Captain in French & Indian War in the Provincial Army in 1766
1 ) Captain Abraham DENTON-m-Mary O'DELL, left an DEED dated August 12, 1774 which was signed by Mary Denton LITTLE . Dorothy CLOCK (CLARK) Elizabeth SMITH and Mary PARESON (PEARSON) made their marks.
Abraham's will was written August 12, 1774 and probated September 27, 1774 in Shenandoah Co, VA . Died in
1779 in Shenandoah, VA . Will book A, page 200, Woodstock, Shenandoah Co, VA, pgs. 228-229 .
Administration and inventory of estate and apportionment . Heirs : Elizabeth SMITH, Hannah SMITH and Daridea CLOCK ( CLARK ). ( These were probably Mary's sisters who took care of her in her old age as her
children had already moved on by the time her husband died ) .
Capt Abraham DENTON II b: 1700 Hempstead, NY d: aft 12, Aug 1774 at Tom's Brook Plantation, Shenandoah
Co, VA -m- 1725 Orange Co, NY to Mary O'DELL b: 1702 Woodstock, VA d: 1779 Shenandoah Co, VA (daughter of Samuel O'Dell and Patience Unknown ). His will was presented August 12, 1774. He died at the Tom's Brook Plantation in Shenandoah CO, VA. He was baptized on 12 Aug 1774. He was buried in Tom's Brook Plantation, Shenandoah CO, VA. "Abraham, according to sources in Orange CO, NY, had some problems with local law and soon after left the county for a new home in the Shenandoah County of Virginia. This was in 1729 or 1730. Thus started the move westward, for his sons each moved in different directions into the frontier." He was a Captain in the Provincial Army of 1766. Abraham's will was written August 12, 1774 and probated September 27, 1774 in Shenandoah CO, VA. From The Tennessee Valley Historical Review: "Abraham Denton, Junior, became involved with the law in New York in about 1729-30. He, along with some close relatives, left that state and headed for Virginia, crossing the eastern part of Pennsylvania and the Northwestern part of Maryland. In the Valley of Virginia, then Orange County (later Augusta County) and the upper Virginia Valley, (Frederick, later Dunmore, and still later
Shenandoah County) we find Abraham and his family. Also about the same time, Jonas Denton and others had
reached the Virginia country. Samuel, Robert, James and John Denton begin to appear in the same general
locality. The deeds in Frederick County clearly prove that the Dentons were there as early as 1755 and became
prominent citizens."
Abraham left a deed dated August 12, 1774 which was signed by Mary Denton Little. Dorothy Clock (Clark)
Elizabeth Smith and Mary Pareson (Pearson) made their marks. By this information, Mary Little was still living in
1774 and had enough education to sign her name. Abraham was a Captain in the French and Indian War in the
Provincial Army of 1766.
As the older generation died off, the younger ones became less rooted in the old lands and soon started departing for the southwest. He left a will on Friday, 12 August 1774 at Shenandoah Co., Virginia, British Colony.1
[S202] Edyth Whitley, Some of the Descendants of Rev. Richard Denton (McMinnville, Tennessee: Womack
Printing Company, 1959), Page 25. Hereinafter cited as Descendants of Rev. Richard Denton. More About Captain Abraham Denton: Baptism: 12 Aug 1774
Burial: Tom's Brook Plantation, Shenandoah Co., VA
Military service: 1766, Captain in French & Indian War in the Provincial Army. Residence: Bet. 1729 - 1730, Moved to Shenandoah Co., VA
Will: 12 Aug 1774