Dr. Henry H. Henson lived a long and eventful life that spanned nearly 88 years and included major changes in Texas and American history. He was born on May 21, 1823, in Rabun County, Georgia.¹ His family later moved to Gilmer County, Georgia, where he experienced one of the most memorable events of his childhood: the Leonid meteor shower of November 13, 1833. In his later recollections, Henson described seeing thousands of shooting stars streak across the sky throughout the night. At first, he was not frightened because he assumed the stars fell every morning. When nearby travelers awakened his father and declared that the world was coming to an end, Henson recalled telling his father that he could have warned them hours earlier if the event had been something to worry about.² This story offers a glimpse into his personality and preserves a firsthand account of an extraordinary historical event.

In the spring of 1834, Henson’s family left Georgia and moved to Arkansas Territory, later living for a time among the Cherokee Nation before settling in Benton County, Arkansas. Henson recalled that his family ground its own cornmeal using a steel mill. One of the most important milestones in Henson’s life occurred on February 4, 1848, when he married Mary Ann Hudman in Rusk County.³ Together, they raised eleven children: James Washington, William, Martha, Louisa, Joseph, Susan, Queen Victoria, Henrietta, Mattie, Leann, and Ida. By 1850, the family was living in Panola County, where Henson worked as a farmer.⁴ By 1860, they had moved to the Sabine community of Van Zandt County, and his occupation was listed as physician, marking an important development in his professional life.⁵

The Civil War brought another significant turning point. Henson served in Company G of the Fifteenth Texas Cavalry, a Confederate regiment organized in 1862.⁶ Although initially organized as cavalry, the regiment was dismounted in July 1862 and served as infantry for the remainder of the war. The regiment endured severe hardships, including the January 1863 surrender at Arkansas Post, where hundreds of its members were captured and sent to prisoner-of-war camps. Following their exchange, surviving members participated in major battles and campaigns, including Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta campaign, and the fighting at Franklin and Nashville. The available information does not establish which specific engagements Henson personally experienced, but his military service placed him among the Texans whose lives were affected by the conflict.

After the war, Henson continued his life and medical career in East Texas. The 1870 census still listed him as a physician in Van Zandt County, where he also held property and farm assets.⁷ In 1880, his first wife, Mary Ann, died.⁸ Her death was a major personal loss, particularly after more than three decades of marriage and the raising of their large family. On December 1, 1880 in Van Zandt County, Henson married Mary Ann’s sister, Susan Hudman McKay.⁹ By 1900, the couple was living in Milam County, and by 1910,¹⁰ they had returned to Van Zandt County, living next door to James Washington Henson, Henry’s son.¹¹ These records trace the family’s continued presence in East Texas across several generations.

Henson’s life also provides a remarkable perspective on the political changes of the nineteenth century. In his recollections, he stated that he had lived under the administrations of 22 United States presidents and the two presidents of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston and Anson Jones. He remembered voting for Anson Jones and later voting for the annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States in 1845, a decision he said he never regretted. His memories connect his personal experiences to the transition from an independent Texas republic to statehood and the enormous changes that followed.

Dr. Henry H. Henson died of old age on February 24, 1911, and was buried in Union Grove Cemetery in Wills Point, Van Zandt County, Texas.¹²

Beyond census records, marriage records, and military history, Henson left something especially valuable: his own recollections of the past. His account of the 1833 meteor shower and his memories of early Texas politics allow us to hear the voice of someone who personally witnessed events that later generations would know only through history books. His life serves as a reminder that family history is not simply a collection of names and dates, but a record of migration, family relationships, professional accomplishments, hardship, and the everyday experiences of people who lived through extraordinary times.

1. “Henry A. Henson,” Find a Grave, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26919532/henry_a-henson. ↩︎
2. Dr. Henry Henson, “Biography of Dr. Henry Henson,” handwritten autobiographical manuscript, n.d. ↩︎
3. Ancestry.com, Texas, U.S., Marriage Index, 1824–2021 (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2005), marriage record for Henry Henson and Mary Hudman. ↩︎
4. 1850 U.S. Census, Panola County, Texas, population schedule, p. 159a, Henry Henson household, roll 913, National Archives microfilm publication M432, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives, Washington, DC. ↩︎
5. 1860 U.S. Census, Van Zandt County, Texas, population schedule, Sabine, p. 45, Henry Henson household, roll M653_1307, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives, Washington, DC; Family History Library microfilm 805307. ↩︎
6. Ancestry.com, Texas, U.S., Muster Roll Index Cards, 1838–1900 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), citing Civil War Muster Rolls Index Cards (Both Confederate and Union), Also Texas State Rangers (Austin: Texas State Library and Archives Commission). ↩︎
7. 1870 U.S. Census, Van Zandt County, Texas, population schedule, Precinct 2, p. 171b, Henry Henson household, roll M593_1607, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives, Washington, DC; Family History Library microfilm 805307. ↩︎
8. “Mary Ann Henson,” Find a Grave, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26919708/mary_ann-henson. ↩︎
9. Ancestry.com, Texas, U.S., Marriage Index, 1824–2021 (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2005), marriage record for H Henson and Susan H. McKay. ↩︎
10. 1900 U.S. Census, Milam County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct 8, p. 11, Henry Henson household, roll 1659, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives, Washington, DC; Family History Library microfilm 805307 ↩︎
11. 1910 U.S. Census, Van Zandt County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct 8, p. 8b, Henry Henson household, roll T624_1596, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives, Washington, DC; Family History Library microfilm 805307 ↩︎
12. Henry A. Henson. ↩︎