Born: 1675 Hempstead, Nassau Co., New York
Died: ca. 1730 Orange Co., New York
Buried: Unknown
Married: Mary (--?--) in 1699 in Orange Co., New York
Biography:
Abraham Denton was born say 1675 in Hempstead, Long Island, the fifth child and third son of his parents. He is first mentioned in the 1698 Hempstead census, unmarried and living at home.
No record survives of Abraham's marriage, nor is there any historical mention of his wife. He apparently left no will, and only one child is mentioned, Abraham Jr., in a document cited below.
On 3 March 1700 Abraham purchased for "£7 silva mony in hand" a parcel of land
[unspecified acreage] in Hempstead [HTR 2:278], and on 10 December 1710 received from his father two plots totalling over 20 acres, one adjoining the above purchase and the other nearby [HTR 2:392-4]. However, his father's death in early 1713 caused various members of the family to move. On 16 May 1713, Abraham sold his property in Hempstead [HTR 2:45] and invested on 25 June in a new land development in Orange (now Rockland) County, New York. By this transition Abraham became the first male Denton to migrate permanently off Long Island into frontier lands. The Kakiat Patent of land running west from the Hudson River at Haverstraw, was first issued in 1696 and went through sales, bequests and legal maneuvers for almost 25 years. The story is more fully told elsewhere (e.g. Rev. Daniel Cole, History of Rockland County, New York, 1884, p. 142-3, which includes a detailed map of the original grants); with fifteen (or sixteen) other men from Long Island (including his nephew Samuel Denton, Jr.) Abraham bought a thirty-sixth part. He migrated there immediately, for he was a private in Capt. Cornelius Haring's Company of the Orange County militia in 1715 [CMR 1:480]. Then on 19 November 1729 [recorded 17 December 1730] Abraham Denton Sr., of the precinct of Haverstraw, Orange County, at the request of Abraham Denton Jr., made over to the latter an 87 acre parcel for a price of £60 [Orange County Deeds I:212:B:331-2]. This transaction was witnessed by Abraham Sr.'s brother Jonah [Jonas] and the latter's son John. Abraham probably died about 1730, for after this the record is silent. [Krumm, Walter. "Descendants of the Rev. Richard Denton," New York Genealogical & Biographical Record, January 1989.]
Records:
1698 - Aug. 31 - Hempstead, Queens Co., Long Island, NY - The original document containing the names of the inhabitants of the town of Hempstead, Queens Co., New York in August, 1698, for many years was one of the treasured possessions of the State Library in Albany. It consisted of eight pages of manuscript, in excellent preservation, the names arranged in four columns to the page, evidently compiled from a house to house visitation, children's names following those of parents, presumably in the order of their births. Most unfortunately, in the recent disastrous fire a the Capitol the document was destroyed.
The Queens County Sentinel, in its issue of March 13, 1884, printed a copy of the census, which although not altogether accurate, has proved of much value to students of family history.
In 1899 Edward Harris had a certified copy of the original census was made for his own use. It is this copy, in Mr. Arnold J.F. van Laer's handwriting, that is reproduced here . . .
Queens County - A List of all ye Inhabitants of hempstd, old and young fremen and servants, blacke and white tacken by strict Inquary, yt ye nams of all ye Inhabitants old and young, white and blacke tacken in order of ye ye Justices of ye Peece, and to ys being a true List by strict Inquiry we have given it under oure hands aguste ye 31 - 1698. Joseph Pettit, Jeremiah Wood
List of Dentons on the census:
Page 1, Column 4 - Els Denton [alone between seman & Dinge]
Page 3, Column 2
- Jeams Denton
- Jeane Denton
- Jeane Denton
Page 3 Column 3
- Jane Denton
- Dinah Denton
- beniamen Denton
- Isack smith
- Elizabeth smith
- Jacob smith
- Thomas thickston
- Ruben Oburne
- hester velle
- samuell Denton - father
- may Denton - mother Mary [Rock Smith] Denton
- abraham Denton [age 23]
- Jonas Denton - brother
- martha Denton - sister
- Elizabeth Denton - sister
- Roger Oburne
- Samuell Denton
- abegall Denton
- samuell Denton
- Jonathan Rawlin
- abegall Rowlin
- Ruth Denton
- martha Denton
- mary Denton
Page 7 Column 2
- Richard Denton
- Mary Denton
- Richrd Denton Jr
- Mary Denton
- Sary Denton
- Joseph Denton
1713/14 - March 27 - Abraham Denton received his inheritance from this father's estate:
By Cash paid Abraham Denton another of ye Sons of said Intestator for his share of said Intestator's estate 14.0.9
1720 - July 17 - Haverstraw, Orange Co. [now Rockland Co.] - a deed:
Know all men by these presents, that we whose names are hereunto written, for and in consideration that Joseph Wood, of Hempstead, in Queens County, shall settle upon a certain tract of land hereinafter described, and then and there uphold the trade of a Blacksmith, as long as he shall be able and capable of working at the said trade, and to work for the persons underwritten according to the custom of a Smith. . . . We do hereby grant and release unto him a certain tract of land at a place called Kakiat, bounded west by the rear of the first eastern division of lots, east by a creek or brook called Wood creek, containing 100 acres.
[Signed by:] John Allison, James Searing, Charles Mott, William Osborn, Caleb Halsted, William Hutchings, Abm. Denton, Jonathan Rose, Jonathan Seaman
The above tract is on the east side of the road running north of New City.Children:
Abraham
Martha b. ?, d. 1763 md. Hezekiah Gale - possibly not his daughter
- Hannah Gale b. 1731, d. 1817 md. Derick Smith, children: Martha & Able
Revised 12/22/2022
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