The Story of the Denison Family
Based on Denison Genealogy: Ancestors and descendants of Captain George Denison, by E. Glenn Denison, 1963
First Generation:
William Denison of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, left that country for the New World in April of 1635, with his wife Margaret Chandler, and three teenage sons: Daniel, Edward, and George. John, the oldest son, stayed behind in England where he was a minister, and another son, William, had disappeared years before to fight in Holland. George was the youngest, only thirteen when he left England. The older sons had been educated at Cambridge; this was not possible for George, so his father hired John Eliot to be his tutor.
William settled in Roxbury, MA where he was a merchant, and later became deacon of the First Church of Roxbury. He died January 25, 1653, at the age of eighty two or eighty three. Margaret died eight years earlier, at age sixty seven, February 3, 1645. They were buried in Old Eliot St Cemetery in Roxbury.
Second Generation:
George's brother, General Daniel Denison wrote in 1672: " My Brother George buried his first Wife in the year 1643, went into England, was a souldier ther above a year, was at the Battle of York or Marston Moor where he did good service, was afterward taken prisoner, but got free, and having married a second Wife, he returned to New England the year before our Mother died, and not long afterward removed himself to New London, near whereunto at Stonington he now liveth."
The story is that George met his second wife, Ann Borodell, when he was wounded and took shelter in her father's house. He married her in England and returned to Massachusetts about 1644.
George did not stay in Roxbury long. He became offended after not being elected to a position he wanted and moved with his family to New London, an area claimed by both Massachusetts and Connecticut. Here he got himself into trouble again, by encouraging settlers to accept the authority of Massachusetts. When the land was at last assigned to Connecticut, he was ordered to pay a fine. He refused to pay, and fortunately, had enough influence and connections, for the fine to be eventually forgiven.
The New London/Stonington area was first settled by William Chesebrough in 1649. Some of the other early settlers of the area were Thomas Stanton, Thomas Minor, Governor Haynes, Walter Palmer, Capt. John Gallup, and Robert Park; the children and grandchildren of George Denison married into many of these families.
In 1675-1676, George (now almost sixty) was a successful captain in King Philip's War.
George's first wife was Bridget Thompson. She died in August of 1643, leaving two daughters under the age of three. After her death, George returned to England to fight on the side of Cromwell in the English Civil War.
Children of George and Bridget (born at Roxbury):
Sarah, baptized 20 March 1641/1642, married Thomas Stanton, Jr.
Hannah, baptized 21 May 1643, married first Nathaniel Chesebrough, second Joseph Saxton.
Children of George and Ann: (first two born at Roxbury, rest at New London or Stonington, CT)
John, baptized 16 June 1646, married Phebe Lay.
Ann, baptized 20 May 1649, married Gershom Palmer.
Borodell, born about 1651, married Samuel Stanton.
GEORGE Jr., born about 1653, married Mercy Gorham.
William, born about 1655, married Sarah Prentice.
Margaret, born about 1657, married James Brown, Jr.
Mercy, born about 1659, died 10 Mar 1670/1671.
Third Generation:
George Jr. had a farm near Westerly, RI. He married Mercy Gorham, daughter of Capt. John Gorham and Desire Howland, granddaughter of John Howland and Elizabeth Tilly who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. George and Mercy had nine children. George died in Westerly in 1711, around fifty eight years old. Mercy died fourteen years later, September 24, 1725.
Children of George Jr. and Mercy:
Edward, born in 1678, married first Mercy, married second Anna (Denison) Minor.
Joseph, baptized November 14, 1683, married Pru Minor.
Mercy, baptized March 1, 1685, married Mordecai Dunbar.
Samuel, baptized September 26, 1686, married Mary (Lay) Minor.
Desire, baptized July 15, 1688.
Elizabeth, born September 11, 1689, married Chris Champlin Jr.
Desire, baptized April 16, 1693, married John Williams.
Thankful, baptized April 1, 1695, married Thomas Stanton.
GEORGE III, baptized 7 May 1699, married first Sarah Minor, second Joanna Hinckley.
Fourth Generation:
George III was a shipwright who lived on his father's farm in Westerly. When he was twenty two, he married nineteen year old Sarah Minor, daughter of Dr. Joseph Minor and Sarah Tracy, on September 28, 1721. She died one day before their third wedding anniversary, shortly after the birth of their second child, Mary. On the tenth of May 1727, George married again to Joanna Hinckley. George and Joanna had two sons, who both died in the summer of 1731, and one daughter, Sarah, who lived to adulthood. George died January 16, 1736/1737 when he was only around thirty eight years old.
Children of George and Sarah:
JOSEPH, born January 26, 1722/1723, married Lucy Chesebrough.
Mary, born September 1724.
Children of George and Joanna:
Elijah, born July 6, 1728, died May 8, 1731.
George, born April 14, 1730, died July 9, 1731.
Sarah, born September 8, 1733, married Ezra Kinney.
Fifth Generation:
Joseph was a Sergeant in the French and Indian War. On December 8, 1743, he married fourteen year old Lucy Chesebrough, daughter of William Chesebrough and Lucy Palmer. They had seven children:
Nathaniel, born about 1744, married Desire Wilcox.
GEORGE, born May 17, 1746, married Bethiah Crandall.
Hannah, born about 1748, married David Crumb.
Lucy, born about 1752.
Sarah, born about 1754.
Ann, born about 1756.
Thankful, born about 1760, married Benoni Gardner.
Sixth Generation:
George Denison was born in Stonington, CT, May 17, 1746. He married Bethiah Crandall (probably a descendant of Elder John Crandall). In 1782, he served in the Revolutionary War. He and Bethiah moved to Brookfield, NY in 1802, where three of their sons were living. She died there in 1824 when she was seventy five or seventy six, and he died nine years later at the age of eighty seven.
Children of George and Bethiah:
JOSEPH, born October 29, 1766, married Desire Wilcox.
George, born in 1768, married Abigail Chapman.
Lucy, married Daniel White.
Nathaniel, born February 3, 1771, married Fanny Lewis.
Palmer, born May 26, 1773, married Eliza Hiscox.
Polly, married Henry Crandall.
Daniel, born January 15, 1784, married Phebe Welch.
Edith, born February 2, 1787, married Amos Welch.
Asa (twin), born January 15, 1790, married Louisa Shoop.
Jesse (twin), born January 15, 1790, married Nancy M. Cottrell.
Seventh Generation:
Joseph, born October 29, 1766, married Desire Wilcox. E. Glenn Denison notes that she was a member of the Seventh Day Baptist church. Probably the Denisons' association with Seventh Day Baptists began with the move to Stonington by Captain George in the 1650s. There were many Seventh Day Baptists in Stonington and more in nearby Westerly, RI. Bethiah Crandall, Joseph's mother, was descended from a Seventh Day Baptist family but may not have been a member herself. Joseph and Desire moved to Brookfield with their three small children in 1796, in company with Joseph's brothers Nathaniel and George. Joseph was a farmer in Brookfield and was appointed highway commissioner. Joseph and Desire had twelve children:
Desire, born in 1792, married Clark White.
Eunice, born in 1793, married in 1793, married Joel Gillette.
Joseph, born September 15, 1794, married Amy Burdick.
Almira, born September 10, 1805, married Henry Holmes.
WILLIAM RILEY, born June 1, 1807, married first Polly Holmes, second Jerusha Campbell.
Tracy, born about 1808, married Mary Randall.
Jared W., born December 6, 1809, married Mary Coon.
Delancy, born August 5, 1811, married Chloe Cately.
Henry H., born July 19, 1813, married Fanny Palmiter.
Lavina, born 1815.
Welcome M., born February 28, 1817, married Gratia H. Hills.
Lucius W., born 1821, married Julia Franklin.
Eighth Generation:
William Riley Denison, born June 1, 1807, in Brookfield, Madison Co., NY, worked as a carpenter and cabinetmaker. When he was twenty one, he married Polly Holmes. She died in 1839, leaving behind four children under ten. William married second Jerusha Campbell, and they had one daughter. Jerusha died in 1883, and William in 1887.
Children of William and Polly:
Joseph Riley, born in 1830.
Jervah, born in 1834, married David Ball.
FRANCES L., born in 1837, married Charles W. Crandall.
Cynthia M., born January 27, 1838, married Gilbert R. York.
Child of William and Jerusha:
Harriet A., born in 1843.
Frances and Charles had two daughters, Hattie Eloise and Fanny T. Crandall. Fanny married a man with the last name of Brown, and Hattie married Rev. Clayton A. Burdick. Follow this link for more Crandall Genealogy.