The Henderson Family starts with Freddye and Jake Sr. Henderson.

Freddye was a fashion designer, Jake, a Housing Project manager for the city of Atlanta. Freddye's parents, Alexander, a reverend, and Ophelia Scarborough, (pictured at top of page) and their family's tragic past are written about in The Star Creek Papers: Washington Parish and the Lynching of Jerome Wilson by Horace Mann Bond and Julia W. Bond. (You can use this link to view the book for free on Archive.org with an account.)

Freddye came up with the idea to open a travel agency after traveling to Paris, France at the invitation of the French ambassador’s wife, and the Henderson Travel Service opened in 1955 in Atlanta offering tours to Europe, and expanded its services to include Africa in 1957.

Their four children, Carole, Jake Jr., Gaynelle, and Shirley, each had a hand working at the travel service throughout their lives, but it was Jake Jr. and Gaynelle who took over from their parents, and now Gaynelle Henderson-Bailey, runs the Henderson Travel Service part time in Washington, D.C.

As of 2025, surviving family members include Gaynelle and Shirley, their husbands, and their children.