Richard Denton, lll, Reverend - The Origins of Reverend Richard Denton

I guess you would call them the southern knights. Probably easier to get knighted the closer you lived to the king or queen.

Thanks for the changes to the Reverend's profile. The one correction I would make is that his father is now shown as James. I found no baptism records showing a James as the father of a Richard Denton from 1510 to 1610 in all of England.

Brought in by a merge - there were a lot of unmerged duplicates down tree in the Kentucky Denton's. There's probably more tree cleanup needed ....

Understood. Merges can be problematic.

You may recall that a “Richus” Denton married a Maria Duerden (of Hallife) in Halifax, Yorkshire on January 21, 1625. In addition to the Maria "Durden" who was baptised in
Heptonstall in 1604, there were several "Mary Deurden"s baptised in Rochdale Lancashire, including in 1600 and 1603. Rochdale is about half way between Halifax and Bolton, Lancashire (where the Reverend served first). There were many Deurdens in Rochdale, Lancashire and many Dentons in Lancashire.

Just another factor to keep in mind.

This is interesting, although I am not sure where it leads.

As I mentioned above, there was record for a "Mary Deurden," daughter of Jacob, baptised in Rochdale, Lancashire on 05 Jun 1603. I found another record for a "Marie Dearden," daughter of Jacobi, also baptised in Rochdale, Lancashire on 05 Jun 1603. (The records appear below.) Clearly they are the same person, with different spellings. Given Latinizations, etc. Mary could be Mary, Marie or Maria, Jacob could be Jacobi and Deurdin could be Durdin, Deurden or Dearden.

Here is another interesting story with a later Dearden owning the manor house in Rochdale after a purchase from the poet, Lord Byron:

"Rochdale appears in the Domesday Book as Recedham. At the time of the Norman Conquest the manor was held by a Saxon thegn, Gamel. Before 1212 Henry II granted the manor to Roger de Lacy whose family retained it as part of the Honour of Clitheroe until it passed to the Dukes of Lancaster by marriage and then by 1399 to the Crown.[10][11] John Byron bought the manor in 1638 and it was sold by the poet, Lord Byron, in 1823, to the Deardens, who hold the title. Rochdale had no manor house but the "Orchard" built in 1702 and acquired in 1745 by Simon Dearden was the home of the lords of the manor after 1823."

Wikipedia re Rochdale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale

From FindMyPast:

First name(s) Mary
Last name Deurden
Gender Female
Birth year ­
Birth place ­
Baptism year 1603
Baptism date 05 Jun 1603
Place Rochdale
County Lancashire
Country England
Father's first name(s) Jacob
Father's last name Deurden
Mother's first name(s) ­
Mother's last name ­
Record set England Births & Baptisms 1538­1975
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from England, United Kingdom
Index (c) IRI. Used by permission of FamilySearch Intl

First name(s) Marie
Last name Dearden
Gender Female
Birth year ­
Birth place ­
Baptism year 1603
Baptism date 05 Jun 1603
Residence Rochdale, Lancashire, England
Place Wardleworth
County Lancashire
Country England
Father's first name(s) Jacobi
Father's last name Dearden
Mother's first name(s) ­
Mother's last name ­
Record set England Births & Baptisms 1538­1975
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from England, United Kingdom

First name(s) Marie
Last name Dearden
Gender Female
Birth year -
Birth place -
Baptism year 1601
Baptism date 28 Sep 1601
Residence Rochdale, Lancashire, England
Place Wardleworth
County Lancashire
Country England
Father's first name(s) Rici
Father's last name Dearden
Mother's first name(s) -
Mother's last name -
Record set England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from England, United Kingdom

Record set Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts Of Baptisms
First name(s) Maria
Last name Durden
Baptism year 1604
Birth year -
County Yorkshire (West Riding)
Country England
Baptism place Halifax
Mother's first name(s) -
Father's first name(s) Thomae
Baptism date 14 Oct 1604
Event type Baptisms, marriages & burials
Source year range 1602-1803
Archive Borthwick Institute for Archives
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from England, United Kingdom

Record set Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts Of Marriages
First name(s) Maria
Last name Duerden
Birth year ­
Marriage year 1625
Spouse's first name(s) Richus
Spouse's last name Denton
Residence Hallife
County Yorkshire (West Riding)
Country England
Marriage place Halifax
Marriage date 21 Jan 1625
Spouse's residence Hallife
Archive Borthwick Institute for Archives
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Marriages & divorces
Collections from England, United Kingdom

I should also mention that the Marie Dearden baptised 28 Sep 1601, daughter of Rici Dearden, in Wardleworth, Rochdale, Lancashire appears to be a duplicate of the Mary Deurden baptised 28 Sep 1600, daughter of Richard Deurden in Rochdale, Lancashire.

Are there any other family members of this Dearden family of Rochdale to be found? Check the Cambridge Alumni database & the Clergy of England database ?

Have we checked baptism records yet for the Rev's children?

Nathaniel Denton Is supposedly born in Bolton, Lancashire ( conflicting dates )

Because I'm in the middle of the next Denton mega merge:

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=44549816 has for Nathaniel Denton

Christening 9 Mar 1629 Parrish Church of Bolton, England

(or 1627/1628)

Apparently the Dearden family tricked up their medieval pedigree

https://books.google.com/books?id=fLJSTdnCgqUC&lpg=PA589&ot...

The following records for Samuel (1631) and Daniel (1632) Denton were the only two Rev. Denton children I could find.

Record set Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts Of Baptisms
First name(s) Samuel
Last name Denton
Baptism year 1631
Birth year -
County Yorkshire (West Riding)
Country England
Baptism place Halifax
Mother's first name(s) -
Father's first name(s) Richardi
Baptism date 29 May 1631
Event type Baptisms, marriages & burials
Source year range 1627-1706
Archive Borthwick Institute for Archives
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from England, United Kingdom

Record set Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts Of Baptisms
First name(s) Daniel
Last name Denton
Baptism year 1632
Birth year -
County Yorkshire (West Riding)
Country England
Baptism place Halifax
Mother's first name(s) -
Father's first name(s) Richardi
Baptism date 10 Jul 1632
Event type Baptisms, marriages & burials
Source year range 1627-1706
Archive Borthwick Institute for Archives
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from England, United Kingdom

You will recall that one of the Richard Denton marriages was to Susanna Coates on May 11, 1625 in Adel, Yorkshire, about 14 miles from Halifax. When searching the baptism records for Rev. Denton's children, I came across the following two records for children of a Richard Denton who were baptised in Adel: a George Denton baptised on 26 Mar 1626 and a Mary Denton baptised on 01 Aug 1629. Since the marriage and the baptisms seem likely to relate to the same family, the Richard Denton who married Susanna Coates of Adel would likely not be the Reverend Denton. The assumption is that this Richard and Susanna remained in Adel after their wedding and started this family.

County Yorkshire, West Riding
Place (link for place information) Adel
Church name St John the Baptist
Register type Transcript
Baptism date 26 Mar 1626
Person forename George
Person sex M
Father forename Richard
Father surname DENTON

County Yorkshire, West Riding
Place (link for place information) Adel
Church name St John the Baptist
Register type Transcript
Baptism date 01 Aug 1629
Person forename Mary
Person sex F
Father forename Richar
Father surname DENTON

Just as a geographic point of interest, Rochdale is perhaps 16 or 17 miles west of Halifax while Adel is about 14 miles east of Halifax.

By searching for Durden Cambridge alums, I came up with some Cambridge and Essex themes. Most of the Durdens who went to Cambridge had connections to Essex and, of course, the Rev. Denton and his wife were said to have returned to Essex. But the years for most of the Durden's listed do not match well with Rev. Denton. First, listed below (for easier reference) are the various Maria Durdens. After that are the Durden listings for Cambridge (I did check for other spellings).

A “Richus” Denton married a Maria Duerden (of Hallife) in Halifax, Yorkshire on January 21, 1625.

A Maria "Durden" was baptised in Heptonstall on 14 Oct 1604; father was Thomae Durden.

Another Maria “Durden” was baptised in Essex on 7 Dec 1600; father was Henerici Durden.

Four different “Mary Deurdens” were baptised in Rochdale, Lancashire in
1603 (father Jacob),
1600 (father Richard),
1594 (father Edmunde) and
1586 (father Thomas).

From Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part I, Vol II, John Venn (1922)

DUERDEN, see DURDEN.

p. 77
DURDEN or DUREDEN, ABEL. Adm. pens, (age 18) at
Magdalene, Mar. 28, 1672. S. of Joseph, of Rochdale,
Lancs. School, Manchester. Matric. 1672; B.A. 1675-6;
M.A. 1679. Old. deacon (London) June 10, 1677. Incorp.
at Oxford, 1681.

DURDEN, DANIEL. Adm. pens, at Peterhouse, June 29, 1594.
Of Essex. Migrated to Queens', July 8, 1596. B.A. 1597-8;
M.A. 1601. Ord. deacon (London) Sept. 29; priest, Oct. 1,
1598. R. of North Bemfleet, Essex, 1612-41. Master of
Chelmsford School, till 1633. Died 1641.

DURDAYN, DANIEL. Matric. sizar from St Catharine's,
Easter, 1640. Of Essex. B.A. 1643-4.

DURDEN, JOHN. Matric. sizar from St John's, Michs. 1566.
One of these names V. of Stebbing, Essex, 1568-1600.

DURDEN, JOHN. Adm. pens, at Peterhouse, Feb. 16, 1592-3.
Scholar. B.A. 1596-7; M.A. 1600. R. of Prating, Essex, 1607-
28. R. of Panfield, 1619-28. Died 1628. (T. A.Walker.)

DURDEN, JOHN. Matric. sizar from Queens', Easter, 1631;
B.A. 1634.

DURDEN, MATTHEW. Matric. sizar from Trinity, Easter,
1631; B.A. 1634-5. R. of Beaumont c. Mose, Essex, 1644.

DURDEN, RALPH. Matric. sizar from Pembroke, Michs. 1578;
B.A. 1581-2. Minister in Essex. Imprisoned in the Tol-
booth, Cambridge, by the Vice-Chancellor, for disorderly
preaching. Author, Prophecies. (Cooper, 11. 22.)

DURDEN, ROBERT. Matric. sizar from Corpus Christi, Lent,
1579-S0; B.A. 1583-4; M.A. 1587, as Pardon. Ord. deacon
and priest (Peterb.) Mar. 3, 1586-7. R. of Runwell, Essex,
1604-29.

DURDEN, WILLIAM. Matric. sizar from St John's, Michs.
1566; B.A. from Peterhouse, 1569-70.

Abel, son of Joseph, Rochdale

Ralph the disorderly

Are the interesting ones

The Lancashire Online Parish Clerks Project shows the St. Peter, Bolton, Lancashire baptism records for Tymothie and Nathaniell Denton at http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/index.html. The actual records are at http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Bolton-le-Moors/Great-Bolton/stpeter/bapt... and are shown below:

Baptism: 23 Jul 1627 St Peter, Bolton le Moors, Lancs.
Tymothie Denton - Son of Mr. Denton
Abode: Turton
Occupation: preacher
Register: Baptisms 1611 - 1635, Page 92, Entry 41
Source: Private Transcription

Baptism: 9 Mar 1628/9 St Peter, Bolton le Moors, Lancs.
Nathaniell Denton - Son of Mr. Denton
Abode: Turton
Register: Baptisms 1611 - 1635, Page 95, Entry 54
Source: Private Transcription

For more, see Parish Church of St Peter, Great Bolton
Baptisms at St Peter in the Parish of Bolton le Moors
http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Bolton-le-Moors/Great-Bolton/stpeter/inde...

Based on the site's description of how it displays Julian calendar dates, Nathaniell Denton was born in 1629.
http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/index.html

Dates in Registers prior to 1752

Prior to 1752, the Julian calendar was in use in England. In this calendar, the new year began on 25 March each year, so 31 Dec would be followed by 1 Jan of the same year, and 24 Mar would be followed by 25 Mar the following year. This applied up to 31 Dec 1751, after which the Gregorian calendar was adopted. 31 Dec 1751 was followed by 1 Jan 1752.

To avoid any ambiguity, we record dates between 1 Jan and 24 Mar of each year prior to 1752 as dual dates. So for example, 31 Dec 1746 is followed by 1 Jan 1746/7, 2 Jan 1746/7 and so on until 24 Mar 1746/7, then 25 Mar 1747.

Sometimes the minister would not record the change of year correctly, forgetting to do it until a few days later. The information presented on our website will normally reflect the change of year at the point where it should have occurred, not necessarily where the minister wrote it.

The baptism records for Tymothie and Nathaniell Denton also apparently appear in the Lancashire Parish Register Society Publications 50:107, 114.

So what was Rev Denton doing in the area? He wasnt the church vicar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Peter%27s_Church,_Bolton

1625–1630: Robert Parke

Robert Parke, a trouble maker from Cambridge, fleeing Bolton shortly after baptizing Nathaniell.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp235-243#fnn55

55. A native of Bolton, and educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he became a Nonconformist, and took refuge in Holland in 1630; he returned to Bolton in 1644 and was appointed lecturer, but expelled in 1662, after which he continued to minister to the Nonconformists of the district; Scholes and Pimblett, op. cit. 257–61. There is also a notice of him in Dict. Nat. Biog. The institutions from this time have been compared with the list in Lancs, and Cbes. Antiq. Notes from the Institution Bks. P.R.O.

https://books.google.com/books?id=SwoNAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA256&ot...

History of Bolton: With Memorials of the Old Parish Church By James Christopher Scholes. Page 257 on (a fun read - we meet Oliver Heywood again !)

Why did he go to St Peter to have his children baptized? It's not odd, I'm just wondering why he didn't do it himself.

Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society
By Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society page 196

https://books.google.com/books?id=qb_XGqKT0cEC&lpg=PA196&ot...

He quoted a certificate of the king's commission in Lancashire, 15 Henry VIII. (1523), which read: "There is a free chapel in Turton, in Bolton, in gift of Rauff Orrell, Esq., James Anderton, priest, is the incumbent."

The living was then worth seven marks per annum, equal to £4. 13s. 46. At the Commonwealth Survey in 1650 it was advised that the combined chapelries of Turton and Walmsley were "fit to bee made a parish, and to have theire boundaries and severall precincts allotted to them as formerly they have had." Four years later the chapel at Turton was rebuilt, and in 1779-80 it was again almost reconstructed.

After James Anderton's ministration, Gilbert Astley was recorded incumbent in 1596; he died in January, 1625-6, and by his will bequeathed to "John Orrell my Mr. a French crowne," and ordered "that the poore have Xs divyded amongst them."

Astley's successor was Richard Denton, B.A., and his, in turn, Mr. Boden, who, in 1632, was to receive yjs viijd by will of Andrew Knowles, of Entwisle, "hopingehee will execute ye office of a minister att my buriall."

----

So Denton has this poorly paying, obscure position from 1626 - 1632?

Your notes above made me wonder more about the timing. The Church of England's records show Rev. Denton's appointment to Turton on 3 July 1628 as Curate. But Tymothie's baptism record indicates Rev. Denton was a "preacher" at Turton at the time of the baptism on 23 Jul 1627. That 1627 date is supported by the St. Anne's, Turton web site which indicates Rev. Denton began there in 1627. The St. Anne's web site only says it was "well supplied with ministers" from 1610 until 1627. Because his wife was pregnant going back to 1626, I wonder if Rev. Denton was in the Bolton/Turton area as early as 1626 or before. Perhaps he was a "lecturer" like Rev. Parke after his return from Holland.

The timing also made me wonder if he had met a woman in Lancashire. I could only find one marriage on 29 Sep 1626 that might fit. That record follows:

First name(s) Ric.
Last name D.Ton
Marriage year 1626
Marriage date 29 Sep 1626
Marriage place Lancaster
Spouse's first name(s) Elizab.
Spouse's last name Myerson
Residence Lancaster, Lancashire, England
County Lancashire
Country England
Record set England Marriages 1538-1973
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Marriages & divorces
Collections from England, United Kingdom

But Lancaster is about 40 miles north of Bolton.

In the course of doing that Lancashire search I discovered that the Editha Oatly who married a "Richardi Denton" on June 29, 1625 in Wragby, Yorkshire might be "Edith Batly" who married "Rich Denton" in Wragby in 1625. The name Batly may be more accurate since it appears to be more common in Yorkshire. The name Oatly is rare and could actually be Ottley, Otlay or Otly. The Edith Batly record follows:

First name(s) Rich
Last name Denton
Birth year -
Marriage year 1625
Spouse's first name(s) Edith
Spouse's last name Batly
Place Wragby
County Yorkshire
Country England
Source Boyd's marriage index, 1538-1850
Record set England, Boyd's Marriage Indexes, 1538-1850
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Marriages & divorces
Collections from England, United Kingdom

I also found the two additional possibilities (note that Snaith is only a couple miles north of Fishlake):

First name(s) Richard
Last name D.
Name note -
Marriage year 1623
Marriage date 18 Nov 1623
Marriage place Snaith
Spouse's first name(s) Anne
Spouse's last name Wood
Residence Snaith, York, England
County Yorkshire
Country England
Record set England Marriages 1538-1973
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Marriages & divorces
Collections from England, United Kingdom

First name(s) Rychard
Last name Denton
Name note -
Marriage year 1624
Marriage date 15 Feb 1624
Marriage place Royston
Spouse's first name(s) Jane
Spouse's last name Greenold
County Yorkshire
Country England
Record set England Marriages 1538-1973
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Marriages & divorces
Collections from England, United Kingdom

Interesting that Rev. Parke returned from Holland to Hull. It appears there were some direct maritime connections.

Re the marriage of Edith Batly noted above. Batly might also be Batley or Batlay. While I did not find a baptism for an Edith Batly (or variant names), there were numerous Elizabeth Batleys including ones baptised in Snaith (1602) and one in Pontefract (1603), Yorkshire. Pontefract is perhaps 20 miles east of Halifax and about 10 miles west of Fishlake.

Re the marriage of Jane Greenold to Rychard Denton in Royston in 1624. One of the Richard Dentons noted in my memo was "Ric. Denton" born in Royston on 18 Apr 1596. I could not find a baptism record for a Jane Greenold. Royston is perhaps 20 miles southeast of Halifax.

Re the marriage of Anne Wood to "Richard D." in Snaith in 1623. There were dozens of Ann, Anne, Anna and Wood or Woode baptised in numerous Yorkshire locations between 1597 and 1607.

Re Rychard Denton and Jane Greenold married in Royston in 1624. There is a baptism record for a John Denton born in Royston in 1628 with father "Rychard Denton." The record follows:

First name(s) John
Last name Denton
Gender Male
Birth year -
Birth place -
Baptism year 1628
Baptism date 08 Jun 1628
Place Royston
County Yorkshire
Country England
Father's first name(s) Rychard
Father's last name Denton
Mother's first name(s) -
Mother's last name -
Record set England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from England, United Kingdom

The Richard Denton born in Fishlake in 1599 was the only Richard born in Fishlake between 1520 and 1640 except for a Richard Denton born to a Richard Denton on 4 Mar 1632. There were fewer than 30 baptisms in Fishlake between 1600 and 1640. It seems likely that the Richard born in 1632 was the son of the Richard born in 1599. The following is the record for the 1632 Richard:

First name(s) Richard
Last name Denton
Status Son
Birth year -
Baptism year 1632
Baptism date 4 Mar 1632
Baptism place Fishlake
Denomination Anglican
Father's first name(s) Richard
Mother's first name(s) -
County Yorkshire (West Riding)
Country England
Record set Yorkshire Baptisms
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from England, United Kingdom

Given the above, I think we can narrow the field for likely Reverend Dentons and wives.

(1) The "Ric. Denton" born in Royston on 18 Apr 1596 seems unlikely if he indeed married Jane Greenold in Royston in 1624 and if they indeed had a John Denton in Royston in 1628.

(2) The Richard Denton born in Fishlake in 1599 seems unlikely if he was the father of a Richard Denton also born in Fishlake in 1632.

(3) Susanna Coates and the Richard Denton she married in Adel in 1625 seem unlikely if they had children baptised in Adel named George in 1626 and Mary in 1629.

That leaves the Richard Denton born 19 Apr 1601 in Halifax to his father Henry Denton or earlier Richard Dentons beginning with the one born 29 Jun 1595 in Halifax. The 1601 birth date cuts it close on the age requirement for ordination. And the 1595 date raises questions about the normal ordination timing as well as the later dates of birth for the children of the Reverend.

I am open to other arguments.

Here's a thought, I don't know if would apply or not. But there's a traditional British Isles naming pattern (with variations, and references should be found on the web; i don't know specifics for the north of England ...)

First son - father's father
Second son - mother's father
Third son - father

First daughter - mother's mother
Second daughter - father's mother
Third daughter - mother

Maybe flip over to tree view and compile the repeating female names in the descendant tree.