Chapter 13

Three Sons of Jonathan Milton Denty

John M. Denty

            John M. Denty, the oldest son of Jonathan Milton and Mary Ann, was born in December 1845 in Talladega County, Alabama.  On 7 Dec 1863, age seventeen, John enlisted at Coosa Bridge as a Private in Company C, 62^nd Alabama Infantry.   Captured by Union forces at Blakely, Alabama on 9 Apr 1865, he was sent to Ship Island, Mississippi, and then to Vicksburg, Mississippi, from whence he was paroled.  On 9 Sep 1867 John married Permelia C. Rinehart at the home of his parents, and the young couple apparently set up a household of their own just over the Coosa River in Shelby County, Alabama. 

When his father died in 1873, first-born son John, second-born brother William, and their mother Mary Ann declined to administer the estate.  John Abernathy Smith has suggested that their refusal might indicate that the two oldest sons were not Milton's biological children, but instead the offspring of a hypothetical first marriage for Mary Ann.  If the photograph at left is  John,[1] he certainly does not bear any strong resemblance to father Milton or brother James.  And although his middle initial might easily lead to the assumption that his middle name was Milton, the author has never found any hard evidence in support of it.  Nevertheless, his reluctance to serve as administrator may have another explanation. Both he and William, like their mother Mary, were, at best, perhaps not as literate as their brother James, who did administer the estate; and were at worst only semi-literate.  This is supported by the wording of a lien dated 20 Jan 1874, regarding which the County Clerk certified that "John M. Denty whose known to me and appeared before me and being informed of the contents of the within conveyance acknowledged that he executed the same."  On the other hand, brother Columbus, who had moved to Louisiana, granted John power of attorney in 1885 to sell Columbus' portion of their father's estate.  Still, it may be that, with brother James apparently unavailable, Columbus had no other choice.

For most of his adult life, John was a farmer.  On 9 Jul 1870, he took out a lien on his first bale of cotton produced in order to secure a loan for $50, without which he would not be able "to make my crop".  He was described at that time as residing on the "Milton Denty plantation" in Shelby County.   Still forced to resort to the same strategy in 1874, he took out a lien from John Sawyer & Company for $29 in cash, along with horses, mules, oxen, provisions, farming implements, meat and molasses in the amount of $31.  This $50 was, once again, to enable him to make a crop of cotton, corn, and fodder on "the Milton Denty plantation".  According to the census, John was still farming in 1880, but by 1900 was renting a home in Kelly's Creek, working as a "portrait artist".  It's likely, however, that he still owned the farm, since son Charlie was employed as a farm laborer that year.  It has not been possible to determine how successful John might have been at his new vocation, or if any of his paintings survive.

John M. Denty died in 1901 and was buried in Elliot Cemetery in Vincent, Alabama.  In 1996 his great-grandson Donald Dobbs and Donald's son Steve, a Civil War re-enactor, arranged for a new tombstone to be erected on the gravesite commemorating John's service in the 62^nd Alabama Infantry.  With full military ceremony, the stone was dedicated on 12 Sep 1996.

Mary A. Denty, presumably named after John's mother, was born about 1870.  She may not have survived into adulthood.

            Farmer Wylie W. Denty was born on 9 Dec 1871 and died on 15 Feb 1943 in Harpersville, Shelby County, Alabama.  He and Nannie Bates, who he married on 6 Jan 1897, had at least three children:

While primarily a farmer, Homer C. Denty, born on 7 Aug in either 1898 or 1899, was also an artist.  Unlike his grandfather, however, he specialized in landscapes rather than portraits.[3]   About 1930 he married Ethel Gill, with whom he had one daughter, Esther Ruth Denty.  Homer died of a heart attack on 3 Jul 1982 in Harpersville, Alabama, and was buried in the Harpersville Cemetery.

Otis W. Denty, born on 11 Sep 1903, married Claddie Foster on 3 Sep 1927.  He died on 25 Jun 1993 in Vincent, Alabama.

Roy Parcy Denty was born c. 1912 and died on 18 Jul 1934 in Birmingham, Alabama.

            Katie S. Denty, born in October 1876, married Solon H. Perry in Vincent, Shelby County, Alabama on 12 Aug 1894.  They had children Melvin and Alice Perry.

            Charles Edward Denty was a farmer in Shelby County, Alabama.  Born on 23 Jun 1879, he married 1) Mannie Blankenship before 1903, and 2) Lena Lee Dunson on 29 Oct 1908.  His first child, J.O. Denty, was born on 8 Jun 1903, so presumably J.O.'s mother was Mannie.  The rest of his children were born after his marriage to Lena.   They were: Carrie Ella (b. 1 Sep 1910, d. 16 Dec 1994), Stanley D. (b. 3 Jul 1915, d. July 1992), Billy Maynard (b. 13 Apr 1918, d. 13 Jul 1974), Thadis Earl (b. 11 Jul 1919, d. 25 Dec 1988), a son named Leslie (b. 25 Sep 1925, d. 30 Sep 1985), and Valera Mae Denty (b. 22 Sep 1928, d. 25 Nov 1989).  Charles died on 10 Aug 1965 and was buried in the Harpersville Cemetery in Shelby County.

            James Albert Denty was born on 13 Feb 1886 in Vincent, Alabama.  In the 1920 Census, he was enumerated with first wife Alma Mary Elliot (who he'd married on 26 Dec 1918) in the household of his father-in-law James S. Elliot in Shelby County.  That year he was employed as a "farm laborer", no doubt on the Elliot farm.  On the 1930 Census, however, James was listed as the farmer and head of household, although the aging James Elliot still lived with the family.  Alma died on 3 Feb 1931 and James married his second wife, Mary Magdeline Crim.  He was the father of  one son by Alma Mary, James Walter Denty (b. 30 Aug 1920, d. 20 Feb 1964); and two daughters, Mary Lee and Barbara Sheila, by his second wife Mary Magdeline.  James Albert Denty died on 24 May 1976. 

            Lilla M. Denty, born in September 1890, married Edgar Norman Parkerson and moved to La Grange, Troup County, Georgia.  They reportedly had three sons: Hardy, Billy, and Theodore.   

William T. Denty

            The second son of Jonathan Milton and Mary Ann Denty, William was born in December 1847.[4]  Living with his parents and working on the family farm in the 1870 Census, William married Alsa A. Elliot in December of that year.  Alsa soon died, however, whether of disease, from accident, or in childbirth. On 7 Feb 1872 William married Anna E. Thompson, the daughter of James J. Thompson, and the couple continued to farm, residing in Kelly's Creek.  He and Anna Thompson Denty were the parents of nine children.  Of N.A. and Eva A. (female twins born in February 1890), Jesse A. (b. Apr 1893), and Hosea F. (b. Jan 1898) almost nothing is known.  Of the remaining five:[5]

            Mary Frances Denty, born on 10 Dec 1872, married Perry Barber, a farmer, on 4 Oct 1888 in St. Clair County, Alabama.  In the 1900 Census they were enumerated in Coal City, St. Clair County.  "Mollie" died on 12 Feb 1903 and was buried in Harkey's Chapel in Coal City.  Perry, the son of Henry and Sarah Rice Barber, married twice more, moving the family to Nevada County, Arkansas about 1909.  At various times in the ensuing years they lived in the Arkansas counties of Pike, Hempstead, and Spring.  Perry moved to Florida in the 1930s.  Mollie Denty Barber was the mother of six children:

Sarah Luana Barber, born on 10 Mar 1891, died of fever on 5 Jan 1909 at the age of seventeen.

Tennie Velma Barber was born on 11 Apr 1894 and married Lawrence Sumner Ferguson on 31 Mar 1912 in Delight, Pike County, Arkansas.  After fathering five children, Lawrence died of a heart attack in Florida on 31 Jul 1956, and in 1972 Tennie married Paul E. Ashbrook.

Samuel Aaron Allen Barber was born on 3 Apr 1896.

Stella Alva Barber was born on 19 Jun 1898.

Born on 29 Sep 1900, William Henry Barber married Marvel Seeds.  He worked as an insurance agent in Dade City, Florida.  "Bill" died on 18 Oct 1980.

Minnie Belle Barber, born on 26 Jun 1902, married Sam Keift.  She reportedly later lived in Ohio.

Ida Louisa Denty was born on 13 Feb 1874.  On 29 Dec 1892, she married Jesse Green Blankenship[6] in Shelby County, Alabama, and had children Luther, Jesse Green, and Minnie Leona.  Ida died on 23 Feb 1906. 

Adell Viola Denty, born on 5 Oct 1878, married Edward Joseph Caldwell on 14 Dec 1899.  They were the parents of at least one child, William Cecil Caldwell, who was born on 30 Oct 1900 and died on 12 Dec 1982 in Talladega County.  "Ola" died on 9 Sep 1942 in Sycamore, Talladega County, Alabama.

William K. Denty was born in April 1881.  In 1913 he employed as a boilermaker and was residing at 2517 31^st Avenue in Birmingham, Alabama.  On 22 Jun 1915 "Will" married Ann Driscoll and they became the parents of four daughters: Mildrid, Kate, Helen, and Lucille, who died in infancy. By 12 Jan 1920 the young family had moved to Mobile, Alabama, where they were enumerated in a rented house at 416 Palmitta Street and where Will was a boilermaker in a local shipyard.  In 1928 he was working as a "hlpr", then as a boilermaker again in 1929.  See photo.  Wife Annie had died in 1926 and by 1929 Will had married a woman named Ida.  William K. Denty died in Mobile County, Alabama in September 1938, his widow Ida on 2 Feb 1949.

Born on 23 March 1884, youngest daughter Emma T. Denty married Robert Jackson Carpenter on 8 Sep 1904 in Colbert, Alabama.    She died on 18 Mar 1961.           

Robert Wallace Denty

The fourth son of Jonathan Milton Denty, Robert was born on 17 Oct 1852 and was likely the "B Denty", an eight year old male, enumerated with the family in the 1860 Census.  Robert married Martha Elizabeth Davis on 21 Dec 1876 in Shelby County, Alabama.  He described his occupation as farmer in the 1880 and 1900 Censuses, but had become a "book agent" by 1920.  That year, he and his wife were living in Vincent close by their daughter and son-in-law Anna Janetta and Jesse Blankenship.  Robert died on 2 Oct 1926, and Martha on 3 Mar 1944.  Both are buried in Elliot Cemetery in Vincent, Alabama.  Robert and Martha had five children:[7]

Minnie Ola Denty, born on 15 Oct 1877, married Thomas W. Carr.  Thomas had a son, Paul Carr, by a previous marriage, who became Minnie's step-son.  Although she supposedly never had any children of her own, a daughter named Emma, age 15, was enumerated with Tom and Minnie in the 1920 Census.

Born on 25 Jan 1880, Anna Janetta Denty married Jesse Green Blankenship after the death of his first wife, her first cousin Ida Louisa Denty.  She thus became the step-mother for her niece and nephews, Minnie, Luther, and Jesse.  In addition, "Nettie" had two children of her own by Jesse: Frances Margerine and James Embry Blankenship (b. 13 Jan 1920, d. 18 Mar 1995).  It was my privilege to correspond with the latter, a kind, generous man, who provided me with much information about his family.

James M. Denty, a farmer, was born on 7 Sep 1882.  He married a woman named Dovie about December 1899 when he was only seventeen years old and she only fifteen.  "Jim" died two years later at the age of nineteen and was buried in Elliot Cemetery.  The marriage produced no children.

Amos Denty was born on 20 Nov 1884 and died on 9 Jan 1909.

Robert Milton Denty, born on 26 Jul 1893, married Lena Etta Bowden on 1 Nov 1914.  Although he was farming in Shelby County as late as 1920, by 1930 he was clerking at the post office in Vincent, and in 1931 he'd moved to Birmingham where he was employed as a letter carrier.  That year he resided at 1904 6^th Avenue North.  Lena died in May 1969 and Robert followed not long after, on 14 Sep 1970.  They are buried in Vincent, Alabama.  Their five children were: Wallace Franklin (b. 22 Apr 1916, d. 20 Sep 1992), Mary Elizabeth (b. 26 Nov 1917), Robert Milton Junior (b. 15 Dec 1919, d. 7 Apr 1986), daughter Willie Jo (b. 31 Oct 1922), and Sarah Etta Denty (b. 13 Feb 1926).

Research Notes: John M. Denty

Birth: Dec 1845.  [1900 Census] 

Served as a Private, Co. C, 62nd AL Infantry in the Civil War, enlisting 7 Dec 1863 at Coosa Bridge, AL.  (Company known as Capt. W. Pitt's Company, AL Volunteers.)  He was captured 9 Apr 1865 at Blakely, AL, transported to Ship Island, MS, and then to Vicksburg, MS, arriving there 1 May 1865.  [NNMS, Nat'l Archives]

Marriage to Permelia Rinehart: 9 Sep 1867, at the home of Milton Denty.  Permelia was the daughter of John Rinehart and Catherine Elizabeth Vaughn.  [Lynn Christian]  (Larry Ferguson believes that their marriage year was 1870.) 

9 Jul 1870: J.M. Denty took out a lien on property in Shelby on his first bale of cotton produced to secure a loan of $50 from T.J. Martin "to enable me to make my crop".  Loan due 1 Nov 1870.  [Book Q, p. 76]

20 Jan 1874: Took out a lien from John Sawyer & Co for $29 advanced in cash along with horses and mules, oxen, provisions, farming implements, meal, and molasses to the amount of $31 (Total = $50) in order to make a crop on the "Milton Denty plantation" in Talladega Co.  As security, John offered entire crop of cotton, corn, and fodder.  Due 1 Nov 1874.  [Pg 342]

24 Jun 1880 CENSUS, Kelly's Creek, Shelby Co, AL (Beat #16): Farmer 34, AL GA AL; PC 28, AL AL AL; Mary 10; WW 8; CS 4; CE 1.  (Enumerated next to household of Mrs. Mary Denty.)  [Pg 7]

12 Feb 1881: Along with WT, RW, CL, and FW Denty, sold 210 acres in S2, S3, and S10 T19 R2E to James B. Denty for $600.  [Book 4, p. 265]

28 Dec 1885: Along with "Mrs. M.A. Denty", William T, RW, CL, and Frank W. Denty, sold several tracts to A.B. Mitchell for $150.  John was described as residing in Shelby Co, AL.  (John signed for his brother "C.L." by power of attorney.)   [Book 11, p. 169]

14 Nov 1886: Along with Mary A. Denty, sold right of way through S3 and S10 T19 R2E in Shelby Co to Goodwater and Birmingham Railway Company for $1.  Witnesses: William T. Denty, E.C. Monceres.  [Book 8, p. 510]

8 Jun 1900 CENSUS, Kelly's Creek, Shelby Co, AL: Portrait artist, born Dec 1945, AL GA AL, married 33 years, renting a home; Permelia born Oct 1852, mother of 8 children, 5 living; Charlie age 20, employed in "farm labor"; James A. age 14; Lilla M. age 9.  According to Lynn Christian, he was actually a photographer.

Year of death: 1901.  [Tombstone in Elliot Cemetery]

Location of Elliot Cemetery: From high school turn SW on County 83, 1 mile to landfill. Cemetery is 30 yards off paved road next to landfill. 

William T. Denty

Birth: Dec 1847.  [1900 Census]

Marriage to Alsa Elliot: 20 Dec 1870.  Ceremony performed by W.W. Kidd, M.G.  [Shelby Marriage Records 1869-1885, p. 74: Copy provided by Larry Ferguson] 

Marriage to Anna Thompson: 7 Feb 1872.  Ceremony performed by W.W. Kidd, M.G.  [Shelby Marriage Records 1869-1885, p. 152: Copy provided by Larry Ferguson]   

6 Jul 1870 CENSUS, Talladega Co, AL (T19 R3E): Farm laborer age 22, residing with parents.

12 Feb 1881: Along with JM, RW, CL, and FW Denty, sold 210 acres in S2, S3, and S10 T19 R2E to James B. Denty for $600.  [Book 4, p. 265]

23 or 24 Jun 1880 CENSUS, Shelby Co, AL (Beat #16, Dwelling #40): Farmer age 32, AL GA GA; Anna E.age 26; daughters M.F. age 7, Ida L. age 6, N.A. age 4, and Viola age 1.

28 Dec 1885: Along with "Mrs. M.A. Denty", JM, RW, CL, and Frank W. Denty, sold several tracts to A.B. Mitchell for $150.  [Book 11, p. 169]

14 Nov 1886: Along with E.C. Monceres, witnessed deed from J.M. Denty to Goodwater & Birmingham Railway in Shelby.  [Book 8, p. 510] 

1900 CENSUS, Shelby Co, AL (Kelly's Creek): Farmer born Dec 1847, AL GA GA, married 28 years; wife Anna E. age 36, mother of 11 children, 8 living; William K. age 19, Emma T. age 16; Eva E. age 10; Jesse A. age 7; Hosea H. age 2.  [ED 134, Dwelling #135]

Robert Wallace Denty

Date of Birth: 17 Oct 1852.  [Shelby County Historical Society, Cemetery Census of Shelby County, Alabama, Vol. 1, p. 24]

Was not listed on 1860 Census but "B. Denty", a son of Jonathan, never heard of before or since, was the correct age to actually be Robert.

Date of Marriage:  21 Dec 1876.  Ceremony performed by W.W. Kidd, M.G.  [Shelby Marriage Records 1869-1885, p. 370: Copy provided by Larry Ferguson]  

1880 CENSUS, Harpersville, Shelby Co, AL (Beat #10): Farmer 27, AL GA AL; Lizzie 27, AL AL AL; Mineola 2; Annie 5/12.  [ED 126, Sheet 23]

12 Feb 1881: Along with JM, WT, CL, and FW Denty, sold 210 acres in S2, S3, and S10 T19 R2E to James B. Denty for $600.  [Book 4, p. 265]

28 Dec 1885: Along with "Mrs. M.A. Denty", JM, WT, CL, and Frank W. Denty, sold several tracts to A.B. Mitchell for $150.  [Book 11, p. 169]

9 Jun 1900 CENSUS, Shelby County, AL (Kelly's Creek, Dwelling #81): Farmer age 47, born Oct 1852, AL VA AL, married 23 years; wife Martha E. age 47, born Sep 1852, mother of 5 children still living; Minnie O. age 22; Anna J. age 20; Amos S. age 16; Robert M. age 6.

1920 CENSUS, Vincent, Shelby Co, AL: Book Agent age 67, AL AL AL; Sarrah age 67, AL AL AL.  (Name does look like Sarrah, but could also be Martha; age would be correct.  Enumerated close to family of Jesse Green and Annie J. Blankenship.)   [ED 126, Sheet 2]

Date of Death:  2 Oct 1926.  [Shelby County Historical Society, p. 24]  

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