Thomas Henderson

Thomas Henderson (August 15, 1743 – December 15, 1824) was a United States representative from New Jersey. He served as acting governor of New Jersey in 1793. He was also a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army and a prominent medical doctor in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Early life Henderson was born in Freehold in the Province of New Jersey, on August 15, 1743. He attended the public schools and graduated from Princeton College in 1761. He studied medicine and practiced in Freneau, New Jersey and Freehold Township, New Jersey. He was a member of the Committee of Safety in 1774 and served as a lieutenant in the New Jersey Line in 1775. He was appointed second major in Col. Charles Stewart's battalion of Minutemen on February 15, 1776, and was a brigade major of the Monmouth County militia, April 19, 1776. He was major of Col. Nathaniel Heard's battalion, June 14, 1776, and later lieutenant colonel and brigadier major at Monmouth.

Medical career He learned to practice medicine under Dr. Nathaniel Scudder, and in 1766 he became a member of the New Jersey Medical Society. He was a candidate in the 1799 special election for the U.S. Senate, losing by two votes to James Schureman. From 1783 to 1799 he was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and was one of the commissioners appointed to settle the boundary line between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He was again a member of the State Council in 1812 and 1813.

Military career Henderson was made a Second Major under Colonel Walter Stewart's battalion of Minutemen, on February 15, 1776. On June 14, 1776, he became a Major under Colonel Heard, and later became a Lieutenant Colonel under Colonel David Forman's battalion in Heard's brigade.

Battle of Monmouth Dr. Henderson fought in the Battle of Monmouth as a Lieutenant Colonel. On June 17, 1778, just one day prior to the Battle of Monmouth, the British army burned down Dr. Henderson's home, along with at least 7 other residences in the Freehold area. Henderson's property consisted of 220 acres and was one of the largest estates in the area.

After the Battle of Monmouth concluded, Henderson rebuilt his home on the same site and named n "Cincinnati Hall." In 2023, the Freehold Township Historic Preservation Commission received an award from the Monmouth County Historical Commission for restoring the Henderson barn. The barn was built in the early nineteenth century with beams from the original home.

Society of Cincinnatus Henderson was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati, which was formed in 1783.