Who are the many Henrys in the Mid Argyll Kinship group? The DNA results tell us they originally came from mid Argyll. There are historical Henry families from that area, the most notable is the Mac Eanruig family. They were the lords of Glencoe, until the time of Eáin Fraoch Mac Dónaill, who married the daughter and heiress of Dubhgall Mac Eanruig, and thereby gaining the lands of Glencoe. The Mac Eanruig family did not disappear however, they still retained many of their lands and became hereditary musicians, captains, and bodyguards, for the incoming Mac Dónaill family.
An interesting aspect of this Henry family is they claim 'Pict' ancestry. Now Pict in this case does not necessarily refer to the Picts as we now know the term. The term Pict was used for a very long time to mean any of the indigenous Cumbric people of what is now Scotland. The main to Cumbric kingdoms in early medieval times were Gododdin and Strathclyde. So the Henrys are more likely of Cumbric origin. The deep ancestry of all the Mid Argyll Group is not Irish Gael, it is indigenous to Scotland and the group has an off the scale level of distant matches to Welsh families. This at least suggests a Cumbric distant origin.
So, the question is, are the many Henrys the old Mac Eanruig family of Loch Awe and Glencoe? To date the data we have suggests this, but certainly, more research needs to be done.
Thank you, this is fascinating! I descend from two different Henry/Hendry families who both ended up in NC--and intermarried! I know one of my Henry families came from the Isle of Arran. I was so excited when I saw the DNA Henry results--another of my Henry ancestors is listed from 3 different descendants. The ancestor I share with them is a William Henry whose family always said he came from around Glencoe but we had no proof. It looks like we DO have proof now, thanks to DNA! Our shared ancestor is William "Tailor Billy" Henry who apparently DID come from the Glencoe area--he's listed with the Mid-Argyll group according to the DNA results. Tailor Billy ended up in New Hanover (now Pender) County in NC, where my mother was born. My great-grandmother (maternal side) was Lessie Henry Byrd, daughter of a Civil War veteran named Washington Brown Henry. Sorry for going on for so long but I am so excited!!! :-)
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