Crawford County IA Archives Biographies.....McHenry, W. A. 1841 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net//copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net//ia/iafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 12, 2006, 5:37 pm Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1893) W. A. McHENRY, a banker and stockbreeder, of Denison, is one of the most prominent men in western Iowa, and without more than a passing mention of him and his stock interests, a history of Crawford county would be incomplete. W. A. McHenry was born in Almond, Allegany county, New York, March 6, 1841, son of James and Sarah (Allen) McHenry, the family being of Scotch-Irish extraction. Major John McHenry, great grandfather of W. A., emigrated to New York in 1739, and in the First New York Battalion, during the French war of 1756, served as Major. His son, Captain Henry McHenry, grandfather of our subject, was a Captain in the Second United States Infantry in the Revolutionary war. James McHenry was a Lieutenant in Captain Van Campen's Company of New York Rifles in the war of 1812, and W. A. McHenry was First Sergeant in Company L, Eighth Illinois Cavalry in the late war. It is thus shown that Mr. McHenry and his ancestors for four generations have served their country faithfully. The boyhood days of Mr. McHenry were spent in his native State. At the age of fourteen he came West, spent four years in Wisconsin, and from there went to Ogle county, Illinois. He enlisted there October 5, 1861, in Company L, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and re-enlisted in January, 1864, serving until the war closed, and was mustered out at Chicago, July 23, 1865, as Orderly Sergeant. Mr. McHenry was married in January, 1864, to Mary L. Sears, a native of Massachusetts, daughter of David G. Olive (Deming) Sears, and at the time of her marriage a resident of Rockford, Illinois. During the time that Mr. McHenry was in the war, after his marriage, his wife was in Denison, Iowa, acting as Deputy County Treasurer. Mr. McHenry's brother being Treasurer of Crawford county, so, as soon as he received his discharge he came direct to Iowa. Here he formed a partnership with his brother Morris in the banking and real-estate business. In 1877 he purchased his brother's interest, and has since operated the business in his own name. This was one of the first banks established in Crawford county. It was continued as a private bank until August 1, 1892, when it was changed to the First National Bank, incorporated, with a capital stock of $100,000 with Mr. McHenry its president and principal stockholder. It was begun in a small way and has grown until it is now one of the most substantial monetary institutions in the State. While Mr. McHenry has been very successful in the various enterprises with which he has been connected, it is probably as a stock-breeder that he is most widely known. He is the owner of the "McHenry Park Farm," which comprises 320 acres, located just outside the incorporated limits of Denison, and which is complete in all its appointments. Here Mr. McHenry is engaged in breeding the Aberdeen-Angus cattle, the name being derived from Aberdeen and Angus counties, Scotland, where the Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association was formed about the year 1860. It was then that this particular breed of cattle received its name. For several generations the Watsons have been engaged in breeding this stock in Scotland and have done much toward bringing it up to its present high standard. William Watson spent some time with the Messrs. Colling, prominent shorthorn breeders of that country, learning the best methods of raising thoroughbred cattle. The extremely low price of beef at first retarded the breeding of these cattle, but with advanced prices a new impetus was given to the business and many prominent stockmen began pushing this famous grade of cattle to the front, where it so deservedly belongs. It is estimated that at present there are 20,000 Aberdeen-Angus thoroughbreds in Scotland, and 10,000 in America. The McHenry Park herd was started in 1887, and in establishing it Mr. McHenry spared no expense. He purchased the best animals from the leading herds in America, the following families being represented in his herd: Prides, Blackbirds, Eries, Queen Mothers, Vines, Ruths, Jinetts, Jeans, Isabellas, Minnies, Nightingales, Georgianas, Zaras and Coquettes. He has 120 head of registered thoroughbreds, and 300 head of grades, half and three-quarter Aberdeen-Angus. Each year he exhibits his show herd at the State fairs of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, and in this way the superiority of his stock has gained for him no little notoriety. At the Illinois State Pair, held at Peoria in 1892, he competed against herds from several States of the Union, and carried off the highest honors, winning the grand sweepstakes' prize for the best herd of beef breeds. He is president and one of the directors of the American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association, and devotes much time and energy to the advancement of its interests. Besides his stock farm and city property, Mr. McHenry owns a number of other farms, making in all some 4,000 acres, the most of which is in Crawford county. He and his wife have four children: Sears, who is cashier in his father's bank; Jennie, wife of Louis Seemann, who is an assistant in the bank; Abbie and George. Mr. and Mrs. McHenry are members of the Baptist Church, and are prominent in social circles, he being actively identified with the G. A. R., and she with the Woman's Relief Corps. He has held the office of Department Commander of Iowa, while his wife has filled the positions of Department President, Treasurer and Counsellor, and has also had the honor of being National President. Additional Comments: Extracted From: BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF Crawford, Ida and Sac Counties, Iowa. Containing Portraits of all the Presidents of the United States, with accompanying Biographies; a Condensed History of Iowa, with Portraits and Biographies of the Governors of the State; Engravings of Prominent Citizens of the Counties, wth [sic] Personal Histories of many of the Early Settlers and Leading Families. "Biography is the only true history."—Emerson. CHICAGO: THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1893. 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