The Henson Connection

The Henson connection has always intrigued me as, perhaps, an important clue concerning my Foster roots. As a refresher:

Thomas Henson and Rebecca Langston lived in Morgan County, Illinois beside James Foster, prior to both families migrating to Missouri. James moved his family to Benton County, Missouri while Thomas settled further south in what is today Stone County, Missouri. The families apparently stayed in touch as James’ son, Eli, moved to Stone County and married Thomas’ daughter, Rebecca, in 1845.

I googled Thomas Henson and Rebecca Langston and came up with a family history that had been archived and indexed by BYU. The book, Our Hensons 1785-1974 by Mr. and Mrs. Loren Roden, contained much information about the Hensons and a great deal about the descendants of Eli & Rebecca Foster. Alas, it didn’t give a lot on Eli but it gave me enough to confirm that Eli had been married before and his oldest daughter, Sarah, was a product of that marriage. There is a Benton County marriage record where James Richardson performed a wedding for Eli Foster and Milly Foster in 1842. I always suspected this was our Eli and am now more convinced than ever.