Henry County, Missouri - Chapter 12: The Origin of Names in Henry County, 1919

Henry County organized as Rives County on December 13, 1834, first named in honor of William Cabell Rives, United States Senator from Virginia, who was born in 1795 and who died in 1864. Senator Rives was educated at Hampden Sydney and William and Mary and studied law under Thomas Jefferson. He sen'ed in the militia in 1814 in the second war with Great Britain. He was elected to Congress in 1822, was later appointed minister to France by President Jackson. In 1832 he became United States Senator, but resigned in 1834 because he was unwilling to vote to censure President Jackson for the removal of the United States bank deposits, of which Rives personally approved, but to which the Legislature of Virginia was opposed. In 1835 he was elected to the United States Senate as a Whig and was again appointed minister to France in 1849, under Zachary Taylor. Mr. Rives was not in sympathy with the secession of Virginia. His daughter is the celebrated author, Amelia Rives.

On account of the change of politics of Mr. Rives, the Legislature of Missouri, in the year 1841, changed the name of Rives County to Henry County, in honor of Patrick Henry, another Virginian who rendered so much service to the cause of America at the time of the Revolutionary War. The following is a copy of the Act of Legislature of Missouri changing the name:

Section 1. That all that portion of country bounded as follows, to-wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of section 30, township 44, of range 28 ; thence south, to the line between townships 39 and 40 ; thence east, to the line between ranges 23 and 24 ; thence north to the southeast corner of Johnson County ; thence west to the beginning, shall compose the County of Henry.

Section 2. All laws in force relating to the county of Rives be construed to apply, in all respects, to the county of Henry, and ail acts and things done and performed, and contracts made, or which may be done or made, before the first day of September next, in the name of the county of Rives, shall be as valid and binding in that county and all others, as if made or done in the name of the county of Henry; and all matters and business which is commenced, or which shall before the said first day of September, be commenced in the name of the county of Rives, shall be continued in the name of the county of Henry, and all officers, civil or military, appointed, or to be appointed for the county of Rives, shall be deemed and taken to be appointed for the county of Henry, and are hereby authorized to act as such.

Section 3. All courts, hei-etofore established and directed by law to be held in the county of Rives, shall in all respects apply to the county of Henry.

At the same time that the name of Henry County was changed from Rives to Henry, the name of Van Buren County was changed to Cass County because of the so-called treachery of former President Martin Van Buren to Senator Lewis Cass, nominee of the Democratic party. The origin of other names, as given by David W. Eaton in the Missouri Historical Review, are as follow:

Clinton, county seat of Henry County, selected by commissioners, Henderson Young and Daniel McDowell, of Lafayette; and Daniel M. Boone, of Jackson. They fixed upon the present site of Clinton and signed a patent to the site to the county, dated May 1, 1843. Named for DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York, one of the prime movers in constructing the Erie Canal.

Lewis Station, named for Howell Lewis, an early settler. Lewis was a chairman in many of the government surveys in Benton and Henry Counties.

Urich, platted in 1871, by H. C. McDonald, and named for the French General "Uhrich," who so heroically defended Strasburg against the Prussians in 1870. The first "h" was dropped to simplify the name.

Windsor, founded by R. F. Taylor, and laid off in 1855 and for a time was called Belmont. Robert D. Means is responsible for the present name by calling it Windsor Castle, after the residence of Queen Victoria in England. Name was changed from Belmont to Windsor by Act of Legislature, December 9, 1859.