Clifton E. Denny

Denny, Clifton E., was born in Howard 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, Missouri. He those 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 Denays 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 surroundings noted as one of the prettiest spots in this garden of homes. His home is situated 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 entrance 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 Kentucky, the latter of Tennessee, but who were pioneers in the settlement of Howard County, jNIissouri. They located there in 1816 and resided on the site of their original settlement 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 Howard County; Alexander, a farmer in Howard County, and Annie E. Denny. Mr. Denny is a IMaster Mason and an earnest and enthusiastic advocate of the principles of the noble order.

As printed in Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference (1901). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

Mrs. Clifton Enyart Denny. One of the oldest and best known families of Howard county is represented by Mrs. Belle Denny, widow of the late Clifton Enyart Denny. Mr. Denny was born in this county on January 24, 1842. His father, James Denny, who was a native of Madison county, Kentucky, the source of so many of the early settlers of this section of Missouri, became a settler of Howard county in 1818 and continued to reside here until his death at the age of sixty-nine years.

James Denny married Elizabeth Best, also a native of Madison county and daughter of Humphrey Best. Their children were as follows: Catherine, who married Squire Titus; Amanda, wife of James Walden, of Moberly; Charity, wife of John Alexander; Capt. Alexander Deimy, who became an officer in the Civil war, later a leading banker at IMarshall, Missouri, died at Roanoke; Humphrey; James M.; Rachael, wife of Capt. T. B. Reed, of Huntsville, who had been a provost marshal of Missouri; Celia Denny, who died unmarried at the age of seventy-four; David R.; John A., a resident of Howard county; Clifton Enyart; and Mary H., deceased.

Clifton E. Denny was reared on the old plantation and received his education in the local schools. During the war he served with the Home Guards, and on the 15th of October, 1865, he married Miss Mary Belle Enyart. The name Enyart has been long identified in various worthy ways with Northeast missouri. Mrs. Denny, who was born in Howard county, January 30, 1850, and was reared and educated near Armstrong, was a daughter of Humphrey Enyart. Her father was born in Madison county, Kentucky, February 17, 1803, a son of Silas and Celia Enyart. The Enyarts joined the early tide of emigration to central Missouri, and Silas acquired a large estate here during the early period. Silas Enyart died at the age of seventy and his wife in 1860 at the age of seventy-five. Humphrey Enyart, who married Mary E. Wood of Nashville, Tennessee, was one of the prosperous planters of Howard county, conducting his estate with the aid of numerous slaves until the war, and he also had a reputation as a successful trade. He died January 19, 1860.

The late Clifton E. Denny, whose death occurred at the age of sixty-one on May 5, 1903, was always considered one of the ablest farmers of his vicinity and a citizen whose good works often extended beyond the boundaries of his family and household. The estate of seven hundred and fifty acres now occupied by Mrs. Denny has few superior for comfort and productivity anywhere along the Missouri valley. INIr. and Mrs. Denny were the parents of four children: Mrs. Cecil M. Fife, of Redstone Hall; J. Humphrey, an attorney of Glasgow; Alexander, who lives on the homestead; and Elizabeth, wife of Edmund Brown, of jMarshall, missouri. The late ]\Mr. Denny took a prominent part in the work of his church, and was a master Mason. Mrs. Denny occupies the old homestead during the summer, but spends her winters either in Pasadena, California, or in Florida.

Alexander Denny, who continues his father's associations with the substantial agricultural interests of Howard county, was reared and educated at the old home. He was married December 28, 1898, to Miss Anna F. Brown, daughter of Charles R. Brown. Mrs. Denny passed away July 18, 1901, leaving one child, Charles C. He was again married on August 1, 1902, to Miss Rosamond Belle Brown, who died July 5, 1911, leaving two children, James H. and R. B,

As printed in A history of northeast Missouri (1913). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.