By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

For history buffs interested in Revolutionary War-era Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley Passport to History’s Aug. 6 episode of “History Happy Hour” introduced the audience to the famous Henry gun-smithing family and its role in the American Revolution and beyond.

Series host George Wacker, of Lehigh Valley with Love Media, kicked off the presentation by introducing the drink sponsor - period-accurate mead from The Colony Meadery, Allentown.

Founder Greg Heller-Labelle explained the historical roots of mead, an alcohol made from honey.

He noted mead is steeped in history. Some people call it humanity’s oldest alcohol.”

“Mead was a great fit then for any culture that was a frontier culture like pre Revolution America, when you didn’t have a lot of access to other fermentable sugars,” Heller-LaBelle said. “Washington made mead … Any home brewers around then would have been a lot of mead.”

Wacker then introduced the evening’s speaker, Adam Stephan, second vice president of the Jacobsburg Historical Society, which maintains the Henry Family Estate as part of the Boulton Historic Site in Nazareth.

The site was funded by William Henry II through his sons William Henry III and John Joseph Henry, the latter of whom built the historic J.J. Henry House in 1832 which still stands today.

Speaking from the society’s Pennsylvania Longrifle Museum while dressed in period attire, Stephan said the museum houses many items connected to the Henry family.

“You can definitely see the artifacts through the Henry gun-making time period, all the way from the American Revolution all the way to 1901.

“So, there’s a nice vast history in these two rooms,” he said. “You can really get a sense of what the Henrys did and contributed to the United States.”

Speaking about the family, he first introduced William Henry I of Lancaster.

“He was the one that really started this whole thing,” Stephan said.

He said Henry is known for being a gunsmith, but only worked in this role early in his life, and that in his later years, he really wanted to become more of a gentleman.

Henry was present during the defeat of Maj.Gen. Edward Braddock during the French and Indian War as an armorer which, coupled with his numerous connections in London, helped him start getting into the upper echelon of Lancaster.

Stephan also explained that Henry was a patriot and served in the Revolutionary War, though not in a combat capacity, due to his Moravian religious ties, as a procurement officer.

“He actually gathered a lot of supplies - firearms, shoes and all this stuff - for the Continental Army, and that’s why a lot of people get confused still, thinking that he was a gunsmith when actually he was not,” Stephan said.

Henry served in the Continental Congress from 1785-86, and as treasurer of Pennsylvania.

Next was William’s wife, Ann Henry.

“The interesting thing … in the 18th century, you really don’t hear about the female involvement, and I really wanted to touch on this,” Stephan said.

When Henry’s son, John Joseph Henry, wanted to serve in the Continental Army, his mother gave him consent to serve.

She furnished him and made him his own rifle frock, his gaiter trousers, so she made his apparel.

“She had to be a patriot, and she was a patriot,” Stephan said.

During the British occupation of Philadelphia, Thomas Paine and David Rittenhouse stayed in the Henrys’ house, and Ann Henry complained quite frequently about Paine not keeping good cleanliness and being overly lazy while Rittenhouse was attending his treasury business.

Stephan said this experience set the bar for Ann, noting that after William Henry’s death, she took up his office as treasurer and served for five years.

“And, that’s something you never hear of in the 18th century,” Stephan said.

Stephan also spoke about William Henry’s brother, John Henry, who was also involved in the gun-making business and fought during the Revolutionary War.

Not much is known about John Henry outside of a letter written by Henry’s daughter to family members, which speaks about his service as a captain and commander in one of the Lancaster Militias.

“The sad thing about John Henry is he, unfortunately, didn’t live long enough to see the country win its independence,” Stephan said, adding Henry died in 1777. “But he was one of the people who paid the ultimate sacrifice to have America’s freedom as it is.”

Stephan also shared a quote from Henry, who was asked by his wife about why he is dedicated to the revolutionary cause.

“What we gain is our liberty, and payday will come later,” he replied.

“I think that’s a really powerful statement,” Stephan said.

The penultimate Henry was William Henry’s first son, John Joseph Henry, who like the rest of his family, was “a huge patriot” during the Revolutionary War.

This Henry served under the eventual turncoat Gen. Benedict Arnold and marched in Arnold’s 240-mile expedition to Quebec.

“Through that he suffered a lot of hardships,” Stephan said, noting Henry suffered through the cold, being ill-equipped, and losing men and equipment, including his own longrifle, during river crossings.

Henry fought in the Battle of Quebec, was captured and imprisoned, and eventually settled in practicing law after leaving the military due to injuries.

“He served as Easton’s district judge,” Stephan said. “He had a couple trials, too, one of his trials actually was involved with John Adams when he became president.”

The final family member Stephan spoke about was William Henry Jr., the second son of William Henry I.

“Now, this gentleman, he was a gunsmith who was involved in the American Revolution” Stephan said.

Henry Jr. made 65 muskets during the war, an impressive number given that around that time period it took about 1,800 hours just to complete - from lock, stock and barrel - a full-on, functional musket.”

Henry Jr. grew up and settled in Nazareth.

“He had a gunsmith shop right there on Main Street,” Stephan said, adding he was the original sponsor/founder of the Jacobsburg Historical Society.

The Longrifle Museum is in the house of Henry Jr.’s son, William Henry III.

“He’s the one who helped found this site and make this whole thing possible,” Stephan said.

Stephan also discussed historical re-enactment, which his grandfather Earl Van Norman Jr. first introduced him to, and which he has been doing for more than 20 years.

Stephan said while he first found re-enactment boring, “[Norman Jr.] hands me the Pennsylvania longrifle, then he hands me a tomahawk and says, ‘Well how do you feel about it now?’ And I was like, ‘Well, this seems a little more interesting.’”

The diverse re-enactment community has a powerful social element, catering to many different interests.

“Reenacting is a great hobby … It’s something you can learn so many things about,” he said.

“It’s not just learning about clothing and about war, its actually learning about the people that were involved in the American Revolution … on how we developed as a culture, and what started us to become the country that we are now today.”

“History Happy Hour” is a virtual series highlighting themes and discussion with museums, and featuring drinks from breweries, wineries or distilleries.