Hillbillies & Vikings

This site is focused broadly on all descendants of John Denboe, an indentured servant who came to the Crown Colony of Maryland in about the year 1664. Also, it maintains a special emphasis on the descendants of John Denbow (1797-1862) and his brother Bazeleel (1795-1857), early pioneers in the hills of Southeastern Ohio, as well as the descendants of Jón Jónsson (1841-1934) of Dalasýsla, Iceland, who was an Icelandic immigrant to Canada and now has progeny throughout North America.

John Denbow, Sr.

John Denbow, Sr.

Male 1797 - 1862  (65 years)


Personal Information    |    Media    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name John Denbow 
    Suffix Sr. 
    Birth 10 Feb 1797  Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Marriage Groom 9 Mar 1818  Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    • This marriage date, which differs by exactly one year from the one recorded in the Marriage License book for Harford County appears to be correct. I suspect a clerical error in the book.
      Witness Role: Principal: [F305] ...of John DENBOW and Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Bride: [I3860] Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Groom: [I1229] John DENBOW
    Marriage Groom 9 Mar 1819  Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    • Witness Role: Principal: [F305] ...of John DENBOW and Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Bride: [I3860] Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Groom: [I1229] John DENBOW
    Census 1 Jun 1830  United States, Ohio, Harrison County, New Rumley Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Residence Resident 1849  Monroe, Ohio, USA
    At Home
    Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    • Sharp v. Ayres states that Martha and John Denbow live in Monroe County, Ohio.
      Witness Role: Principal: [I3860] Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Resident: [I3860] Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Resident: [I1229] John DENBOW
    Occupation 1850  Lewisville, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    a farmer 
    Census 31 Jul 1850  Lewisville, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Age: 53y 
    • Bazzel Denbow, son, and family are listed as neighbors on this census.
      Witness Role: Principal 2: [I3860] Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Head of Household: [I1229] John DENBOW
    Milit-Beg 3 Dec 1861  Lewisville, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    • Co. K, 78th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
    Milit-End 14 Apr 1862  St. John's Church Hospital, Paducah, McCracken, Kentucky, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 7
    • Co. K, 78th Ohio Volunteer Infantry; military service ended when he died in an U.S. Army hospital. This hospital may have been located in St. John's Catholic Church.
    Death 14 Apr 1862  Paducah, McCracken, Kentucky, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 8
    • Actual diary entry that contains numerous errors (wrong age, transcription error on regiment number, etc.): "April 14, today I was awakened at four o'clock to lay out a dead man. His name was Bryan Davis, K. 28th Ill. wounded through the lungs. Since writing the above a man died. His name was John Denbow, 18 Ohio. He was upwards 77 years old. His son is also in the hospital; he is over 45 years old."
      Fact Flags: Preferred
    Death 26 Jul 1862  Bolivar, Hardeman, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    • This date would fit the family story better, though it is before the Battle of Bolivar that the 78th OVI fought in. However, the diary from the Paducah hospital makes this highly unlikely.
      Fact Flags: Tentative Rejected
    Anecdote
    • The Denbows in the Civil War: John was the father of Bazzel, Levi, Martin, James, and William who fought with him at one time or another in the 78th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Another son, George, was in the 27th OVI. John enlisted -- at age 64 -- saying he was 44. According to several entries in his military record he died in Paducah, apparently of "chronic dysentery." Another entry says he died about a month later in Bolivar, Tenn. Family tradition had said he was found in a creek with his long hair embeded in the mud. The Bolivar story would be more consistent with the family story. However, the recent discovery of the diary of a hospital steward from Paducah, Kentucky, almost certainly confirms beyond a reasonable doubt his death in Paducah at the earlier date.
    Person ID I1229  Hillbillies & Vikings
    Last Modified 14 Mar 2025 

    Father Thomas Denbow,   b. 16 Mar 1765, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1826, Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 60 years) 
    Relationship Birth 
    Mother Unknown Wife Of Thomas 
    Relationship Birth 
    Marriage Abt Jan 1785 
    • Witness Role: Bride: [I15] Unknown WIFE OF THOMAS
      Witness Role: Groom: [I1431] Thomas DENBOW
    Family ID F333  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Martha A. Sharp,   b. 1798, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1855, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 57 years) 
    Marriage 9 Mar 1818  Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    • This marriage date, which differs by exactly one year from the one recorded in the Marriage License book for Harford County appears to be correct. I suspect a clerical error in the book.
      Witness Role: Bride: [I3860] Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Groom: [I1229] John DENBOW
    Married 9 Mar 1819  Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    • Witness Role: Bride: [I3860] Martha A. SHARP
      Witness Role: Groom: [I1229] John DENBOW
    Children 
    +1. Bazzel Denbow,   b. 14 Jan 1819, Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 23 Nov 1896, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 77 years)
    +2. Edith Denbow,   b. 1821, Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location
    +3. James Denbow,   b. 20 Apr 1824, Harford, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 18 Apr 1863, Lewisville, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 38 years)
    +4. Elizabeth Denbow,   b. 1827, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1890, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 63 years)
    +5. John Denbow, Jr.,   b. 9 Aug 1827   d. 21 Mar 1905, Wayne Twp., Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 77 years)
    +6. Sarah Ann Denbow,   b. 1829   d. 1864 (Age 35 years)
    +7. Susan Denbow,   b. 27 Jan 1831, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 7 Oct 1888, Athens Lunatic Asylum, Athens, Athens, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 57 years)
    +8. Levi Denbow,   b. 29 Nov 1832, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 10 Sep 1911, Lewisville, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 78 years)
    +9. George Washington Denbow,   b. 8 Aug 1834, Carroll, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 Jan 1906, Lewisville, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 71 years)
     10. Jackson Denbow,   b. 8 Aug 1834   d. 1852 (Age 17 years)
    +11. William Denbow,   b. 25 Apr 1839, Carroll, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 3 Feb 1919, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 79 years)
    +12. Martin Denbow,   b. 25 Sep 1842, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 2 Feb 1913, Lewisville, Monroe, Ohio, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 70 years)
    Family ID F305  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 31 Mar 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsResidence Resident - 1849 - Monroe, Ohio, USA Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    JOHN-TIN
    JOHN-TIN
    Amber Mendenhall Welch, an expert in period clothing, dates this photo as 1860s.
    Media Date: 1860
    Keywords: Picture
    John Denbow (b. 1797) crayon enlargement (web)
    John Denbow (b. 1797) crayon enlargement (web)
    Amber Mendenhall Welch estimates late 1840s for this photo, based somewhat on hair style. She is an expert in clothing and hair styles.
    Media Date: ABT 1848
    Keywords: Picture
    U.S. Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865
    U.S. Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865
    Media Date: FROM 1861 TO 1865
    Keywords: Picture

    Documents
    1850 Census Monroe, Centre Twp
    1850 Census Monroe, Centre Twp
    Caption Note: 1850 U.S. Census, Center Twp., Monroe County, featuring the families of John & son Bazzel (Bazil) Denbow, as well as those of Thomas Sharp and Peter Dillon
    Keywords: Picture
    Blanche Robinson's Request for John (1797-1862) Government Marker
    Blanche Robinson's Request for John (1797-1862) Government Marker
    Caption Note: Great-granddaughter, Blanche Robinson's request for a government marker for John. She was asking for this in the Bracken Ridge Cemetery, it appears, and there is no reason to believe that he's buried there.
    Media Date: 26 SEP 1962
    Keywords: Picture
    John Denbow (1797-1862) appoin
    John Denbow (1797-1862) appoin
    This clipping is from the Spirit of Democracy newspaper, Woodsfield, Ohio, 18 Feb 1863.
    Caption Note: Appointment of Sidney Starkey as the administrator of the estate of John Denbow (1797-1862)
    Keywords: Picture

    Headstones
    John Denbow Memorial Marker
    John Denbow Memorial Marker
    Memorial Marker in Hamilton Cemetery, Monroe County, Ohio. He is actually buried in an unmarked grave in Mound City National Cemetery near Cairo, Illinois. The year of death on this marker is wrong. He died in 1862 in a military hospital in Paducah, Ky.
    Caption Note: Memorial Marker in Hamilton Cemetery, Monroe County, Ohio. He is actually…

    Notes
    Sharp v. Ayers
    Sharp v. Ayers
    Caption Note: Sharp-Ayers Lawsuit
    Keywords: Document
    John Denbow, Sr.
    John Denbow, Sr.

  • Reference  Your Name Here. "John Denbow, Sr.". Our Family History. https://jonandjohn.org/getperson.php?personID=I1229&tree=tree1 (accessed March 14, 2025).

  • Sources 
    1. [S16] Sandy Denbow Jameyson Correspondence, both email and postal.

    2. [S216] Harford County, Maryland Marriage Licenses, 1777-1865.

    3. [S456] Census 1830 United States, Ohio, Harrison County, New Rumley Page 73 (No. 4), 177.

    4. [S89] James Sharp v. Thomas Ayres.

    5. [S38] 1850 U.S. Federal Census of Monroe County, Ohio (John and Martha Denbow Family).

    6. [S123] John Denbow (1797-1862) Civil War Military Record.

    7. [S344] Official roster of the soldiers of the state of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866.

    8. [S239] Part 2 ot Diary of Aaron Loder Mastin, hospital steward, St. John's Hospital, Paducah, Ky.


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