Shetlands Hendersons

The Hendersons of the Shetlands (Danes)

Much of the information on the Henderson line in the Shetlands comes by way of a ledger from William Henderson, who was born on the Island of Foula (1783). Most importantly, the journal identifies the origin of the Henderson line in the Shetlands to Hendrich Hendrichson, also known as the Count Hemison.

At the cession of the Shetlands to Scotland, most of the native gentry retired to Norway and Denmark. According to William Henderson’s journal, the Hendersons of Bunes, Brassay, Midgarth, Petister and Glouss in the Shetlands were the only families who could trace their descent from Denmark prior to the Shetlands becoming part of Scotland.

Count Hemison — Grande Fowde of Zetland

Hendrich Hendrichson served as the Grande Fowde (governor, chief justice and chancellor) of Zetland (Shetland) under a commission granted by King Christian I of Denmark. The title of “Count” was unknown in Denmark before the sixteenth century — the exception occurred when the Emperor of Germany conferred the title for distinguished service. Count Hemison was therefore probably a count of the Holy Roman Empire.

Count Hemison arrived in the Shetlands in 1450. As chief justice, he presided in the court of appeals. As chancellor, he acted as receiver general of the Scott (Danish land tax). He was probably the last governor of the Shetlands under Danish rule, returning to Denmark when the islands were mortgaged to the king of Scotland in 1468, leaving large estates to a son who remained in the country.

The Norse Patronymic System

Leading up to Count Hemison’s time, surnames among untitled Scandinavians were virtually unheard of. Patronymics were universal: the son of Swayne Anderson would be called Andrew Swainson. The eldest son was always named after the grandfather. No woman ever assumed her husband’s surname when she married. The eldest daughter could have no other name than that of her paternal grandmother.

From Magnusson to Henderson

Toward the middle of the sixteenth century, the lineal descendant of Count Hemison was Magnus Ninianson, Laird of Buness and Gardie. He conferred his possessions to his son, Ninian Magnusson, who was the first to assume the Henderson name, about the early part of the seventeenth century, during the reign of Charles I.

Why Ninian adopted the Henderson name is unclear. William Henderson argues that the Hendersons of Fordell may have sprung from the same Norse family, and that the Shetland descendants adopted the surname to conform to Scottish customs. Supporting this theory is the fact that the family arms are the same. Magnus Henderson of Buness and Gardie divided his estates between his five sons: Ninian, James, Gilbert, John and David — notably, Ninian and Gilbert are Norse names.