Henry Heth (businessman)

Colonel Henry "Harry" Heth (died 1821) was a soldier and businessman who lived in Virginia in the late 1700's and early 1800's. He served in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and the United States Army in the War of 1812 and was active in the coal business from the late 1790's to his death.

Ancestors and Early Life

The early years of Henry (more commonly Harry, the name he was known by and how he signed his correspondence) Heth are shrouded in mystery. He was most likely born in the British Colony of Virginia in an unknown year. One source says that Henry Heth came to Virginia from England in 1759 along with his brothers, William and John, and all three became charter members of the Society of the Cincinnati.^[1] It also tells that Henry served in the American Revolutionary War, had a son named Henry who served in the War of 1812, and that this subsequent Henry had a son named John. This source was published in 1907 from information received from Stockton Heth, son of John Heth and grandson of the Henry Heth of this article. It is probable that the data Stockton Heth had was incorrect. However, there are some bits of truth in it. A history of the Heth family by Ida J. Lee published in the July 1934 issue of the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography tells a more complete story of the early generations of the family.^[2] According to that history, Harry Heth was the son of a man named Henry Heth who was born in Ireland on November 16, 1718. This birth date information originally came from a book listing members of the Order of Washington.^[3] An Ancestry.com message board page about Henry claims that "he came to the colonies from Newgate Prison as an indentured servant".^[4] How he ended up in Newgate Prison in London from Ireland is uncertain. A reference in the Heth Family history (originally from the Collections of the Virginia Historical Society, New Series, Vol. XI, pages 317-376) states "that John Heth^[5] emigrated from the North of Ireland in the earlier half of the eighteenth century" and "settled first in Pennsylvania not far from Pittsburgh".^[6][7] The Heth Family history goes on to state that, based on land patents and a will, Henry Heth (the emigrant) married Agnes McMachan sometime between February 24, 1748/9 and August 21, 1750 in Frederick County, Virginia. Agnes^[8] was from a family living in Frederick County. That would mean that he immigrated to the colonies anytime between his birth in 1718 and his marriage in 1748-1750. All of the Virginia records from 1748 to 1757 involving Henry are in Frederick County, so that can be assumed as the place where he lived for that period of time. He acquired land in Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh and also in Henrico County, Virginia.^[9] In his will dated March 30, 1793, Henry names six of his sons: William, Andrew, John, Henry, Hervy, and Richard.^[10] He names none of his daughters, but he does name Gabriel Peterson as a witness and executor. Henry also indicates that some of his children are minors, so at least two children were born in or after 1772. An 1797 land document gives the birth order of Henry's sons living at that time:William, John, Harvey, Henry, and Richard.^[11] It appears that Andrew has died. Henry is also listed as having six daughters, among them Mary (wife of Capt. Robert Porterfield) and Anne or Nancy (wife of Lieut., later Col. Josiah Tannehill ).^[12] Henry and his sons served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and received numerous land grants for their service. This explains how Henry ended up in Pennsylvania.

American Revolutionary War

Colonel Henry "Harry" Heth served as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. His correspondence with George Washington is among extant documents.

Business career

Harry Heth maintained offices in Norfolk and Manchester (across the James River at Richmond), where he engaged in the coal business. Heth owned several coal mines in the area now known as Midlothian in northwestern Chesterfield County. Colonel Heth participated in working the Railey family's coal pits and became the owner of the Black Heath coal pits.^[13] Colonel Heth owned slaves, and prior to the American Civil War (and emancipation), the mines were largely worked with African Americans, mostly slaves. Manchester, at the head of navigation on the James River, was the closest export port for Heth's coal.

Personal life

Colonel Heth's son, Captain John Heth (1798–1842), who served during the War of 1812, established a home along the (old) Buckingham Road near the Black Heath mines. It was at this home that his grandson, future Confederate Major General Henry Heth was born in 1825, about four years after Colonel Heth's death in Savannah, Georgia in 1821.

References