Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Granville Dennis

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Descendants of Granville Dennis

Generation No. 1

1. GRANVILLE³ DENNIS (WILLIAM HENDERSON², WILLIAM¹)¹ was born Abt. 1825 in Leesburg, Loundoun, VA ², and died Abt. 1877 in Tubal, Union, AR, USA ³. He married MILDRETH ANN LEWIS⁴ 24 Apr 1847 in Flint, Morgan, AL, USA, daughter of WILLIAM LEWIS and MARTHA LEWIS. She was born Abt. 1830 in ,,TN, USA ⁵, and died Abt. 1903 in Tubal, Union, AR, USA ⁶.

Notes for GRANVILLE DENNIS:
1. Dennis Family Bible held by Gladys Dennis Semora, Little Rock, AR

2. Mariages of Morgan County, AL 1818-1896 by Albert J. Minter

3. 1850 US Census of Morgan County, AL, page 226

4. 1860 US Census of Morgan County, AL, page 368

5. 1870 US Census of Claiborne Parish, LA page 032

Research Period July 1991, Albuquerque, NM by Jerry D. Dennis

6. Enlisted in Claiborne Regiment, Louisiana Milita (Confederacy): Ancestry.com; listed as G H Dennis (Granville Henderson Dennis); Company A, Claiborne Regiment, Louisiana Militia. Rank at Induction Sergeant; Rank at Discharge: Sergeant; Allegiance: Confederate: United States National Archives, Civil War Compiled Military Service Records Provo, UT: Ancestry.com 1999

7. The first and only information about Granville Henderson Dennis comes from my later paternal grandfather, Walter Edward Dennis Sr (1906-1975).

8. Marriages of Morgan County, Alabama 1818-1876, Elvert J Minter.

      a. Page 145: "Lewis, M. A. to Granville Dennis/License/24April 1847 (A-529)"

      b. Page xxx: "Dennis, Granville to M .A. Lewis (bride), License, 24 April 1847 (A-529)

More About GRANVILLE DENNIS:
Burial: Tubal, Union, AR, USA
Residence: 1860, North West Division, Morgan, Alabama ⁷

Notes for MILDRETH ANN LEWIS:
Mildreth Ann Lewis, the daughter of William and Martha Lewis, is the key to family mysteries never to be solved. How can we say this?

As the wife of Granville Henderson Dennis, Mildreth was a unique eye witness and participant in the day to day dealings of the Dennis Family. Second, because her father-in-law, William Henderson Dennis, lived with her and Granville from the beginning of their marriage in 1847 until his death around 1861. That eleven years gave her considerable insight to the inner workings of her father-in-law. She and Granville name their first born son after William H Dennis which apparently meant there existed some degree of respect for this fifty-three old native born Virginian and possibly one of the first native born Americans.

Curiousity surely piqued Mildreth's interest when her mother-in-law, Ruth Petitt Dennis who lived in the same part of Morgan County, claimed she was a "widow". What daughter-in-law could not wonder why her in-laws denied his existence since before 1840. During the time Mildreth married into the family, she certainly must have heard why William, her father-in-law, was as much an outcast as the Biblical Cain who murdered Abel. Dark secrets preceded the arrival of the Dennis Family to Alabama. Mildreth most likely was privy to conversations, discussions, and off-handed conversation which convinced her that something extremely serious broke a twenty year plus marriage in half and began a rift which spanned more than a century.

Did Mildreth have occasion to meet and mingle with her mother-in-law, Ruth? Surely, there was some plausible dispensation of grace to Mildreth, as, like Ruth, was not guilty of being born into the Dennis Family? Although it cannot be proven, I believe Ruth and Mildreth became acquainted intimately during the years in Alabama (1840-1850). Was Mildreth part of the "circle of trust" where Ruth was involved? My belief is that both Ruth and Mildreth had mutual feelings about the Dennis Family, but promised never to reveal the circumstances outside the family line. [Even into the twenty-first century, nothing is said or hinted at about what occurred to separate the family]

Another aspect to consider: Mildreth's older sister, Mary Ann Lewis, married Almarine Dennis, Granville's older brother. Almarine lived very close to his mother, Ruth, while she was in Alabama. What relationship did Mary Ann forge with Ruth? What happened to Mary Ann and Alamarine after the Holbrook Family persuaded Ruth and her younger children to relocate to Missouri after 1850? Again, Mildreth remained the primary eye-witness to the division of a major family and a rift which remained deep into the twentieth century.

Mildreth's age when she married was seventeen. Her youth and stamina followed her wherever Granville traveled.

29 | 415 401 | Dennis William | 53 M | Farmer | S.C. | X | W450 |
30 | 415 401 | Dennis Granvell | 25 M | | Va. | X | G651 |
31 | 415 401 | Dennis Milly A. | 18 F | | Ten. | | M4.0 |
32 | 415 401 | Dennis William A | 2 M | | Ala. | | W450 |
33 | 415 401 | Dennis Martha J. F. | 3/12 F | | Ala. | | M632 |

21 | 421 407 | Lewis William | 51 M | Farmer | S.C. | | W450 |
22 | 421 407 | Lewis Martha | 52 F | | Ten. | | M630 |
23 | 421 407 | Lewis Martha | 16 F | | Ala. | | M630 |
24 | 421 407 | Lewis William F. M. | 10 M | | Ala. | | W451 |
25 | 421 407 | Lewis Nancy E. | 8 F | | Ala. | | N52. |
26 | 421 407 | Lewis Joseph P. | 6 M | | Ala. | | J211 |
27 | 422 408 | Lewis Irena | 26 F | | Ten. | X | I650 |
28 | 422 408 | Lewis John H. | 4 M | | Ala. | | J5.0 |
29 | 422 408 | Lewis Mary J. | 2 F | | Ala. | | M62. |
30 | 422 408 | Lewis Susan F. | 1 F | | Ala. | | S251

36 | 424 410 | Dennis Ruth | 50 F | | Ten. | X | R300 |
37 | 424 410 | Dennis Jonathan | 21 M | Farmer | Ten. | X | J535 |
38 | 424 410 | Dennis George | 19 M | Farmer | Ten. | | G620 |
39 | 424 410 | Dennis Sampson | 14 M | | Ten. | | S512 |
40 | 424 410 | Dennis Joshua B. | 12 M | | Ten. | | J21. |
41 | 424 410 | Dennis Chesley | 11 M | | Ten. | | C240 |
42 | 424 410 | Dennis Malinda | 10 F | | Ten. | | M453 |
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More About MILDRETH ANN LEWIS:
Cause of Death: Measles

Marriage Notes for GRANVILLE DENNIS and MILDRETH LEWIS:
Information obtained from Marriages of Morgan Co, AL 1818=1896 by A J Minter.

Dennis, Greenville
Spouse: M. A. Lewis
Marriage Date: Apr 24, 1847
Location: Limestone, Alabama

Children of GRANVILLE DENNIS and MILDRETH LEWIS are:

2.	i.	WILLIAM G⁴ DENNIS, b. Mar 1848, , Morgan, AL, USA; d. Aft. 1930, Justis Precint 2, Hunt, TX.
	ii.	MANTHIA JUNE DENNIS⁸, b. 11 Mar 1850, , Morgan, AL, USA.
	iii.	BERTHA ELIZABETH DENNIS, b. 23 Jun 1852, , Morgan, AL, USA.

More About BERTHA ELIZABETH DENNIS:
Residence: 1860, North West Division, Morgan, Alabama ⁹

	iv.		RUTHIA JUNE DENNIS, b. 23 Jun 1852, , Morgan, AL, USA.
	v.		SARAH ANN DENNIS^9,¹⁰, b. Abt. 1854, , Morgan, AL, USA.

More About SARAH ANN DENNIS:
Residence: 1860, North West Division, Morgan, Alabama ¹¹

	vi.		JONATHAN MARIEN DENNIS, b. 15 Sep 1855, , Morgan, AL, USA; d. 22 Aug 1861, ,Claiborne, LA, USA.
	vii.		JOSEPH DENNIS, b. Abt. 1856, , Morgan, AL, USA.

More About JOSEPH DENNIS:
Residence: 1860, North West Division, Morgan, Alabama¹¹

viii.

NANCY DENNIS¹¹, b. Abt. 1858, , Morgan, AL, USA.

More About NANCY DENNIS:
Residence: 1860, North West Division, Morgan, Alabama¹¹

	ix.		JAMES ELVIN DENNIS¹², b. 07 Nov 1859, , Morgan, AL, USA; d. 1880¹².
	x.		MARIAN MALINDIA DENNIS, b. 05 Jul 1860, , Morgan, AL, USA; d. 11 May 1861, ,Claiborne, LA, USA.

Notes for MARIAN MALINDIA DENNIS:
Reference for Marian M Dennis comes from the Dennis Family Bible dated 1897 and given as a wedding gift to Joseph Chesley Dennis and his new bride, Sarah Elizabeth White. The information was gathered together by Mildreth Ann Lewis Dennis and her daughter, Sarah Ellen Dennis, and presented to William Burton White, (Sarah's husband) for transcription.

3.	xi.		SARAH E DENNIS, b. 01 Nov 1861, ,Claiborne, LA, USA; d. Aft. 1910, ,Columbia, AR, USA.
	xii.		ELI THOMAS DENNIS¹³, b. Abt. 1864, ,Claiborne, LA, USA.

Notes for ELI THOMAS DENNIS:
Dennis, Thomas
Spouse: Lettice Downs
Marriage Date: Feb 14, 1805
Location: Loudoun Co., Virginia
Source: County Court Records at Leesburg, VA & Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT
Microfilm: 0032373

Dennis, Thomas
Spouse: Lettice, Downs
Marriage Date: Feb 14, 1805
Location: Loudoun, Virginia

More About ELI THOMAS DENNIS:
Residence: 1880, Tubal, Union, Arkansas ¹⁴

4.	xiii.	JOSEPH CHESLEY DENNIS, b. 07 Oct 1866, ,Claiborne, LA, USA; d. 05 Apr 1937, Pine Bluff, Jefferson, AR, USA.
5.	xiv.	CUSSIE CECELIA DENNIS, b. 12 Feb 1869, , Claiborne Parish, LA, USA; d. Detroit,, MI, USA.
6.	xv.	LENA DENNIS, b. Oct 1875, Tubal, Union, AR, USA; d. Aft. Apr 1930, ,, AR, USA.
	xvi.	NETTIE DENNIS, b. Abt. 1877, Tubal, Union, AR, USA.

Notes for NETTIE DENNIS:
Evidence for Nettie Dennis is found in the 1880 Census of Union County, Arkansas where Nettie is listed as the youngest and final child of Granville and Mildreth Ann Lewis Dennis. Other evidence available is substantial to date. Gladys Dennis Semora, granddaughter of Granvile and Mildreth Ann, and daughter of Joseph C and Sarah E White Dennis, is unaware of this child, for she is not mentioned in a letter written to Jerry D Dennis, son of W E Dennis Jr, and sister to W E Dennis Sr.

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