Passport Application - William H. McHenry - 1873

William H. McHenry, son of John Hardin McHenry (a lawyer) and wife, Hannah Davis, was living in St. Louis, MO at the time of his application. He stated that he planned to travel to Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, and Italy.

Note: Although the application appears to state the applicant's name as William H. M. Henry, I could not find any person by that name in the pre-1850 census records; however, I did find the John H. McHenry family in Ohio County in the 1840 and 1850 census. The 1850 census, which is the first census that shows the names of all family members, shows a child named William of the approximate age of our William H. and a younger brother named John; this is important because the Application (below) was notarized by a John H. McHenry, Jr. from Daviess County. Further research shows a date of birth conflict, i.e. the Application shows the date of birth as 16 Feb 1833 and the grave marker for William H. McHenry has 16 Jan 1830 (same day but one month different and three years of difference). Also, research shows that the brother that apparently notarized the Applicant's signature, John, is found to be Colonel John Hardin McHenry, Jr., who did reside in Daviess County during the 1870's (the time of the Application). Although none of this is certain, I conclude that the Applicant's name was William H. McHenry, not William H. M. Henry. One last thing: the grave marker notes that William H. McHenry was an "editor and scholar." Findagrave says he was the former "Chief Owner" of the St. Louis Newspaper, which fits with the residence described in his Application.

APPLICATION:

Name:  William H. McHenry

Birth Date:  16 Feb 1833

Birth Place: Ohio County, State of Kentucky

Age: 40

Passport Issue Date:  18 Apr 1873

Passport Includes a Photo:  No