Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-10-02
NOTES OF THE EARLY LlFE OF
THE HON. G. A. HENRY.


Through the courtesy of Mr.. Pat
rick Henry we are able to give witt
more exactness than before som,
items in the early life of the Hon
G. A. Henry, recently deceased
among US. We know that anything
authentic in reference to one so uni
versally loved and venerated will
be interesting to many of our read,
ers.
The Hon. @. A. Henry was born
of Huguenot ancestry at the village
of Henry's Mills, in Scott county,
Va, on the Sth of October, 1904.
His father, Gen. VIM. Henry, was
a native of Charlotte county, Va,
where he was born in 1861. He
was an officer of prominence in the
revolutionary war and participated
in the battles of GuiIdford court
house and Yorktown. Shortly after
the termination of the war he emf
grated to Kentucky. There he was
a member of the convention which
formed the original constitution of
Kentucky, and subsequently served
several years in the legislature of
the state.
Major g. A. Henry's mother was
before marriage Miss Elizabeth
Julia Flournoy, daughter of Math-
ews Flournoy, who was also a Vir-
ginian, but emigrated to Scott
county, KY. He was celebrated in
Indian warfare, and was killed by
Indians near Cumberland gap.
OF these parents G.. A. Henry was
the eleventh child. He graduated
with the first honors of his class at
Pennsylvania University in 1925.
AT college he gave evidence of those
powers of oratory and debate which
rendered him so popular and dis
tinguished in after life. He studied
law in the Office of Chief-Justice
Boyle, of Kentucky, and COM
meneed its study in Hopkinsville,
where he resided till after his mar
riage with Miss Marion Mcclure, of
this city, in 1888. While residing
in HopkinsviIle he represented |
Christian county in the state legis-
lature.
While a citizen and student in
Kentucky, he formed warm per-
sonal friendship with Henry Clay,
which only terminated with the
death of that eminent statesman.
In removing from Hopkinsville to
he gave an almost GER
tain nomination and probable cleo
ton to u. 8. congress from the same
which was in fact success
sively represented there by two of
his brothers, Robert E. and John F.
Henry.
In 1910 the reputation of Major
Gustavus A. Henry had extended
over all Tennessee, and his name
was placed on the wing electoral
ticket for the election of Harrison
and Tyler. Those who witnessed
that exciting canvass we'll know
how largely his eloquence and pop
llarity aided towards carrying Ten
nessee for those candidates.
With no chance for success, but to
the whig organization, he
became in 1843 the competitor for
congress with the Hon. Cave John
ION. His name was again on the
electoral ticket of the state in 1874
md 1852. During the interval he
vas a delegate to the general as
embly of Tennessee, and in 1853
vas wing candidate for the guber-
chair OF the state against
Mr.. Andrew Johnson.
In 1860 Major Henry addressed
arge crowds in various cities of the
forth in the interest of peace and
he maintenance of the Union but
IN his return to Tennessee the issue
# secession was forced upon him,
md he threw in his fortunes with
hose of his state and was elected ;
enator in the congress of the Con-
States, where he took his
eat on the 18th of February, 1862.
In 1870 he was Frustrated with a
evere illness, the precursor of that
which ultimately terminated in his
leath.
His last appearance in public life
vas in 1874, when he was chairman
# the democratic state convention
which nominated the Hon. James
}. Porter for Governor of Tennessee. '
Thus for more than half a century {
vas the Hon. G. A. Henry con- ,
picuous figure in the politics of /
kentucky and Tennessee, and dur {
ng that whole period no imputa-
ion was ever urged against the
potless purity of his personal char {
cter.