According to his military records, he deserted. Unfortunately for the regiment, they were called to fight in the Mexican-American War, which apparently was not in the scope of things for Brewster. His primary responsiblity in the Army would be guarding forts on the Oregon Trail. ![]() ![]() To add to the conundrum of how history should treat him, Brewster (or McHenry) was related distantly to Mayflower elder William Brewster.īrewster signed up with a newly formed Ohio Army regiment in 1846 as a rifleman. Army, who changed his name to avoid capture after dodging his military obligation and duty to fight during a time of war. He was both the well-respected rancher and businessman who provides the basis for much of Modesto's early history, and he was a deserter from the U.S. Lancaster discovered the deception after a three year investigation, which turned up a fascinating study of an important Modesto historical figure whose life had two completely different trajectories. Robert McHenry was actually born Robert Henry Brewster in Vermont on July 23, 1827. This picqued Lancaster's interest and what she eventually discovered changed the historical biography of Robert McHenry. He was born in Vermont in 1827, but, as McHenry Museum archivist Janet Lancaster discovered, there were no McHenrys in Vermont at the time of his birth. Yet Robert appeared early in the lore of the Stanislaus area, arriving around 1850. The fight for irrigation had no greater champion than Oramil. He and his son, Oramil, certainly left their marks on the city - from the Victorian-era mansion that remains the centerpiece of Modesto's earliest history to the Bald Eagle Ranch in the northern part of the outskirts, as well as the many streets and buildings bearing the McHenry name. He seems to have shied away from being the subject of early tintypes or photographs. There are not many photographs of Robert McHenry even though he is one of the foremost figures in the history of early Modesto. Modesto boasts McHenry Avenue, once the road between the McHenry Mansion and the family's Bald Eagle Ranch the McHenry Library, later established as the McHenry Museum and the McHenry Mansion, a Victorian-era remnant of old Modesto.Oramil McHenry dies in 1906 and bequeaths land and money to build a library in Modesto.Dies Jtwo years after suffering a debilitating stroke.Helps establish Modesto Irrigation District.Builds McHenry Mansion in 1883 at 15th and I Sts.Family moves to Modesto after its founding in 1870.Oramil McHenry, son, born in 1861 on the Bald Eagle Ranch.Marries Matilda Hewitt of Farmington, formerly of Ohio, in 1859.He is a homesteader, landowner and rancher. Robert McHenry is elected a Stanislaus County supervisor in 1855.They also work together as business partners in Stanislaus County. Robert McHenry and Leonard Brewster are partners in butcher businesses in Chinese Camp and Jacksonville.Leonard Oramil Brewster arrives in California in 1852 and locates in Stanislaus County by 1855. ![]()
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