Delmarva Heritage Series, by Dr. William H. Wroten, Jr.
First U.S. Senator From Free State
Salisbury Times - January 9, 1958
The Henry family of the Eastern Shore has always been one of prominence and
its members have been active in civil and political affairs for the
well-being of their country. The beginnings of this famous family
on the shore are traced back to the Rev. John Henry, Presbyterian
minister, who was called to the Rehobeth Church in Somerset County
from Philadelphia to succeed the Reverend Francis Makemie, a
position he held until his death in 1717. His younger son, Col.
John Henry, held numerous positions of public trust, and was a man
of wealth and refinement. Col. John, of "Weston" on the Nanticoke
River about six miles from Vienna, died in 1781, leaving four sons
and five daughters.
JOHN
HENRY, the eldest son, who was later both U.S. Senator and a
Governor of Maryland, was born in 1750 at the family homestead,
"Weston". He was prepared for college at the renowned West
Nottingham Academy in Cecil County and later graduated from
Princeton College. After this, he devoted himself to the study of
law for several years in this country and spent a couple of years in
England continuing his studies in the Temple. While in England the
issues between the Colonies and the mother country were becoming
strained. The events leading up to the Revolutionary War were
frequently the subject of conversation and often led to animated
discussions in the Robin Hood Club, of which John Henry was a
member. Taking part in these discussions, John Henry zealously
defended the rights of his native land.
JOHN
HENRY left England in 1775 and, upon his arrival home, was elected a
member of the Maryland Legislature. In 1777 he was chosen as a
Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress and remained almost
continuously a member until the adoption of the United States
Constitution.
During
the troubled times of the Revolution and the critical days which
followed, John Henry showed himself to be a man of vision. He
argued with great earnestness and force against proposed treaties
with Spain, whereby rights to the navigation of the Mississippi
River would be surrendered in consideration of commercial advantages
almost exclusively to the benefit of some Eastern States. He
contended that the Southern States and the people of the Mississippi
Valley ought to secede from the Confederacy rather than submit to
the occlusion of the river.
In 1787,
he served on one of the most important committees ever established
by our legislative government - this was the one to prepare an
ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory. The
outcome of this meeting was the famous Northwest Ordinance of 1787,
which not only set up government for this region but became the
eventual basis for all our territories to become sister states. A
noted Swiss historian, Edward Fueter, says this ordinance has been
called one of the most important laws of the United States-from the
point of view of world history, perhaps the most important. "Thus
the principle was abandoned that the welfare of the colonies aught
to be subordinated to that of the mother country: rather was the
principle established that colonies which are settled by a people
are to be regarded as an extension of the mother country and one to
be put on an equal footing in every respect."
AFTER THE
adoption of our federal constitution in 1788, the election of
senators to represent Maryland in the United States Senate engaged
the attention of the people as to how these two men should be
selected by the General Assembly. After considerable discussion and
debate, the Senate suggested to the House of Delegates, and it
agreed, that "the two senators to represent this State, should be
elected by a joint ballot of both Houses; and that no person should
be elected a senator from this State, unless by a majority of the
attending members of both Houses." At this time the Senate
consisted of 15 members, and the House of Delegates of 80. On Dec.
9, the day appointed for the selection of the two senators, there
were 13 in the Senate and 70 in the House attending this joint
session. It was agreed that one senator should be a resident of the
Western Shore and the other of the Eastern Shore. Charles Carroll
of Carrollton and Uriah Forrest were nominated from the Western
Shore and John Henry and George Gale from the Eastern Shore. Upon
counting the ballots, John Henry and George Gale and Forrest
received 41 each and Charles Carroll 40. There being 83 ballots to
cast and neither candidate receiving a majority, a second vote was
taken, with the following results: John Henry, 42; George Gale, 40;
Charles Carroll, 41; and Uriah Forrest, 41. John Henry, having
received a majority, was declared elected U.S. Senator and the next
day Charles Carroll won out over Uriah Forrest. Afterwards, in the
drawing for the short and long terms, Henry drew for six and Carroll
for two.
SEN.
HENRY was re-elected but resigned before completing the term so as
to accept the office of governor, which he held from November, 1797
to November, 1798. He declined re-election because of ill health
and returned to his estate on the Nanticoke River, where he died
December 16, 1798. No tomb was ever erected over the remains of
Gov. John Henry, and at present his grave has not been located.
However, a marker has been placed in the Christ Church graveyard in
Cambridge to honor this son of Maryland. The Henry family is still
occupying a position of respect and public service in the State of
Maryland for Judge Laird Henry is a direct descendant of Gov. John
Henry.
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