Notes
Elvira McClelland Henry (1808–1875) was the wife of Patrick Henry's youngest son, John Henry (1796–1868), and was responsible for much of the beautification of Red Hill. She was born in Lovingston, Virginia on April 23, 1808. She died in Richmond on November 2, 1875, and was buried at Red Hill in the Henry family cemetery.
Her portrait was completed at Red Hill in 1836 by George Cooke (1793–1849), a prevalent artist of the first half of the 19th century. Born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, Cooke abandoned a fledgling career in business at an early age to become a full-time artist. After several years of painting portraits for a living, Cooke left for what would become a five-year tour of Europe. His time there was mostly spent learning from and copying the works of the Renaissance master artists, with many of Cooke's copies being sent back to the United States for show or sale. After returning to the US, Cooke and his wife spent the next decade traveling and working with no fixed home. His work took him throughout the southern US, where he primarily made his living painting portraits of both famous and ordinary people, and, by the 1840s, his portraits had earned him both financial success and regional fame. Cooke died in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1849 after a bout of cholera.
After Elvira Henry died in 1875, the painting was inherited by her daughter, Margaret Ann Henry Miller (1827–1881). It then passed to Margaret Miller's daughter, Rosa Cabell Miller Gammon (1868–1954), who married Landon Haynes Gammon Sr. (1861–1963) in 1894. The painting was inherited by their son, Landon Haynes Gammon Jr. (1896–1975). After he died, his widow, Katherine Clinton Conn Gammon (1898–1995), presented a photographic copy of the portrait to Red Hill in 1976 with the stipulation that upon Mrs. Gammon's death, PHMF would receive the original painting and the niece of Landon Gammon Jr. would receive the photographic copy.
Katherine Gammon died in 1995, and the portrait was transferred soon thereafter. It arrived at Red Hill on August 23, 1995.