged to work hard and continuously as a boy, and being mainly self-educated since coming to the United States. He remained at home until he was twenty-three, then in the summer of 1863 he came to this country. Landing at New York, he went to Albany where he worked at day labor and for a time drove on the Erie canal. In March, 1864, he enlisted in the Union army for the Civil war as a member of Company D, Twenty-fourth New York Cavalry, and was assigned soon afterward to the Army of the Potomac, joining General Burnside's command at Brandy Station. He took part in the skirmish at Jemima Crossing and the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Courthouse. While on the skirmish line after crossing the James river, he was shot in the right hand, and soon after, during the same day, had his right ear shot off. He was then sent to Lincoln Hospital at Washington, and a month later was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps and sent to Newark, New Jersey, where he did hospital duty. Later his company was stationed at the Broome Street barracks in New York, and there an order came that all whose companies had been mustered out could claim a discharge if they wished. Mr. Henderson did not take advantage of this privilege, but continued in the service, and later was mustered out at David's Island on August 31, 1866, he having been on duty there for a number of months. After the war he returned to New Jersey and engaged in business at Paterson, but in 1867 enlisted in Company G, Forty-third Infantry of the regular army, in which he served two years at Fort Brady, Michigan, being discharged under the Logan act in June, 1869, at Buffalo, New York, with the rank of quartermaster-sergeant of his company. He then came west to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and from there moved to Fort Hayes, where he served two years as a clerk in the quartermaster's department. The quartermaster, Major A.G. Robinson, was transferred to Fort Sill, Indian Territory, and Mr. Henderson went with him and served two years longer as his clerk. In the spring of 1876, in company with two other men, he left Wichita, Kansas, in a spring wagon, for Colorado, and on arriving at Lake City engaged in prospecting, later working in the smelter. He remained in that locality until the fall of 1881, then started for the Ute reservation, which had just been opened for settlement, reaching Grand Junction, January 12, 1882. What is now that thriving and busy little city then consisted of one log cabin and two tents. The tents were used as hotels, one being called the Pig's Eye and the other the Pig's Ear. Thomas Higgins, now deputy game warden and a resident of Grand valley, was the proprietor of one. The same year he pre-empted a claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land on a part of which he now resides three miles east of Grand Junction. In the fall following he proved up on his land, being one of the first to do this in the valley. Here he determined to remain and improve his land, which he did with vigor and enterprise; and he has since sold a portion of the place to good advantage. He now has eighty acres in fine condition, making one of the most desirable homes in his neighborhood. On November 24, 1891, he was married to Miss Charlotte M. McBurney, a native of county Down, Ireland, and daughter of William and Ann J. (Anderson) McBurney, also native in that county, where both families lived for many generations. Mrs. Henderson came to the United States with her parents in 1860. They located on a farm twelve miles from St. Louis, Missouri, where they passed the rest of their lives. One child has been born in the Henderson household, a daughter named Hessie D., now eight years old. In politics Mr. Henderson is a regular Republican with an ardent devotion to the welfare of his party, and in fraternal life he is an Odd Fellow and a member of the grand lodge of the order. =================================================== Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Archive Project (http://www.usgenweb.org) and by the COGenWeb Archive Project USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.