Ross Beattie's HENDERSON Lineage
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This Page was Last Updated on 7th April, 2002 (Low Sunday)
Locality / Provenance
Early Generations

Locality / Provenance

This family has been traced back to the Kilskeery - Lowtherstown region of Ulster. The vast majority of Hendersons near Enniskillen were Protestant Scots-Irish reivers from the Western Scottish border march region, planted in Ireland in the 1600s; a substantial number also seem to have come from the north of Scotland. In Scotland they are generally regarded to have been a sub-clan or possibly a sept of the Clan Elliot, one of the larger more war-like clans dominant in the 1500s and early in the 1600s. In Ireland the clan structure was replaced by close family structure.

Early Generations

1 John Robert Henderson (1835…1913) m. Dorothy Betty (1836…1912)

Dorothy Betty (or Dorathey), daughter born c1836 near Enniskillen, Ireland, of farmer JOHN McGREGOR BETTY and his wife DOROTHEA, married John Robert Henderson, son of farmer JAMES HENDERSON, in the Lowtherstown (Irvinestown) district of County Fermanagh on 9 March 1858. The Irish civil Quarterly Returns for marriages note that both were aged 22 years and previously unmarried, and that John was a farmer resident at "Loughterush" Tyrone, about one mile NW of Kilskeery Tyrone and eight miles NNE of Enniskillen Fermanagh. Dorathey resided at "Kinine" Tyrone, about 2.5 km N of "Loughterush". The marriage was performed by Revd William James Guy and witnessed by Matthew ?Mosgean and George Henderson, with all parties able to sign their names. The couple were to continue in Ireland until their deaths.
John and his brother Jack Henderson had property, possibly on a 99 year lease, side by side near Enniskillen. The Hendersons seemed to have been well off during their child-rearing days, with a very profitable farm. Within two miles of "Loughterush" were the properties of "Gargadis" (Brien's), "Kinine" (?Beattie's), "Magheracross" (Armstrong's) and Killymittan (?Beattie's).
Dorothy and John had several children, all of whom grew to be tall and physically fine people:
John Henderson lived in an environment where matters were often settled with fists. He himself apparently gave one fellow a terrible bashing, which saw him jailed since his actions were premeditated. Guy emigrated after beating a man after a row. Most of the children however disliked violence.
Prompted by the bitter sectarian atmosphere, all their children emigrated, beginning with James John who came to Australia; all the other children went to America. Maggie and Alex were still living with their parents when James revisited Ireland in 1905. Dorothy and John were tended in their later years by Evelyn Moria Smith, a schoolgirl aged about 11 or 12 years old when she first went to them, a joy to Dorothy and John. There may have been a loose family connection. As Evelyn was treated as a daughter for so many years she may have become known as Evelyn Henderson.
Dorothy died on the property during the second quarter of 1912; Evelyn moved out shortly afterwards; her brother Mervyn was in New South Wales and in touch with James Henderson. (Both had joined the NSWGR and Mervyn later attended James Henderson's funeral in 1943).

John died during the second quarter of 1913.
The civil registration for the deaths of John and Dorothy Henderson, lodged in the Irvinestown registry district, gave his age as 81 years and hers as 80 years. This gives birthdates at slight variance with those calculated from their wedding registration, but is in agreement with their being born about the same year.

1.1 James John Henderson (1860…1943) m. Mary White (1865…1939)

James John Henderson, born January 1860 of DOROTHY BETTY and JOHN HENDERSON, was the first of his family to leave Ireland, emigrating because of the sectarian strife to NSW with his uncle Andrew McGregor Beattie aboard the Peterborough ex Plymouth and arriving Sydney on 26 August 1880. James' emigration had been encouraged by John G Phair, already resident in the colony of NSW, who paid a deposit of £3 on 3 December 1879 for the passage.
His age entered on the Ship's Log and Immigration Logs was 19 years old. He brought with him several personal items from Ireland, including a fur and a beautifully embroidered smoking cap, indicating some family prosperity. James probably never developed close ties with his siblings, since he was the second oldest child in his family and departed for Australia while still young, whereas his siblings all emigrated to America.
After arriving in the colony, he presumably stayed in Sydney until his uncle was admitted to hospital on 9 September, after which he travelled to Jenolan Caves to visit his aunt Lucinda Wilson nee Beattie. While he was at the Caves, a party of people with some say in railway matters (possibly including Commissioners) visited the Caves and was fêted, probably at the expense of a local interest with the intention of having a railway constructed to the Caves. No such railway eventuated, but James was impressed with the lavish occasion and decided to start a railway career, which he secured quickly as he was a big, hefty man with leadership traits.
James, railway official, married Mary White, spinster of Lidsdale (residing with parents), at S John's CoE Wallerawang, on 15 April 1885, by the Presbyterian Minister from Bowenfels. His residence was given as "Eskbank", Lidsdale ? a reference perhaps to a Scots-Irish provenance of the Beatties (?or Hendersons). James was known in the Lidsdale and Wallerawang districts as "The Irish King", "of magnificent physique", "6'4" in height and big in proportions" [Lithgow Mercury]. James Henderson remained a devout Presbyterian throughout his life, becoming an Elder in his church at Bexley in Sydney. James and Mary had three daughters:
James was very disappointed not to have a son. The family name was very important to him and he felt there was no-one to continue his section of the family name. As far as is known his brother Alex was the only male to have a son (Leslie) who in turn had only one child, a daughter named Lorna.

James was not a man of noticeable or eccentric character. He smoked a pipe, and believed that "a man is not a man if he can not keep his womenfolk". Neither his wife nor daughters worked save in the home. Sylvia, determining to earn money like her friends so she could buy a blouse she fancied, once secured a job with the gas company. Her father telephoned the gas company from his office the next morning to say she would not be available. In all her life she never earned a cent, though she worked very hard. He never helped around the house or garden: that was his wife's domain and he never interfered or questioned her decisions. Mary was a very efficient housekeeper exercising thrift and sound management, never a dragon-figure. He respected and supported what happened in the home (but never became directly involved), nor was outside help ever employed.

The family had many holidays, frequently to Andrew Beattie at "Bloomfield" or to Dorothy and Jack Fawcett's place nearby. [Dorothy Fawcett, 62, was buried at Oberon on 9 July 1935; John Fawcett (Jack) shares the same grave]. James loved going to visit his Uncle Andrew and often went by himself. He enjoyed wandering around the paddocks and helping out, having yarns and poking about. The family also visited Andrew's sister Eliza Jane nee Beattie at Cowra, once while Sylvia was young, and frequently visited the White family at Lidsdale near Lithgow.

Mary Henderson nee White died on Sunday evening, the 24 September 1939, just at the beginning of the war. She was noted to have been "reserved, not to say shy, in disposition, deeply sensitive, but gentle and ladylike, ever enshrining in her life all that is sweet and wholesome" [Rockdale News, 5 October 1939]. She was loyal, reverent and loving. In her, Jim "drew the prize of his life. She was such a dear woman. Loved by all who knew her". [The Retired Rail and Tramwayman, June 1943].

James Henderson, 83, died on 29 April 1943 at Rockdale. His residence at the time of his death was 8 Kembla Street, Arncliffe.
 
The White Family

John White was born in Birmingham in March 1829; Elizabeth, his wife, was born in Derbyshire in June 1832. They married in 1850, and three years later decided to try their fortune in a distant land, sailing for New South Wales aboard the William Fortune. After living at Camperdown for two years, they moved westwards to Emu Plains and continued business there for twelve years. They decided to advance further inland with the extending railway network and travelled in the first train to convey passengers to Mt. Victoria. They resumed business for Cobb & Co at Hartley, and after a further two years decided to move west again. Reaching "delectable" Lidsdale, however, with its "enchanting surroundings and rose-tinted prospects for the future", they decided to remain. In those days, with mail coaches, teamsters and drovers passing through, Lidsdale was a flourishing little centre.

The Whites, loyal adherents of the Methodist Church and consistent and cheerful contributors to charitable appeals, were very respected citizens. They had nine children:
Their home was known for its open happy atmosphere, and it was this which so impressed James John Henderson that he never desired to return to his beloved Ireland.

Elizabeth White died on 21 June 1922 in her 90th year and was buried at Pipers Flat cemetery. Her husband John predeceased her by 33 years. She was survived by six daughters (Mrs W Hoy and Mrs S Nolan (Lidsdale), Mrs M G Thompson (Penrith), Mrs C Boughton (Blacktown), Mrs G Payne and Mrs J J Henderson (Sydney)) and two sons (Mr Joseph White (Lidsdale) and Mr John White (Lithgow)).

1.1.1 Bertha Beattie Henderson (1887…19..) m. Edgar Nixon (1884…19..)

Bertha Beattie Henderson, first child of JAMES JOHN HENDERSON and his wife MARY WHITE, was born on March 1887. She married Edgar Nixon at Rockdale NSW in 1915, and together lived on a large property near Manilla NSW. Bertha and Edgar had two sons,
Their middle names were given in respect of the fact that their grandfather James had had no sons and feared the "end of the line".
Edgar was the son of GEORGE NIXON and SARAH (?or MARY?) ELLIS, who had married near Maitland in 1877. George and Sarah’s children seem to have included:
Like the Hendersons and Beatties, the Nixons were of Irish descent, from the Newtown Butler - Clones area of Co Fermanagh and Co Monaghan. Edgar's paternal grandfather ADAM NIXON and his wife ELIZABETH KIRK were both listed as natives of Clones, although the grandfather's Episcopalian baptismal certificate was certified by the Revd Grayson of Galloon. Adam was apparently one of ten or more children in his family, most of whom emigrated from Ireland to America.

[The death of a George Nixon, aged 78 years, son of Adam Nixon (and possibly the father of Edgar above), was registered at Mosman in 1932. Also, the death of an Eliza J Nixon, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Nixon, was registered at Balmain South in 1902; perhaps she was a sister of this George.]

1.1.1.1 George Henderson Nixon (1917…1995) m. Dorothy Irene White (…1995)

George Henderson Nixon, born in Sydney in 1917, was the son of EDGAR NIXON and his wife BERTHA BEATTIE HENDERSON. In 1941 at White Cliffs in the far west of New South Wales, George married Dorothy Irene White, who had emigrated from England with her parents and settled at Scone NSW in the upper reaches of the Hunter River valley on NSW’s mid north coast. George and Dorothy raised two children:
George raised his family at Upper Manilla in the mid-north of New South Wales, on a property called “The Pines” adjoining the now-disused Manilla-Barraba railway. When visited by this author in 1994, George though weary was genial and very hospitable, and a very active family and local historian. George died on 19 January 1995, a week to the day after being told of the death of his Aunt Win (Sylvia Winifred Evans nee Henderson). George’s wife Dorothy died two months after George, on 21 March 1995. They were survived by their children, resident at “The Pines”.

1.1.2 Mildred May Henderson (1888…1955)

Mildred May Henderson, who never married, was born in November 1888 and lived with her father JAMES JOHN HENDERSON until his death in 1943. Mildred died on 16 August 1955, aged about 60 years.

1.1.3 Sylvia Winifred Henderson (1902…1995) m. Alan Spearman Evans

Sylvia Winifred Henderson ("Win" or "Winnie", later "Sylvia") was born in February 1902 at Wallerawang. Engaged on Christmas Day, 1924, Sylvia, 24, occupied in home duties at Kembla Street, Arncliffe, married Alan Spearman Evans, accountant of Francis Street, Kogarah, at the Presbyterian Church, Forest Road, Bexley, on Saturday 4 June 1927. Alan had been born in 1902 at Lismore NSW, the son of ERNEST GEORGE EVANS (deceased by June 1927) and MARY SPEARMAN. Sylvia still had, in 1988, the most beautiful "Irish" eyes, and a kind generous heart to match.

Sylvia died aged 92 at Mosman, NSW on 12 January 1995.

1.2 Alexander Henderson (1867…1943+) m. Lillie

Alexander Henderson, in letters to George R. B. Beattie in 1931, said he was a Superintendent with Prudential Insurance Company of America in New York City. He had been married 36 years, had a wife and one son 32 years old, a university graduate. In 1943 he wrote referring to his wife Lillie, his son Leslie, Leslie's wife Helen and 12 year old daughter Lorna Jean. ??Leslie later remarried Maryjane, a Catholic; in 1987 they resided in Seminole, Florida 33542. John Roland Betty, born April 1843, emigrated to New York and kept in contact with Alexander Henderson. Alex, writing to George R.B. Beattie in 1931, said that John Roland had four sons "some living in New York and some a short distance out". Alex Henderson said he had never communicated with Guy (presume Beatty; alternatively may have been Henderson).

1.3 Margaret Henderson (1877…?)

Margaret Henderson emigrated to New Jersey, USA.
Anything to add?
If you have any queries about this family, or information to add, please eMail
Ross Beattie ( ross.beattie@environment.nsw.gov.au)
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