David Denny (abt. 1720 - 1777)

Born about 1720 in Londonderry, Ulster, Ireland

Died 25 Apr 1777 at about age 57 in Frederick County, Virginia, USA

Biography

David DENNY Sr. [S1] was born about 1720 in Londonderry? Ulster,

Ireland [S2]. Died before Jun 1777 in Fredericks County, VA [S3]. David came to America in the late 1730's and settled in PA. He was of Scotch-Irish descent and was of the Protestant faith. He then moved to Winchester, Frederick County, VA before the American Revolution.

:According to the book "Westward to Alki", he stayed on the family land near Londonderry (in Ulster, Scotland) until the late 1730's and then left for America. (This is supported by the book "Zachary Taylor French & Rachel Evelyn Duckworth" by Gene Jackson, but it perhaps came from the same source.) They settled in the Cumberland Valley of southwestern Pennsylvania. David took part in the Expedition against the Delaware Indians in 1744. Records indicate that he was living in Lancaster County in 1744 and had previously married Margaret Denny (possibly a distant cousin) there. David and Margaret settled at or near Paxtang or Paxton (that part of Lancaster County which later became Dauphin County) near Fort Hunter which was located six miles above the present city of Harrisburg, on the Susquehanna River at the junction of Fishing Creek. Their first child (of seven) was born there about 1741.

:On 19 April, 1744, David Denny was one of nine men who signed a deposition stating forth the facts of the search and capture of an Indian who had killed three white settlers.

:They pushed on to Chester County according to records of 1757. Then in 1764, when a way was opened to the Shenandoah Valley from the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania, they pushed across the Blue Ridge Mountains to Frederick County, VA via covered wagon. They settled near Winchester, Virginia where David purchased some 400 acres of land in 1764.

:From "Frederick County, Virginia Will Book 4, Part 1", page 360: Will of DAVID DENNY, 25 April, 1777 Wife: Margaret Sons: Robert, Walter, Samuel, David, John, & William Dau: Margerie Wilson Wit: Merideth Darlington, David Denny, Jr., Alex White Proven: 3 June, 1777, Frederick County, VA

:Note that the above Alexander White (who witnessed David's will) later became a member of Congress and offered the government (in the name of Virginia) ten square miles as a site for the national capital.

:David Denny had six sons, four of whom served in the Revolutionary war (David, Jr., William, Robert, and Samuel). A fifth, Walter, was a Tory.

:He married Margaret DENNY about 1740 in Lancaster County, PA [S4]. Margaret DENNY [S5] was born about 1724 in Paughtown, PA [S6]. Died in Dec [S7].

They had the following children:

• Walter DENNY
• David DENNY Jr.
• Margery DENNY
• William DENNY 1st Lt.
• John DENNY
• Robert DENNY Lt.
• Samuel DENNY^[1][2]

Sources

1. ↑ SOURCES: 1. From the book "Blazing the Way" by Emily Inez Denny, written 1909. 2. The approximate place of Ulster came from the book "Westward to Alki". The place of Londonderry came from the LDS Ancestral File #1P6M -CL which had a birth date of ca 1720. The book Daughters of the American Colonists--Vol. 14, 1964, p 15, had a date of 1705, but I believe this to be far too early. 3. The book "Westward to Alki" had a date of 1777. His will was proved on 3 June, 1777. 4. WFT CD 5. From the book "Blazing the Way" by Emily Inez Denny, written 1909. 6. From the LDS Ancestral File #1P6M-DR. Victoria Sheldon; Prodigy 6/94 had a birth date of 14 Mar 1747.... The book Daughters of the American Colonists--Vol. 14, 1964, p 15 had a date of ca 1724. 7. From the LDS Ancestral File #1P6M-DR.
2. ↑ From: MR WILLIAM L DENNEY<WGRP33A@prodigy.com > Subject: Re: David Denny, Sr. b ca 1720, Ulster, Ireland Date: Tue, 7 Oct 1997 [ From: Bill Denney * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ], http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/DENNEY/1997-10/0876208148, accessed 25 Nov 2014

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