On This Day In Alabama History: Magic City Founding Father Henley Was Born

By Alabama NewsCenter Staff

September 29, 1842: John Charles Henley Sr., known as one of Birmingham’s founding fathers, was born. Henley was a real estate investor, merchant and president of the Birmingham Insurance Company. His father-in-law, Charles Linn, was among the Magic City’s earlier business operators. Raised in Montgomery, Henley attended public schools and entered the business world as a bookkeeper. At the start of the Civil War, Henley joined Hilliard’s Legion at Mobile, which was enrolled as the 59th Alabama Regiment. He was commissioned a captain and spent the war in the field. Though wounded at Drewry’s Bluff on the James River, Henley survived and returned to Montgomery after the surrender. Henley moved to Birmingham and was among bachelors at Charles Linn’s “Calico Ball” in 1873. The landmark celebration was hosted by Linn at his newly completed National Bank of Birmingham building on New Year’s Eve 1873.

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