| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Henderson, John M. |
| Title: | Dr. John M. Henderson Papers |
| Dates: | 1810-1892 |
| Dates: | 1817-1848 |
| Extent: | 0.40 linear feet (1 container) |
| Abstract: | Dr. John M. Henderson was an early pioneer of the Connecticut Western Reserve in Ohio, arriving sometime before 1813 in Chagrin Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He established a successful medical practice and in 1834 co-founded the medical school of the Willoughby University, Willoughby, Ohio. He was a trustee, treasurer, and secretary of the Willoughby Medical College, and was awarded an honorary degree in 1837. He also served as a postmaster and justice of the peace of Chagrin Township, Cuyahoga County (later Willoughby, Lake County), Ohio. The collection consists of an account book, correspondence, election tickets, resolutions, bylaws, minutes, essays, petitions, and legal documents including agreements, receipts, bills, depositions, inventories, oaths, testimonies, summons, subpoenas, notes, bonds, judgements, writs, settlements, and executions. |
| MS Number | MS 0533 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
Dr. John M. Henderson (ca. 1790-ca. 1850) an early pioneer of the Western Reserve, was a medical doctor and co-founder of a medical school, a justice of peace, and a postmaster.
Dr. Henderson's birthplace and date-of-birth are unknown. However, he attended the Fairfield Medical School, founded in 1809, in Herkimer County, New York, where he was a student of Dr. Westel Willoughby, Jr. and Dr. Amasa Trowbridge. Letters dated 1810 and addressed to Dr. Trowbridge recommend him for a diploma. Dr. Henderson came to Chagrin Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, sometime before 1813, and established a successful medical practice. Dr. Henderson also became a justice of the peace in 1816 and postmaster of Chagrin (later Willoughby), ca. 1820. He married Samantha Hine on June 14, 1829, in Geauga County, Ohio.
In 1834, Dr. Henderson, Dr. George W. Card, and other influential citizens of Chagrin sought from the Ohio state legislature articles of incorporation for a university to be located there. On March 3, 1834, the legislature voted these articles of incorporation, creating what became known as the Willoughby University of Lake Erie. The first component of the University was the Willoughby Medical College, named for Dr. Westel Willoughby Jr., teacher and mentor of Dr. Henderson and other incorporators. While Dr. Willoughby never visited Ohio or the school named for him, in 1834 the name of the town (and township) was changed from Chagrin to Willoughby in his honor.
The first session of the Willoughby Medical School began in November 1834 and lasted for sixteen weeks. Dr. Henderson, while apparently never an instructor, served the school in a number of capacities, including trustee, 1834-1842, treasurer, 1834-1835, and secretary of the medical faculty, 1835-1836. He was awarded an honorary degree from the School in 1837. With the founding of the Cleveland Medical College, a department of Western Reserve College, in 1843, Willoughby Medical School had to compete for students and struggle to keep its faculty. In 1847, the Ohio state legislature passed an amendment to its charter, transferring the school to Columbus. In Columbus, it became the Starling Medical College, forerunner of the School of Medicine of Ohio State University.
No information on Dr. Henderson exists after 1848. Legal documents signed by Dr. Henderson as Justice of the Peace, and correspondence with him concerning his role as postmaster of Willoughby, end in 1848, and there is no Ohio census record for him in 1850.
The Dr. John M. Henderson Papers, 1810-1892 (1817-1848), consist of an account book, correspondence, election tickets, resolutions, bylaws, minutes, essays, petitions, and legal documents including agreements, receipts, bills, depositions, inventories, oaths, testimonies, summons, subpoenas, notes, bonds, judgments, writs, settlements, and executions.
This collection is of value to researchers studying the history of the Western Reserve of Ohio, and of early Cuyahoga County, Lake County, and Willoughby, Ohio. It is also of interest to genealogists, as it contains many legal documents naming persons living in Chagrin Township (renamed Willoughby Township), Cuyahoga County (after 1840, Lake County) Ohio. Researchers interested in early nineteenth century medical education will also find this collection valuable, as will those interested in legal practices during that time period. The collection also contains accounts, correspondence, contracts, and receipts of Samuel L. Egbert, a citizen of the Willoughby area, and legal notes and receipts pertaining to George Warner.
While there are no access restrictions on this collection, researchers will be asked to use the microfilm of the collection.
Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult MS 91 Willoughby, Ohio Records; MS 1592 Willoughby, Ohio U.S. Post Office Records; MS 2352 Willoughby University, Willoughby, Ohio Records; and MS 454 Samuel L. Egbert Account Book.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 533 Dr. John M. Henderson Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Reprocessed for microfilming by Deborah R. Shell in 1996.
Dr. John M. Henderson Papers 1818-1892 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Account book 1822-1825 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence, personal 1810 1822 1830-1837 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence to John M. Henderson as postmaster of Chagrin and Willoughby, Ohio 1820-1846 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Egbert, Samuel L., family materials, accounts, contracts, correspondence, and receipts 1830-1892 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Elections, printed Whig tickets 1841-1842 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Handwritten notes on Presidential electoral vote ca. 1840 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Legal documents, personal, agreements 1820 1828 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Accounts and receipts 1818-1819 1836 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Survey undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Legal documents signed by John M. Henderson as a justice of the peace, bills and receipts 1818-1848 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Legal documents signed by John M. Henderson as a justice of the peace, correspondence 1818-1819 1835-1847 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Legal documents signed by John M. Henderson as a justice of the peace, depositions, inventories, oaths, and testimonies 1819-1848 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Legal documents signed by John M. Henderson as a justice of the peace, notes and receipts concerning George Warner 1814 1818-1819 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Legal documents signed by John M. Henderson as a justice of the peace, promissory notes and bonds 1817-1847 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Legal documents signed by John M. Henderson as a justice of the peace, summons and subpoenas 1817-1848 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Legal documents signed by John M. Henderson as a justice of the peace, writs, executions, judgments, and settlements 1817-1847 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Letters concerning Willoughby Medical College and other medical matters 1834-1836 1838 1840 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Miscellaneous documents, nomination for sheriff of Cuyahoga County of Ashbel W. Walworth, signed by Dr. Henderson and others March 20, 1818 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Miscellaneous documents, petition (unsigned) against admission of Texas into the Union ca. 1845 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Miscellaneous documents, essay concerning a trip from Willoughby to Little Mountain; and notes and fragments undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Willoughby University of Lake Erie, resolution of Board of Trustees describing the organization of the Medical College September 1834 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Willoughby University of Lake Erie, bylaws ca. 1834-835 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Willoughby University of Lake Erie, minutes of faculty meetings of the Medical College, February 8 and March 3, 1836 February 8, 1836 March 3, 1836 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Willoughby University of Lake Erie, resolutions undated | |||||||||