Marty and Karla Grant
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William Hensley (c1736-aft 1802) — of Lunenburg, Henry and Patrick Co., VA
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As there were several William Hensleys in Virginia before 1800, you should refer to my analysis page on that subject.
William Hensley was born before 1736, I believe. This is based on his 1752 tax list entry in Lunenburg Co., VA. On that list he was either 16 and up (born before ca 1736) or 21 and up (born before ca 1731). Since I have no sure records on him prior to 1752, I’m going to assume he just came of age around that time, though whether just turning 16 or 21, I don’t know.
If his parents are who I believe them to be, he may have been born in Spotsylvania or King George Co., VA or perhaps in Hanover.
I suspect he is a son of Benjamin Hensley and Elizabeth Hickman (m 1731), but I can’t prove that. However, many members of that family were also in Lunenburg by 1752. This was the section of Lunenburg that became Bedford in 1754. If he is Benjamin’s son, as I suspect, he was probably named for Benjamin’s brother, also named William Hensley.
William was not listed on the 1748, 1749 or 1750 tax lists in Lunenburg. The 1751 list is missing the district where he would have been, if there already. However, he was listed in 1752 right beside John Hensley, Benjamin Hensley and James Hensley, who were his brothers, I suspect. David and Timothy Dalton were right there with them. In fact, James was living with David Dalton.
Unfortunately, the 1752 tax list entry is the last record I have for William until 1783. That’s a 31 year gap, so I’m not at all certain the William found in 1783 is even the same person. However, it certainly could be for he was in the same section where his suspected brothers had lived just prior to 1783. I’ll explain that.
Bedford County was formed in 1753, effective 1754, and took in the area where the Hensleys and Daltons lived in what had been Lunenburg. It’s certainly possible that William Hensley appears in some Bedford records. I haven’t seen any yet though.
In 1752, the southern part of Lunenburg became Halifax county which stretched far to the west along the North Carolina border and also bordered Bedford with the Roanoke River as the dividing line. I don’t know how long the Hensleys remained in Bedford, but at some point most of them moved a little south into Halifax and lived somewhere along the Dan River, apparently close to the NC line for they are found on both sides of the line (or they moved back and forth?). At that time the North Carolina side was part of Rowan County, and the Virginia side was Halifax. Things changed, as in 1766, effective 1767, Pittsylvania was carved out of Halifax and took the Hensleys into it. On the North Carolina side, Surry county was carved out of Rowan in 1770/71 and took then Hensleys into it. That section later became Stokes County in 1789, but the Hensleys were not there any longer by then, I believe.
In 1776, effective 1777, Henry county was formed from western Henry, taking some of the Hensleys into it. Finally, on the Virginia side, Patrick County was formed in 1790, and that was the area where William Hensley was found, along with one of the John Hensleys.
My point is that it’s possible William Hensley could have been living in all of those counties just mentioned, at various times without having to have actually moved much, or in some cases at all.
However, as noted, I don’t actually have any records for him between 1752 and 1783.
He was not listed on the 1782 personal property tax list in Henry Co., VA, though John, his potential brother was. In fact, John was the only Hensley listed in Henry at the time. I didn’t find this William listed elsewhere in 1782 either.
William is listed on the 1783 personal property tax list in Henry Co., VA, as was John. They were joined by Robert, another John, Henry and Benjamin Hensley. Robert, John, Henry and Benjamin were siblings, I believe, and if I have it all figured out correctly, nephews of William and the other John. There is no way to be certain if all these Hensleys were neighbors in 1783 for the tax list was alphabetical. However, John, William, Henry and Benjamin were all in Lyon’s District.
The 1783 tax list specifies tithes as being 21 and up, so that means William was born prior to ca 1761. This isn’t enough to conclude with any certainty that this William of 1783 Henry is the same William of 1752 Lunenburg, but I think they are one and the same. I could be very wrong of course. Further, I should note that in 1783 William had no slaves, nor any horses or cattle.
William Hensley is listed on the 1784 personal property tax list in Henry Co., VA, with one white tithe over 21 (himself), 2 horses and 2 cattle. John, Robert and Harry were also listed.
William Hensley is listed on the 1785 personal property tax list in Henry Co., VA, with one white tithe over 21 (himself), 2 horses and 1 cow. John and Robert were also listed.
By 1786, only William and John are left in Henry County for the personal property tax list. William has one white tithe over 21 (himself), 1 horse and 2 cows.
William Henslee is listed on the 1787 personal property tax list in Henry Co., VA, with one white tithe over 21 (himself), 1 horse and 3 cattle. He was in John Cox’s district, and paid his taxes on Jun 7th, same as John Henslee. Robert Hensley was in the same district, but his was dated May 21st, suggesting they weren’t neighbors. Then again we can’t be sure whether the tax collector visited them at home or if they went in and paid their taxes in an office somewhere. If the latter, then the dates aren’t particularly significant.
William Henslee is listed on the 1788 personal property tax list in Henry Co., VA, in Edward Tatum’s district, with no white tithes over 16, meaning he was apparently exempt that year, perhaps due to age? He would have been in his mid 50s by then if I’ve got his birth date close. He was taxed for 1 horse and paid on Apr 10th. John Henslee also paid the same day. They were the only Hensleys on the tax list in Henry at this time.
William Henslee is listed on the 1789 personal property tax list in Henry Co., VA, in Edward Tatum’s district, with no white tithes over 16, meaning he was apparently still exempt that year. He was taxed for 2 horses and paid on May 22nd. John Henslee also paid the same day. They were the only Hensleys on the tax list in Henry at this time.
The 1790 census is lost for Virginia, but I’m sure William (and John) would have been listed in Henry Co., VA.
William Henslee is listed on the 1790 personal property tax list in Henry Co., VA, in Edward Tatum’s district, with no white tithes over 16, meaning he was apparently still exempt that year. He was taxed for 2 horses and paid on Apr 2nd. John Henslee also paid the same day. They were the only Hensleys on the tax list in Henry at this time.
That same year, 1790, Patrick County was formed from Henry, and took William and John into the new county. Patrick became effective in 1791.
I checked the Land Tax Lists 1791 through 1795 for Patrick. No Hensley was listed as a landowner during those years, so it appears that both John and William probably leased land or were tenant farmers.
William Henslee is listed on the 1791 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with no white tithes over 16, meaning he was apparently still exempt that year. He was taxed for 3 horses. He was also listed as a Constable. He paid on Apr 7th. John Henslee also paid the same day. They were the only Hensleys on the tax list in Patrick at this time.
William Henslee is listed on the 1792 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithe over 16, meaning he was either no longer exempt, or a son of his had reached 16 ca 1791/92. He was taxed for 4 horses. He paid on Mar 31st. John Henslee also paid the same day. They were the only Hensleys on the tax list in Patrick at this time.
William Henslee is listed on the 1793 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithe over 16, either himself or a son. He was taxed for 3 horses. He paid on May 13th. John Henslee paid his on May 28th. They were the only Hensleys on the tax list in Patrick at this time.
William Hensley is listed on the 1794 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 2 white tithes over 16, which is either himself and a son, or two sons if he was still exempt. He was also taxed for 3 horses. He paid on Apr 5th. John Hensley paid his on Jul 12th. They were the only Hensleys on the tax list in Patrick at this time.
William Henslee is listed on the 1795 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 2 white tithes over 16, which is either himself and a son, or two sons if he was still exempt. He was also taxed for 3 horses. He paid on May 13th. John Hensley paid his on Jul 28th. They were still the only Hensleys on the tax list in Patrick at this time.
William Hensley is listed on the 1796 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithe over 16, which is either himself or a son. He was also taxed for 5 horses. He paid on May 19th. John Hensley paid his on Jun 23rd. They were the only Hensleys on the tax list in Patrick at this time.
If one of William’s sons from 1795 was now gone from his household, he didn’t appear on his own in 1796.
William Hensley is listed on the 1797 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithes over 16, which is either himself or a son if he was still exempt. He was also taxed for 1 horse. There was no date on this one. John Hensley was the only other Hensley listed.
William Hensley is listed on the 1798 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithe (no ages given this time), which is either himself or a son if he was still exempt. He was also taxed for 1 horse. He paid on May 19th as did John Hensley, the only other Hensley listed.
William Hensley is listed on the 1799 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithe (no ages given this time), which is either himself or a son if he was still exempt. He was also taxed for 2 horses. There was no date on this one. John Hensley was the only other Hensley listed.
The 1800 census is lost for Virginia, but I would imagine that William and John would have both been listed in Patrick Co., VA.
William Hensley is listed on the 1800 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithe (no ages listed), which is either himself or a son if he was still exempt. He was also taxed for 3 horses. There was no date on this one. John Hensley was not listed this time. However, a Gideon Hensley appeared for the first time. Gideon (c1778) could be William’s son. Then again he could be John’s if John is a bit older than we suspect.
William Hensley is listed on the 1801 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithe, which is either himself or a son if he was still exempt. He was also taxed for 3 horses, and surprisingly, 1 slave age 12 and up (born before ca 1789). This might have been an error, or perhaps he did acquire a slave somehow. John was listed again this year, and an Eden Hensley was listed for the first time.
William Hencly is listed on the 1802 personal property tax list in Patrick Co., VA, with 1 white tithe (no ages), which is either himself or a son if he was still exempt. He was also taxed for 3 horses. There were no slaves this time. Eden Hensley was the only other Hensley listed on the tax list.
William was not listed on the 1803 through 1825 personal property tax lists, so he either died ca 1802/1803 or left Patrick County then.
I don’t know who his wife might have been. However, if his birth was in the 1730s as suspected, he could have married as early as the 1750's. If William (bef 1761) is his son and Gideon (c1778) is his son, that could mean he was married more than once considering the 17 year gap between those two.
There is a Francis Hensley listed on the 1805 tax list, his one and only entry. It was spelled with an “i” which is normally the masculine spelling of that name, with the feminine being with an “e” as in Frances. However, that rule was often ignored depending on who was writing it down. Was Francis a male Hensley, or was it perhaps William’s widow?
I think that William Hensley was likely the father of John Hensley and others, but I have no solid proof of their relationship. They were in the same county at the same time, and seemingly associated, so they are related no doubt. However, I can’t prove father and son. The large gap between John (bef 1761) and the rest could indicate two different wives for William.
1. John Hensley (bef1761-aft 1819)
2. A son who turned 16 ca 1792. This could be Nathan Hensley (1770/75) of Halifax and Patrick Counties, however, I think it’s more likely Nathan is part of a different family.
3. A son who turned 16 ca 1794. This is almost certainly Gideon Hensley (c1777/78) of Patrick Co., VA and Tennessee. If Gideon is William’s, he was probably born out of wedlock because a court case in 1808 Surry Co., NC (very near Patrick) lists him as Gideon Hensley alias Gideon Johnson. Normally two surnames means out of wedlock, and alternately using his legal name (his mothers) and his father’s name was acceptable only if the father had acknowledged him.
4. Eden Hensley (bef 1785-1803) who might just be the same person as Gideon, or perhaps not. Alternately, this could be John’s son instead.
For Family Group Sheet and other notes see my database page for William Hensley & wife.
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