Arthur Henderson famous politician but who were his parents?

JohanH · Post by **JohanH** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:15 am

Can anyone help with details about the family background of Arthur Henderson (1863-1935), Labour politician and Nobel Prize winner?
The statutory records show Arthur's mother was Agnes Henderson and that he was born in Glasgow, 13 September 1863. No father's name is given. She married Robert Heath in 1874 and in the 1881 census she and Arthur are living in Northumberland. Agnes' birthplace is given as Fife but I haven't been able to identify her birth record. In biographical accounts Arthur's father is named as David Henderson but I can find no records about him. (The reference to him in the IGI is not from an extracted record.)
I am interested in confirming the story in my family that Arthur was a cousin of my grandfather, James Henderson, born in Leith in 1877. Jame's family also came from Fife.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Johan

gen10 · Post by **gen10** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 3:12 pm

Hya Johan
On the IGI THERE ARE TWO ARTHUR HENDERSONS.
ONE BORN 20TH SEP 1863 ANDERSTON, GLASGOW, MOTHER AGNES HENDERSON, AND THERE IS AN ARTHUR HENDERSON BORN 13TH SEPT 1863 GLASGOW STRATHCLYDE FATHER DAVID HENDERSON, NO MOTHER GIVEN. WHICH ONE IS YOURS, AS YOU SAY YOUR ARTHUR WAS BORN 13/09/86? CAN I ASK YOU WHERE YOU GOT THE NAME DAVID FROM?

GEN10

JohanH · Post by **JohanH** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:35 am

Hello Gen10
Thanks for yor reply. Agnes Henderson is the mother on the IGI entry for the 20 September and this is the only extracted entry for Arthur's birth. (in my first post I should have said 20 September not 13) The entry for the 13th which shows David as the father has been submitted by an LDS member but I haven't been able to find any confirmation of that information. David is given as the father in a number of short biographical accounts and in one account (Debrett's I think) it says he was the second son of David Henderson of Glasgow. However at the Scotland's People site I can't pinpoint any record either of a marriage of David and Agnes (Arthur is named as illegitimate on the birth entry for the 20th) or of a death of a David Henderson which fits in with Arthur's story. I have been able to locate Arthur in the census for 1881 and 1891 but by then he was in England.
Johan

gen10 · Post by **gen10** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:13 pm

Hello Johan
I was told that when an illegitimate birth was recorded with the church they were asked to give the fathers name, in the event of having had a "good time" who they thought was the father. Maybe if someone is close enough they could check the church records for the time he was baptised. This is just a suggestion and may not get you a definate answer to your query. In the mean time happy researching!
GEN10

isobelc · Post by **isobelc** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:16 pm

Hi Johan,

Agnes appears to have had another illegitimate child in Anderston in 1861 called David Watt Henderson. When you get a middle name like this in illegitimate births it is very often is a clue to the identity of the father. This is particularly interesting in this case as the evidence seems to be that Arthur's father had the first name David. Could the father have been David Watt and not David Henderson (seems strange - though not impossible- that both Agnes, the mother and David ,the father would have the same surname, given there was no marriage.)

As far as the link to your Henderson family is concerned - is this not possibly through Agnes?

Regards,
Isobel (Edinburgh)

JohanH · Post by **JohanH** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 1:05 am

Thanks for your reply, Isobel. I think you're right about David Watt H being a child of the same Agnes. I did some further looking and found no record for a marriage of Agnes and David W. I think Agnes' only marriage was to Robert Heath in 1874. I imagine it's possible that when Arthur became famous and 'respectable' it was necessary to match him with a father, hence the LDS entry and biographical accounts. I had a brief search for David Watts but there are many and I'll have to look further.
You are also right about spouses with the same family name - my gggrand parents were John Henderson and Catharine Henderson (post in Stat Records forum). John has been my sticking point but I'm sure if I could find out more about him I would also find the link with Agnes and Arthur!
Regards
Johan