Thomas Campbell Henry

THOMAS CAMPBELL HENRY, the youngest son of William Henry, Jr. and Rosannah Moore, was born at Henry’s Knob, York County, South Carolina, on December 22, 1790. Continuing a strong tradition of American patriotism, he served honorably in the War of 1812, America’s second struggle against Britain. He was a successful farmer at Henry’s Knob, as had been his father and grandfather. About 1818, he married Elizabeth McElwee (7/17/1797-4/29/1848) of York County, a daughter of William McElwee III and Rachel Newman. Thomas and Elizabeth were the parents of five daughters, namely, Jane C. Henry, Rosannah Jane Henry (Leslie), Emeline M. Henry (McGill), Mary E. Henry and Isabella Carroll Henry (Adams).

Elizabeth was to die at the relatively young age of 50. On September 14, 1852, four years after her death, Thomas Henry married Clarissa A. Sumter (3/31/1834 – 2/21/1917), an orphan who had been working as housekeeper in the Henry home. Clarissa is thought to have been related to Thomas Sumter (1734-1832), the famous brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia during the American War of Independence, nicknamed the "Carolina Gamecock," for his fierce fighting style against British soldiers after they burned down his house during the Revolution. Thomas and Clarissa were the parents of six sons and a daughter, namely, William S. Henry, John James Henry, Alexander Campbell Henry, Thomas Campbell Henry, Jr., Meek Boyce Henry, Thomas Alexander Henry and Margaret B. Henry.

Thomas Campbell Henry died at Henry’s Knob on January 25, 1877, at age 87, and is buried in the family plot next to his first wife, Elizabeth, at Bethany Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church, York County, South Carolina. Clarissa died February 21, 1917, in her 83rd year, and is buried in a plot at Oakwood Cemetery in Gastonia, North Carolina, beside several of her children.

Contributed by Robert A. Ragan, a descendant of Thomas Campbell and Elizabeth McElwee Henry, January 1, 2016.