1682 On 15 August, John Dennis, son of Robert and Sarah (Howland) Dennis, was born. [1]
1688 On 11 November, Thomas Eatton dated his will in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Wife Jeguisah/Jegrisah. Son-in-law (? stepson) Joseph Wing, an expected child, mother Mercy Corrieway, living in the Town of Goodhurst, Kent Co, England, friend John Dennis, son of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Farm and mill in Shrewsbury, land near George Keith between Jedidiah Allen and Francis Borden, land in the Town of Dartmouth, New England [then on the disputed border between Massachusetts and Rhode Island], on Norkint Neck and Cedar Island, rights to undivided lands in Dartmouth. Personal property. The wife executrix. Witnesses Judah Allen, Thomas Hillborn and Samuel Dennis. Proved December 13, 1688. [2] [3] The language suggests that John Dennis is old enought to inherit land, and so could not be this John Dennis.
1709 John Dennis was a freeman. [4]
John Dennis married Ann, daughter of Stephen and Ann (Tallman) Brayton.
1718 John Dennis was a Deputy. [5]
1732 On 4 August, John Dennis died. [6]
1743 On 4 January, John Dennis, son of John and Anne Dennis of Newport, Rhode Island, married Lydia Lawton, daughter of John and Abigail, of Portsmouth. [7]
1774 On 28 August, Ann (Brayton) Dennis, widow of John, was buried in R Dennis' graveyard, Newport. [8]
Research Notes:
There is an apparent discrepancy in the timeline of John Dennis, named in the 1691 will of Robert Dennis. The will of Thomas Eatton, dated 11 November, 1688 in Shrewsbury, New Jersey [9] [10], named John Dennis, son of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, as a friend and recipient a bequest of land, suggesting that John Dennis was at least age 21 at that time. Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, wrote his will in 1691 [11] [12] [13] [14] and named his under-age son John, reported by others to be born in 1682. According to these two wills, John Dennis inherited land in Dartmouth and in Monmouth County New Jersey, so records of the disposition of these lands might clarify this apparent discrepancy in age.
A biosketch reports [15]:
John Dennis, son of Robert, born Aug. 15, 1682, in Portsmouth, R. I., married Ann, born july 6, 1683, daughter of Stephen and Ann (Tallman) Brayton, and they lived in Portsmouth and Newport. Mr. Dennis was a freeman in 1709 and deputy in 1718, and his death occurred Aug. 4, 1732, at "Easton farm," at the age of fifty years. His wife survived him many years, dying Aug. 28, 1774, and both are buried in the cemetery of his father and are mentioned as of Newport. No account has been obtained of the birth of more than one son, john. The record is supposed to be incomplete.
[1] Otis M. Humphrey, "Descendants of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, R.I.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 3 (1849), 441-4, at 442, [InternetArchive].
[2] William Nelson, Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. Archives Vol. 21. (Patents and Deeds, 1664-1703) (1899), 163, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive].
[3] William Nelson, Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. Archives Vol. 23. (Wills and Administrations 1, 1670-1730) (1901), 148, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive].
[4] Otis M. Humphrey, "Descendants of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, R.I.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 3 (1849), 441-4, at 443, [InternetArchive].
[5] Otis M. Humphrey, "Descendants of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, R.I.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 3 (1849), 441-4, at 443, [InternetArchive].
[6] Otis M. Humphrey, "Descendants of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, R.I.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 3 (1849), 441-4, at 442, [InternetArchive].
[7] H. E. Turner, "Friends' Records, Newport, R. I.," The Rhode Island historical magazine 7 (1886-1887), 48, 139, 193, 275, at 48, [HathiTrust].
[8] James Newell Arnold, Vital Record of Rhode Island 1636-1850, Vol. 7 (1891), 90, [InternetArchive], [HathiTrust].
[9] William Nelson, Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. Archives Vol. 21. (Patents and Deeds, 1664-1703) (1899), 163, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive].
[10] William Nelson, Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. Archives Vol. 23. (Wills and Administrations 1, 1670-1730) (1901), 148, citing Monmouth Wills, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive].
[11] See notes of father Robert Dennis.
[12] Robert S. Wakefield and Robert M. Sherman, "Henry Howland of Duxbury, Massachusetts, 1633," National Genealogical Society Quarterly 75 (1987), 105-116, 216-225, and 278-288, at 217,284-286.
[13] Otis M. Humphrey, "Descendants of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, R.I.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 3 (1849), 441-4, at 442, [InternetArchive].
[14] John Osborne Austin, The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, Comprising Three Generations of Settlers (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1978), 65, [GoogleBooks].
[15] Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island, Vol. 3 (Chicago: 1908), 1731, [GoogleBooks], [HathiTrust].