Henry K. Jenney, a farmer of North Charlestown, was born April 19, 1847, in Plainfield, this county, son of E. O. Jenney. The Jenney family is one of the oldest in the county. Silas Jenney, the grandfather of Henry K., settled in Plainfield, and carried on a large farm there. E. O. Jenney, his son, bought a farm in the eastern part of Plainfield, and lived thereon until 1859. Then he moved to the northwest part of the same town, and bought another farm. He raised sheep and cattle on a large scale, and he died in 1876.
Henry K. Jenney, the subject of this sketch, received his knowledge of the rudiments in the district schools of Plainfield. Then he attended Meriden Academy two terms each year for three years, working on his father’s farm for the balance of the year. At the age of twenty, starting out in life for himself, he worked in his native town for a time. In the spring of 1870 he left his home and removed to Charlestown, where he was employed on the farm of Thomas Whipple for two years. Then he bought a part of the Whipple farm, and he has since been successfully engaged in its cultivation. During his residence here Mr. Jenney has bought and sold several farms in the village. Recently he bought the remainder of the Whipple farm, containing one hundred acres. Also, for the past twenty years he has been actively engaged in buying and selling stock of all kinds. He is a stanch Republican, has served on Town Committees, and is at present one of the Selectmen. A prominent member of the Methodist church, he serves the society in the office of Director. He is a charter member of the Sugar River Grange, No. 190.
On June 14, 1872, Mr. Jenney married Helen Whipple, daughter of Thomas Whipple, of Charlestown. They have one child, Mary Alice, born May 30, 1873, who is a graduate of Steven’s High School, and has taught school in Claremont and Charlestown for the past three years. The Whipple family have been connected with the town of Charlestown since 1725, when Moses Whipple, great-grandfather of Mrs. Jenney, settled there. He was a prominent man in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Jenney has in her possession to-day the original documents appointing him Colonel in the Colonial army, signed by King George III., and countersigned by Governor Wentworth, of New Hampshire. Thomas Whipple, who successfully followed the occupation of surveyor, was superintendent of the Charlestown schools for thirteen consecutive years and a Justice of the Peace for thirty-five years. He died March 1, 1870. Mr. Jenney is regarded as one of the prominent residents of the town.