Henry was born between 1735 and 1740 in Virginia. He was the son of Johann and Catherine Holtzclaw. Henry married Susannah in about 1760.
Henry and Susannah Holtzclaw moved to Mercer County Kentucky between 1775 and 1782, being among the earliest settlers near Harrodsburg. While living in Kentucky he served in the Revolutionary War, in a company of Lincoln County Militia commanded by Samuel Kirkham, in an expedition under General Clark against enemy Indians in 1782 (cf. Illinois Papers, Document 79 Dept. of Archives, Virginia State Library, Richmond) -- The Germanna Record: The Genealogy of the Holtzclaw family 1540-1935. B.C. Holtzclaw, PhD . The 1820 Census shows Henry to be in Barren County, Kentucky.
Children of Henry and Susannah:
William Holtzclaw
John Holtzclaw, b. 1752
Henry Holtzclaw, b. 1770; d. aft. 1850; m. Sarah Shirley