Lidgard Fine Henry

Lidgard Fine Henry
Born	September 11, 1820(1820-09-11) Putnam, TN
Died	August 23, 1895 (aged 74) Sand Springs Cemetery, Putnam, TN
Spouse	Nancy Thomas (m. 1838) «Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.»"Marriage: Nancy Thomas to Lidgard Fine Henry" Location: (linkback:http://jimlindstrom.com/mediawiki/index.php/Lidgard_Fine_Henry)
Children	George Washington Henry
Parents	John Henry (1788 – 1865) Susannah Weaver (1790 – 1865)

Family Story of Lidgard's Death

Benton D. Henry posted this story on RootsWeb:

Speaking of stories, here is one about our common ancestor that I should share with you. It was passed down through several branches of his descendants essentially the same, according to Bea (Aker) Roden who wrote it to me in 1981. Bea is a gg. granddaughter of Lidge F. & Nancy (Thomas) Henry as we are, but through George W. Henry b. 1841. I first learned of it from Wilbert Whitaker, when he took me to Henry cemetery in 1971:

THE DEATH OF LIDGE F. HENRY

"Family talk says that Lidge F. was married twice after Nancy died in1888. At the time of his death he was living with his daughter Lurana Jackson at the foot of the mountain. We think it was the original home-place on the Calfkiller, where Henry Cemetery is now, and that Lurana and her husband, James, had moved in with Lidge after he became too old to work."

"About a week before his death, his daughter-in-law, Rachel, told her husband, George W. Henry , and son, Lidge Fine, that 'Something has happened to your Pa. ... .you need to go see about him' . As Rachel was known to be able to ' see ', or have premonitions, they rode down the mountain to see him. No one was home except Lidge F. They found him up in the barn loft, where he had removed several planks from the loft floor. George W. asked his father what he was doing. Lidge muttered something about 'fixing the floor'. G. W. waited for his sister, Lurana, to return, and then visited with her a while. As he was leaving he told her, 'Keep an eye on Pa -- he's acting a little peculiar'."

"A few days later, Lurana had to visit a neighbor, and left her teenagedaughter to watch over the baby and her grandfather. At some point Lidge told his granddaughter he was 'going to the barn',and thinking he was going to the outhouse, she got busy with the baby and forgot about him."

Lidge evidently "went up in the barn loft, threw a rope over the rafter above where he had removed the floor planks, tied the rope around his neck, and stepped into the hole he had made... "

That's the way they found him. The date, according to his tombstone, was 23 Aug., 1895. He was buried, of course, next to his wife, Nancy, at Henry Cemetery. He was 73 years old.

* * *

No doubt Lidge's children contemplated this event for a long time -- as we, his g.g. grandchildren, are left to do... Though this happened four generations and a little more than a hundred years ago, the human connection is always within us.

Historical Records

• The U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 lists Nancy & Lidgard's marriage
• The 1850 Federal Census lists Lidgard and several children, but the wife's name is "Haney". It's unclear whether this is a nickname, a misspelling, or a different person (e.g., 1st wife).
• The 1860 Federal Census lists Nancy (age 40) living with husband L. F. (age 42) and many children, including George (age 18)
• The 1870 Federal Census lists Lidgard (age 50) and Nancy (age 50)
• L.F. and his wife and the Whiteakers (neighbors?) sold land to James Farley on July 18, 1877
  • Near the Calfkiller river, which does not run far, there is today a D Farley Road, which may be on/near the site of this land parcel, adjacent to which, L.F. Henry lived, as of 1877.
  • The Farley's and the Henry's family trees intersect. L.F. Henry's grandson John Morgan Henry would marry Olive "Ollie" Howard, whose mother was Nancy Farley
• The 1880 Federal Census lists Nancy (age 54) living with husband L. F. (age 56) and daughter Nancy (age 16)
• L F Henry is listed as a registered voter in Putnam County, TN in 1891.