16. JAMES (prominently known as "Col. James"), b. Aug. 3, 1762, in Bedminster twsp.; d. Apr. 27, 1831; m. Mrs. Abigail (Woodruff) McCrea, probably the widow of his cousin Philip McCrea (see preceding article on "The Rev. James McCrea Family"), who was b. Dec. 1, 1763, and d. Apr. 15, 1835. Col. Henry was, during the whole of his adult life, one of the most prominent men of Bedminster twsp., Somerset county. When a young man he served as a private in the Somerset militia in the Revolution, and is said to have fought in the battle of Springfield. In 1787 he is found to have become a prominent member of Solomon's Lodge, No. 1, of Bound Brook, then representing that Lodge in the Grand Council of Masons. On June 5, 1793, he was appointed Major of the Bedminster militia, and in 1805 became Colonel of the Second Regiment, Somerset Brigade, from which came his title. As an officer he was martial looking and, according to the late Dr. Messler, of Somerville, who knew him well, being brought up in his neighborhood, he was the "beau ideal of a gentleman; one of the most gentlemanly of men I ever knew. When he rode upon his handsome horse, with his fresh, white jacket and gloves, and passed by us young people upon the road, he would always take off his hat and make a graceful bow. Once we tricked him. We got an old cow in the road about dusk, where we knew the Colonel would pass, and then took a station near by to see what the Colonel would do. He came on, and, when he got opposite the cow, took off his hat and said 'Good evening,' and passed on. It proved how true a gentleman he was. His name to me will be ever fragrant." (Address at Dr. Blauvelt's Semi-centennial Anniversary, 1876).

Because of the marriage of his sister, Mary, to Col. Symmes, he became an agent in many real estate transactions for Col. Symmes. When his sister Catherine and her husband, Rev. Peter V. Wilson, died in 1799, he went to Cincinnati and brought back their children to New Jersey. On Apr. 24, 1801, he purchased the 80 acres adjoining the parsonage, a portion of the property he lived on until his death.

As early as 1787 Col. Henry was assessed on 440 acres of land in Bedminster, and an examination of the record of deeds in the Somerset county clerk's office shows that he handled a great deal of other Somerset real estate during his life; and he also owned or had an interest in, 150 acres in Steuben co., New York, purchased in 1799. In 1812 he was made a lay Judge of Somerset co., and in 1813 was commissioned a Justice of the Peace, but the title Judge Henry never quite overcame the title "Colonel" Henry. His will of Oct. 24, 1825, probat. May 9, 1831 (Somerset Wills, Book D, p. 121), names his wife Abigail, his sister Nancy (wife of Charles Graham), his son Symmes C., and daughters Elizabeth and Maria. John Frelinghuysen and Peter D. Vroom, Jr. (afterward Governor of New Jersey), were his executors. Col. Henry was deemed to be a wealthy man, his personal estate alone inventorying $26,422.

After Col. Henry's death in 1831 much of his Lamington property and various others of his holdings in Bedminster were sold by his executors to his son-in-law, William Gulick, of Kingston, N. J. There were nine tracts thus conveyed, comprising about 375 acres, for $20 per acre. At nearly the same time were sold by the executors farms to William Honeyman, Henry Kenney, Nicholas Larzelier, Martin La Tourette. On May 6, 1833, William Gulick conveyed 225 acres, including Col. Henry's home farm at Lamington, to Dennis Simonson, who remained on it until his death in 1863, and it has been generally known since as the Simonson place.

of Abigail Woodruff Henry, Col. James' wife, who survived him four years, the late Dr. John C. Honeyman once wrote: "The memory of her amiable virtues and beautiful piety was affectionately cherished by the surviving neighbors through all their lifetime, and has descended as a sweet tradition unto the present day."