Mary (Moye) Denmark (1745 - 1793)

Descendants

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Biography

There were few vital statistics filed in state of North Carolina in the 18th Century before the American Revolution. What we do find of most of the early settlers in the Carolinas are in tax rolls and land deeds. In this case, however, Mary is married to William Batchelor Denmark, Jr. and has a close connection to Barbara Bond through her mitchondrial connection to George Moye, father of Mourning Moye, Anne's mother.

Sarah Margaret Denmark was the oldest of William and Mary's 9 children. Amanda Torrey is a descendant of this couple.

Family and Property

Whether either Mary or Anna ever legally married William Denmark, it is certain between the two wives he sired 20 children. Mary was his first "wife" and of these 20 Mary was mother to his first 9 being:

1) Sarah Margaret (Denmark) Wise (named after her aunt Sarah Margaret)

2) Eleanor (Denmark) Hodges

3) William Denmark

4) Thomas Denmark

5) Seaborn Denmark

6) Elizabeth (Denmark) Burton

7) John Denmark

8) James Thomas Denmark Jr.

9) Margaret (Denmark) Bizzell

Will: 21 Jan 1795 Effingham Co., Georgia 6

On his father's death, sometime before 1758, William Batchelor Denmark inherited his father's land in Hyde County, North Carolina. This land was originally patented by Henry Eborn on October 5, 1730 and willed to his son Littleton Eborn who then sold it to William Denmark, "blacksmith". In Pitt County in 1766, William Batchelor Denmark and his wife, Mary Moye Denmark, sold that land to Stephen MackDowell. A deed from William Batchelor and Mary Denmark, dated August 27, 1766, conveyed 270 acres on the North side of the Machapongo River and the south side of Broad Creek, referred to as land he inherited from his father (Hyde Co., NC DB-B, p. 194-195), to Stephen MackDowell for 20 (?) pounds.

William Batchelor Denmark was on the 1762 list of taxables for Pitt County, taxed for only a poll and not owning any slaves. But he owned land in Pitt County, North Carolina as early as 1765. On May 1, 1765, a deed recorded that "William Denmark, batchelor" sold 320 acres for 23 pounds to Thomas Coomes (Pitt County, NC DB-C, p. 292). Perhaps this is when he began to use the middle name "Batchelor". John Smith of Craven County sold William Denmark 100 acres for 25 pounds on December 29, 1772. (Pitt Co., NC DB-E, p. 227). On October 11, 1774, Denmark sold land to John Gray Blount for five pounds, the deed witnessed by "Amey Moy" and Jeremiah Cox (Pitt Co., NC DB-O, p. 327).

In 1778 he was involved in three land transactions. The first was on January 18 when William Denmark of Craven County sold 280 acres to Pearson Tuter for $120 (Pitt Co., NC DB-H, p. 19). The next was on April 21 when he sold 150 acres for three pounds to Jeremiah Cox (Pitt Co., NC DB-F, p. 390). The last that year was on July 21 when he sold 150 acres for 100 pounds to Edward Buck, the deed witnessed by Henry Moye and Isaac Buck (Pitt Co., NC DB-O, p. 209).

By 1779 his estate was assessed for tax purposes by Craven County at 1,824 pounds, the county where he was living when he joined the Revolution. On January 25, 1782 William Denmark of Craven County, as #926, was allowed the sum of nine pounds and fourteen shillings for militia duty, per Captain Jesse Bryan's payroll for the New Bern Military District. Another voucher allowed him 400 pounds for "sundries". He used the two vouchers to pay his 1781 taxes to Craven County, endorsing the vouchers on the back.

Described as "of Craven County", on December 12, 1784 he sold land again to Edward Buck. This was, as in 1778, 150 acres for 100 pounds (Pitt Co., NC DB 1, p. 531). The former owner was John Smith who had obtained a patent for it in 1774. One of the witnesses to the deed was William's son Stephen Denmark and the other was Daniel Wilson. This sale may signal his departure for Georgia.

William Batchelor Denmark's first wife was Mary Moye and he later married her sister, Anna Moye. We do not know the relationship between the Moye sisters and William Batchelor Denmark's mother, Mourning Moye. There appears to have been a most unusual relationship between William and the two sisters. He had a number of children by Anna while still married to Mary. It appears that Anna and their children accompanied him to Effingham County, Georgia while Mary stayed behind with several of her children by him. However, Mary's son Seaborn accompanied his father when he migrated to Georgia. Mary eventually moved to Duplin County, North Carolina where she died in 1793.

By July 1786, William and some of his family were in Effingham County, Georgia where he applied for land grants and registered the marks of his cattle. He received grants of 200 acres on January 24, 1791 and 300 acres on June 2, 1791 both "on the Great Ogeechee river." His son Redden also received grants of land in the same area and by November 24, 1796 the two of them owned 947 acres, all in one body. On that date they sold the entire tract to Eleazer Bell who, on March 19, 1798, sold it to Joseph Holiday.

At some time before January 21, 1795, William and Anna made their informal marriage formal. In a deed of gift of that date, he gave property to his "wife", Anna and their children Stephen Denmark, Susannah Jones, Jemima Denmark, Clarissa Denmark, Martha Denmark, Lavinia Rester and Redden Denmark (Effingham Co., GA DB CD, p. 279). Anna died in 1806.

On November 10, 1810, William Batchelor Denmark and several others were granted passports by Georgia's Governor David B. Mitchel to travel from Bulloch County through the Creek Indian Nation to Warren County where William was to see his sister Abegail Travis and his daughter Susannah Jones who was married to Rev. Adam Jones. There he met and, on May 13, 1813, married Mary Cochrum. It is said that he died at the Jones home in Warren County. The 1820 census for Warren County shows a William Denmark household with one male over 45, one girl less than 10 and one female 26-45.

Death and Legacy

DNA Connections

(MUCH OF THIS INFORMATION ON WILLIAM BATCHELOR DENMARK CAME FROM RESEARCH BY JAMES H. DENMARK.) Change Date: 10 APR 2004 at 10:07:43

Father: William Denmark b: 1705/1708 in Hyde Co.,North Carolina,Or Virginia Mother: Mourning Mittom Moye b: 1718 in Hyde Co.,North Carolina Or English Province,Virginia

Marriage 1 Mary Moye b: 1745 in Ireland Married: Abt 1756 or 1761 in Beaufort Co.,North Carolina

Marriage 2 Anna Moye b: 1742 in Hyde Co.,North Carolina Married: 1730 in English Province,North Carolina Or Virginia

Sources

• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=gochapman&id=I13313 ( Marriages wives of William Batchelor Denmark)
• pennypgunn originally shared this on 07 Mar 2015