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George W. Hendren
James L Hendren (1886), of
Woodstock, has a continuous residence in Minnesota of
fifty-six years to his credit. A Native of North Carolina, he was born in Eagle Mills,
Iredell County, on December 9, 1843. As a child, he moved with his parents to Boone
County, Indiana, and later to Cedar Falls, Iowa. In 1855, the family moved to Wabasha
County, Minnesota where James grew to manhood.
At the call to arms to preserve the union James L Hendren volunteered
his service. He enlisted in company G, Eighth Minnesota regiment,
on August 13, 1862, and served with distinction for three years, until mustered out in
August 1865. During the great struggle he was in General Sibley's command and engaged in
the frontier campaign to the west and penetrated as far as Idaho against the redskins.
With the return of peace, our subject settled at Reed's Landing,
Wabasha County, and for two years experienced the life of a river man. He later farmed in
the same county, and in 1878 he moved to the western part of the state, settling in Murray
County, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1886, the date of his settlement
in Woodstock. For four or five years, thereafter Mr. Hendren farmed, but of late years, he
has conducted a livery and feed stable. He has been constable of his precinct for the past
twenty-three years, and for fifteen years he serves as village Marshall. He is a member of
Stephen Miller Post No. 139, G.A.R., of Woodstock.
In Wabasha County, October 16, 1968, James L Hendren was united in
marriage to Mary M. Sheeran, born in the Keystone State in 1847. Thirteen children were
born to this union, three of whom, Elizabeth (Mrs. Addison Hughes), John and Florence, are
dead. The names of the ten surviving children follow: George, James, Arthur, Ernest, Fred,
Walter, Frank, Alice, Agnes and Mamie. A granddaughter, Stella Hughes, born on September
25, 1890, has lived in the home since the death of her mother, Elizabeth Hughes, on
November 25, 1892.
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