Thomas Denson [1829] ^130,143,324

   FamilySearch ID: KZJ7-H4D.

  General Notes:

THOMAS (DENSON), the oldest son, was interested in the cause of his country. He was a dru m major, was drafted in the War of 1812, received his uniform , knapsack and other equipmen t necessary for war, but after thirty days, peace was declared and the company disbanded (abo ut Dec.24, 1814). He continued to drum for the military training for some time as all able b odied men were required at that time to keep prepared for the first inimation of war.

He married ELIZABETH BERRY and followed the trade of shoemaking mostly, although he partly ac quired the tailor's trade. About this time he sought the religion of Christ and became an ac tive Christian. Although he was never licensed to preach, yet he continued to conduct service s as a class leader and an exhorter.
After having eight chilren and having only eighteen acres of land, which was his wife' s property, he oncluded to emigrate to the then western world. This was in 1824. Accordingl y he disposed of his effects as best he could and started with his family loaded in a covere d wagon after the Jersey style. He folowed his sister's footsteps to Tompkins Co., NY. Her e he purchased a small place and settled his family, then with his oldest son, started out pr ospecting. They came by Seneca Lake and beyond that to what is now , 1897, called Moreland . Not suiting themselves, they traveled on till they reached Greenwood, where they locate d a tract.


This son, (Theodore, being married, they worked together, and some of the other boys were qui te young men. They soon felled enough of the old forest to afford a site for two dwelling s a short distance apart , then moved their families into this wilderness. Here they sough t to make the wilderness blossom like a rose. But alas! there is never a rose with out a tho rn. By hard labor they cleared quite a farm and stocked it with cattle and
sheep, but the land proved cold and frosty, and they lost most of the ir crops by frost an d a disease, called 'black rot' broke out among the sheep.
There they had to go five miles to the nearest drug store, nine miles to a grist-mill an d had no near market. The money being scarce, the young men became discontented and wanted t o find more lucrative employment, something that brought quicker returns for their labor. Th ey began to leave home one after another, the father rented his place and moved to Canisteo R iver, below Addison.

Here his wife, (Elizabeth Berry) died in 1832, having borne eleven children, namely: John, Sa rah, Alfred Quick, William, Theodore, Josep h, Wesley, Jane (writer of this article), Ann, Ro bert, Sylvester Carey.

He (Thomas Denson-58) finally sold his possessions at Greenwood and moved to Millport, Chemun g Co, NY. There or near there he lived to the end of his days, dying at Pine Valley. He wa s 87 years old and was buried beside his wife below Addison in the town of Erwin in Erwin Cem etery, New York.

Thomas married Elizabeth du Berry [21702] [MRIN: 10602], daughter of William du Berry [1779] and Unknown, on 18 Oct 1803 in Hunterdon, New Jersey ¹⁴³.^,324 (Elizabeth du Berry [21702] was born in 1784,^143,324 died on 27 Sep 1832 ^143,324 and was buried in Erwin, , New York ¹⁴³.)