William Denison (1756 - 1820)

Born 8 Apr 1756 in Stonington, New London County, Connecticut

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 21 Jul 1820 at age 64 in Zanesville, Ohio

Biography

Corporal William Denison served with 1st Connecticut Regiment (1781), Continental Army during the American Revolution.

William Denison is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A031910.

This William Denison was born 8 Apr 1756 at Stonington, Connecticut. He was the fourth child of Jane (Smith) & George Denison.

Note: An earlier edit to this profile characterized William as a twin of his sister Dorothy, a concept that was derived from the Wheeler (1900) History of Stonington. The Denison Genealogy (1963) reference source, however, lists Dorothy's birth in about (ca.) 1754, which cancels Dorothy as being a twin of William. In view of the later, more thoroughly researched, and less error prone Denison source, it probably should prevail.

William Denison lived through historic events during his service in the American Revolutionary War. He enlisted 29 Sep 1777 in 4th Regiment;^[1] Corporal, Jan 1781,^[2] 3rd Regt., Connecticut Line; he was a member of light infantry detached in 1781 to serve under Gen. Lafayette, and was present at the storming of the redoubt at the Battle of Yorktown. In 1781, the 3rd and 4th regiments were consolidated to form 1st Connecticut regiment,^[3] where he continued to serve in Captain Buell's company.^[4]

William Denison married 09 Apr 1780 Anna Slack. They had 8 children:

1. Gurdon Denison, b. 3 May 1781; married 1) Etherlinda Slack; 2) Elizabeth Krusam; d. Feb 1845
2. Nancy Denison, b. 10 Oct 1782; d. 23 Jul 1803
3. Lucy Denison, b. 28 Aug 1785; married Jesse Williams; d. 5 Sep 1840
4. Warren Denison, b. 7 Feb 1788; married Mary Passmore; d. 7 Sep 1815
5. Matilda Denison, b. 27 Mar 1790; married 1) Jared Shepardson; 2) Joseph Shepardson; d. Mar 1868
6. George Denison (4 Jul 1792 - 23 Jul 1803)
7. William Slack Denison, b. 13 Nov 1794; married Mary O. Fisher; d. 31 Dec 1880
8. Elizabeth Denison, b. 11 (or 16) Aug 1797; married 1) James Van Sant; 2) James Kitchen

This family may have removed from Stonington to western Massachusetts in the 1790s, evidenced in the biography of their son William S. Denison, who was born at Colrain, Massachusetts, in 1794.

In about 1810, this family removed to Zanesville, Ohio, via a War Land Grant. At that time, Ohio was woodland wilderness, thus this family were truly pioneers in establishing Ohio as a future state.

William Denison died 21 Jul 1820 at Zanesville, Ohio. His grave is in Greenwood Cemetery, Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio, USA: Find A Grave: Memorial #50527595

Sources

1. ↑ Service Record of William Dennison, shared by Fold3.com
2. ↑ "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3Q-C38W-W?cc=2546162&wc=WD6Q-RM3%3A1588792203 : 24 January 2018), Connecticut > image 203 of 977; citing various published state rosters, United States.
3. ↑ 1st Connecticut Regiment
4. ↑ "United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89WB-C19J?cc=2068326&wc=M61K-X2S%3A355077201 : 21 December 2016), 4-Connecticut (jacket 11-21) > image 376 of 456; citing NARA microfilm publication M246 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1980).

• Denison Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of Captain George Denison; E. Glenn Denison, Josephine M. Peck and Donald L. Jacobus; Gateway Press, Inc. Baltimore, MD 1993 [Originally published, Pequot Press 1963; Reprinted, Baltimore, MD 1978, 1982, 1993], no. 691: https://archive.org/details/denisongenealogy00deni/page/25/mode/1up; https://archive.org/details/denisongenealogy00deni/page/55/mode/1up

• Public Member Trees; Ancestry.com; Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.

• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900; Yates Publishing; Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.

• Wheeler, Richard Anson. History of the Town of Stonington, County of New London, Connecticut; p. 349, 357, no. 304: https://archive.org/stream/historyoftownofs00whee_1#page/n371/mode/1up

• "United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89WB-C17C?cc=2068326&wc=M61K-X2S%3A355077201 : 21 December 2016), 4-Connecticut (jacket 11-21) > image 374 of 456; citing NARA microfilm publication M246 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1980).

Acknowledgements

This profile was created through the import of master 11_12.ged on 21 October 2010.