William McHenry
William McHenry was an American politician and military leader.Early life
McHenry was born in Kentucky in 1771.Career
McHenry served as a lieutenant in Price's Battalion of Mounted Volunteers and participated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, near modern Toledo, Ohio.
McHenry moved from Henderson County, Kentucky in 1810. The family settled in what is now White County, Illinois, along the trail between the salt works near Old Shawneetown, Illinois and Forts of Vincennes, Indiana.
In 1811, McHenry served in the Illinois Militia during Tecumseh's War, which culminated in the Battle of Tippecanoe in the Indiana territory. After the outbreak of the War of 1812, he participated in the attack on the Native American village at Peoria, which was allied with the British.
McHenry served as a major, leading the Mounted Spies, in the Black Hawk War in 1832. He became ill during the campaign.Politics
McHenry was elected to the 1st Illinois General Assembly and served until the end of the 5th.
McHenry was a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention in 1818, and elected to the first Illinois House of Representatives. McHenry served as a member of the Illinois Senate from 1832 until his death in 1835.Personal life
He married Hannah Ruth Blackford in the late 1790s in Logan County, Kentucky.
McHenry died on February 3, 1835 in a boarding house in Vandalia, Illinois, which was then the location of the state capitol.Legacy
McHenry is the namesake of McHenry County and McHenry, Illinois, located the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
