SAMPSON JAMES HENDRY
by Pat Dampier
Sampson James Hendry, born c1806, was the son of Neal L. (middle
name thought to be Lee) Hendry and Pamelia (maiden name unknown, but Fuller is a
strong possibility). Neal was the son of Robert (born in Scotland and an
American Revolutionary War soldier) and Ann Lee Hendry. Per family, the Hendry
family moved to Burke County, Georgia, from New Hanover, North Carolina, about
1796. They moved to Liberty County, then to Morgan County and then back to
Liberty County and settled at Taylors Creek. Neal L. Hendry stayed in Morgan
County, married Pamelia, and fathered seven children. Some time after Neal L.
died in 1820, Sampson, his brother Robert Lee "Bob", and other
siblings moved to Harris County and lived on Pine Mountain, near Chipley.
(Actually, Robert moved to Harris County before Sampson did and had his own
farm.) Their sisters, Pamelia Jane Hendry and Judith Ann (Judy) Hendry Capehart,
married McCarter's who owned land/farms on Pine Mountain.
Sampson bought
202 1/2 acres of land from Mary A. Grice for $200 in hand paid. Situated in
third district, lot 56, September 21, 1846, according to Deed Book E, page 306,
Harris County Courthouse. The Hendry homeplace and small family cemetery were in
the area known as King's Gap near the stagecoach road that ran from Greenville
to Chipley. According to a letter written by Grace Hendry, a grand daughter of
Sampson through his son William Neal Hendry, the cemetery was still intact May
10, 1949, when she and other family members visited the site. At that time, the
cemetery was surrounded by a four foot high hog wire fence and the graves
(number of graves not stated) were mounds of earth surrounded by field stones.
Per family, Sampson, his first wife, Nancy (maiden name unknown), his second
wife, Adeline Morgan, and maybe some children who never married are buried
there. Based on current knowledge, there are no written records to verify who is
actually buried in the small family cemetery.
Sampson's mother, Pamelia,
is not likely to be buried in the cemetery. She married Zachariah Wright in
Morgan County, Georgia, on March 12, 1822. According to the family records of
George Douglas McCarter, spouse of Sampson's sister, Pamelia Jane, Pamelia
Wright died May 14, 1865. Location of death is not known, but Pamelia and
Zachariah were living in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, in the 1860 census.
Sampson died February 8, 1895. Per family, Sampson died in Fredonia,
Chambers County, Alabama. He went to live with his son, James Pinkard Hendry,
after his second wife died, but the only way he would agree to leave Pine
Mountain is if his son promised to return his body to Pine Mountain for burial.
James P. kept his promise. Traveling by train and then a rented mule wagon,
James P. and the black man who owned the wagon, arrived on Pine Mountain during
the cold night, dug Sampson's grave and buried him in the family cemetery.
Per Sampson's will at the Harris County (GA) Courthouse, his property/farm
on Pine Mountain was not to be sold until all of his children were dead. Per
family, he did this in order to provide a home for two of his children, Roxie
and Rowan F. "Dink", who were born possibly mentally handicapped. Unfortunately,
this did not happen. Sampson's property was condemned and purchased for $1500 in
1939, by the U. S. Government as tract 20, land lot number 56, third district of
Harris County, (GA), Pine Mountain State Park Extension Project (Roosevelt State
Park).
Many thanks to Barbara Smallwood Stock for the hard work put in to this site over
the years!
Copyright 1998 to Present by The GAGenWeb Project Team
This page was
last updated on -02/11/2025