Eli Hensley (c1837) and Nancy Bray of Grayson Co., VA and Owsley Co., KY

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Revision History:

28 May 2009 - Revised with new information shared by William Swanson. He provided proof of Nancy's maiden name via death records of some of their children.
2 Mar 2009 New page by Marty Grant, relationship unknown.

Eli Hensley was born ca 1836/37 per her age on the 1850 census (13). The same records shows he was born in Virginia, though is 1870 census entry shows North Carolina.

I don't know who Eli's parents were. He is probably related to Mary Hensley (c1795) and Martin Hensley (c1820) of Grayson Co., VA, though I don't know how he is related to them exactly.

Eli Hensley is listed on the 1850 census in Grayson Co., VA with the Gordon Perkins family. His future wife Nancy Bray is two houses away (thanks to William Swanson for pointing her out). She was with the Ambrose Pugh family.

1850 census abstract: (Explanation of this census)

Grayson Co., VA PHF 188-400-400 District No 19
Gordon Perkins	76	M	Farmer	2000	Virginia
Joannah	68	F			do
Timothy F.	27	M	Labourer		Va
Elizabeth	24	F			do
Elvira A.	2	F			do
Eli Hensly	13	M			do
Polly Carr	51	F			N.C.

Eli Hensley married Nancy E. Bray before ca 1860, possibly in Grayson Co., VA. She was born ca 1837/38 in North Carolina (per 1850 census). I don't know who her parents were. In 1850 she was living with Ambrose Pugh (c1823 VA) and his wife Patience (c1824 VA), relationship to Nancy unknown. Nancy's maiden name is proven by the death records of her daughter Mary and son Wiley. (Thanks to William Swanson for sharing that information.)

I wasn't able to find Eli on the 1860 census. Gordon Perkins had died before then, but his widow was listed on the 1860 census in Grayson with her son Timothy and his family. Eli Hensley was not with them. William Swanson discovered them in nearby Russell Co., VA but listed as Henley. There were quite a few Henleys in that county so the census taker probably got confused when he came across a Hensley family. They are two houses away from apparent widow Mary Bray (c1814 NC) and her children. They are almost certainly related, but I don't know exactly how. Sarah Bray is living with Eli and Nancy. She could be Nancy's sister or niece.

1860 census abstract: (Explanation of this census)

Name	Age	Sex	Race	Occupation	Real $	Pers $	Birth Place
Russell Co., VA PHF 218-1473-1473 (Blank) Township Bickleys Mills PO
Eli H. Henley (sic)	22	M		Farm Laborer		10
Nancy	20	F					N.C.
Sary A. Bray	13	F

They remained in Virginia until at least 1865, and then moved to Owsley Co., KY before ca 1867. They are listed there on the 1870 census. The youngest child must have been born after June 1st, so he was marked out for the census was supposed to be "as of" June 1st.

1870 census abstract: (Explanation of this census)

Name	Age	Sex	Race	Occupation	Real $	Pers $	Birth Place
Owsley Co., KY PHF 355B-230-226 Travellers Rest Precinct Travellers Rest PO
Eli Hensley	32	M	W	Farmer			North Carolina
Nancy E.	29	F	W	Keeping House			"
Mary E.	9	F	W				Virginia
Martha	5	F	W				"
Preston A.	3	M	W				Kentucky
~~Monroe~~		M	W	~~[June]~~			"

Eli Hensley died sometime between ca 1876 and 1880 either in Owsley or Letcher Co., KY.

I found Nancy on the 1880 census in Letcher Co., KY which is south east of Owsley about one county away.

1880 census abstract: (Explanation of this census)

Name	R S	Age	Rel	Ms	Occupation	Birth Places
Letcher Co., KY PHF 591-211-211 Voting Precinct No 7
Nancy Hensley	W F	38		W	Keeping House	VA-NC-NC
Martha	W F	16	Dau	S		VA-VA-VA
Preston	W M	15	Son	S		KY-VA-VA
Wiley	W M	9	Son	S		KY-VA-VA
Matilda	W F	8	Dau	S		KY-VA-VA
Margaret	W F	4	Dau	S		KY-VA-VA

I don't know when Nancy Bray Hensley died, but sometime after 1880.

Children of Eli Hensley and Nancy Bray. The 1860, 1870 and 1880 census records shows six children.

Researcher List

To contact someone on the list, cut and paste their email address into your email program and then manually remove the spaces which are there for a little bit of spam protection.

Marty Grant, relationship unknown.
William Swanson = number9coal @ centurytel.net (Related to the Bray family)

Register Report

First Generation

1. Eli H Hensley was born in 1836/1837 in VA. He died in 1876/1880 in Letcher Co, KY.

Eli married Nancy E Bray in 1850/1860 in Grayson Co, VA. Nancy was born in 1837/1838 in NC. She died after 1880 in Letcher Co, KY.

They had the following children.

2 F i. Mary E Hensley was born on 20 Aug 1861 in Grayson Co, VA. She died on 14 May 1944 in Letcher Co, KY.

3 F ii. Martha Hensley was born in 1864/1865 in Grayson Co, VA. She died after 1880 in Letcher Co, KY.

4 M iii. Preston A Hensley was born in 1866/1867 in Owsley Co, KY. He died after 1880 in Letcher Co, KY.

5 M iv. Wiley Monroe Hensley was born in Jun 1870 in Owsley Co, KY. He died on 13 Apr 1924 in Letcher Co, KY.

6 F v. Matilda Hensley was born in 1871/1872 in Owsley Co, KY. She died after 1880 in Letcher Co, KY.

7 F vi. Margaret Hensley was born in 1875/1876 in Letcher Co, KY. She died after 1880 in Letcher Co, KY.