Francis Asbury Hendry (November 19, 1833 – February 12,
1917) was a Florida cattle rancher, politician, and officer in the Confederate
States Army during the American Civil War.
Asbury was born near
Thomasville, Georgia, a son of James Edward Hendry and
Lydia Carlton. He was known by the nickname "Berry." 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.
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. It is now known as the Berry Hendry Branch.
Military
career
During the Third Seminole War, Berry served with both Capt. William B. Hooker and Capt. Leroy G. Lesley in their
independent companies of mounted volunteers. Muster rolls describe him as standing six feet and one
inch in height, with grey eyes, and dark hair and complexion. Fortunately,
Berry survived the war having seen little or no action. On October 27, 1857,
he was elected to a two-year term on the Hillsborough County Commission.
In 1860, on the eve of
the Civil War, Berry Hendry was a prosperous cattle rancher
with eight slaves. He opposed secession after the election of Abraham Lincoln, but loyally supported his adopted state
after it passed a secession ordinance.
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. Hendry spent the first three years of the war
supplying cattle to the Confederate Commissary Department. But, his work was
made difficult by a Federal garrison that occupied old Fort Meade. So, in 1863, he organized his own
cavalry company to keep the enemy isolated behind the walls of the fortress.
He was given the rank of captain and attached to Colonel Charles Munnerlyn's Battalion.
Political career and
later life
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 state senate, representing Polk
and Brevard Counties, until 1866.
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 25,000 acres (101 km2) 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. There, the electors voted to incorporate the
town, and Hendry became one of its first councilmen. As such, in 1887, he led
efforts to create Lee County, Florida, 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 also 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. And, the state awarded him
a monthly pension of twenty dollars.
Death and
legacy
Hendry died at Fort Myers. On May 11, 1923, the state legislature
honored him with the creation of Hendry County, Florida, designating LaBelle
as its seat of government.
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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