My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Washington County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

* * * *

Jesse F. Henslee, farmer, is a son of Obadiah and Betsey J. (Mason) Henslee, natives, respectively, of Tennessee and North Carolina. When young the mother moved to Tennessee, where she afterward married Mr. Henslee. They soon moved to Dade County, Mo., and about 1843 to Washington County. Mrs. Henslee died in 1857. Mr. Henslee is a farmer, a Democrat, and a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. In their family were seven children, four sons and three daughters. The oldest child and only living son, Jesse F. Henslee, was born in Dade County, Mo., in 1842. His boyhood days were spent on his father’s farm, and his educational advantages were very limited. When seventeen years old he left home to battle his own way in the world, and in the fall of 1861 he enlisted in the Enrolled Militia and served eight months. In September, 1864, he joined Company E, Fiftieth Missouri Infantry, United States army, and served six months, being corporal. After his return home he engaged in farming, and has since followed that occupation. In 1863 he married Eliza J. Cumfton, born in Washington County in 1842, and died in 1886. She was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, as is her husband. Of their three children— John J., Mary E. and Martha H.—only one survives. Mr. Henslee is a Republican and the owner of 160 acres of land.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 138 biographies included in The History of Washington County, Missouri published in 1888.  For the complete description, click here: Washington County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Washington County, Missouri family biographies, click here

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.