The Dennis Family in Ohio
In 1803-04 William Dennis moved his family to Ross County, Ohio.
It appears that the Dennis family came with the colony of people who arrived in Ross County
in 1804 as told in a Ross Co. History:
In the year 1804 there arrived in Ross County a colony of people
from Maryland. There were seventy of them, the poorest of poor, oppressed
Marylanders. These Marylanders had brought all their possessions in a cart
drawn by a pony.
The land had not yet been surveyed and much of it was owned by the
state of Virginia.
The Marylanders followed Rev. Timmons to Ohio where he helped assist each
of these families to secure homes in the wilderness. The Timmons name and
White Brown's name are found in many records concerning the William Dennis
family. Many Dennis men and women were married by Rev. Stephen Timmons
Many Dennis men and women were married by Rev. Stephen Timmons as found
as found in Ross Co. marriage records.
Researching Ross Co. records has not proven the issue of William Dennis.
Descendants relate that it has always been said that "six Dennis brothers
came from Maryland." My research indicates that these
"brothers" were in reality not all brothers, but all were likely related.
The 1820 census shows the following Dennis men living in the area of
Ross Co, Deerfield Twp. : Daniel Dennis, Jonathan, Mathias, Pernai (likely
Purnell), Robert, and William. Of these, Jonathan, Mathias, Purnell, and
Robert are brothers. William is their father. Daniel would be their cousin.
There was also listed a Jonston Dennis, likely Johnson, who was in Pickaway
County, Deercreek Township. I believe him to be Williams brother, although
I have no proof at this point.
Various records do show more than six Dennis men were residing in the area
during the time frame.
Only William Dennis paid taxes in the 1810 Ross Co. tax list. Only William
Dennis purchased land in Ross Co. patented to Henry Massie called #6834, sixty
acres for $120.00. The land record was filed in 1812. William Dennis, Sr.
sold that same land to Dennis in 1833. In the 1830 Ohio Fed census William
was listed as a man 70 to 80 years of age with a wife of age 60 to 70.
James Dennis was listed beside William. No further records were found for
William and his wife. William sold his land to James in 1833. He died
intestate.
The marriage records of Ross Co. show that several young men and women
named Dennis married during this time span. In as much as William was the
only Dennis in the county of the age to have marriageable children, it is
logical to assume that these were his children.
William Dennis, b 1758, Worcester Co., MD
m(1?)
m(2?) 6 Feb 1799 Polly Dukes
d 1833 Ross County, OH
Children of William
Robert, b c 1785 MD
m Sarah
d c 1840 Ross County, OH
Jonathan, b c 1785 MD
(my g-g-g-grandfather, I believe)
m 1819 Elizabeth Gadden
d c 1840 Ross County, OH
Purnell J., b 25 Dec 1790 MD
m1 12 Jan 1815 Sarah Penniwell, Ross Co., OH
m2 27 May 1841 Sarah Baggs
d 7 Jan 1866, Monroe Twp., Pickaway Co., OH
Veteran of War of 1812
Mathias, b c 1795
m1 1816 Priscilla Dennis
m2 9 Jun 1819 Patty King, Ross Co.,OH
d 1840 Iowa
James M. Dennis, b 8 Jul 1801, near Salisbury, MD
m Nancy Coleston Meekins 3 Aug 1824 Ross County, OH
d 1 Jul 1877 Ross County, OH
Polly "Molly", b c 1793 MD
m 24 Jul 1810 Conlee Vass , Ross County, OH
d
Elizabeth, b
m 25 Aug 1810 Ephraim Knolds, Ross County, OH
d
Kesiah, b
m 13 Dec 1813 Henry Corkwell, Ross County, OH
d
Nancy, b
m 22 Feb 1810 Thomas Vincent, Ross County, OH
d
Hannah, b 1805
m 8 Feb 1821 Selby Lewis, Ross County, OH
d
William, b 12 May 1809 Ross County
m 13 Apr 1834 Mary Meekins, Ross County, OH
d 3 Jun 1872, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lee's Summit, MO.
William's son Jonathan is where we will pick up the story of MY Dennis family.
Jonathan was born c 1785 in Maryland, and came to Ohio with the family. According
to the early marriage records of Ross County, OH, he married Elizabeth Gadden
in 1819.
No other records, save the census records, show a record of a Jonathan Dennis in
Ross County. The 1830 census records show Jonathan Dennis living in Ross County,
Deerfield Twp.(pg 231). The 1840 census shows Jonathan in Pickaway County, Perry
Twp. From these records on, Jonathan Dennis does not appear, leading one to make the
logical assumption that he likely passed on in the 1840's at the age of approximately
60-65.
The 1850 census lists my great-great-grandfather, Daniel Dennis, living in Ross County,
Deerfield Twp., apparently in the same household with his mother, Elizabeth, Age 52, from
Maryland, and his 2 brothers, Henry, Age 29, Wingate, Age 24.
The 1860 census shows Daniel, now age 30, now married to his second wife, Elizabeth
Jane Haran (this name has been (mis)spelled as Herron and Horn). They are listed in
Ross County, Deerfield Twp. Also living with them are 3 of Daniels children from his
first marriage to Mary Ann Lane (they married in 1852, she died in 1859), Missouri,
age 7 female; William, age 5 male; and Rebeccha age 3 female. Also listed in the
household is his mother, Elizabeth, now showing as age 54 (seems people had a hard time
admitting their age back then too!).
It was from Daniels second marriage that my great-grandfather Allen T. Dennis was born.
Allen was apparently the first born of Daniel and Elizabeth, born the 2nd day of November, 1861,
near New Holland, OH. Daniel and Elizabeth had 10 children together, but I have thus far only
found record of 7 of them: Allen, born November 2, 1861; Martha, born circa 1864,
Sara, born circa 1865; Chauney (Chauncey?), born circa 1869; Alice, born May 1, 1873; and Etta,
born Oct 28, 1874.
During his second marriage, Daniel served in the Civil War in Company H of the 149th Regiment
of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His term of service began May 2, 1864 at age 34, and he was mustered
out along with his company on Aug 30, 1864 after 100 days of service. He held the rank of Private.
In 1883, Daniel married for the third and last time. He married Margaret Davis Dean on the 9th of
May, 1883. They had no children together. One interesting fact about this marriage is Daniel
and Margaret died within minutes of each other on the 21st day of March, 1908, of pneumonia.
Allen Dennis was, like most of my side of the Dennis family, evidently a quiet family man. No major
items regarding his life can be found in any newspapers of the times, nor do any major records of land
purchases or the like appear. He married Laura Jeannette Dean October 25, 1883. Laura was born in
Morgan County, OH to John and Margaret Dean October 27, 1866.
Allen and Laura had 10 children together, including my grandfather, Harold Dean Dennis. The children
were: Oran (Ode) Dennis, born December 5, 1884; Roy Allen Dennis, born Feb 22, 1886; George, born Feb 24, 1888;
Orpha, born Nov 22, 1889; Hugh McKinley Dennis, born Nov 22, 1891; Cary (Doc) Dennis, born Aug. 9, 1897;
Leotta, born April 22, 1894; Harold Dean Dennis, born Nov 20, 1902; Gertrude, born Sep 24, 1907;
and Goldie, born Oct 8, 1899.
Allen died Oct 21, 1924 at the age of 62. Laura died March 22, 1938.
Harold Dennis, my grandfather, was a farmer all his life. Mostly, to my recollection, Grandpa and Uncel
Bud (Roy) farmed the acreage just north of the Ross County fairgrounds. The old house they lived in still
stands, although I am sure it has undergone much renovation since I last was there in 1967, just after
Grandpa died.
Harold married Vera Frances Hunter June 27, 1930. Vera was born December 13, 1904 to James Garfield Hunter
and Clara Dawson. She was born near Bloomingburg, Fayette County, OH. Harold and Vera
had 4 children together, all still living: James Allen Dennis, my father; Mary Louise;
Donald Eugene; and Virginia Ann.
Harold died Oct 24, 1967 at the age of 64. Vera outlived him by almost 30 years, and touched the lives of
many beyond the Dennis family. She died May 9, 1994 at the age of 89.
1) James Arlen Dennis (that's me!) 2) James Allen Dennis Julia Anne Ashworth 4) Harold Dean Dennis 8) Allen T. Dennis 16) Daniel Dennis 32) Jonathan Dennis Here
