The Hendersons

John Glassford was the first son of Alexander Henderson Sr. He was named after his father’s mentor and owner of one of the largest merchants in Glasgow: John Glassford Co.

John G. was the first of the Henderson brothers to move to western Virginia in 1798. His father gifted John G. 1,500 acres along the Little Kenawha River, where he built his homestead, Spring Creek Farm or Oak Hill, in the Burning Springs area.

John G. wrote about the journey west in his journal, chronicling the arduous trip made by horseback to Wheeling and then by flatboats down the Ohio River: “We were now to take up our abode sixteen miles by water from the nearest family without an habitation to dwell in, or any dependence for sustenance but that of the gun for our stock and provisions for seven persons besides the hunter, consisted on our arrival of one bushel of meal, a few pieces of venison, a few pounds bear meat, and the fragments of the stock laid in at Dumfries, which we meant to reserve for particular occasions on account of the place they came from.”

John G. married Drusilla Williams, a relative of the first settlers of Williamstown. The couple had two children. Both died as infants. In 1810, Drusilla died, leaving John G. a widower. He never remarried.

As a prominent person in the area, John G. became one of the first justices to serve in the newly-formed Wood County in 1799. He was only 23 years old. A year later, he was elected to serve as one of the county’s first delegates to the Virginia General Assembly—a position he held for four years. Later on, he took the position of sheriff of Wood County.

In 1806, Henderson brothers Alexander Jr and John Glassford were visited by Harman Blennerhassett at Alexander Jr’s Beech Park homestead in an attempt by Blennerhassettt too recruit the brothers to aid in Aaron Burr’s treasonous plot. Burr had successfully persuaded Harman Blennerhassett to join him, convincing Blennerhassett to provide funds as well as to assist with recruiting other reputable locals. Blennerhassett approached John G. Henderson and Alexander Henderson Jr, who possessed both wealth and reputation—both of which would be adventageous in hatching the plot. Blennerhassett, however, was unaware of the Henderson’s strong ties to the U.S. government and the family’s strong friendship with George Washington. The brothers sent word about the scheme to their father, Alexander Sr, who then informed President Jefferson and James Madison. The Henderson brothers would testify along with four dozen witnesses before a grand jury in Richmond, Virginia, following Burr’s arrest and indictment for treason.