View source for Norris W. Hensley

{{Infobox person
|birth_date={{birth date|1872|12|2}}
|birth_place=[[Kanawha County, West Virginia]]
|death_date={{death date and age|mf=y|1940|10|24|1872|12|2}}
|death_place=[[Tampa, Florida]]
|occupation=Insurance agent
|alma_mater=[[National Normal University]]
|spouse=Annie Laura Castor
|children=2
}}
'''Norris Wilson Hensley''' (December 2, 1872 &ndash; October 24, 1940) was an insurance agent in [[Tampa, Florida]].

==Early years and ancestry==
Norris Wilson Hensley was born on December 2, 1872, near [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]] in [[Kanawha County, West Virginia]] to Mordecai Hensley and Julia Ann Emeline Melton.<ref name=":0"/><ref>[http://www.martygrant.com/genealogy/hensley/hensley-william-putnam-wv.htm William Hensley (c1808) and Sarah (---) of Kanawha and Putnam Co., WV]</ref>

His father's parents were William Hensley and Sarah Guthrie.<ref>"Florida, Funeral Home Records, 1887-1971", , ''FamilySearch'' (<nowiki>https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:623W-XZND</nowiki> : 21 November 2023), Mordicie Hensley, 1923.</ref> Sarah was the daughter of James Guthrie, the namesake of [[Guthrie, West Virginia]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Sissonville, a Time To Remember|page=86}}</ref> His mother's parents were Daniel Melton and Elizabeth Kelly. Elizabeth was the daughter of Moses Kelly, who with his brother Aaron was an early settler of Union District on the [[Kanawha River]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofcharles00laid_1/page/n225/mode/2up?q=kelley|page=219|author=W. S. Laidley|title=History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia, and representative citizens|date=1911 |publisher=Chicago, Richmond-Arnold pub. co }}</ref>

Norris Hensley attended [[National Normal University]] in [[Lebanon, Ohio]] and Mountain State Business College in [[Parkersburg, West Virginia]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title=Builders of Tampa|page=5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune/14937939/|work=Tampa Tribune|date=March 16, 1926}}</ref> He taught school in [[Milton, West Virginia]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>"United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9CD-HW7 : Fri Oct 06 01:17:59 UTC 2023), Entry for Norris W. Hensley, 1900.</ref>

He married Annie Laura Castor in [[Huntington, West Virginia]] on June 11, 1902.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 18, 1902 |title=Captured A Virginia Belle |work=Tampa Tribune |page=7}}</ref> The ceremony was performed by W. L. Cocke.

==Tampa==

=== Grocery ===
Hensley's first job in Tampa was working as a bookkeeper for the grocery business F. H. Davis & Co.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune/15188166/|title=Passing Throng|work=Tampa Tribune|page=7|date=May 16, 1902}}</ref> He had a daughter, Florida Virginia Hensley, die as an infant on April 22, 1904.<ref>{{cite news|title=Infant Daughter Dead|work=Tampa Tribune|date=April 23, 1904}}</ref>

=== Bank ===
He was a bookkeeper for the Exchange National Bank from 1904 to 1906.<ref name=":1" /> His only son Robert Burns Hensley was born February 2, 1905.<ref>"Florida, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2C5-P65W : Sat Feb 10 07:01:03 UTC 2024), Entry for Robert Burns Hensley, 16 Oct 1940.</ref>

He was cashier and bank teller at the Bank of Tampa from 1907 to 1910,<ref>{{cite news|title=Read!|work=Atlanta Constitution|date=November 27, 1910}}</ref> including during the [[Panic of 1907]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Bankers Magazine|volume=75|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SX83AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA175|title=New State Banks, Bankers, Etc.|date=1907 |page=175}}</ref>

===Insurance===
With his brothers Emory and Fred Hensley, N. W. Hensley & Co. insurance firm was founded in 1910 and existed through the [[Florida land boom of the 1920s|Florida Land Boom]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-times/14961258/|title=Who's Who in Florida|author=Frank L. Huffaker|page=2|date=January 7, 1920|work=The Tampa Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune/15054623/|title=N. W. Hensley Co., One of City's Most Dependable Concerns|newspaper=The Tampa Tribune |date=June 10, 1923|page=71|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>

Hensley was an active [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] and attended the [[1924 Democratic National Convention]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune/15417414/|page=16|title=Five-Dollar Bill Only Ticket Needed At Garden, Says Hensley|date=July 2, 1924|work=The Tampa Tribune}}</ref>

== Death and legacy ==
He died October 24, 1940.<ref>{{cite news|title=Funeral Services For N. W. Hensley To Be Held Today|work=Tampa Tribune|date=October 26, 1940}}</ref> He was a member of the First Baptist Church under pastor Claude W. Duke.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-obituary-for-n-w-hen/141432988/|title=N. W. Hensley, 67, Prominent Tampa Insuror, Dies|date=October 25, 1940|page=1|work=Tampa Tribune|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> He was also a member of the [[Kiwanis|Kiwanis Club]].<ref>{{cite news |date=June 22, 1930 |title=Kiwanis Club to Give Ladies Night June 30 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xxoeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S2QEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4346,37402 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune}}</ref>

The Hensley-Stovall Arcade at 420 Lafayette St. is named after him and ''Tampa Tribune'' publisher [[Wallace Stovall]].<ref>[https://www.tampachanging.com/gallery/hensley-stovall-arcade/ Hensley-Stovall Arcade]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{find a Grave|60383351}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hensley, Norris W.}}
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Tampa, Florida]]
[[Category:People from Kanawha County, West Virginia]]