Nicholas Hancher

Nicholas Hancher was the progenitor of a large family branch with its roots in Berkeley County, West Virginia. Nicholas married Rebecca Smith at Christ Church in Philadelphia on November 3, 1726 (apparently an old-style date, equivalent to November 14, 1726 on our modern calendar). Nicholas settled in Berkeley County, Virginia (today West Virginia) and begat a large line of descendents, some of who today call themselves Hancher, some Henshaw, and some Hanshaw. Most of the records on Nicholas use the Hancher spelling, but his children were recorded sometimes as Hancher and sometimes as Henshaw, although spellings were somewhat haphazard (phonetic) in the 1700s so such spelling variations are not surprising (and also means the concept of a "correct" or "original" spelling is essentially meaningless).

In 1726 the marriage of Nicholas and Rebecca was recorded in the records of Christ Church in Philadelphia, an Anglican church. In later years, Nicholas and family were recorded in Quaker records from Nottingham Monthly Meeting (Cecil County, Maryland) to Hopewell Friends Montlhy Meeting in Virginia. So although it appears as though Nicholas might not have been a Quaker originally, he did seem to have joined the Society of Friends sometime in the 1720s/1730s, and his children continued to be shown in Quaker records at Hopewell MM, but at some point this family seemed to have drifted away from the Quaker Society (son William joined the Continental Army, which would certainly not have met with the approval of the Quakers).

The Myth

There have been numerous published genealogies (none citing original sources) which show Nicholas descending from the Henshaws of Massachusetts, specifically the son of John Henshaw (son of Joshua Henshaw & Elizabeth Sumner).

It seems that all of these accounts came from an article published in "The West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly" in 1904 by Valley Virginia Henshaw¹, in which she asserted that:

Problems with the Myth

There are several inconsistencies in Valley Virginia Henshaw's assertion.

• The above 1855 letter from John Henshaw of Boston mentions:
  John lived at Liecester some time but about the year 1752 removed to Philadelphia.
  But this was well after records clearly prove Nicholas and family were already well-established in Virginia. This is also well after church records show Nicholas was married in Philadelphia in 1726.
• The 1855 letter above is clearly referring to John Henshaw (son of Joshua Henshaw Jr. & Mary Hay Webster) (click here to see the letter: ), but it seems that Valley Virginia Henshaw confused this John Henshaw (son of Joshua Henshaw Jr. & Mary Hay Webster) with his uncle, John Henshaw (son of Joshua Henshaw Sr. & Elizabeth Sumner), who died long before the 1752 date mentioned in the letter.
• The will of John Henshaw (son of Joshua Henshaw Sr. & Elizabeth Sumner) seems to indicate that he probably never married, and he apparently died in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, making it unlikely that he ever moved to Virginia. His will never mentioned Nicholas, nor any other children, nor any wife. He bequeathed all of his personal belongings to his brothers and sisters.
• Valley Virginia said that Nicholas' father, a John Henshaw, purchased land in Virginia from Lord Fairfax. Although it is true that a deed was recorded dated 1766 from Lord Fairfax to a John Hancher of Frederick County, Virginia, the date of this land transaction would mean: John Henshaw (son of Joshua Henshaw Sr. & Elizabeth Sumner) would have been 87 years old at the time of the transaction, and Nicholas would have been about 61 years old - both unusually late ages to be purchasing new land and uprooting their homesteads. It is far more likely that the John Hancher mentioned in the deed from Lord Fairfax was actually John Hancher, eldest son of Nicholas.

Discussions and Conclusions

The subject of the ancestry of Nicholas and any possible connection to the Henshaws of New England has been often discussed in our group's email list (click here to view the email list archives: - enter list name "Hinshaw" and search for "Nicholas" or "Hancher"). Many people raised the doubts expressed above.

In 1999 an ad-hoc committee studied these issues in depth. The committee was led by:

The above ad-hoc committee reported on June 8, 1999³, concluding:

Valley Virginia Henshaw's assertions, although well-meaning, should be considered discredited, and the Berkeley County, West Virginia Hancher/Henshaw line should be considered a separate family branch, distinct from the Henshaws of New England, excepting a possible (probable) connection many generations earlier in England.

So Where Did Nicholas Come From?

This is currently unknown with any certainty. But in 2003 a research report was compiled by Henshaw descendants:

2. 1855 letter from John Henshaw of Boston to James William Henshaw of Berkeley County, West Virginia, courtesy of Tom Henshaw:

3. Committee report on the origins of the Hanchers/Henshaws of Berkeley County, West Virginia, posted June 8, 1999 to our email list:

4. Research report from Carroll Henshaw Hendrickson, Jr., Betty Carson and Donald Craig Henshaw, courtesy of Donald Craig Henshaw:

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