Francis A. Hendry
{{short description|American politician (1883–1917)}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Francis Asbury Hendry
| image = Francis A. Hendry Home- La Belle, Florida (7787856274).jpg
| office = Member of the Second Constitutional Convention of Florida (1865)
| office2 = Member of the Florida Senate from the 28th District
| term_start2 = 1865
| term_end2 = 1867
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| office3 = Member of the Florida Senate from the 24th District
| term_start3 = 1875
| term_end3 = 1878
| predecessor3 =
| successor3 =
| office4 = Member of the Florida House of Representatives from Lee County
| term_start4 = 1893
| term_end4 = 1904
| predecessor4 =
| successor4 =
| birth_date = November 19, 1833
| birth_place = Thomasville, Georgia
| death_date = February 12, 1917 (aged 83)
| death_place = Fort Myers, Florida
| allegiance = Confederate States of America
| battles = Third Seminole War
| rank = Captain
| unit = Cow Cavalry
| relations = George W. Hendry (brother)
}}
Francis Asbury "Berry" Hendry (November 19, 1833 – February 12, 1917) was an American cattle rancher, politician in Florida, and served during the Third Seminole War, and the American Civil War in the Confederate States Army. Hendry was also a state senator for parts of Lee County, and Monroe County (which then included what is now Hendry County, and Collier County), as well as serving as a state representative for Lee County for six terms from 1893 to 1904. He was known by the nickname "Berry" and in later life as "Captain Hendry."
Early life
Hendry was born near Thomasville, Georgia, a son of James Edward Hendry and Lydia Carlton.{{Cite news |date=1917-02-13 |title=Capt. F.A. Hendry Pioneer of Lee County Is Dead |pages=1 |work=The News-Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-press-francis-a-hendry-obit/10221884/ |url-access=limited |access-date=2023-10-26 |via=Newspapers.com}} The family was of English and Scotch ancestry. George W. Hendry was his younger brother.{{Cite news |last=Hawes |first=Leland |date=1990-04-15 |title=New Book Explores Giant Hendry Family |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-spessard-stones-book/48656676/ |url-access=limited |access-date=2023-10-26 |work=The Tampa Tribune |pages=114 |via=Newspapers.com |issn=1042-3761}}{{Cite news |date=March 4, 1914 |title=Florida Loses Pioneer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-times-florida-loses-pioneer/134307637/ |work=The Tampa Times |pages=7 |via=Newspapers.com}} In 1851, his father took the family to Hillsborough County, Florida, settling on the Alafia River about twenty-two miles east of Tampa. His father then returned to Georgia to settle his affairs, and died suddenly on January 3, 1852. Nineteen-year-old Berry, his mother, and his siblings decided to remain in Florida.
On March 25, 1852, Berry married Ardeline Ross Lanier (May 10, 1835 – September 6, 1917), a native of Bulloch County, Georgia. Soon thereafter, they moved to Fort Meade, Florida, where they started a cattle ranch.{{cite report |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/b901d8b3-bcd6-4e02-9fe7-94cad92c911d |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (Captain Francis A. Hendry House) |date=2016 |publisher=National Park Service |format=PDF |accessdate=}} They marked their cattle with a crop and split in one ear and an upper square in the other. They also branded them with a large "A", Berry's middle initial, as well as his wife's first initial.
The Hendrys lived with the garrison at Fort Meade for a time before building their first home about two miles (3 km) north on a branch of the Peace River, now known as the Berry Hendry Branch.
Military career
= Third Seminole War =
During the Third Seminole War, Hendry served with both Capt. William B. Hooker and Capt. Leroy G. Lesley in their independent companies of mounted volunteers.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} Muster rolls describe him as standing six feet and one inch in height, with grey eyes, and dark hair and complexion. Hendry survived the war having seen little or no action.
= American Civil War =
In 1860, on the eve of the American Civil War, Hendry was a cattle rancher who became prosperous from the free labor of eight enslaved Americans he kept indentured on his ranch.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} He opposed secession after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1861, but supported his adopted state after it passed a secession ordinance.
File:Captain Francis Asbury Hendry (center, standing) poses with a group of Seminole Indians.jpg
On February 1, 1861, before the war really began in earnest, Hendry led efforts to create Polk County, Florida, and was elected to its first Board of County Commissioners.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} Hendry spent the first three years of the war supplying cattle to the Confederate Commissary Department.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} But, his work was made difficult by a Federal garrison that occupied old Fort Meade as well as Fort Myers.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} In 1863, he organized his own cavalry company to keep protect cattle intended for the Confederate States Army.{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Paul |title=Discovering the Civil War in Florida |date=2001 |publisher=Pineapple Press Inc |location=Sarasota, FL |isbn=9781561642342 |page=195}} He was given the rank of captain and attached to Colonel C. J. Munnerlyn's Cow Cavalry.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}
Political career and later life
On October 27, 1857, he was elected to a two-year term on the Hillsborough County Commission.
After Florida surrendered to Federal occupation in the spring of 1865, Hendry represented Polk County at the Second Constitutional Convention in Tallahassee. He was also elected to the Florida Senate representing the 28th district in the sessions of 1865 and 1866, and the 24th district in the sessions of 1875 and 1877. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives representing Lee County for the sessions of 1893, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901, and 1903.People of Lawmaking in Florida
After the Reconstruction government was installed in Tallahassee in 1868, former Confederate officers were not welcome to hold elective office on the state level. So, Berry Hendry returned to Polk County, and was appointed to serve on the Board of Public Instruction.
During the Reconstruction Era, Hendry continued to build and improve his cattle empire. He made his new headquarters in the abandoned officers' barracks at Fort Myers, and made contact with buyers from Cuba. He was among the first Florida ranchers to ship cattle to that country through the port of Punta Rassa. By 1876, he had fenced-in some {{convert|25000|acre|km2|0}} of range land and owned about 50,000 head of cattle.
On August 12, 1885, Hendry chaired a public meeting held at the schoolhouse in Fort Myers at the corner of Second and Lee Streets. Electors voted to incorporate the town, and Hendry became one of its first councilmen. As a councilman, he led efforts to create Lee County, Florida, in 1887, and was elected to its first Board of County Commissioners.
By 1888, Hendry had moved his ranching headquarters to the vicinity of Fort Thompson. He also began to dispose of much of his range cattle in favor of Jersey and other breeds in an effort to improve the quality of his stock. He acquired large tracts of marshland along the Caloosahatchee River for grazing. In 1893, Major Hendry was elected to represent Lee County in the state legislature, and served for more than a decade. In 1895, he platted the town of LaBelle, Florida, which he named for his daughters Laura and Belle Hendry.
During his last years, Major Hendry retired to Fort Myers for better access to medical care. He suffered from chronic nephritis, a kidney disease.
He was awarded a monthly pension of twenty dollars by the State of Florida.
Death and legacy
Hendry died on February 12, 1917, in Fort Myers. He was buried in Frierson-Hendry Cemetery, the oldest private cemetery in Lee County.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} His wife was buried alongside him.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} File:Francis Hendry's grave in frierson-hendry cemetery in fort Myers Florida.jpg
On May 11, 1923, the state legislature honored him with the creation of Hendry County, Florida, designating LaBelle as its seat of government. His former home, the Captain Francis A. Hendry House is listed as a National Register of Historic Place since 1998.{{NRISref|version=2010a|name=Capt. Francis A. Hendry House|refnum=98000061|dateform=dmy}} The Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch has had a replica of Hendry's Confederate officer uniform created, which is sometimes worn for visitors.{{Cite web |last=Amrhein |first=Saundra |date=October 23, 2013 |title=Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch: A cattle drive into history |url=https://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/travel/florida/immokalee-pioneer-museum-at-roberts-ranch-a-cattle-drive-into-history/2148690/ |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=Tampa Bay Times |language=en}} The Berry Hendry branch of the Peace River was named for the area that once housed his former cabin and land; and the nearby Wash Hendry branch of the Peace River was named for his younger brother's former cabin and land.{{Cite news |date=1958-12-14 |title=United States Land Map of 1855 Lists Many Polk Pioneer Families |language=en-US |website=The Tampa Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/312527278/ |url-access=limited |access-date=2023-10-26 |via=Newspapers.com}}
References
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Category:American people of the Seminole Wars
Category:Confederate States Army officers
Category:County commissioners in Florida
Category:Florida city council members
Category:Florida state senators
Category:Hendry County, Florida
Category:Members of the Florida House of Representatives
Category:People from Thomasville, Georgia
Category:People from Hillsborough County, Florida
Category:People from Fort Myers, Florida