John Henry

Who was John Henry?

John Henry was the eighth Governor of Maryland and member of the United States Senate. He was born near Vienna in Dorchester County, Maryland.

He was a member of the Episcopal Church and the United States Democratic-Republican Party. Originally, he was a member of the Federalist Party.

He attended West Nottingham Academy in Cecil County, Maryland and graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1769; he then studied law at the Middle Temple in London. He returned to the United States in 1775 and practiced law in Dorchester County.

Henry served as a member of Maryland House of Delegates from 1777 to 1780 and a member of the Maryland State Senate from 1780 to 1790. During that time he was chosen as a delegate to the Continental Congress from Maryland from 1778 to 1780 and from 1785 to 1786; during his service, he was a member of the committee that prepared the ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory. He was elected to be one of the first two Senators from Maryland, serving 1789 as a Federalist till his resignation on December 10, 1797, to take the Governorship. He received 2 electoral votes for President of the United States in the 1796 election.