McHenry family papers

James McHenry was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, November 16, 1753 and immigrated to the United States about 1771, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Newark Academy in Delaware, and studied medicine under Dr. Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia. During the Revolution he was appointed assistant surgeon in 1776 and later surgeon in the Fifth Pennsylvania Battalion. He served as secretary to General Washington from 1778-1780 until being appointed to the staff of General Lafayette, serving in that capacity until the end of the war. McHenry was a member of the Maryland State Senate from 1781-1786, a member of the Continental Congress from 1783-1785, and a delegate from Maryland to the Federal Constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787. He served as Secretary of War under both Presidents Washington and Adams from January 29, 1796 to May 13, 1800. McHenry resided at “Fayetteville,” his country estate near Baltimore until his death on May 3, 1816. He is interred in Westminster (Presbyterian) Churchyard, Baltimore, MD.

On January 8, 1784, James McHenry married Margaret Allison Caldwell (1762-1833), the only living daughter of Philadelphia merchant David Caldwell. James and Margaret McHenry had five children: Grace (1785-1789), Daniel William (1786-1814), Sophia (1794-1874), Anna, and John (1791-1822). John McHenry married Juliana Elizabeth Howard (1796-1821), the daughter of John Eager Howard. They had one son, James Howard McHenry.