Ithe Hensley of Washington Co., VA

Home > Surnames > Hensley > Ithe Hensley

The author (Marty Grant) is not related to Ithe Hensley as far as can be proven. They did live in the same county (Washington Co., VA) as my ancestor Larkin Hensley (c1761-1806). 

It is my opinion that there was no person named Ithe Hensley, but that this is either a badly written Jesse or an abbreviation for Ichabod. I could be wrong on both counts, but since I've only found one record (the 1810 census), the evidence is sorely lacking, and speculation abounds. Let's start with the only record we have, the 1810 census.

Ithe Hensley was listed on the 1810 census in Washington Co., VA in close proximity to several Hensleys and Hensley related families: Elizabeth Hensley (bef 1765) was five houses away. William Godsey (husband of Agnes Hensley) was three houses away. Ithe's household contains four people, two males 16-25 (c1784/94), and one female that same age, and one female age 45 and up (born before 1765). Which of these people is the head of household named Ithe? Is it one of the men, or is it the older female?

1810 census analysis (based on available evidence): (Explanation of this census)

1810 Washington Co, VA pg 229 Ithe Hensley 00200-00101-0-0
Analysis:
2 Male(s) 16-25		(1784-1794)	--- Hensley (1784/94)
					Brother? Brother-in-law?
1 Female(s) 45 & up 	(before 1765)	Mother? Mother-in-law?
1 Female(s) 16-25	(1784-1794)	Wife? Sister?

Now who was who? Without further evidence there is no way to know. Consider the name "Ithe" for a minutes. It is most unusual. I seriously doubt this was the actual name of one of the people in the household. If that is true, then what do we make of it? First, examine the writing for yourself to see what you think:

Researchers, indexers and others have interpreted this to say Ithe, and it does indeed look like that. But what else can it say? Keep in mind that the census records we look at today are not the originals, but hand made copies made at the time by the census taker to send to Washington, DC. The originals were left in local hands and typically lost over the years. During the tedious copy process many transcription errors were made, so perhaps this didn't say Ithe but the census taker couldn't read his own writing. That is one possibility.

Who else could it be then if not Ithe? When I first looked at this a few years ago my first thought was that it was Jesse Hensley, and just written badly. Jesse Hensley (c1786) certainly fits age-wise. He was unmarried at this time, but still could have been head of household, with siblings and widowed mother living with him. We don't know who his parents were, though many say Fielding Hensley (c1761), but with no proof. If Fielding is indeed his father, then this probably isn't Jesse at all, though it could still be him.

Perhaps this is Agnes Hensley (c1763) who should be somewhere in Washington Co., VA in 1810, but not listed as far as I could find. We know that the other Agnes Hensley (c1763) used the nickname "Ankey" or "Anky" on some records, could this be a badly written "Anke" instead of Ithe? I don't think that is the case, for the first letter is clearly an I or J. (This census taker made his leading "I" and "J" exactly the same.)

The final possibility to come to mind is that this is one of the two Ichabod Hensleys to live in this area. Those two were listed on various records with a variety of odd spellings, such as Icabud, Achubud, and so forth. "Ithe" might be a hard to read abbreviation for Ichabod. 

The older Ichabod (c1780/83) doesn't quite fit, for he is a little older than the oldest male listed, and he also had a wife and several children by 1810, and this household doesn't show any young children. The younger of the two, Ichabod C. Hensley (c1792/94) fits perfectly. He was not married yet by 1810, so that would suggest (assuming this is him) that the other male is a brother, the female about his age is a sister, and the older woman is their mother.

Ichabod C. Hensley is a proven son of Larkin Hensley (c1761-1805). This fits somewhat, for his father was dead by 1810. However, all of his siblings were in Knox County, Tennessee around this time, though he seemed to have come back to Virginia for a time, though was back in Knox later on. I don't have much confidence that Ithe Hensley is Ichabod Hensley, but it is certainly a possibility.

The conclusion is that I can't draw any solid conclusions about who Ithe Hensley might have been.

Children of Ithe Hensley. The 1810 census shows a household consisting of a female 45+ (born before 1765), we might assume she is the mother of the rest of the household. I don't know who any of these might have been.

Unknown Male (1784/94)

Unknown Male (1784/94)

Unknown Female (1784/94)

Researcher List

Persons researching this family (contact me to add, change or delete your listing here):

• None so far

Register Report