USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II > Part 48
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father of Garrard County, and the mother of Madison County. Mrs. Denny's father was Humphrey Best, a prominent planter. Cap- tain Denny's grandfather was one of the pioneer settlers of Kentucky, and his father, James Denny, was a soldier in the War of 1812. They came to Missouri in 1818 and settled in Howard County, near Captain Denny's present location. The only school- ing Captain Denny received was at the public schools, which in that early day were, of course, primitive, but being naturally of a studious turn, he managed to acquire a fair English education by persistent and earnest study at home. Captain Denny is a fine illustration of the possibilities in store for young men under our American government, at least for the sober, industrious, intelligent class of young men. Standing now as he does in the golden autumn of life, one of the wealthiest, most respected, and most highly honored men of his section of the State, lie started in life without a dollar and can be truly said to have honestly earned every dollar that he possesses, not by speculation, grinding down and oppressing his less fortu- nate fellow man, but by honest toil, good management and thrift. In 1846 he enlisted under that famous old Missouri hero, General Alexander Doniphan for service in the Mexi- can War and continued in that service until the general discharge of the troops, in 1847. During the Civil War he was a staunch sup- porter of the Union, and was captain of Company F, Forty-sixth Regiment, Enrolled Missouri Militia, and was stationed during the war at Glasgow, New Franklin and Roanoke, in this State. In 1849 he joined the argonauts who went to California in search of the hidden golden treasure, where he spent seven years with fair success, en- gaging in mining, teaming and merchandis- ing. Returning from California to his native place, he was married January 22, 1857, to Miss Mary A. Snoddy, daughter of J. Walker and Narcissa (Foster) Snoddy, of Howard County. He purchased a farm outlying the confines of the town of Roanoke, where he has since resided. Here he has acquired and developed many beautiful broad acres-be- tween seven and eight hundred-and has built up and established a most delightful home. His residence is situated some 200 yards back from the road, on gradually rising ground, co-red with a luxuriant carpet of
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bluegrass and dotted with shade trees, mak- ing an impressive picture of a model country home. In addition to his extensive farming and stock-raising interests, he was engaged for several years in mercantile business in Roanoke. He is now also interested in the banking business, being president of the Bank of Marshall, at Marshall, Saline County, Missouri. To Captain and Mrs. Denny have been born nine children, four sons and five daughters, eight of whom are still living. He has taken great interest in their education and has given them the ad- vantages of the best schools and colleges of Missouri.
Denny, Clifton E., was born in How- ard County, Missouri, January 24, 1842. His parents were James and Elizabeth (Best) Denny, for an account of whom see the sketch of Captain Alexander Denny. Mr. Denny was educated in the public schools of his county, at the high school at Roanoke and at Mount Pleasant College at Huntsville, Mis- souri. He chose agriculture as his life's occupation, and stands to-day as one of the best examples of that class of men to whom more than to any others, is due Missouri's wonderful development and her proud rank as fifth State in point of wealth in the United States. The qualities that command success in life are largely inherent, not acquired. It would seem that the Denny family have been peculiarly blessed in this heritance. It is seldom a family may be found in all this broad land, with all its golden opportunities, who have been so uniformly successful. There is a strength of character, a dominant will power, a broad and comprehensive grasp of things, that seems characteristic of the Dennys of Missouri. Men of this stamp are the men who do things in this world; they are the men who leave results behind them; they are the useful citizens of any community, the men who leave the world better for their having lived in it. Mr. Clifton E. Denny finds himself in the prime and vigor of middle life, happily situated on a magnificent farm of 700 acres, highly cultivated and highly productive, his place of residence and sur- roundings noted as one of the prettiest spots in this garden of homes. His home is situ- ated some 200 yards back from the highroad, the wide spreading bluegrass lawn in front, decorated with shrubbery and dotted with
huge forest trees, stretching down to the highway and forming a most inviting en- trance way to the pleasant and comfortable hearthstone, where good cheer prevails and hospitality is liberally dispensed. In addition to extensive stock-raising, Mr. Denny has given especial attention to wheat-growing, 5,000 bushels per year being no uncommon crop. He is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He married, October 15, 1865, Mary Belle, daughter of Humphrey B. and Mary A. Enyart, the former a native of Ken- tucky, the latter of Tennessee, but who were pioneers in the settlement of Howard County, Missouri. They located there in 1816 and resided on the site of their original settle- ment until their decease. Of this union four children have been born. They are Cecil M., now the wife of Leon Fife, of Howard County ; James Humphrey, a lawyer, and for the past four years county attorney for How- ard County ; Alexander, a farmer in Howard County, and Annie E. Denny. Mr. Denny is a Master Mason and an earnest and enthu- siastic advocate of the principles of the noble order.
Denny, James Humphrey, attorney, was born one and one-half miles west of Armstrong, in Howard County, Missouri, December 23, 1870. He is the son of Clifton E. and Mary B. (Enyart) Denny. His father being a farmer and successful man of affairs was able to give him good educational ad- vantages. He was educated at Pritchett In- stitute, at Glasgow, and the Missouri State University at Columbia, and was graduated from the law department of the last named institution in 1891. He was admitted to the bar and located at Glasgow, Missouri. No- vember 24, 1894, he was married to Miss Maud Shackleford, daughter of Honorable Thomas Shackleford. He became associated in law partnership with his father-in-law, under the firm name of Shackleford & Denny, In 1896 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Howard County on the Democratic ticket, and re-elected to the same office two years later. He has made one of the most efficient prosecuting attorneys the county has ever had. Mr. Denny is a worthy scion of the ex- cellent family he represents. High-minded, of correct deportment, gentlemanly bearing, possessed of a high order of ability, sur-
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rounded by a host of personal friends, his standing in his profession already definitely assured, his future career seems certain and brilliant. His children are Clifton E., Jr., and Sarah Elizabeth Denny.
Denny, James M., Sr., was born in Howard County, Missouri, May 3, 1829. His parents were James and Elizabeth (Best) Denny, both natives of Kentucky and pio- neer settlers in Howard County, Missouri. (For ancestral history see sketch of Captain Alexander Denny.) Mr. Denny was reared on a farm, receiving only such educational advantages as the public schools of that day and place afforded. He started in life with- out financial support or backing, without brilliant prospects or influential friends, but he had in him the sort of fiber from which successful men are made. He had pluck, abil- ity, industry and indomitable will and perse- verance. His first venture in life, after arriving at man's estate, was a bold one. He joined the army of gold-seekers, who, in 1850, formed an almost continuons line across desert plain and mountain chain, from civilization's confines, in the East, to where California's forest-clad banks and shores were lapped and laved by the waters of the Pacific. For two years he digged and delved in mountain fastnesses and wild, lonely gulches for the precious metal. With the ac- cumulations of these two years of adventur- ous toil, he returned to his native county and purchased thirty-five acres of land, two miles southwest of Armstrong, near where he was born. This was the nucleus of his present extensive, highly improved and beautiful farm of 1,200 acres, one of the best in this broad country of ideal farms. Industry, honesty, thrift and good management are the keywords to the success that crowned Mr. Denny's life work. For the past twenty years he has been in partnership in farming and stock-raising with David Bagby, and their success has been marked and uniform. Mr. Denny is a stockholder in the Bank of Marshall, and has many thousands of dollars out at interest. He is a member of the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church and a liberal contributor to its support and all charitable purposes. In politics he is a Democrat.
Denny, James R., farmer and stock- raiser, was born in Howard County, Mis-
souri, June 15, 1826. His parents were Charles and Jane Denny, natives of Ken- tucky, from which State they came to Mis- souri, and were among the pioneer settlers of Howard County, locating there in 1818 on the farm now owned and occupied by James R. Denny. This family have been impor- tant factors in the development of this part of the State of Missouri. They are a sturdy race, possessed of strong intelligence, un- questioned integrity, high-minded, charitably inclined, and all of them apparently gifted with that rare and indefinable quality which demands and commands success wher- ever and however circumstanced or placed. To the different branches and members of this family Howard County owes much of its deserved note and reputation for successful farming, stock-breeding and raising, and its high financial status among the grand. con- stellation of north Missouri counties. Of this distinguished family, James R. Denny is a fit and worthy representative. He was reared on a farm and liked the occupation. He received a common school education and then turned his, attention to winning from the bosom of that rich section of Missouri, which had given him birth, a living and a competence. When his parents died and the estate came to be divided, he purchased the interests of the other heirs in the home farm and made it his lifetime abode. He was in- dustrious and frugal ; he farmed in an intelli- gent way ; he raised corn, wheat and stock. He has reaped the reward for which he sought. He owns a well stocked and well improved farm of 205 acres; he owes no man ; he has the respect and good will of all who know him, and his word is considered as good as any man's bond. In politics he was an old-line Whig, and is now a Demo- crat. Mr. Denny is unmarried.
Denny, John A., a representative citi- zen and farmer of Howard County, was born in that county, November 11, 1838. His parents were James and Elizabeth (Best) Denny. (For ancestral record. of Denny family see biography of Captain Alexander Denny.) Mr. Denny's boyhood and youth was passed on his father's farm. He was an earnest, honest boy, took a deep interest in agricultural pursuits, and determined to fol- low that calling through life. He grew up to be an earnest, honest man, and has made
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a splendid success in the vocation he chose. There is no family which ever lived in Howard County, or, perhaps, in the State of Missouri, which has been more uniformly successful in life, more highly respected or more useful in the community than the Denny family in Howard County. It is a proud distinction to belong to a family like this, and it is a personal honor to be one of the worthy achievers of this distinction. Mr. John A. Denny has certainly borne his full share in carving out the high destiny. and glorious achievements that have crowned the family name with honors. He received the usual public school education, and then set diligently to work to make for himself a home where comfort, independence and con- tent might find an abiding place. How well he has succeeded is best shown by re- sults. He has to-day a splendid farm of 480 acres, highly improved, with a model home, surrounded by a beautiful grove of native forest trees; is independent in this world's goods, and has the satisfaction of knowing that every dollar he possesses has been hon- estly earned, and that he is regarded by his neighbors and fellow citizens as an upright, liberal, just and worthy man. Mr. Denny saw service in the Civil War, in Company C, Missouri State Guards, called out for the protection of the State under Governor Jackson, and, after six months' service, was wounded at the battle of Pea Ridge. In poli- tics he is a liberal Democrat. In religion he is a Cumberland Presbyterian, and for the last ten years has been deacon of that church. He was married, April 3, 1873. to Annie E., daughter of Judge W. E. and Emily (Hurt) Walden, of Randolph County, Missouri. On both sides, Mrs. Denny is descended from Kentucky ancestry. Their children are Emily M .; Lucretia B., now the wife of George W. Lenoir, of Howard County ; Wil- liam C., a student at Missouri Valley College, and John A. Denny, Jr.
Dent, Frederick, was born in Mary- land, and came to St. Louis in 1821, and bought the farm near the Gravois Road, ten miles south of St. Louis, which he named White Haven, and on which he lived for many years. His daughter, Julia Dent, be- came the wife of U. S. Grant, afterward President of the United States. Colonel Frederick Dent, who was an estimable citi-
zen, took an active part in the organization of the county schools, and was at one time county treasurer. He died at Washington City, in 1865, at the age of eighty-seven years.
Dent County .- A county southeast of the center of the State, bounded on the north by Crawford and Phelps, east by Crawford, Iron and Reynolds, south by Shannon and Texas, and west by Texas and Phelps Coun- ties ; area, 477,000 acres. Its surface is di- versified, level in the northern part to the head waters of Current River; eastward it generally rises in an irregular ridge to the Dry Fork, and then to the eastern border the land is rolling and hilly, forming an ele- vated scope, rising from 800 to 1,000 feet above the sea level. From east to west passes the Ozark range, forming northern and southern watersheds. The streams to- ward the north, the principal one of which is the Meramec, are slow and sluggish, while the streams flowing south have more de- scent, are swift-flowing and broken by rapids and falls. Along the Current River the county is rough, with hills and bluffs rising to considerable height, plentifully wooded with yellow pine and white oak. The south- eastern part of the county is hilly, with numerous mountainous elevations. At the headwaters of the Meramec is Pleasant Val- ley, a tract of prairie land interspersed with forests of oak. Gladden Valley, in the soutlı- ern part, is an elevated country, abounding in tracts of prairie land, and, in places, densely wooded with oak. In both these val- leys the soil is clayey, on a base of sand- stone, and of fair productiveness. Along the streams the bottom lands are rich, and form the best sections for agricultural purposes. Besides the Meramec and Current Rivers, the principal water courses are Sinking River, Dry Fork, Pigeon and Big Creeks. Spring Creek is in the central part of the county. All the streams are fed by springs, of which there are many in all parts of the county. Near the head waters of the Mera- mec are hundreds of mounds, constructed by some prehistoric race. For some distance they stretch along the valley at regular inter- vals, laid out carefully as to their uniformity, and suggest that they were built for the pur- pose of protection against overflows, and to afford high and dry locations for tents. The
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principal timber consists of yellow pine, hick- ory, white oak, some black walnut and woods of lesser value. The mineral wealth of the county is great. There are iron, lead and zinc ores and some copper. There are vast quarries of lime and other building stone, and deposits of fire clay, which have been actively worked for some years. During 1898 there were shipped from the county 9,- 040 tons of pig iron and 14,960 tons of iron ore. Other products exported from the county are cattle, hogs, sheep, wheat, rye, feed, wool, poultry, eggs, butter, cheese, dressed meats, game, tallow, hides, furs, fire clay, lime, charcoal, nursery stock, lumber, railroad ties, apples, pears, plums, and other fruits and vegetables. The most profitable industries are stock-raising, fruit-growing, mining and lumbering. Only about 20 per cent of the land is under cultivation. In 1899 there were 4,230 acres of government land in the county, open to settlement, and sev- eral thousand acres of railroad lands. There are no records to show who was the first white man to live in Dent County, nor is there any trustworthy tradition of any set- tlement being made until 1828, when George Cale, who had lived for some time in St. Louis, cleared a tract of land on one of the small branches of the Meramec and opened up a farm, and to him is accorded the honor of being the first cultivator of land within the limits of the county. In 1829 a number of Tennesseeans, including Daniel Trotman, William Thornton and D. M. Wooliver, set- tled in the county, and a few years later they were followed by Elisha Nelson, Ephraim Bressie, Jerry Potts, Abner Wingfield and Robert Leonard. In 1835 Lewis Dent, after whom the county was named, came from Tennessee and became a man of influence in the new county, and in 1852 was the first rep- resentative of the county in the General As- sembly. The first settlers suffered many pri- vations. There was no mill, store or post- office nearer than a hundred miles, and needed supplies were carried on backs of horses (frequently in the severest cold of winter) from St. Louis, through a trackless wilderness, save the blazed trees, to guide the traveler. Corn meal and hominy were prepared in the most primitive way, crushed in a hole, burnt in the top of a stump, with an iron wedge. Later a mortar and pestle was used, and eventually settlement of the sec-
tion was sufficient to justify the erection of a roughly constructed gristmill. The first store within the limits of what is now Dent County was started by Ephraim Bressie, on Spring Creek, early in the forties. It was at this store that the first court met. Meramec Iron Works, in Phelps County, was the near- est postoffice. Later a postoffice called Lake Spring was established, and as the county became more thickly populated another postoffice was established at Bressie's store, and was called Montauk. The increase in the population of the county, from the first was slow but steady, and the settlers were a hardy class, determined upon making for themselves homes, and little inclined to wander. In 1860 the population of the county was 5,654. The Civil War caused the county to lose half its population. It was the scene of many lively skirmishes and two regular engagements, the first in August, 1861, when Colonel Freeman, leading a con- siderable force of Confederates, was de- feated by Federals and lost many of his men near Springer's Mill, and the second, De- cember 3d of the same year, when Colonel Freeman's regiment of cavalry attacked the troops of Colonel Bowen, Federal, near Sa- lem, and again met defeat, with considerable loss of soldiers. Later during the war, small detachments of his troops at times raided the county and carried off much prop- erty. The county supplied men to both Northern and Southern sides. Dent County was organized February 10, 1851, out of portions of Shannon and Crawford Counties. It was disorganized Decem- ber I, 1855, and reorganized three days afterward. It was named in honor of Lewis Dent of Tennessee, who settled near the site of Salem, about 1835, and in 1852 became the first representative from the county. John Buford, of Reynolds; Samuel Shumate, of Shannon, and John W. Bennett, of Craw- ford County, in the creative act, were named as the commissioners to locate a permanent seat of justice, and directed to meet on the first Monday of May, 1851, at the house of E. T. Bressiers (or Bressie, as it was later spelled), about two miles north of the present city of Salem. The commissioners decided on a tract of government land, and this was entered by Joseph Milsaps, who was ap- pointed agent for the county. The tract em- braced about eighty acres, and when it was
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entered was covered with a dense growth of black jack. It was laid out in town lots, which were sold at public auction. In 1853 a brick courthouse, 24 x 40 feet, two stories, was built. This served as a courthouse until 1861, when the war caused a discontinuance of court sessions, and it was turned into mili- tary headquarters by the Federals. In 1864 Price and his men made a descent on the place, drove the Federals to Rolla, and it is said two Dent County citizens then burned the courthouse and the jail (a log dungeon), and with them some of the court records were destroyed. In 1866 a one-story building was erected, and in 1870 work on the present courthouse was begun, which was finished early in 1871, at a cost of $17,200. It is a substantial building, supplied with fireproof vaults and well furnished throughout. The members of the first county court were G. C. Breckinridge, Samuel Hyer, Jr., and Jotham Clark, with David Henderson, clerk, and Jo- seph Milsaps, sheriff. From 1861 to 1865 there were no sessions of either the county or circuit courts. The first meeting of the circuit court was held at Bressie's store, and a few subsequent meetings were held at Ab- ner Wingfield's, by Judge D. M. Leet. Tlie earliest circuit court records were destroyed when the courthouse was burned, in 1864. The first murder case recorded is that of Thomas E. Warden, who was sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary. The county is divided into eleven townships, named re- spectively, Current, Franklin, Linn, Mera- mec, Norman, Osage, Short Bend, Sinking, Spring Creek, Texas and Watkins. The principal towns are Salem and Sligo. The assessed value of all taxable property in the county in 1897 was $1,997,709 ; estimated full value, $3,402,000. There are thirteen miles of railroad in the county, a branch of the St. Louis & San Francisco extending from the north to Salem. The number of public schools in the county in 1898 was 65; teach- ers, 73, with a school population of 4,459, and a permanent school fund of $13,673.15. The population in 1900 was 12,986.
Dentistry. - That branch of the healing art which treats diseases and lesions of the human teeth, and their replacement by sub- stitution when lost. It is very ancient, for traces of it have been discovered in Egyptian tombs. In some of these tombs artificial
teeth have been found, ivory and wood mounted on gold plates, and a few of the mummies have teeth plugged with gold and white cement. Similar traces of dentistry have been taken also from Etruscan tombs, showing that it was practiced in that civiliza- tion in Italy, which preceded the Roman. Among civilized peoples beautiful teeth are held in high esteem, and one part of the den- tist's art is to make them even and regular and white and preserve them from decay. Savages, on the other hand, set little value on their teeth, and subject them to destruc- tive treatment. The Abyssinians and other African tribes file their teeth into saw points, to increase their fierceness of appearance, and the Malays are addicted to the same practice. In China and Japan, young women stain their teeth black to add to their beauty. The modern art of dentistry dates from the eighteenth century, when the treatment of the teeth began to receive unusual attention. It was not until the latter part of that cen- tury that it showed any progress in the United States, but from that time on Amer- icans devoted to it a patient study, zeal and interest, which have placed them at the head of the profession in the world. The first den- tist in the United States, of whom there is any account, was La Maire, who came over with the French troops sent to assist our forefathers in the Revolutionary War. Next after him was an Englishman, Whitlock. The first native American dentist was John Greenwood, who practiced in New York City, and who, in 1790, constructed entire dentures for George Washington. They were carved from ivory, and held in place by spiral springs. As late as 1820 there were only one hundred dentists in the United States, but in 1892 the number had grown to eighteen thousand. The art has made great advances in the last fifty years in its healing and saving, as well as its mechanical features, and has reached a point in which the practice is subdivided into specialties, the extraction of teeth, the manufacture of plates, the treatment of pulps and the filling of cavities, and crown and bridge work being generally performed, each by a different per- son in the same establishment. Great inge- nuity has been exhibited in the methods and appliances for performing the mechanical work in dentistry. Down to about the year 1870 hand instruments alone were used, but
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