John Henley

John C. Henley, Sr (born 1842 in Montgomery; died 1910 in Birmingham) was a real estate investor, merchant and banker who came to be considered one of the founding fathers of the city. He and his employer and father-in-law Charles Linn were among the earlier business operators in the city.

Henley was the son of John and Marcissa Molton Henley of Montgomery. He was raised in that city and attended its public schools, entering the world of business as a bookkeeper. He came to Birmingham in the early 1870s, and In 1878, after six years in the real estate and mercantile business, he entered the National Bank of Birmingham as bookkeeper.

Henley was eventually promoted to the position of cashier. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank, and, upon the consolidation of the National Bank with City National Bank to form the First National Bank of Birmingham, he was chosen vice-president of that institution. He was is given credit for wise decision-making that allowed the bank to prosper through the years.

Henley, one of the notable bachelors who attended Linn's Calico Ball in 1873, married Linn's daughter, Annie, in 1876. She had been widowed by William V. Matthews of Louisville, Kentucky in 1873. They had two children, Walter and John, Jr.

References

• Dubose, John Witherspoon (1887) Jefferson County and Birmingham, Alabama: Historical and Biographical Birmingham: Teeple & Smith, Publishers; Caldwell Printing Works.
• Cruikshank, George H. (1920) History of Birmingham and Its Environs: A Narrative Account of Their Historical Progress, Their People, and Their Principal Interests 2 volumes. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections