Chapter 11

The Children of Nathaniel Winningham and Nancy Johnston Denty

Irvine Leonard Denty

            Irvine Leonard Denty, born on 11 Apr 1870, was named after his two grandmothers, Mary Ann Irvine (Denty) and Minerva Leonard (Johnston).   The eldest of Dock and Nannie's children, "Irvy" was thirteen when he lost his mother.  Along with his brothers and sisters, he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents in Desoto County, Mississippi until his father remarried ten months later.  His new stepmother was, of course, well known to him, being his aunt Laura Elizabeth Johnston.  But Laura herself died three and one half years later.  This time only seventeen year old Irvine went to live with his now widowed and elderly grandmother Minerva Johnston, to whom the presence of an able-bodied youth like Irvy would have undoubtedly been helpful.  Whether he returned home immediately upon his father's marriage to Kate Riley, or his grandmother's death, or neither, is uncertain; for the precise date of Minerva's death isn't currently known.  But certainly, he was back in Donaldson in time to marry Clara O. Jennings in Hot Spring County, Arkansas on 8 Jul 1891.

            In the 1900 Census Irvine was described as a "dry goods merchant", no doubt in the store that had belonged to his father.  That year he also owned a farm and at least one-half of one city block in Donaldson.  He continued to purchase city lots in both Donaldson and nearby Malvern, but beginning in 1907, he also began to buy lots in Pulaski County.  With Little Rock at its center, Pulaski County experienced an influx typical of the early years of the twentieth century as residents of farms and small towns gravitated to the cities.  By the 1910 Census, Irvine and Clara were residing in Little Rock, the owners of a lumber mill.  Whether he was merely speculating in real estate or actually building on the numerous lots he purchased – or both – hasn't been determined, but construction might have been a logical extension of his lumber business.  Some transactions, however, were definitely speculative.  On 15 Jun 1917, for instance, he bought the W½ NW¼ S20 T18 R13W, then sold it to the Army Post Development Company only eight days later.   In the 1920 Census, Irvine once again described himself as a dry goods merchant, apparently the owner of the store where son Donald was employed as a clerk.  

            Irvine died of tuberculosis on 3 Feb 1927, nursed in his last months by sister Margaret Denty Chamberlain.  He was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.  In 1929, 1930, 1931, and 1940 Clara was listed in the Little Rock City Directory, still residing in the home on West 23^rd Street that they'd owned since at least 1910.  She died in July 1950 and was interred in Pinecrest Memorial Park.

            Irvine and Clara were the parents of three children:

Earl R. Denty was born on 13 Aug 1892, died on 14 Jul 1893, and was buried in the Denty plot in Ouachita Cemetery in Donaldson, Arkansas.

 

Evlyn E. Denty, born on 7 Jul 1894, was known as "Sunbeam" to students and teachers in her grammar school in Donaldson.  She married Torrence Hale on 3 Jun 1911, but had divorced him by 1920, when she was once again residing with her parents.  On 25 Apr 1925 she married Dr. Paul Wilson, by whom she had one daughter, Nan Claire, the inspiration for step-great-grandmother and writer Kate Denty's pseudonym.  Evlyn was described as "a buxom, sparkly woman who always dressed well".[1]  She died in 1981.

 

Donald Irvine Denty, born in October 1898, eventually became a surveyor.  He married Bertha Faulk, the daughter of Peter and Mattie Kirkpatrick Faulk, in 1940.  Donald died in 1964.

Lula E. Denty

           Born on 27 Oct 1874, the first description we have of Lula appears in a letter written by cousin Alice Denty Dean in Desoto County, Mississippi on 10 Nov 1888, when she was fifteen: "Lula Denty is now over here.  She came before her death[2] and is still out here at her grandmother's[3] about six miles from us.  She is quite fine looking".  One year later, on 9 Dec 1890, Lula married John W. Easley in Donaldson, Arkansas.  John, who was much older than his sixteen year old bride, was born on 13 Jul 1859/60, the son of Wiley and Mary Henson Easley.  He was the owner of a "mercantile business", a lumber mill employing fifteen, and 400 acres.  Nevertheless, by 1910 he and Lula had moved to Little Rock, where he was either employed at or owned the Retail Ice & Coal Company.  Like his brother-in-law Irvine, he bought and sold many properties in and around Little Rock through World War I.  In 1920 he and Lula and their two sons were residing with and presumably renting from Lula's sister Margaret Denty Chamberlain and her husband Max.  Also in the household was younger half-sister Imogene Denty.  According to their nephew Sam Denty, the Easleys moved to Florida during the 1920s, where John became wealthy speculating in real estate; although their niece Betty Gitchel believes that it was actually Lula and John's sons who went to Florida, a much more likely version of events.  Whoever became wealthy in Florida, they were ruined in the depression, eventually relinquishing their lands for taxes.  We can only be certain that, at some point during the Twenties, John and Lula owned and operated a general store, dairy, and peanut farm in McAlmont, Arkansas; and that by 1930 they were the owners of a restaurant at 405 East 9^th Street in Little Rock.  In the midst of what must have been a very busy life, Lula managed to become a fairly accomplished painter.  Two nieces have her paintings hanging in their homes today. 

Despite the discrepancy in their ages, Lula Denty Easley and her husband died within fifteen months of each other; John on 25 Mar 1936, Lula on 25 Jun 1936.  Both are buried in Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.  They were the parents of two sons:

Born on 2 Nov 1891, Clyde D. Easley" was a Captain during World War I.  Described as "a charmer",[4] he married twice; first to a woman named Margarite, then to an Alice.  He died of a heart attack in Little Rock on 21 Apr 1937 and was buried in Oakland Cemetery.

 

Fred Denty Easley, born on 22 Apr 1896, eventually owned an "asphalt business", paving highways in Texas.[5]   When he retired, he moved back to Arkansas, settling on a farm between Cabot and Jacksonville.  Fred too was married twice, the first time to an unknown woman in Florida, the second to Lyla.  He died on 27 Mar 1951.  Fred too is buried in Oakland.

           Clyde and Fred's second wives both outlived their husbands, moved in together, and raised sheep on the farm outside Cabot, Arkansas.

Margaret Elizabeth Denty

            "Maggie" Denty was the fourth child of Dock and Nannie, born on 21 Mar 1877 in Desoto County, Mississippi.  In 1895 she was attending Ouachita Baptist College in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, when she was forced to discontinue her studies due to her father's death.[6]  The family preserved a newspaper article announcing that Margaret Denty and Dr. Max Chamberlain were married on Sunday, August 24.  Because of that article we know many details of the ceremony, but the date of the publication and thus the year of the wedding was not retained, and no other record of the marriage has been unearthed.  In the 1910 Census both Max and Maggie stated that they had married at age eighteen, resulting in a marriage year of 1895; but their wedding date of 24 Aug fell on Saturday that year, and Max was only seventeen then in any case.   To complicate matters further, in 1899 Maggie was listed in the Malvern City Directory as "Miss Maggie Denty" and was residing as a boarder with stepmother Kate Denty.  One possibility is that they married secretly in 1895, and publicly after Max completed his education.  August 24 fell on Sunday in 1902.

Whatever their marriage date, "Mag" and Max Chamberlain lived in Malvern, Arkansas, not far from Donaldson until at least 1911; but by 1920, like Irvine and Clara, Lula and John, the couple had moved to Little Rock, where Max opened a drugstore at the corner of 13^th and Pine.  In the 1920 Census, Max was the head of a household consisting of Maggie, Imogene Denty, John and Lula Easley and their sons Clyde and Fred.   That year Max described himself as a druggist, rather than a physician.  When Max died of Bright's Disease on 5 Dec 1922 at the age of fifty-four, Mag was left without any significant estate.  To support herself, she opened a millinery shop and rented out rooms on the second story of her substantial home at 305 West 8^th Street.[7]

            Either before or after the death of her husband, but while still in her forties, a bedridden Mag was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  In desperation, she turned to Christian Science, recovered her strength, and never experienced another sick day.  For many years, she was the Librarian for the Christian Science Reading Room in Little Rock. 

            In the late sixties her beloved home was bought for low income, high-rise housing.  Mag, much afflicted with palsy, moved into an apartment.  In 1971 she was taken to a nursing home after suffering a massive stroke, dying two days later on January 24 at the age of ninety-four.  She and Max are buried in Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.

 Samuel Johnston Denty 

            All of Dock and Nannie's children must have suffered from the loss of their mother, stepmother, and father; but surely none more so than the youngest, Sam.  Born on 20 May 1883, his mother died when he was less than four months old.  Along with his siblings, he was sent to stay with his Johnston grandparents in Desoto County, Mississippi, where he would doubtless have been cared for by his aunt Laura Johnston, who became his step-mother as well upon her marriage to Nathaniel on 25 Jul 1884.  See Samuel and Minerva Leonard Johnston.  But she too died on 19 Dec 1887, when Sam was only four years old.  This time, he was sent to live with his aunt Marie Denty Nesbit, Dock's sister.  Cousin Alice Denty Dean related the story in a letter:

             I fear she will not live much longer as she has consumption . . . She is looking for Cousin Dock and his new wife to see her.  They wrote they would be hereabout this week.  They will take his little child she has back with them as she is not able to care for him.  Poor little fellow doesn't want to go back at all.  Cousin Marie has no children & so made a pet out of him & now her health has failed her, she will have to give him up.  It will be sad for both.[11]

  Both to the credit of Sam and his new stepmother Kate, they became very close.  He also remained attached to his Johnston relatives in Mississippi, visiting them as often as possible throughout his life.  On 14 Apr 1895 his father died.  Sam was not quite twelve.  Nor was this the end of untimely deaths within the family, for Sam's older brother John also died before Sam reached adulthood.  Thus, before emerging from his teens, Sam lost his mother, his stepmother, his grandfather and grandmother (with whom he'd lived), his beloved aunt and surrogate mother Marie, his father, and his older brother.  Even in the nineteenth century, with its higher incidence of illness and death, this qualifies as tragedy.

             In the 1900 Census, Sam stated that he was employed as Manager of the Benton Telephone Company, the telephone exchange that Kate Denty had purchased.  In 1910 he was working as a lineman for the "electric light company" in Newport, Arkansas; in 1920 and 1930 as an electrician; and in 1940 as an electrical contractor.  His half-brother Mina Boran Denty was also an electrician, and according to Mina Denty Baxter, Mina Boran's daughter, both had learned that trade from their older brother John.

Sam married Ethel Mae Bishop, the daughter of James and Lucinda Brasure Bishop, on Christmas Eve 1907 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Described as a "a black-haired beauty" by daughter Betty Gitchel, [see photo], Ethel was working as a telephone operator that year, perhaps in step-mother Kate's telephone exchange. At first, the young couple lived with Kate Denty, or at least they were residing in her household in Newport in the 1910  Census; but by 1920, they too had moved to Little Rock, where they purchased a house at 4003 West 8^th Street.  Both would live in it the rest of their lives.  Betty Gitchel has described her father as "very slender, quick moving . . . very intelligent.  He was not close with any of his family.  I was accused of being his favorite – and I was.  He must have loved his family in his way as he became very alarmed if we became ill".  In light of his family history, one can certainly understand this reaction.

            During World War II, sixty-one year old Sam was working in Mobile, Alabama building liberty ships when, quite suddenly, the retinas in both eyes detached.  Forced to call the family to drive him home to Little Rock, he was blind for the rest of his life.  A life-long animal lover, he attempted to obtain a seeing-eye dog, but was judged too old.  The man who had loved dogs, reading, hunting and fishing spent the next decade listening to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio while lying in a dark room.

Sam died of a stroke on 13 Aug 1955 at the age of seventy-two.  His widow Ethel died in a nursing home on 15 Jan 1973.  They are buried next to each other in Pinecrest Memorial Park.  Sam and Ethel had three children: Imogene Wade [see photo] Denty (b. 28 Sep 1908, d. 9 Dec 2002), Samuel Johnston [see photo] Denty Junior (b. 24 Sep 1912, d. 18 Aug 2000), and Hester Elizabeth [see photo] Denty Gitchel, known as "Betty", (b. 7 Dec 1914, d. 15 Apr 2003).[12]

            In addition to the four children profiled above, Nathaniel and Nancy Johnston Denty had two other children: Minnie, who was born in September 1879 in Desoto County, Mississippi and died there in April 1880, just before the move to Donaldson, Arkansas; and John R. Denty.  John, born c. 1875, survived to young manhood and taught his younger brothers, Sam and Mina, the electrician's trade.  The last time that he was mentioned was in a 19 Jan 1891 letter written by Alice Denty Dean.  Where or when he died remains unknown.  

Research Notes: Irvine Leonard and Clara Jennings Denty (Scroll down for siblings)

In letter dated 13 Aug 1870, John Ramsey Denty wrote: "Nannie has a fine son 4 months old on the 11th inst, name Irvine Leonard, its grandmothers' maiden names."  Date verified by tombstone in Oakland Cemetery.  [Copy appearing in Abernathy and Smith, The Descendants of Thomas Jefferson Denty and Elizabeth Abernathy Denty; Photo of tombstone provided by Arkansas Ties]

Marriage: 8 Jul 1891.  Ceremony performed by Daniel N. Berry, J.P.  Clara gave her age as 18 but, to judge from censuses, she was probably only 16.  [Book D, p. 471]

In letter dated 29 Oct 1888, Alice Denty Dean wrote that recently widowed Nathaniel Winningham Denty "now lives at Donaldson, Ark.  Two of his children are out here.  Irvin his eldest & his youngest by his first wife.  Cousin M. has the youngest Sammy.  Irvine is with his grandma."  [Copy appearing in Abernathy and Smith]

1900 CENSUS, Hot Spring Co, AR (Ouachita Township): "Irvin Denty" = Dry goods merchant and owner of farm, born Apr 1871, married 8 years; Clara O. born May 1875, mother of three children, two living; Earl R. born Aug 1892; Evlyn born Jul 1894; Donald I. born Oct 1898.  (Three children are enumerated, including Earl R. Denty who, according to his tombstone in Ouachita Cemetery, supposedly died on 14 Jul 1893.  Did Clara and Irvine misunderstand the census taker, listing their dead child along with their living?)  [ED 63, Sheet 9]  

4 Dec 1900: Sold the west half of Block 2 in Donaldson to J.C. Braswell.  [Index/Orig: Book 2, p. 365]

In April 1901 he purchased several properties in Hot Spring Co: 1) SE ___ SW___ S5 T6 R18W on 3 Apr from Mrs. V.A. Russell; 2) NW ___ NW___ S8 T6 R18W along with Lot 5 and part of Lot 4 in S12 T6 R19W on 4 Apr from C.M. Russell; 3) Part of Lot 4 (presumably the remaining part) in S12 T6 R19W from W.T. Russell on 4 Apr.  [Index/Orig: Deed Book Z, p. 100, 102, 103]

3 Sep 1901: Sold Lot 3, Block __ in Donaldson to John Sparks.  [Index/Orig: Book 2, p. 397]

8 Oct 1904: Purchased parts of Lots 11 and 12 in Malvern from Powell S. Carden.  [Index/Orig: Book 3, p. 517]

Was involved in several transactions for lots in "Fleming and Bradford" in Pulaski Co in 1907: 1) On 6 Mar 1907 purchased Lots 18 and 19, Block 14 from H.C. Bowser, WD #8859; 2) On 29 Oct 1907 bought "under ½" of Lot 19, Block 14 from E.C. Nowlin, WD#8860; 3) Also on 29 Oct I.L. Denty and E.C. Nowlin sold Lot 18, Block 14 to G. H. Bowser, WD#10382.  [Index/Orig: Book 90, p. 560; Book 95, p. 44]

In Dec 1908 sold several parcels in Pulaski Co to Agents of the Missouri Pacific: Lot 5, Block 8 (WD# 514) on 16 Dec and Lots 4 and 5, Block 8 (ICD#681) on 29 Dec.  Irvine was listed as "Trustee" on both transactions.  [Index/Orig: Book 96, p. 286; Book 92, p. 168]

23 Dec 1909: Sold Lot 4, parts of Lots 11 and 12, and part of Block __ in Donaldson, Hot Spring Co, to R.T. Berry.  [Index/Orig: Book 9, p. 73]

21 Apr 1910 CENSUS, Little Rock, Pulaski Co, AR (1504 West 23rd St): "Irwin L. Denty" = Lumberman with his own lumber yard, married 15 years; Clara, mother of three children, two living; Evlyn; Donald.  [ED 106, Sheet 8]

23 Feb 1911: Sold parcel described as NE ___ SW ___ S2 T6 R18W in Hot Spring Co to the Arkansas Natural Gas Co.  [Index/Orig: Book 10, p. 168]

26 Apr 1912: Purchased Lot 8, Block 2 of Riffel & Rhoton's Ridgeland in Pulaski Co from Arthur North, WD#303.  [Index/Orig: Book 111, p. 88]

7 Nov 1912: He and wife Clara sold Lot 8, Block 2 in Riffel & Rhoton's Ridgeland to E.C. Nowlin, WD#304.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 111, p. 89]

28 Jan 1916: He and Clara sold Lot 7, Block 2 in Chattanooga to E.G. and Mary McCoy, WD#12868.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 121, p. 295]

3 Feb 1916: Purchased SE ___ NE___ S17 T18 R13W from the state, D#1774. [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 124, p. 276]

15 Jun 1917: Purchased W ½ NW ¼  S20 T3 R12W in Pulaski Co from the state by "Comn", D#4337; then on 23 Jun 1917 he and Clara supposedly sold the same lot to the Army Post Development Co, although it has a lease number of #3375.  [Index/Orig: Book 128, p. 99; Book 127, p. 378]

1920 CENSUS, Little Rock, Pulaski Co, AR: Merchant "Irvine Denty" 48, MS MS MS, working in his own dry goods store and residing at 1604 W. 23rd St; Clara 45, IN NC GA; Eveline 22, no occupation; Donal 19, clerk in a dry goods store.  [ED 114, Sheet 4A]

Described as "sweet man".  [Sam Denty]

Date of death from photo of tombstone in Oakland Cemetery.  [Arkansas Ties]

Mina Denty Baxter and Betty Denty Gitchel claim that Irvine died of tuberculosis; that Aunt Mag nursed him. 

In the 1929 Little Rock City Directory Clara was listed as "Denty, Clara J. (wid Donald J.) h 1604 W 23d". 

In Polk's Directories of both 1930 and 1940, Clara was also listed as residing at 1604 West 23rd Street in Little Rock.  Despite the discrepancy in numbers between the 1910 Census and the City Directories of 1930 and 1940, feel reasonably certain that this was the same house that the family had owned in 1910.  (Clara is shown as "wid Leonard" in 1930, "wid Irvine" in 1931, and "wid Irvine L." in Clara's date of death from burial date in Pinecrest Memorial Park, Sec. 6.

John and Lula Denty Easley                                                                            

Birth of John Easley:  13 Jul 1859.  [Goodspeed, Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Central Arkansas, p. 335]

John's parents were Wiley Easley, died 1877, and Mary A. Henson.

Lula's date of birth from tombstone in Oakland Cemetery; verified as Oct 1874 in 1900 Census.  [Arkansas Ties]

In addition to having inherited his father's "mercantile business" in Donaldson, John also owned 400 arable acres, was Donaldson postmaster for one year after the death of his father in 1877.  He established a lumber mill on the railroad one mile south of Donaldson, near Malvern in 1888. That mill employed 15. [Goodspeed, p. 335; Hot Spring County Historical Society, The Heritage, v. 5, 1978]

John was described as a Democrat.  [Goodspeed, p. 335]

Between 1884 and 1888 Personal Property Tax Book, Hot Spring Co, AR: John Easley = One poll, 1 horse valued at $50, 15 cattle at $200, 2 mules at $160, 10 hogs at $15, 2 wagons or carriages at $50, 1 gold or silver watch at $10, 1 organ, money and credits worth $50, all other property estimated at $100 for total of $635.

Between 1884 and 1888 Personal Property Tax Book, Hot Spring Co, AR: One poll, 2 horses worth $175, 10 cattle worth $100, 15 sheep valued at $25, 1 carriage or wagon at $50, goods and merchandise at $800, all other property at $100 for total of $1,250.

In 1889 John was once again listed in the Personal Property Tax Book of Hot Spring Co with total assessable property of $2,320.

John was listed in the Malvern City Directory in 1899. [Hot Spring County Historical Society, v. 5,  1978]

Marriage: 9 Dec 1890.  Ceremony performed by R. M. Thrasher, Baptist Minister.  [Book D, p. 441]

1900 CENSUS, Hot Spring Co, AR (Finter Township): Merchant born Jul 1860, married 9 years; Lula born Oct 1874, mother of 2 children, both living; sons Clyde D. born Nov 1891 and Fred D. born Apr 1896; sister-in-law Imogen Denty born Sep 1887.  [ED 60, Sheet 4]

23 Jan 1901: Lula E. Easley purchased the north half of Lot 4, Block 3 in Malvern, Hot Spring Co, AR.  [Index/Orig: Deed Book Z, p. 104]

20 Apr 1910 CENSUS, Little Rock, Pulaski Co, AR  (517 East 15th St): Merchant employed by "Retail Ice & Coal Co", married 19 years; Lula E, mother of 2 children, both living; Clyde D. employed "collecting" for "Ice & Coal Co"; Fred D; sister-in-law Imogene Denty.  [ED 111]

9 May 1910: Purchased Lot #12, Block 9 in Wat Worthin's Addition, Pulaski Co, to W.H. Miller.  [Index/Orig:  Book 102, p. 239, WD#6315]

4 Jun 1910: John and Lula bought property in Pulaski Co from C.L. Kraft and wife.  [Index/Orig: Book 102, p. 237, WD#6290]

26 Oct 1910: John and Lula sold Lot #2, Block 9 in Wat Worthin's Addition to Elizabeth W. Burton.  (Could this be identical to the property purchased on 9 May 1910?)  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 102, p. 499, WD#7586]

2 Feb 1911: John and Lula sold W½ of Lots #7 and #8, Block 11, Braddock's Blvd, to F. P. Greenlow.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 109, p. 168, WD#14450]

6 May 1912: John purchased Lot #10, Block 11 in Fewdale from T.A. and Ella Dillha.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 109, p. 341, WD#15058]

4 Dec 1914: John Easley "and wife" sold Lot #4, Block 4 in Cedar Heights to S.R. Thomas.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 118, p. 267, QCD#8750]

4 Dec 1914: John Easley "and wife" sold Lot #70, Block 11 in Ferndale to J.B. Whitmore.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski  Book 118, p. 460, WD#9477]

30 Mar 1915: John bought the northernmost 50 feet of Lot 11, Block 7, in Centennial from Lee R.B. Carl and wife.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 138, p. 394, WD#6515]

6 Jun 1918: John bought Lots #1-3 in Block 4 of Cedar Heights from C.D. Easley and wife.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 135, p. 551, WD#7245]

19 Aug 1918: John and Lula sold the northernmost 50 feet of Lot #11, Block 7 in Centennial (purchased 30 Mar 1915) to M. Rozelle.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 132, p. 288, WD#6618]

1 Oct 1918: John purchased Lot #10, Block 9 in Forest Hill from R.H. Sutton and wife.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 136, p. 75, WD#6991]

28 Oct 1918: John and Lula sold Lot 3, Block 4 in Cedar Heights to Raleigh North.  [Index/Orig: Pulaski Book 138, p. 439, WD#7258]

1920 CENSUS, Little Rock, Pulaski Co, AR: General merchant age 60, AR AR MS, residing at 3906 Pine; Lula 47, born MS; merchant Clyde D. age 28, married but no wife present; Fred D. age 23, working in "sales", "belting".  The household was headed by Max and Maggie Chamberlain and included Imogene Denty.  [ED 146, Sheet 20]

According to Sam Denty, the Easleys supposedly went to FL in the 1920s, subsequently becoming wealthy in land boom there.  The 1929 Crash made their land worthless, however, and they finally "let it go" for taxes, returning to AR.  Betty Gitchel claims that it was Clyde and Fred who made a fortune in real estate in FL.  This would make more sense based upon the chronology. 

They bought a dairy and peanut farm near McAlmont, a town just northeast of Little Rock, but still in Pulaski Co.  The farm was located across from the railroad station.  (Yet Sam remembers going to the farm as a boy, which would put their residence near McAlmont before the Crash, and thus presumably before they moved to FL – if they did move to FL.)  They finally sold the farm and moved back to Little Rock. 

In the 1929 and 1930 Little Rock City Directories: "Easley, John W (Lula E) restr  405 e 9th  h 210 W 10th". 

In the 1931 Directory they were listed at the same residential address, but John's occupation had changed to "mgr Le Rock Tea Room".  (Imogene Denty was a waitress for the Easleys.)

In the 1935 Directory: "Easley, John W (Lula) gro 3920 W Markham h do".  He was also listed as a "grower".

Lula was apparently a fairly good artist.  Betty Denty Gitchel has two of her paintings hanging in her living room; Mina Baxter has a portrait painted by her.   

Death: Mina Denty Baxter claims that Lulu drowned in the bathtub, Betty Gitchel that she died in the bathtub, "apparently from a stroke".

Lula's date of death from tombstone in Oakland Cemetery.  [Arkansas Ties]

John, Lula, Clyde, and Fred are buried at Oakland Cemetery.

Max and Margaret Denty Chamberlain

Margaret's birth: 21 Mar 1877.  [Social Security Death Index]

According to Mina Denty Baxter, Maggie attended college in Arkadelphia at Ouachita Baptist College.  She had to drop out due to her father's death.

Maggie reportedly first went to live with Lulu and John Easley after her father's death.  [Mina Baxter]

The 1899 Malvern City Directory listed "Miss Maggie Denty" and Samuel J. Denty as boarders in residence of Kate Denty on Page Avenue.  [Hot Spring County Historical Society, The Heritage, v. 5, p.17, 1978]

Marriage: Ceremony performed by Rev. Owens at the Methodist Parsonage in Hot Springs.  Wits: "Ex-Mayor and Mrs F. Henry".  Day and month were 24 August, but year was not given in the newspaper clipping.  It should have occurred after late 1898 when the info for the 1899 Malvern City Directory would've been compiled.  The ceremony was performed on Sunday.   [Dent Gitchel/Orig: Unknown newspaper; Hot Spring Historical Society, v. 5, p. 17, 1978]

22 Apr 1910 CENSUS, Pulaski Co, AR (Hill Township, Argenta Ward): Max E. Chamberlain 30, married at age 18, LA AL TN, occupation pharmacist in drug store, also owner of farm #28 on Farm Schedule; Maggie 30, married at age 18, MS MO MS.  [ED 146, Sheet 12B]

17 Jun 1911: Purchased Lots #4-5, Block 113 in Malvern, Hot Spring Co from R.S. Smith.  [Index/Orig: Hot Spring Book 11, p. 55]

Max was a physician; also owned a drugstore at the corner of 13th & Pine known as Wade's  Pharmacy.  (It later became Finnigan's Highland Pharmacy.)  [Dent Gitchel, 6 Feb 1999]               

Mag was bedridden in her forties having been diagnosed with stomach cancer and her doctors holding out little hope.  Yet after a conversion to Christian Science, she never experienced another sick day, living to the ripe age of ninety-four.  She was fervent, being in charge of the local Reading Room for many years.  [Betty Gitchel; Sam Denty]

1920 CENSUS, Little Rock, Pulaski County, AR: Druggist 43, LA TN TN; Maggie 42, MS MS MS; Imogene Denty age 30, a saleslady in a grocery store.  Also residing there was the Easley family: John, Lula, Clyde, and Fred.  [ED 146, Sheet  20]

Having no children of her own, Maggie practically took over the raising of her niece Jean Denty, providing her with piano and dancing lessons.  Jean spent much time at Mag's.  [Betty Denty Gitchel]

Max's cause of death was Bright's Disease.  [Betty Denty Gitchel]

Max left no significant estate so Mag turned to millinery.  According to Mina Baxter, her shop was located at 2nd and Main in North Little Rock.  [Betty Denty Gitchel]

She also rented out rooms on the second story of her home as a source of income.  [Dent Gitchel, 6 Feb 1999]

In the 1929 Little Rock City Directory: Mrs. Margaret Chamberlain, "librarian, Christian Science Reading Room, 210 W. 10th Street".  Listing same in 1930, 1931, 1934, and 1935.

15 Apr 1930 Census, Little Rock, Pulaski Co, AR: Church librarian Maggie Chamberlain, a widow whose age is not legible, MS MS MS; sister Imogene Denty 35, AR MS MS, employed as a waitress in a tea room; lodger Mary Muney 35. TX TX TX, a saleswoman in a department store.  They are renting a house at 210 West 10th Street for $37.50 per month.  [ED 60-15, Sheet 17B]

In 1940 City Directory, listed as "wid Max", she was shown residing at the same address on West 10th Street.  She later moved to 305 West 8^th Street, which was sold for low-income, high-rise housing, but  burned in 1969 before being rased.  She next rented an apartment at 311 South State Street, the address listed in her will, where she "lived comfortably" until her stroke.  [Dent Gitchel; Betty Gitchel] 

Was described as "full of grit".  [Betty Denty Gitchel]   "Extremely well-groomed, good company, nice woman."  [Carolyn Moore Denty]

In old age she "constantly shook with a palsy that was called St. Vitus Dance".  [Dent Gitchel, 6 Feb 1999]

Will written August of 1969.  Carbon copy without exact date, signature, or witnesses was provided by Mina Baxter. 

Death and burial: Suffered "massive stroke" two days before her death due to arterosclerosis.  She died at the Whippoorwill Nursing Home at 11:55 am, 24 Jan 1971, having been taken there just after her stroke.  Funeral home was Griffin Legett.  Buried in Oakland Cemetery.  [Death Certificate #001298]

Samuel Johnston and Ethel Bishop Denty

Sam's date of birth: 20 May 1883.  [Samuel Johnston Denty Jr]

After residing with Aunt Marie, Sam remained in contact with his Johnston cousins throughout childhood, frequently visiting Desoto Co, MS.  One story told by the Johnston family had Sam and David Johnston, son of Thomas and Flora Johnston, getting into the family's medicine cabinet.  Whatever one or both consumed that day, David grew no more, never weighing more than 80 lbs.  (In adulthood Sam was close to first cousin William Allen Johnston, son of Samuel Urbane Johnston.  They were "fishin buddies".  As "Al" was married to cousin Corinne Lauderdale, Sam must have also known that related Desoto family.)  [Robert Edward Johnston; Samuel Johnston Denty Jr]

Ethel's birth: 25 Jan 1890.  [Birth Certificate; Social Security Death Index]

The 1899 Malvern City Directory listed "Miss Maggie Denty" and "Samuel J. Denty" as boarders in residence of Kate Denty on Page Avenue.  [Hot Spring County Historical Society, The Heritage, v. 5, p.17, 1978]

8 Jan 1900 CENSUS, Benton, Saline Co, AR: Samuel J. Denty, born May 1883, employed as "Manager Benton Telephone", residing in household of Kate Denty.  [Pg 7]

Marriage: 24 Dec 1907.  Groom described as "24", "Esther Bishop" as "18".  (Ethel was actually 17.)  License issued on 23 Dec; ceremony performed by J.B. Sims, M.G. on 24 Dec.  [Book Q, p. 101]

1910 CENSUS, Newport, Jackson Co, AR  (Union Township): Lineman age 26, married 2 years, employed by electric light company; Ethel M. age 20, mother of 1 child still living; Wade I. age 1 ½  - All residing at 419 Main Street in household of Kate Denty.  [ED 73, Sheet 20]

Reportedly moved to 4003 West 8^th Street in 1917. 

14 Jan 1920 CENSUS, Little Rock, Pulaski Co, AR: Electrician 36, MS MS MS, residing at 4003 W. 8th; Ethel 28, VA VA VA; Imogene 11; Sam 7; Elizabeth 5; and "mother" Kate 62, TN US US.  [ED 145, Sheet 10A]

In the 1929 Little Rock City Directory: "Denty, Saml J (Ethel)  electn  h 4003 W 8th".  Same listing in 1930.

14 Apr 1930 CENSUS, Little Rock, Pulaski Co, AR (Big Rock Twp, Eighth Ward): Age 46, married at age 22, TN TN TN, occupation self-employed electrician, owner of a home valued at $3,000; Ethel 39, married at age 17, VA VA __; Emma Gene 21; Sam 17; Elizabeth 15.  [ED 60-35, Sheet 14A]

In the 1931, 1934, and 1935 City Directories, house address and occupation "electn" unchanged.

In the 1940 Little Rock Directory he was listed as "electrical contractor", apparently operating as such out of his home.  (Yet Sam was, according to family tradition, a telephone lineman and repairman for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company most of his working life.)

Detached retinas resulted in blindness at age 61. That year he was working in Mobile, AL building liberty ships, had sudden onset, had to call the family in AR to come and pick him up.  Rejected for guide dog because of age.  [Samuel Johnston Denty Jr]

Description: "Very slender, quick moving.  Last thing he always did before leaving home was shine his shoes . . . No business acuity, although very intelligent . . . He was not close with any of his family.  I was accused of being his favorite - and I was.  He must have loved his family in his way as he became very alarmed if we became ill."  [Betty Gitchel]  Yet would often drop by to see his daughter-in-law Carolyn and granddaughter Susan.  While always supplying an excuse for the visit, he'd nevertheless sit and talk at length.  [Carolyn Moore Denty]

Sam's death: 13 Aug 1955.  Cause was a stroke.  [Samuel Johnston Denty Jr]

Ethel's death: 15 Jan 1973.  [Samuel Johnston Denty Jr]

Both are buried in Pinecrest Memorial Park (Garden of Gethsemane) on Hwy 5.

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