Origins of our Hendricks ancestors

The Hendricks branch of our family came to America on the Phoenix in 1754. Our 6^th great grandfather, Peter Hendricks was born in 1733 in Franconia, Palatinate or what is now Zweibruken Germany.

 Zwiebruken is near the border of France and has been at different times French (1680) , Swedish (until 1718) and Bavarian (1799). The ship manifest spells his last name Heinrich. He landed in Philadelphia and is then found in Lancaster Pennsylvania in 1761 marrying Maria Magdalena Guth. Maria was also born in Palatinate, Bavaria, in 1737. She arrived in the US in 1751.

Their first land purchase was in Frederick County Maryland, 588 acres he called “new Germany.” The property was sold in 1779 and the family returned for a short time to Pennsylvania. Peter is listed on the US Revolutionary War Rolls as Peter Hendricks, serving in 1777 in the 8^th Regiment of Virginia Foot in the 9^th company under Capt. James Knox. He deserted after just 2 months and 13 days of service. On property records he often uses the name Peter Henry, another derivation of Heinrich. He contracted to buy 2400 acres in Bourbon County Kentucky in 1782 but continued to own land in Pennsylvania through 1790. He served in the military again in 1793, a volunteer in Russell’s Regiment, Cavalry of Kentucky volunteers, and again he deserted this service after just a few months.  He died in Bourbon Kentucky in 1798 at the age of 65. Mary Hendrix is listed in the 1800 census of Bourbon Kentucky and died there in 1810. Shortly after his death a large land grant was awarded to him from the state, but because of his death it was held up in court and his children only received a small portion of that.

Mary and Peter had at least seven surviving children, including two sons, Conrad/Coonrad and Frederick Henry Hendricks, both are our 5^th grand grandfathers! Their grandchildren, Melvina Richardson (daughter of Coonrad’s daughter Mary) and John T Hendricks (son of Frederick’s son David) married and were the parents of Ed Hendricks, who is our Grandma Carroll’s grandfather.

David Hendricks, our 4x great grandfather was born in 1816 in Estill County Kentucky, the 8^th of Frederick Hendrick and Elizabeth Ham’s 11 children. Frederick also had one daughter out of wedlock, Catherine Hendricks Abrams. Frederick had moved the family to Greene County Indiana about 1830, but David married Susan Alcorn at 16 years old in Madison Kentucky and they had several children in Kentucky and then David joined his father’s family in Greene County and married Juriah Taylor in 1842 in Green Indiana (while still married to Susie back in Kentucky apparently). I have matches through both his children of both his wives. There are also several instances of cousins getting married throughout this line. David’s first son (John Taylor Hendricks) with his second wife (Juriah) married his sister(Lucy)’s daughter (Rebecca Abram Hendrix) for example. All told,  I find 16 children attributed to him, 8 have DNA matches to me.

John Hendricks, our 3x great grandfather, was born in 1840 in Williamstown Kentucky. He married Melvina “Vina” Richardson. Again, Melvina’s mother was Mary Hendricks, daughter of Coonrad Hendricks who is  brother to Frederick

Conrad/Coonrad is our 4^th grandfather in another way as well though. His son Billy (William H Hendricks), the brother of our 4^th grandmother, Mary married Fanny Richardson and their daughter Cynthia Hendricks married Junie Hatton and their daughter Nancy Hatton married Ed Hendricks, our 2x great grandfather. So Coonrad is Nancy’s maternal grandfather and Ed’s great grandfather.

Ed Henricks, or 2x great grandfather was born 26 Sept 1872. You can read his bio in a previous blog entry.