Week 24 – Last One Standing     

 

“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare asked the right question. I just wish I had given it more thought before becoming a mother. If I had known more about my family legacy when I was younger, one of my daughters would be named Henrietta. I most likely would have called her Henri for short, or maybe Hennie. It means “Ruler of the Home,” and is truly quite fitting among the women you are about to meet. Not a very popular name for sure – it currently ranks 4,453^rd overall. The name Henrietta, however, is one that has been passed down through my family for more than four centuries…

Henrietta, the daughter of Sir Edward Grimston, was born circa 1610 in Suffolk, England. She married Adlourde Boude. While I’m sure she is named for someone, as far as I can ascertain, she is the first in a long line of Henrietta’s to appear in my family tree. She was my ninth great-grandmother. The Boude’s were of French ancestry but had settled in Essex, England around the time of Henry IV. The Grimston’s (originally De Grymestone) can be traced to Normandy as early as 1066 (the Battle of Hastings). This family is well documented and their motto is “Mediocra firma” – the middle station is the safest.

Their son, John, born in Essex England, had two sons – Adlord and Grimston – who both came to America and settled in New Jersey.  Grimston eventually moved to Philadelphia and became an innkeeper. Grimston and his wife, Mary, are the parents of Henrietta Boude, who was Baptized on 19 November 1710 at Christ Church, Philadelphia. She was undoubtedly named for her great-grandmother.  Her brother, Samuel, gave the name to his daughter.

Samuel Boude and Deborah Cox were married in 1727 in Philadelphia. Their oldest daughter, my fifth great-grandmother, Henrietta Cox Boude was born 17 January 1731 in Philadelphia. This Henrietta married Michael Hillegas, who became the first treasurer of the United States and was a patriot during the war for American Independence. Henrietta belonged to the Ladies Association of Philadelphia, a philanthropic organization who raised enough money ($300,000) to make shirts for the Continental Army, which awarded her the recognition of Revolutionary Patriot, in her own right. A letter from George Washington to Mrs. Anne Francis, Mrs. Henrietta Hillegas, Mrs. Mary Clarkson, Mrs. Sarah Bache, and Mrs. Susan Blair, dated 13 February 1781, thanked them for their service. She was a close friend of Sarah Franklin Bache, daughter of Benjamin Franklin, and of Dorothy Quincy Hancock, wife of John Hancock. Letters between the friends survive to this day.

The next generation brought us Henrietta Hillegas, who was born 23 September 1766.  Growing up in the high society life that her parents afforded her, it was quite the scandal when she “married into trade” to silversmith, Joseph Anthony. Joseph Anthony’s father was a wealthy sea captain and one of the original Directors of the First Bank of the United States which was chartered in 1781, but his son wanted to make it on his own in the craft trade that had belonged to generations of the Anthony family before him. He was quite successful in his trade and owned Anthony & Sons Jewelers in Philadelphia. Although looked down upon by society initially, Joseph Anthony and his wife, became one of the biggest subscribers of the Assembly Balls, which catered to the elite and were attended by, not only George Washington and his Cabinet members, but many of the Foreign Ministers and visiting dignitaries.

Henrietta Hillegas Anthony was the name given to two children born to Joseph and Henrietta Anthony. The first died just shy of her third birthday, in 1796. Two years later, another daughter was born who would later become my third great-grandmother. This Henrietta would marry William Patton, a lawyer in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, and a son of a Revolutionary War Colonel. Their oldest child was only seven when William Patton died, leaving Henrietta alone to raise three small children. She did eventually remarry to a man named Samuel Clement. Samuel and Henrietta named one of their daughters Henrietta Banks Clement.

Of the three children born to William and Henrietta Patton, each of them named a daughter Henrietta – Henrietta Anthony Gwin, daughter of Rachel Patton and James Gwin; Henrietta Anthony Wallace, daughter of Amelia Patton and Francis B Wallace; and Henrietta Anthony Patton, the daughter of William Anthony Patton and Sarah Williamson, my great-great-grandparents. Imagine the confusion when all three of these cousins were together! Henrietta Anthony Patton was the favorite aunt of my grandmother, and her namesake. Aunt Hennie, as she was known, passed down a number of items to my grandmother, including a set of silver spoons with the name “Hennie” engraved in the handles; and a platinum and ruby ring crafted by her great-grandfather, Joseph Anthony, for his wife.

My great-grandfather, David Williamson Patton, named his oldest daughter Henrietta Anthony Patton, after his sister. This Henrietta is probably the person who had the biggest impact on my life as I spent most of my childhood with her. Just the two of us. She was my only babysitter when I was small. From her I learned to crochet, to quilt, to sew. I learned a little about gardening, and what little I know about cooking (I was an adult when I realized that a cinnamon roll wasn’t ordinarily made from left over pie crust lathered in butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar). Why it never occurred to me to name one of my daughters after this person who meant so much to me is beyond comprehension.  Maybe one day, one of my descendants will go searching through the family tree looking for baby names. Maybe they’ll see the name Henrietta and understand the importance of how it’s been passed down. Maybe they’ll even read this little story and it will start them to thinking. The name has been in my family for so many generations, I hate to think my grandmother, was the last Henrietta standing.