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I (Marty Grant) am not related to Elizabeth Hensley as far as I know.
Elizabeth Hensley was born ca 1782/83 in Virginia. I have no idea what county. I also don't know if Elizabeth was born a Hensley, and became a single mother, or if she married a Hensley who died before 1840 leaving her a widow. I have not found compelling evidence either way so far. For the time being, I'll assume she was a widow.
Assuming that Elizabeth was a widow, then she married a Mr. Hensley sometime before ca 1820. I found no marriage records in Washington Co, TN for them. I don't know if she married elsewhere, then moved to Washington Co, TN later. Her oldest known child was born ca 1826 in TN, so she was somewhere in TN by then at least.
I do not have Elizabeth Hensley on the 1820 census. Unfortunately, the 1820 census was lost for all of Eastern Tennessee. If she was with her husband in Virginia, or perhaps North Carolina, then she might be listed in 1820, but since I don't know who her husband was, then I can't narrow it down any.
I checked the 1820 census for North Carolina, and while there were many Hensleys listed, there were no strong suspects for Elizabeth and her family. There were also quite a number of Hensleys in 1820 Virginia, but none I can match up with Elizabeth and family.
Since Elizabeth had a child born ca 1826 in Tennessee, we can conclude that she was in TN somewhere at that time, and that she ought to be listed on the 1830 census. She was not listed on the 1830 census in Washington Co, TN. There were only four Hensley households in Washington that year, and they are all accounted for, and there is no room for Elizabeth with any of them.
There were lots of other Hensley households in Tennessee in 1830, but I've narrowed the search to those counties in Eastern Tennessee that were somewhat close to Washington County. There was a Betsy Hensley in Hawkins Co, TN in 1830. There were three females in the household, so I don't know which one of them is "Betsy", but she is either the one in the 20-29 group (c1800/10), or the 40-49 group (c1780/90) which would match this Elizabeth, or in the 100+ age group (before 1730). Laura Schreibman thinks this might be Elizabeth, widow of old Benjamin Hensley (c1730), and I tend to agree, but it is possible that it is not. Anyway, I don't think it is the same person as the Elizabeth Hensley (c1783) that is under study here.
Trent Hensley (c1770/80) in Monroe Co, TN in 1830 is a rough match, and as of now, he and Temple Hensley (see below) are my prime suspects, but there just isn't enough evidence to conclude that he is the one, though Trent fits better than Temple.
Temple Hensley (c1760/70) of Monroe Co, TN is a fairly good match. His wife (name unknown) was born ca 1780/90, and he had sons and daughters of equivalent age as those with Elizabeth in 1840. Also, Temple died in the 1830/40 timeframe (apparently), so he is a good general match. However, this is just speculation. Monroe County, TN is not too far from Washington County. In fact, Temple Hensley (and Trent Hensley) are the best suspects I can find for Elizabeth's husband, so far. But it is a very weak connection, so I can't verify it at all, so just consider it a theory.
Whoever Elizabeth's husband was, he was dead before 1840, for in that year she was listed as head of household on the Washington Co, TN census. There were other Hensleys there also, but she was not listed near any of them. (7 pages from the closest one). This does not automatically mean that she was not closely related to any of them, but it could mean that. In 1850, she was also not near any of the others, so obviously she lived in a different part of Washington County.
1840 census analysis (based on available evidence): (Explanation of this census)
1840 Washington County, TN pg 240 Elizabeth Hensly 0110010000000-1100001000000 Analysis: 1 Male(s) 15-19 (1820-1825) Son? (1820/25) > gone by 1850 1 Female(s) 50-59 (1780-1790) Elizabeth Hensley (1782/83) widow of ? 1 Female(s) 20-29 (1810-1820) Daughter? (1810/20) > gone by 1850 1 Female(s) 15-19 (1820-1825) Mahala HENSLEY (1825/26) daughter > m 1843
Elizabeth Hensley and family were listed on the 1850 census in Washington Co, TN. She was residing with her married daughter Mahala and son-in-law John Metcalf. There were no other Hensleys nearby. The nearest one was 15 pages away (about 80 households away).
1850 WASHINGTON CO, TN Page 214 House/Family # 1535/1588 - 4th Subdivision MIDCALF JOHN 30 M W FARMER NC 1819/1820 MIDCALF MAHALA 24 F W TN 1825/1826 MIDCALF ELIZABETH J 6 F W TN 1843/1844 MIDCALF W D 4 M W TN 1845/1846 MIDCALF SALINA 2 F W TN 1847/1848 MIDCALF JOSEPH D 0 M W 1/30 TN 1849/1850 HENSLY ELIZABETH 67 F W VA 1782/1783
I did not find Elizabeth on the 1860 census, I have no data on her beyond this point.
Elizabeth Hensley had at least three children per the 1840 and 1850 census. She may have had others, who had left home prior to 1840. It is also possible that Elizabeth was the mother of Benjamin Hensley (c1805), Mary A. Hensley (c1809) and Frances Hensley (c1816). See their own page for more on them.
Unknown Daughter (1810/20). Elizabeth Hensley had an apparent daughter this age with her in 1840 (age 20-29, born ca 1810/20). Whoever she was, she was not home with Elizabeth in 1850, so probably had married or died in the 1840/50 timeframe.
If Temple Hensley was the husband of Elizabeth, then we can narrow this daughters birth down to ca 1810/15, for he had two girls that age with him in 1830. However, that connection is far from proven.
There were only a few Hensley marriages in the 1840's recorded in Washington Co, TN. Several of them have been identified, or located and were not the right age to be this daughter.
There was a Mary Jane Hensley who married William Roberts in 1849. I have not located them yet on the 1850 census, so she might be a suspect. Frances Hensley (c1816) who married Jonathan Copp (in 1843) might be the one.
Unknown Son (1820/25). Elizabeth Hensley had an apparent son this age with her in 1840 (age 15-19, born ca 1820/25). He was not with her in 1850, so had married, died, or moved away by then.
Considering that Temple Hensley might have been the husband of Elizabeth, a quick check of his 1830 census entry shows he had a son this exact age then (age 5-9, born ca 1820/25).
There were two Hensleys in 1850 Washington Co, TN of age to be this son, but I don't think any of them are the one: Daniel P. Hensley (c1820), and Henry Hensley (c1825). Both are the right age, but for various reasons, I don't think either are Elizabeth's sons.
Of the male Hensleys who married in the 1840's in Washington Co, TN, most have been identified, and are not likely to be Elizabeth's, however, there are a couple of suspects. There was a marriage bond dated 21 Oct 1842 (marriage on same date) between "W. Hensley" and "E. Madcap". Now "Madcap" is a misspelled "Metcalf". Since Elizabeth's daughter Mahala married a Metcalf around this same time, it makes me wonder if this "W. Hensley" isn't her son.
I have found only two likely suspects for this couple. Both are named William Hensley with a wife named Elizabeth. The first was William B. Hensley (c1821) with wife Elizabeth. William was in Yancey Co, NC in 1850, but in Washington Co, TN in 1860 (the only reason I suspect him). He had one child that predates an 1842 marriage, so that might disqualify him (see his own page for a discussion of that issue). The other suspect is William Hensley (c1823) of Clay Co, KY. His wife was named "Elizabeth", and he married her in TN (and probably Washington County, TN) ca 1842.
Both of these are the right age to be Elizabeth's son, but I have no data to prove that either of them actually belong to Elizabeth.
Mahala Hensley was born ca 1825/26 in Tennessee, perhaps Washington County, or somewhere else. She was apparently home with her mother Elizabeth for the 1840 census (age 15-19, born ca 1820/25).
Considering that Temple Hensley might have been the husband of Elizabeth, a quick check of his 1830 census entry shows he had a daughter the right age then (age "under 5", born ca 1825/30).
Mahala Hensley married John Metcalf in Washington Co, TN on 24 Aug 1843 (same date as marriage bond). They were listed as "J. Madcalf" and "M. Hensley". John was born in North Carolina ca 1819/20. I don't know who his parents were. There were quite a few Metcalfs in Yancey Co, NC in 1850, many near the Hensleys there.
John and Mahala were listed on the 1850 census in Washington Co, TN (the only Metcalf family in the county). Mahala's mother Elizabeth was residing with them.
1850 WASHINGTON CO, TN Page 214 House/Family # 1535/1588 - 4th Subdivision MIDCALF JOHN 30 M W FARMER NC 1819/1820 MIDCALF MAHALA 24 F W TN 1825/1826 MIDCALF ELIZABETH J 6 F W TN 1843/1844 MIDCALF W D 4 M W TN 1845/1846 MIDCALF SALINA 2 F W TN 1847/1848 MIDCALF JOSEPH D 0 M W 1/30 TN 1849/1850 HENSLY ELIZABETH 67 F W VA 1782/1783
I have no data on them after this point.
Persons researching this family (click here for data on how to get on or off of this list):
1. (---)1
Hensley , died bef 1840 in
Washington Co, TN He married bef 1826 in Washington Co, TN Elizabeth
(---) , born
1782/83 in VA.
Children
of (---) Hensley and Elizabeth (---) were as follows:
+
2
i
Mahala2
Hensley , born
1825/26 in Washington Co, TN. She
married John Metcalf .
Generation 2
2. Mahala2
Hensley
((---)1), born 1825/26 in
Washington Co, TN. She married on
24 Aug 1843 in Washington Co, TN John Metcalf , born 1819/20 in NC.
Children
of Mahala Hensley and John Metcalf were as follows:
3
i
Elizabeth J3
Metcalf , born 1843/44 in
Washington Co, TN.
4
ii
W D3
Metcalf , born 1845/46 in
Washington Co, TN.
5
iii
Salina3
Metcalf , born 1847/48 in
Washington Co, TN.
6 iv Joseph D3 Metcalf , born 1850 in Washington Co, TN.