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OBITUARY:   Laura V. Craig Hendry:

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FORT MYERS NEWS-PRESS, Aug. 18, 1933--Mrs. Laura ( Craig) Hendry, 88 years old, a resident of Fort Myers for a quarter century, died yesterday at her home on Royal Palm avenue. Mrs. Hendry came to Fort Myers 25 years ago from Arcadia. She had been ill for several years. Funeral services will be held at 10 o'clock this morning at the Methodist Episcopal church, with the Rev. Joseph F. Bell officiating. The body will lie in state at the home during the morning where it may be viewed by friends until shortly before 10 o'clock. The casket will not be opened at the church, it was announced.

 

Burial will be in Ellenton, Fla., beside her first husband and two daughters. The body will be sent to Ellenton immediately after the funeral services here this morning. Her first husband was Hammit Craig, formerly of Bradenton. Mrs. Hendry had been active in the Methodist church until three years ago, when she was forced to relinquish her many efforts because of poor health. The Laura Hendry circle of the Methodist church is named in her honor.

 

Survivors include a son by her first marriage, James Craig of Arcadia; a brother, Tom Mask of Mobile, Ala., a sister, Mrs. Betty Mendenhall of Magnolia, Ala., and a niece, Miss Laura Mendenhall, who lived with Mrs. Hendry here.

 

Mrs. Hendry was the widow of the late "Uncle Marion" Hendry, who died more than 12 years ago. Pallbeareres will be Dr. W. H. Grace, W. P. Franklin, C. J. Stubbs, John Treadwell of Arcadia, Ben P. King and Capt. J. Fred Menge. Honorary pallbhearers will be J. E. Blount, B. C. Foxworth, C. F. Roberts, F. L. Hough, L. Y. Redwind and R. V. Lee. Members of the Laura Hendry circle have been requested to meet at the church at 9:45 this morning and attend the services in a body. The Van Betten funeral home of Arcadia is in charge of arrangements. Nee Mask

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OBITUARY:  William Marion Hendry    (Second husband of Laura Virginia Mask Craig)

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WILLIAM MARION HENDRY

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William Marion Hendry was born on December 12, 1843, in Thomasville, Georgia. He married Laura Virginia Mask in 1889 in Florida. He died on December 24, 1914, in Fort Myers, Florida, at the age of 71.

William M. Hendry, former Clerk of the Circuit Court and one of the best-known men in South Florida, died at his residence on First street in this City last night at 12 o'clock.

 

Mr. Hendry was born Dec. 12, 1842 in Thomas county, Georgia and came to Florida in January 1851, where he resided up to the time of his death. He had been in failing health for some time and his condition recently became serious.  "Uncle Marion," as he was familiarly known, has always been prominent in public affairs and was a member of the State Legislature from Polk county in 1871 and shortly after moving to this county was appointed by Governor Mitchell as clerk of the Circuit Court to fill the un-expired term caused by the death of the incumbent at that time. After filling his vacancy for two years he was elected Clerk for the fall term and succeeded himself three times, making a total of 13 years as Clerk for Lee county. At the expiration of his last term a year ago last January he declined to run and was succeeded by his son, H. A. Hendry, the present Clerk.

 

Mr. Hendry was one of eight children of James E. Hendry and Lydia Carlton Hendry, and was married twice, his first wife being Susan C. Wall, who died May 16, 1899, and his second wife was Mrs. Laura Craig. The children of the first marriage are E. M. Hendry, Mrs. J. W. Frazier, Mrs. H. T. Linebough, W. W. Hendry, H. A. Hendry and Mrs. R. I. G. Travers.

 

There were no children by the second marriage. Deceased was a veteran of the Civil War and served from its beginning to the end and during the latter part of it was a lieutenant. He was a Mason and has always been active in the Methodist church. In fact, it can almost be said that he was a the founder of the Methodist church in Lee county. The funeral will take place at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning from the residence on First street. (Fort Myers Press, 12/24/14)

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WILLIAM M. HENRY BIOGRAPHY

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W. Marion Hendry, a pioneer settler of Fort Myers, was a Confederate soldier, cattleman, merchant, and clerk of the circuit court of Lee County.

William Marion Hendry was born December 12, 1842, Thomas County, Georgia. He was a son of James Edward Hendry and Lydia (Carlton) Hendry and a grandson of William Hendry and Nancy (McFail) Hendry and John and Nancy Ann (Alderman) Carlton. With his parents in 1851, he moved to Hillsborough County, Florida where they settled twenty-two miles east of Tampa.

During the Civil War, he enlisted in 1863 in Capt. Francis A. Hendry's Company A, Col. Munnerlyn's Battalion, in which he served until transferred to Capt. John Parson's Company, in which he was commissioned a first lieutenant. He also served in Capt. W. W. Wall's Company. In February 1865 he participated in the unsuccessful attempt to capture Fort Myers, which was held by the Union Army. Lt. Hendry was discharged on May 20, 1865.

In Polk County on December 2, 1865, he married Susan C. Wall, born May 16, 1843, daughter of Judge Perry Green and Nancy (Hunter) Wall of Tampa. They first made their home in Fort Meade where Marion was a cattleman. In 1871-72, Marion represented Polk County in the Florida House of Representatives.

In the summer of 1873, they moved to Fort Myers, Florida where the lived at present-day First and Hendry streets. With his brother-in-law, Major Aaron T. Frierson, as his partner, Marion in 1875 opened a general store on the northeast corner of First and Hendry streets. He also continued as a stockman. He aided much in shaping the political complexion of Fort Myers and Lee County. On August 22, 1876, he was appointed the first postmaster of Myers. (Washington postal officials refused to accept the town as Fort Myers as there was already a Fort Myer, Va. On November 9, 1901, Washington finally accepted Fort Myers as the town's official postal name.) He served until August 2, 1879 and kept the postoffice in his store. Elected as a councilman on August 12, 1885 when Fort Myers was incorporated, he was one of the ten founding fathers of Fort Myers. In 1887 he was again elected to the Town Council. In 1894 he was appointed by Governor Mitchell as Clerk of the Circuit Court of Lee County to fill the unexpired term of the incumbent who had died. He was elected in 1896 as Clerk and was re-elected subsequently for three four-year terms. Upon the expiration of his last term in January 1913, he retired and was succeeded in office by his son, Henry A. Hendry.

W. Marion Hendry was a Mason and member of the Methodist Church, in which he served many years as a steward and member of the Board of Trustees. In 1882, he and his brother and sister-in-law, Francis A. and Ardeline Hendry, gave the property on First Street and Royal Palm Avenue upon which the sanctuary of the First Methodist Church of Fort Myers was built. When a new church was proposed, Marion, acting for the church, purchased a 132-foot lot, which adjoined the church. Construction was begun that winter, and on November 22, 1903 services were performed by Rev. S. W. Lawler.

Susan Wall Hendry died May 16, 1899 and was buried in the Frierson-Hendry Cemetery, Fort Myers. Her brother-in-law, George W. Hendry, had said of her: "She was of a jovial disposition, always viewing life from the bright side, a splendid companion, a true helpmate, a member of the church; she filled her station in life faithfully."

On May 22, 1905 in DeSoto County, Florida, W. Marion Hendry married (2) Mrs. Laura V. Craig, born 1845.

On July 22, 1907, Wm. M. Hendry applied for a Confederate pension. Supporting his claim were Francis A. Hendry and Frank C. Alderman. His pension was approved with pay from August 8, 1907 at the rate of $100 per annum.

William Marion Hendry died December 23, 1914 at his home on First Street in Fort Myers and was buried in the Frierson- Hendry Cemetery. He was recognized as one of Lee County's most worthy citizens, esteemed for his temperate, moral and religious walk in life, and square dealings with his fellow man.

On December 4, 1916, Mrs. Laura V. Hendry applied for a Confederate pension as the widow of W. M. Hendry. James E. Foxworthy and Jehu J. Blount attested to her application. Her claim was approved as pensioner no. 1935 on March 6, 1917 for $150 per annum, with pay from December 5, 1916. Laura V. Hendry's date of death hasn't been learned.

Issue of W. Marion and Susan C. (Wall) Hendry:

1. Samuel Hendry, born September 1866; died in childhood.
2. Edward Marion Hendry, born January 23, 1868; never married.
3. Mary Susan Hendry, born August 2, 1874; died June 6, 1933, Tampa, Fla.; married on May 31, 1894 Henry T. Linebaugh.
4. Henry Asbury Hendry, born August 9, 1876; died on July 28, 1941; married on August 6, 1899 Mrs. Edna Langford Henderson.
5. William Wall Hendry, born August 10, 1878; married Bessie Knight.
6. Julia A. Hendry, born May 17, 1880; married on April 28, 1897 R. Ingram O. Travers.
7. Lydia Cornelia Hendry, born July 10, 1881; married Joseph W. Frazier.

This is adapapted from my John and William Sons of Robert Hendry.

References: George W. Hendry, Family Record of Lydia Moody Nee Hendry Nee Carlton, 1900; Milton D. Wilson, Pioneer Families of Polk County and South Florida, Polk County Historical Commission, 1944; CSA pension applications of W. M. Hendry and Laura V. Hendry, Florida Archives, Tallahassee; Karl Grismer, The Story of Fort Myers, 1949; 1981 Captain Francis Asbury Hendry reunion program. This profile was published in South Florida Pioneers 49/50 (July/Oct. 1986). 

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