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Alexander Duncan Hensley Married September 29, 1901, Llano, Llano County, Texas
Margaret “Maggie” Bozarth A. D. and Maggie buried Cedarvale Cemetery, Bay City, Matagorda County, Texas
Census Information for Hensley Family
Census Information for Bozarth Family
Census information for A. D. & Maggie
Hensley |
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One of the men most instrumental in the founding of the First Presbyterian Church of Bay City, Texas, was Mr. A. D. Hensley. He was a person of great Christian conviction, perseverance, and integrity. Mr. Hensley came to Bay City, Texas, in the year 1894, as one of the first settlers and homeowners. The religious life in Bay City's beginning years was not neglected because Mr. Hensley was largely responsible for the organization of the first "Sabbath-School" shortly after he came to Bay City. It was composed of Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians, and he served as the first Superintendent of this Union Sabbath-School. Through the consecrated efforts of Mr. Hensley and a few others, the Presbyterian Church of Bay City was organized with him being the first elected Ruling Elder, an office which he held for forty-nine years. He was the church's first Clerk of the Session. After several failures in trying to organize a Presbyterian Sunday School, he succeeded on April 19, 1903. Mr. Hensley served as superintendent of the Sunday School for thirty-seven years. Due to his unusual qualities of Christian leadership and understanding the school grew and met the need for an education in Christian principles for many people. Because of failing health he had to step down from this position of leadership as superintendent. On the Sunday following his retirement, he was unanimously nominated as "Superintendent Emeritus" an honor well earned and never matched since that day. Mr. Hensley is also credited with the organization of the Mexican Presbyterian Church in Bay City, Texas, and he maintained an active interest in that is church through the years. He taught their Sunday School class in Spanish. A Living History of First Presbyterian Church, Bay City, Texas, 1898-1973 Courtesy of First Presbyterian Church
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Mrs. A. D. "Maggie" Hensley was a Primary teacher when our Sunday School was established in 1903. She organized a group of girls as the Meriam Band and worked with young people for many years. Maggie Hensley served as President of the Women's Auxiliary six times and was honored by the Women of the Church with a Life Membership. She was a strong character, loyal to her church, family and friends.
A Living History of First Presbyterian Church,
Bay City, Texas, 1898-1973
Courtesy of First Presbyterian Church |
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Hensley-Gusman Home A beautiful old house known to all as "The Gusman Home," is located at 2120 6th Street, on Lot #7 and east half of Lot $8, in Block #146, in the original townsite of the City of Bay City. Mr. A. D. Hensley, district clerk of Matagorda County from 1923 to 1936, bought the land from David Swickheimer by Attorney G. M. Magill on January 13, 1898. In 1905, the Alamo Lumber Company agreed to furnish Mr. A. D. Hensley and his wife, Maggie B. Hensley, all the necessary lumber and other materials to erect the three bedroom house for $930. Mr. Hensley asked his brother, who was an architect, to plan a house that would catch the breeze from any direction. The house is a Greek Cross, hexagonal-designed house. A one story frame, gable-roofed structure of Greek Cross plan with five octagonal rooms, and four cross halls; four hexagonal entrance porches have delicate turned posts and hipped roofs. The living room has eight doors and no windows. Transoms are over the four outside doors. Three of these doors open to hexagon porches, one of the porches is screened. Originally the fourth door opened to a large screened porch extending the full length of the back part of the house. After indoor plumbing was available in Bay City, a bathroom was made from a portion of the porch. Later another section was used to enclose a water heater. The inside doors lead to three bedrooms and the dining room. From the dining room, one enters the kitchen and to the back entrance. The bathroom is entered from the kitchen or the screened porch. All rooms, except the kitchen and bathroom, are octagonal shaped. Two bedrooms have five windows and one door. The third bedroom opens onto the back screened porch, so there are only four windows. There are no clothes closets in two of the bedrooms, only large beautiful wardrobes to hold the clothes. The house has a total of nineteen windows. All the rooms have ceilings that are 11 1/2 feet tall.
The only outside physical change was the replacement
of the two front wooden porches with concrete, which required removal of
the banisters. |
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Typed by Faye Cunningham |
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Alexander Thompson Hensley, aged 76, died yesterday at 1424 North Flores street. He was a well known resident of San Antonio, having lived here the past twenty years. He was the father of Frank A. and Merle M. Hensley and formerly conducted a business on East Houston street under the firm name of A. T. Hensley & Sons, dealers in painters’ supplies. The funeral took place this morning. Services were held in the Utica Street Presbyterian church and the remains were laid to rest in cemetery No. 4 [6].
San Antonio Daily Light, May 29, 1900 |
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Died—Mrs. Eunice M. Hensley, wife of A. T. Hensley Esp., late of Dallas, and sister of Dr. E. L. Beaumont, and F. Beaumont Jr., of this city, died last night at 10 o’clock and will be buried to-morrow morning, Saturday 19th inst., at 10 a. m., from her husband’s residence, now known as the Haskill place, on Dignowitty hill. The friends of the persons names are invited to attend.
The Evening Light, San Antonio, Texas,
August 18, 1882 |
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H. [A.] T. Hensley, of San Antonio, father of our Hon. A. D. Hensley, has a claim for several thousand dollars against the United States for cotton seized during the war, and we notice that Hon. Jas. L. Slayden, congressman from the district, has introduced a bill making an appropriation to pay and claim. The elder Mr. Hensley was, in the long ago, a leading merchant of Port Lavaca, where the Hon. A. D. Hensley was reared. Matagorda County Tribune, December 16, 1899 A San Antonian’s Claim Washington, D. C., May 19.—Representative Slayden today got through the house the long standing claim of A. T. Hensley of San Antonio for $5300. Mr. Hensley’s claim has been pending before the departments and congress since 1866. In 1865 federal troops appropriated for their own use a tobacco warehouse at Port Lavaca, which belonged to Mr. Hensley. For 34 years he has been striving in vain to get compensation from the government for the use of his property.
The Cuero Daily Record, June 8, 1900 |
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1860 Census, Texas, Calhoun County, Lavaca
1870 Census, Texas, Calhoun County, Lavaca
1880 Census, Texas, Dallas County, Dallas
1900 Census, Texas, Matagorda County, Bay City,
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1880 Census, Texas, Llano County, Texas
1900 Census, Texas, Llano County, Texas |
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1910 Census, Texas, Matagorda County, Bay City,
Avenue K [2120 6th Street]
1920 Census, Texas, Matagorda County, Bay City,
10th Street
1930 Census, Texas, Matagorda County, Bay City,
Sycamore Street
1940 Census, Texas, Matagorda County, Bay City,
2316 Avenue F |