I don't know how much of that is true--I cannot document that the David Henderson found on the ship rosters is the same David Henderson who ended up in Bugger Hollow (pronounced "booger holler"). I have other information that says he was born in Virginia. Either way, there aren't many in the Henderson family that don't claim some kind of Irish/Scottish heritage. The prevalence of red heads in the family is overwhelming, even to this day. Both my niece and my nephew are sweet little gingers...my Henderson born grandmother was called "Red"...and almost all of them sunburn and freckle at the drop of a hat. I did a little reading--another blog, actually, (not really all that scientific, but a little more input)and it seems that a study was done to determine the prevalence of red hair in Ireland/Scotland...and it was determined that the gene for that specific trait was more prevalent in those areas...along with fair skin and tall athletic builds. There seemed to be a bunch of comments arguing the points, but it all boiled down to having some Celtic/Scandanavian origin. My brother Daniel actually looks more like he should be swinging a hammer with Thor than a hardworking Dad of those two sweet gingers...and my own body betrays me according to other research. I read something one of my friends posted that had the phrase "Celtic toe" and wondered what on earth that was...so I looked it up. All these years knowing I had the ugliest feet on the planet could not stifle the joy I felt when I realized that I was the proud owner of Celtic toes. I didn't even care that my friend probably would be repulsed by my feet...it proved that *maybe* all those years of having my feet hidden and not wearing open toed shoes were over...I could proudly flaunt my longer second toe and know that it meant I actually came from somewhere!
So I'm thinking, David probably did have those roots...the picture of him on his headstone shows a somewhat mean looking white haired ghostly dude. As a matter of fact, if you look at some of the other Henderson's in pictures, you'll find that same ghostly looking white hair...including that of my own father...so, I'm not discounting that red hair and fair skin...or my toes...they are part of who we are!
So, little David...9 years old...in New York city....can you imagine? Another part of the family story maintains that he traveled with a family by the last name of Lee, which proves to be more than interesting as he gets older...considering that he married Elizabeth Lee, which does happen to be a documented fact. She's still there, in Bugger Hollow...buried in Stewart Creek cemetery. Some say she is kin to Robert E Lee, but there is no evidence that I have found, after extensive research, to support that. So I'll just take it for what it is-just a girl he loved.
So until I get a chance to write a little more, think about that little 9 year old ornery Irish/Scottish/Virginia kid...no parents...no family...traveling with strangers. Old enough to fend for himself, but too small to have to...back then they didn't have food stamps...DHS...all that stuff. You just lived, or you died. And that's just the way it was...
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