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David Todd Henion

(1881-1967)

NB: I am seeking information on other early members. If you know anything and to assist with filling in the gaps in our history, please send to me.

NB: He was the first deacon (or one of the first) in the Radio Church of God in the Willamette Valley.

The following is from a blog that is no longer available. Note the sentence that Elder Stith baptised or re-baptised Mr Armstrong. There is no proof of this, but may have been. Or the author may be confusing that with another event such as ordination?

http://eqneedf.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html

>My great grandfather, David Todd Henion was born in Marcellus, Mi. on Dec. 14, 1881, and when I was young I played checkers with him at his residence in Jefferson, Oregon and while he and his wife, and my father and mother were members of the World Wide Church of God my grandfather, Lester Charles Henion and his wife were members of the Scravel Hill (nicknamed "Squabble Hill" because of its many doctrinal disputes) and even allowed Hebert to preach there for awhile until disagreements were formulated about the holy days (Note: According to COG7 member Orville Traver, Elder Ray Benight said that he and Alice Henion (brother & sister) were baptized in 1930 in the Dever District in a creek six miles west of Jefferson, Oregon, by Elder Stith.

They were ages 16 and 14 respectively. Alice Henion Benight said that Stith also baptized Herbert Armstrong, near Salem.). My great grandfather's father was Charles Henry Henion, born in New York in 1846. Charles Henry married Adelaide Cornish in Van Burren County Michigan. They had six children, Peter Denson, born July 6, 1876; Markus Laffitte, born Dec. 16, 1878; Charles Barnum, born Sept. 22, 1880; David Todd born, Dec. 14, 1881; Samuel J., born July 15, 1885 and Emma, born in 1892. Charles Henry's father (my great, great, great grandfather) was Peter Henion, born in New York in 1813. Peter lived with his son in and around Lawton, Michigan, Van Burren County.

Peter married Elizabeth Bouman, also born in New York. My great grand father was the only one of the boys to move out west. The others lived most of their lives in Michigan with the exception of Samuel who lived many years in Nebraska. Samuel returned to Michigan in his elder years.

My father, David Charles and uncle Loyd, have many Henion cousins who live in and around Lawton, Marcellus, and Kalamazoo, Michigan who are descendants of Peter, Mark and Samuel Henion.

I'm the only one in my family, the descendants of my great grandfather, David Todd Henion who joined the U. S. Armed Forces, a tour of duty in the U. S. Navy. My immediate family is diverse in worship spread between the United, World Wide, Marion Church of God and 7th Day. I guess you would call me a rebel because I believe in defending the constitution even if I must fight to preserve those rights, while the Civil War made such a great impact on Henions, many vowed never to fight again, as in the case of my great grandfather and his brothers and father.

Armstrong's Church of God known as World Wide Church of God (Early on - Radio Church of God - Plain Truth Magazine) compatriots such as Helms, Ellis, Walker, Barnes and Kiesz are men that the man who wrote the article on the church knew. They told him what HWA was like and what he did. He is familiar with Andrew N. Dugger, COG7 leader who helped Armstrong in the early years. Pioneer members of Armstrong's church, such as the Fishers, Conns, Eva Bodenhamer, Amy Larson, the Henions and many others told me about Armstrong and the Church of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Yet with all this data, there are many nagging, unanswered questions. Herbert Armstrong is a "man nobody knows." (Herbert W. Armstrong: 1892-1986). I know these people to and living through it as a child, I can tell you Armstrong was a good man but he was not what people believed and I ran from his teachings as fast as I could and joined the Navy.<