William Denison (bef. 1571 - 1654)

Born before 3 Feb 1571 in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Chandler) Denison — married 7 Nov 1603 in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England

Descendants

Died 25 Jan 1654 after age 82 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message]

William Denison migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 521) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

• Ancestor of noted writer David Sedaris^[1]
• Alt dod 25 Jan 1653 in Roxbury^[1]

Note: "William Denison was well situated in Bishop's Stortford, but became interested in the emigration to New England, whereupon he decided to go there himself . . . He brought a very good estate to New England, and soon became a leader in civic and religious affairs. His name is third on the list of founders of the First Church of the town, which was organized about 1632 with John Eliot as pastor. Eliot was a missionary to the Indians, traveling to America on the ship "Lyon" with William Denison, and appears to have been a tutor in his family. William Denison was a founder of the free school in Roxbury . . . A list of early freeholders shows that he possessed two hundred and sixty-seven acres of land. In 1637, he and his son, Edward, were among several other Roxbury men who were disarmed for 'seditious libel,' because they were followers of Anne Hutchinson, the religious leader, who drew many of the more intelligent to her way of thinking." (Americana, 488).

He was a maltster (or brewer of ale and malt beverages very popular in his time) [NEHGR 132:20]. ^[2]

On 3 July 1632 William became a freeman of Massachusetts. ^[2] He was a deputy from Roxbury to the Massachusetts General Court from 4 March, 1634/5. ^[2]

Baptism

Baptism: 3 Feb 1570/71, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, ^[3] son of John and Agnes (Willie) Denison [NYGBR 67:50-51]. ^[2]

Children

Per "Great Migration", all baptized Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire:

1. JOHN, bp. 7 April 1605; vicar at Standon, Hertfordshire
2. WILLIAM, bp. 5 October 1606
3. GEORGE, bp. 15 October 1609; bur. 18 June 1614.
4. DANIEL, bp. 18 October 1612; m. Cambridge 18 October 1632 Patience Dudley, daughter of THOMAS DUDLEY
5. SARAH, bp. 8 October 1615; bur. 15 October 1615.
6. EDWARD, bp. 3 November 1616; m. Roxbury 30 March 1641
7. GEORGE, bp. 10 December 1620; m. (1) Roxbury March 1640 Bridget Thompson, daughter of John and Alice (Freeman) Thompson of Preston, Northamptonshire

Event: prominent merchant and a man of means and good education ^[2]

Freeman: 3 Jul 1632 ^[2]; 4 NEHGR 269.

Emigration

Emigration: on the ship "Lyon or Lion" with wife and three youngest sons ^[2]

Date: 1631 ^[2]

Place: from England to Roxbury, Massachusetts ^[3]

Religion

Religion: First Church of Roxbury, Massachusetts, founder and early deacon ^[2]

Date: 1632, Roxbury, Massachusetts ^[3]

Death

Death: Roxbury 25 January 1653/4 ^[2]

Burial

Burial: 1652/1653, (there is no known gravestone), Old Eliot Street Cemetery, Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts

Baptized Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, 3 February 1571, son of John and Agnes (Willie) Denison. Maltster from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire who came to Massachusetts Bay in 1631 & settled in Roxbury. Died in Roxbury 25 January 1653/4. Married in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, 7 November 1603, Margaret (Chandler) Monk. "Old Mother Dennison" died Roxbury 3 February 1645/6. Son Daniel Denison left a remarkable record addressed to his grandchildren, which details the immigrant's family. "That you being left fatherless children might not be altogether ignorant of your ancestors, nor strangers to your near relations, I thought meet to acquaint you with your predecessors, and your descent from them.... Your great grandfather my dear father whose name was William, had by my dear Mother whose name was Chandler six sons, and one daughter, two of which (viz) one son and the daughter died in their childhood ..., your grandfather [sic - recte great-grandfather] my father though very well seated in Stratford [sic], hearing of the then famous transplantation in New England, unsettled himself and recalling me from Cambridge removed himself and family in the year 1631 in New England, and brought over with him myself being about 19 years of age, and my two younger brothers, Edward, and George, leaving my eldest brother John behind him in England.... My father brought with him into New England a very good estate and settled himself at Roksbury and there lived (though somewhat weakening his estate) till the year 1653 in January when he died, having buried my mother about eight years before."

Research Notes

Please see this thread re: Agnes Wylley for questions about descent from Magna Carta barons.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Ancient Roots." Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. PBS. 18 Nov 2014.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9} William Denison in Great Migration
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Source: #S-2024265429 Denison Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of Captain George Denison, Page: xxi

See also:

• Caulkins, Frances Manwaring. History of New London, Connecticut From the First Survey of the Coast in 1612, The Author, New London, 1852. On Archive.org
• Baldwin, John Denison & Clift, William. A record of the descendants of Capt. George Denison, of Stonington, Conn., Tyler & Seagrave, Worcester, MA, 1881. On Hathitrust.org
• Benton, Charles Edward, Ezra Reed and Esther Edgerton: Their Life and Ancestry, A.V. Haight Company, 1912 On Archive.org

• William Denison, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995).

• Source Denison Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of Captain George Denison, Author: E. Glenn Denison, Josephine M. Peck and Donald L. Jacobus, Publication: Gateway Press, Inc. Baltimore, MD 1993, Note: Originally published, Pequot Press 1963. Reprinted, Baltimore, MD 1978, 1982, 1993

• Find A Grave: Memorial #9327690