Andrew H "Uncle Andy" Henry was born in Indiana on 17 Jun 1815.  He married Susan Jane "Susie" Beck, daughter of John J Beck and Annie Rogers about 15 Oct 1837 in Washington Co IN.

    Some time prior to 1842 Andrew & Susan moved to Johnson Co MO.  It was Susie and Andy who were the reasons why John Beck and his followers went to Missouri before coming to Texas - they went there so Andy Henry could join the group on their trek to Texas.  Andy Henry wanted in on the Mercer's Colony land deal.

    The first record bearing his name in Texas, other than his Mercer's Colony Certificate, was the 1846 Henderson County Tax Rolls, but that was just a beginning for Andy, as his name appears hundreds of times in the Kaufman County records throughout the remainder of his lifetime - on tax rolls, land deeds, probate records, Commissioner's Court minutes, jury lists, as a witness, as a guardian ad litem, on tax rolls, etc.

    After his father-in-law, John Jacob Beck, died, Andy Henry bought 100 acres of the land the Becks called the College Mound Tract.  It was just south of his head right land which was located between College Mound and Elmo.  Not long after that, when John Beck's daughter, Melvina, and her husband, James Clarida, died, he took guardianship to two of their sons - Felix, who was 15 years old at the time, and Thomas, who was five.  Andy was the Administrator of James & Melvina's estate, according to Kaufman County Probate records and Andy Henry once exclaimed the handling and settling of that estate was "the most arduous task of my life", as it took more than ten years to settle.

To Andrew and Susan Henry  the following children were born:

1. William Harrison Henry - born 27 Jul 1838 IN - died 30 Aug 1867 Kaufman Co TX
   Buried at College Mound Cemetery
   Married Julia Ellen Brown - 13 Dec 1860 in Kaufman Co TX
2. Martha Ann "Polly" - born 28 Oct 1839 IN - died 4 Jun 1848 Kaufman TX
   Buried College Mound
3. Sarah Jane Henry - born c10 Jun 1842 MO - died 21 Aug 1865
   Buried College Mound
   Married Hatton K Fleetwood 25 Apr 1861 - Kaufman Co TX
   
4. John Henry - born 23 Nov 1849 - died 23 Jun 1853 Kaufman Co TX
   Buried College Mound Cemtery
5. Harriett Henry - born circa 1851 Kaufman Co TX
   Married George Washington Rushing
6. Thomas Jefferson Henry - born 1 Jul 1853 Kaufman Co TX - died 5 Jul 1877 Kaufman Co TX
   Buried College Mound Cemetery
7. Mary Melvina Henry - born circa 1856
   Married Franklin Gates Alexander
8. Infant daughter - born 15 Jan 1860- died 26 Jan 1860
   

    On 26 Jan 1860 Susan Beck Henry died from complications of childbirth and was buried at College Mound Cemetery.  She is listed on the 1860 Kaufman County Mortality Schedule as dying from "Confinement - 11 days", age 41.

    Her obituary appeared in the Texas Christian Advocate - Vol VI, #39, dated May 3, 1860:

   "Susan Henry, wife of A H Henry, was born in Washington County Indiana Jul 18, 1819 and was born of spirit January 26, 1860, two days after her conversion. Four of her children preceded her in death.  She leaves a husband and five children. Submitted by Rev. J Sherwood, College Mound, Kaufman County texas- February 13, 1860."

    Andrew Henry remarried to a widow in Kaufman County on 10 Dec 1861, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Hays (nee McCreary) - born 8 Oct 1832.  Mary had three daughters still at home at the time of their marriage - Elizabeth, age 7, Rachael, age 5, and Martha, age 3.  They all moved into Andrew's house.  Living there at the time were the two Clarida boys and his daughter, Harriett Ann, and her husband, George Rushing (Kaufman Co., Census 1870).

    All of Andrew and Mary's children were born in Kaufman County.  They lived the remainder of their lives in Kaufman County and are buried at College Mound Cemetery.
 Mary Henry died 15 Jan 1915.

Andrew and Mary had the following children:

1. Alice E Henry - born 23 Feb 1863 - died 27 Apr 1925 - buried College Mound
   Married William Richard Love 8 Feb 1883 in Kaufman Co TX
2. Francis M "Fanny" Henry - born 10 Mar 1865 - died 9 Jan 1893 Haskell, Jones Co TX
   Married William J Sowell- 11 Feb 1891 Kaufman Co TX
3. Juliette Emma Henry - born 21 Jan 1868 - died 21 Feb 1931   buried College Mound
   Married Charles Taylor McGinnis  4 Nov 1896
4. Samuel S Henry - born 18 Jun 1871 - died 20 Jan 1872 - bruied College Mound next to his half-brother Thomas J Henry.

    During the Civil War Andrew was a member of the Kaufman County Home Guard as a Precinct Commander.  His age kept him from active duty in the Confederate States Army.  His primary duty in the home guard was to keep watch for civil unrest, as uprising from slaves was a concern, and to be on guard with other men to protect the county if Federal troops came into the area.

    Right after the war, in 1865, Andy Henry opened a Mercantile with Phillip Cole, the first store to open in the College Mound area.  Throughout his life in Kaufman County, Andy remained active in political matters, never actually running for public office, but being assigned the position of Justice of the Peace for some years following the Civil War.  However, Andrew had a strong voice in political matters, making his opinions known and heard.  He was a staunch Methodist and was active in the College Mound Church, serving as an Elder and a Trustee to the College Mound Cemetery.

    Andrew Henry died 19 Oct 1900.  The funeral of this beloved Kaufman County pioneer was attended by more than 500 persons.  His stalwart religious attitude, along with his impeccable character as an honest man, brought praise from his eulogizers and in his printed obituaries.  Andrew's Last Will & Testament is recorded in Kaufman County Probate Citation #1003.

• The Kaufman County, TX Wall of Honor
• Kaufman County, TX Reflections