James Denny – Revolutionary War Patriot

James Denny was born in 1751, probably in Virginia. We are uncertain of his parents’ names, but believe they immigrated to America from Ireland and settled in Virginia along with other Scot-Irish people.

James married Esther Small in Albermarle, Virginia, in 1773. He and his father-in-law, John Small, are considered Patriots of the Revolutionary War because they signed an Oath of Allegiance and paid supply tax.

“It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors.”

~Plutarch

James received a land grant for 250 acres in Wayne County, Kentucky, in 1802. He, Esther, their children, and probably a brother, Charles, moved to Wayne County where they lived the remainder of their lives.

James and Esther are buried in a small family cemetery down the hill and across a field from the Clay Hill Baptist Church in Monticello, Kentucky.

Originally the graves were marked by a cairn, about 5′ high and 8′ long. The current headstone was added by Denney descendants in 1987.