Today’s story will be a little different. At least one of the parties involved would be very upset to be connected to or named in this story. So out of respect I’ll only be taking the names in this genealogy so far down the line and then I’ll stop. I’ll be telling the story in such a way that even if the persons involved read this story, they would not know it was their story. So forgive me if it’s a little vague at times.
Once Upon A Time
Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl…but it’s not what you think. They were brother and sister- Rebecca and William HENDRY. They were two of at least eight children born to George and Deborah (BORDEN) HENDRY. The children grew up in Virginia. I’m not going to go into a lot of details about their childhood since my information is conflicting on some points and I don’t want to pass on bad information. So their marriages are where their lives begin to diverge and that’s where we’ll go with this story.
The Girl
In the girl there’s a room,
in the room there’s a table,
on the table there’s a candle
and it won’t burn out.
In the woman there’s a song,
in the song there is hope,
in the hope, revolution.
~ Sara Groves, In the Girl There’s a Room

Rebecca HENDRY grew up and fell in love with Jeremiah Dungan.

Jeremiah Dungan Mill in Tennessee.

Rebecca and Jeremiah were married in Pennsylvania. One of their fourteen known children was a daughter, Sarah DUNGAN. Sarah was born in Tennessee. She married Zebulon SMITH. One of Sarah’s and Zebulon’s six children was a daughter named Elizabeth SMITH. I can’t go any further than this with naming names as I wish to try to maintain some anonymity for the person I mentioned above. So I will tell you that Elizabeth was born in Tennessee and was still there when she married. She and her husband- we’ll call him “Steven”- had ten children and one was a daughter named “Ann”. Ann married “Paul” in Indiana and together they had seven children. Paul and Ann’s son, “Mark”, was born in Indiana. Mark and his family moved to Missouri. There he met and married “Haley” and they had a daughter- “Lorene”. Lorene was the fourth of eight children. She married “Bill” in Arkansas and their daughter “Katherine” was born there. Katherine married “Tad” in Arkansas and their daughter was “Shelley”. Shelley married “Edward” and their daughter was “Lana”. Lana married “David” and they had a daughter named “Mary”. Remember Mary- we’ll come back to her later.
The Boy
In the boy there’s a voice,
in the voice there’s a calling,
in the call there’s a promise
and it won’t quiet down.
In the man there’s vision,
in the vision is a road,
it’s the road to his freedom…
~ Sara Groves, In the Girl There’s a Room

Log cabin built by William Hendry, refurbished about 1985.

Remember Rebecca HENDRY’s brother- William? Let’s talk about him now. William HENDRY grew up and fell in love with Elizabeth JONES. They were married in Virginia. Like William’s sister Rebecca, William and Elizabeth moved to Tennessee where they had a daughter named Mary Ann HENDRY. Mary Ann was the middle of three children. She married John BEAGLES. John and Mary had a son named Edmund who was born in Tennessee. Edmund was the third of four children born to John and Mary Ann. Edmund BEAGLES married two women and I’m not sure which is Julia’s mom so I’m going to call Julia’s mom “Malinda” for now. Edmund had quite a few children- numbering in the teens. For this story, I’m only interested in his daughter named Julia Ann. Julia was born in Tennessee. Julia married a man I cannot name for the reasons listed above. We’ll call Julia’s husband “Johnny”. Julia and Johnny had a son- “David”. David was born in Indiana and he married “Angeline”. The first of David’s and Angeline’s four children was a son named “Monroe” who was born in Arkansas. Monroe married “Lizzie”. The oldest of Monroe’s and Lizzie’s sons was “Isaac”. Isaac married “Lillian” and together they had eight children one of whom was “Donald”. Donald married “Irene” and together they had “Ruthie”. Ruthie was married briefly to “Allen”. Together they had two children, one of whom was “Terry”. Remember Terry- we’ll be coming back to him.
The Girl + The Boy = A Dream
Tell me what you know
about God and the world and the human soul,
how so much can go wrong
and still there are songs.
In the man is a work
and the work is his future
and the future is his children
and he won’t slow down.
In the woman there’s a faith,
in the faith there’s a prayer,
in the prayer there’s a promise…
~ Sara Groves, In the Girl There’s a Room
Sometimes when a boy and a girl meet, they fall in love. They marry, they have children. They dream of a long, wonderful life together. Sometimes that long, wonderful life happens- and sometimes it doesn’t. Then their children grow up and the cycle starts all over again. Boy + Girl = Dream.
We started with a sibling set- William and Rebecca HENDRY. They started life together as siblings and we watched as their families expanded and traveled until both families ended up in Arkansas but neither family knew anything of the other. Now, we’ve made our way to another boy and another girl, “Mary” and “Terry”.
Another Boy + Another Girl = Another Dream
In the boy is a dream,
in the dream he is standing,
and he stands without fear
and he won’t sit down.
In the girl is a song,
in the song there is hope,
in the hope there’s defiance…
Tell me what you know
about God and the world and the human soul,
how so much can be wrong
and still there are songs.
In their hearts and souls
an unstoppable refrain,
Hope sings in defiance.
~ Sara Groves, In the Girl There’s a Room
Mary and Terry didn’t grow up together. In fact, they didn’t know each other until shortly before they married. Mary knew nothing of Terry’s family. Likewise, he knew nothing of hers. They fell in love. They got married. They had children. Neither one ever knowing that Mary’s 8th great-grandparents were George and Deborah (BORDEN) HENDRY- parents of William and Rebecca; neither one ever knowing that Terry’s 8th great-grandparents were the same George and Deborah (BORDEN) HENDRY- parents of William and Rebecca.

The Moral of the Story

Adam and Eve painting by Domenichino.

Know your family. Know your family history. Know your mate’s family history. And if you’re the one yelling, “Gross!” right now- this story IS yours. It happens all the time. Don’t think you’re exempt. You’ll never find anyone to whom you AREN’T related. Besides, if you’re a Christian you should have known that we all go back to ONE BOY and ONE GIRL – Adam and Eve- and ONE DREAM- to love and be loved and have a long, wonderful life.
Love the ones your with- they’re the ones God gave you. In the lyrics at the beginning of this tale it says, “in the hope [is] revolution” and at the end of the lyrics it says, “Hope sings in defiance.” So sing out in defiance of hate and loneliness. Sing out – and reach out – with love. Love is the revolution we need.

Be defiant:
LOVE.

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives