Maj. Ebenezer Denny and Nancy Wilkins
Husband Maj. Ebenezer Denny 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Born: 11 Mar 1761 - Carlisle, Cumberland Co, PA 2 3 5 6 7 8 Christened: Died: 21 Jul 1822 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA 6 8 9 Buried: - First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA
Father: William Denny (1737-Abt 1800) 5 6 10 11 12 13 14 Mother: Agnes Parker (1741-Aft 1800) 5 6 10 12 13 14 15
Marriage: 1 Jul 1793 3 16 17 18
• Biographical Sketch: Alfred Nevin, D.D., LL.D., Men of Mark of the Cumberland Valley, Pa. 1776-1876 (Philadelphia, PA: Fulton Publishing Co., 1876).
To read this brief biographical sketch of his life and career, click here.
Wife Nancy Wilkins 2 3 6 17 18 19
Born: 1775 - Carlisle, Cumberland Co, PA 16 Christened: Died: 1 May 1806 9 16 18 20 Buried:
Father: Capt. John Wilkins (1733-1809) 3 16 Mother:
Children
1 M Hon. Harmar Denny 6 9 16 18 19 20 21
Born: 13 May 1794 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA 9 16 18 20 21 Christened: Died: 29 Jan 1852 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA 1 16 22 23 Buried: - Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PASpouse: Elizabeth Febiger O'Hara (1796-1878) 1 6 9 16 22 23 Marr: 25 Nov 1817 1 23
2 M William Henry Denny 9 17 18
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Sophia DuBarry ( - ) 18 24 25Spouse: Maria Poe ( - ) 17 18 24
3 M Maj. St. Clair Denny, U.S.A. 9 17 18
Born: - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA Christened: Died: 18 Aug 1858 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA 18 24 Buried:Spouse: Caroline Hamilton ( - ) 17 18 24
4 F Agnes (Nancy) Denny 9 17 18
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Maj. Edward Harding, U.S.A. ( -1855) 9 17 18
5 F [Infant] Denny 18 26
Born: Christened: Died: when a few days old Buried:
General Notes: Husband - Maj. Ebenezer Denny
Although a lad of only fifteen at the opening of the Revolution he was employed as bearer of important dispatches to Fort Pitt, crossing the Alleghenies alone, lying out at night, chased by Indians. He is described at the time as a "slender, fair, blue-eyed, red-haired boy." He also assisted his father in the store in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Later he shipped as a volunteer, on a vessel of marque and reprisal which made a daring cruise in the West Indies, in which the intrepidity and trust-worthiness of the youth led to his promotion to the command of the quarter-deck. After a short stay at his home in Carlisle, although discouraged by his family, he shipped again, this time as supercargo. Having invested the proceeds of this venture in flour and whiskey for the Philadelphia market, just after crossing the Susquehanna he was offered a commission as ensign, which he promptly accepted, disposed of his goods, and was attached to the command of Lieut. Col. William Butler, rendezvoused at Carlisle, and transferred to York in May, 1781, in the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment, incorporated with the 4th. His journal, begun at this time, and continued with varied intermissions through the Revolutionary and subsequent Indian wars, until 1795, is not only highly interesting, but filled with valuable information. It was published by the Pennsylvania Historical Society.
After the forced marches and sharp fighting under Gen. Wayne, in Virginia, he took part in the siege and capture of Yorktown, and was in the advanced attack on the British redoubts, and was designated by Col. Richard Butler to plant the colors on the rampart, after the surrender, but Baron Steuben dismounted, took them from his hand, and planted them himself, a procedure that only the efforts of Washington and LaFayette prevented from leading to a hostile meeting between Col. Butler and the Baron. After Yorktown he served under St. Clair in the Carolinas, and in the subsequent Indian wars was adjutant to Gen. Harmar, and aide-de-camp to Gen. St. Clair. He was present at the disastrous defeat of the latter, Nov. 4, 1791, and delivered the news, in person, by express to President Washington, in Philadelphia, who was very much affected by it, and is said to have broken out into a violent passion. Shortly after, Major Denny resigned his commission, and married.
In 1794 he was appointed chief-in-command of the expedition to Le Boeuf, and in the War of 1812 was commissary of purchases. He was a commissioner of Allegheny County, and its first treasurer, and also first mayor of Pittsburgh. He was equally prominent in many business enterprises, one of the pioneers in the manufacture of glass, director in a branch of the Bank of Pennsylvania, and of the Bank of the United States. He was a large holder of real estate in the vicinity of Pittsburgh, which acquired great value subsequently as part of the city. He died at Pittsburgh, after a brief illness.
When the War of the Revolution began Ebenezer was but fifteen years of age, but notwithstanding his youth was a trusted messenger conveying important war messages as far west as Fort Pitt, going alone over the mountains and through the deep forests, lying on the ground at night and always on the alert for Indians, by whom he was often chased. He is described at this time as "a slender, fair, blue-eyed, red-headed boy". His mother was a devout Christian woman who attributed the preservation of her son, amid the perils of battle on land and sea, to "a gracious and watchful Providence", but her friends ascribed it to the fervent prayers of his godly mother. For a little while he was in the employ of his father, but he was of a different mettle. The times were too stirring to stay at home, and learning that a privateer carrying "letters of marque and reprisal" was fitting out at Philadelphia, enlisted as a volunteer and sailed for the West Indies. He saw plenty of fighting and was always so eager and courageous that he was promoted to a command on board. Returning after the first cruise, he was intending to ship for a second, when he received a commission as ensign of the First Regiment Pennsylvania Line. This was in 1778. In August, 1780, he was transferred to the Seventh Pennsylvania, and May 23, 1781, was promoted to lieutenant of the Fourth Pennsylvania. At the time the cords were tightening around Cornwallis, Ensign Denny on the march kept a journal. The first quotation is just after a sharp fight with the British near Williamsburg. He says:
"Here for the first time saw wounded men: the sight sickened". As the end approached he says: "Army encamped on the banks of the James River; part of the French fleet in full view". On September 14, "General Washington arrived; our brigade was paraded to receive him; officers all pay their respects. He stands in the door, takes every man by the hand, the officers all pass in, receiving the salute and shake hands. This is the first time I have seen the general". On October 15; "Siege operations were at once commenced; the fighting became very warm on both sides and the siege works were pushed with great vigor. Easy digging, light, sandy soil. A shell from one of the French mortars, set fire to a British frigate; she burned to the waters edge and then blew up making an earthquake". On October 17: "Had the pleasure of seeing a drummer mount the enemy's parapet and beat a parley; immediately an officer made his appearance holding up a white handkerchief. An officer from our line ran and met him and tied the handkerchief over his eyes, and thus was the great event of the surrender of Cornwallis accomplished." When the terms of the surrender had been agreed upon, October 19, 1781, Ensign Denny was detailed by Colonel Butler to plant the American colors on the surrendered ramparts, but it is related that Baron Steuben dismounted, took them from his hands and planted them himself, a procedure that only the efforts of both Washington and La Fayette prevented from leading to a hostile encounter between Colonel Butler and Baron Steuben. A little later he was with St. Clair in the Carolinas, and at Charleston during its investment and after the evacuation, but hostilities soon ceased, and the long bitter war was ended.
In the subsequent campaigns against the Indians in the west, he received his promotions, rising to the rank of major. He was with Generals Harmar, St. Clair, Clarke and Wm. Henry Harrison in their operations against the Indians, and saw plenty of action, for he was adjutant to General Harmar and aide-de-camp to General St. Clair on November 4, 1794, when St. Clair was so overwhelmed and defeated by the Indians. Major Denny was everywhere in the midst of danger and death, but escaped unharmed. He was dispatched by General St. Clair after the battle to bear the news of defeat to President Washington, who was giving a dinner at Philadelphia when the dispatch bearer arrived. At first the President asked to have the dispatches sent in to him, but Major Denny returned word that his orders were to deliver them to no one but the President, whereupon he was admitted. Washington read the entirely unexpected sad tidings, and is said to have flown into a violent passion and used words, none too mild or well chosen. In 1794 he was commissioned a captain, in command of a detachment to protect the commissioners in laying out the town of Presque Isle (now Erie, Pennsylvania), but on arriving at Le Boeuf Point they were turned back by representative chiefs of the Six Nations who objected to having the Point occupied at that time. During the years of 1795-96 Major Denny resided upon a farm he had bought along the Monongahela river, six miles above Pittsburgh. At this time he was a candidate for the State Assembly, but was defeated. In 1796 he was elected a commissioner of Allegheny county. At this time he sold his farm, and removed to Pittsburgh. In 1803 he was elected treasurer of Allegheny county, and was again elected in 1808, In 1804 he was appointed a director of the Branch Bank of Pennsylvania at Pittsburgh, the first bank west of the Allegheny mountains. In the War with England, 1812-14, Major Denny was commissioner for the purchase of supplies for troops on the Erie and Niagara frontiers. He displayed his usual energy, and pushed the delivery of supplies, at a personal pecuniary loss, waived the thirty day clause in the contracts, and sent the goods forward. When Pittsburgh was incorporated a city in 1816, Major Denny was elected the first mayor. He was an earnest Presbyterian, and a trustee of the First Church of Pittsburgh, also the first president of the "Moral Society" formed in 1809. He was one of the potent forces in establishing the Western Theological School in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He, with pioneer Johnson, seated themselves at the doorway of the church and received the contributions of the worshippers as was the old Scotch way.
In the summer of 1822, while on a visit with his daughter Nancy, to Niagara Falls, Major Denny was taken ill and returned with difficulty to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he soon died. [CRFP, 877]
1 —, The History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Part II (Chicago, IL: A. W. Warner & Co., 1889), Pg 215.
2 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 581.
3 —, Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 77.
4 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 877, 985.
5 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. III (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 1.
6 Fenwick Y. Hedley, Old and New Westmoreland, Vols. III & IV (New York, NY: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1918), Pg 642.
7 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 377.
8 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 877.
9 —, Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 78.
10 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 579.
11 —, Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 35, 76.
12 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 876, 985.
13 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 376.
14 Blanche T. Hartman, Genealogy of the Nesbit, Ross, Porter, Taggart Families of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, PA: Privately printed, 1929), Pg 18.
15 —, Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 76.
16 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 588.
17 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 879, 986.
18 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 379.
19 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. III (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 2.
20 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 879.
21 —, The History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Part II (Chicago, IL: A. W. Warner & Co., 1889), Pg 214.
22 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 880.
23 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 380.
24 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 589.
25 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 986.
26
—, The History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Part II (Chicago, IL: A. W. Warner & Co., 1889), Pg 216.
Home | Table of Contents | Surnames | Name List
This Web Site was Created 15 Apr 2023 with Legacy 9.0 from Millennia