The Hendee Family: A Genealogical and Historical Journey Across Nine Centuries From medieval England to twenty-first-century America, the story of the Hendee family unfolds across nearly a thousand years of history. Drawing on rare manuscripts, parish records, Revolutionary War rolls, Civil War archives, twentieth-century oral histories, and even cutting-edge DNA science, this book offers the first comprehensive study of the Hendee surname and its descendants. At once a genealogy, a history, and an interpretation , the book traces how the name — in its many spellings (Hendee, Hendy, Hende, Hendie) — emerged in England, migrated to New England with Puritan settlers, and flourished across the colonies. From Richard Hendee Sr. of seventeenth-century Connecticut, to Caleb Hendee Sr. in Washington’s Guard, to Caleb Jr. who preserved the family’s nineteenth-century manuscript, and Lee Wayland Hendee who safeguarded it for the modern age, each generation played its role in sustaining a legacy. The narrative follows the family’s expansion from Connecticut into Vermont, New York, and the Midwest; their participation in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and both World Wars ; their labor in mills, farms, and the Eastman Kodak Company; and their later contributions in medicine, forestry, genetics, biomechanics, and conservation. Along the way, the book reveals how the Hendees consistently embodied an ethic of service, memory, and leadership . But this is more than a family chronicle. It is also a reflection on the meaning of genealogy itself . Why do families remember? How does heritage shape identity? What responsibilities do genealogists carry when preserving memory? Through the Hendee story, readers glimpse how one surname mirrors the broader American experience: migration, service, adaptation, and renewal. Spanning nine chapters, meticulously documented with endnotes, sources, and a master bibliography, this book is both a reference for genealogists and a narrative for general readers interested in how family and national history intertwine. Whether you are a descendant of the Hendees, a genealogist seeking inspiration, or a reader who loves stories of American families, this volume offers a journey into the heart of history — and a reminder that every family, when remembered, becomes extraordinary.