Notes
From:
Obed Denham
The Western Spy & Hamilton Gazette
27 August 1799
Page 3, Column 4
To the Public
Whereas, a certain Samuel Westerfield and others, have raised
scandalous reports prejudicial to my character, concerning my
trade in lands; which may be proved false, by a reference to the
several obligations which William Denham and myself have given
and received for lands.
Signed: Obed Denham
Hamilton County, N. W. Territory, 30 August 1799
We, the undersigned, have had dealing of different kinds with the
above mentioned Obed Denham; and we believe the reports are
false, which have been circulated by the said Westerfield, and
his confederates, concerning land, contracts, falsification of
promises, etc. We believe that the reports originated from
Donation Town Lots, that Denham proposed giving settlers on
certain conditions, which some of them failed to comply with, and
in courts they forfeifted the lots; Samuel Westerfield, being one
of them. Signed Harmon Parson, Jeremiah Beck, Sr., James South,
Hauton Clarke, Kelly Burk, Jeremiah Beck, Jr., and Barzella
Osborn.
17 September 1799
The Western Spy and Hamilton Gazette
Mr. Carpenter,
Having found in your useful paper a scanderious, malignant and
malicious publication against, my character, signed by OBED
DENHAM, Harmon Pearson,, Houton Clark, Jeremiah Beck Sr.,
Jeremiah Beck, JR., Kelly Burk, and others, which are erronous
and false; therefore you will be so obliging as to permit the
following as facts to take place in your paper also.
OBED DENHAM has propogated to the public in the above recited
publication, that I have raised a scandalous report to the
prejudice of his character concerning his trade in land, which he
pruposes to prove to be false by some of his papers in his hands.
By this he shows his weakness and establishes his arrogance
openly to the world by thinking man so weak as to think the
papers in his own hands, or those given and received by him
should prove him the honest man, notwithstanding his fraudulent
attempt is his conduct -- I shall therefore state to the public,
the reason, why Mr. Denham is so pointedly aggainst me: --Namely,
in the year 1796, I had purchased a small tract of land of him,
part of which I found to be a reserve of Mr. Brackenridge, for
Duckwork,, particularly reserved in the bargain and sale to
Denham; this being publicly declared to me by Mr. Brackenridge,
which ocasioned the first demur between us, as I was not willing
to put up with this conduct and to wait his leisure time for the
determination of that case. The second offence originated from
some of his town lots I had bought of him, these he termed as
donation lots, and has attempted to lay hold of them as
forfeitures, which obliged me to obtain (what I had paid for) by
a legal court of law, the determination and particulars of which
may be seen by applying to the Docket of John Armstrong, Esq.,
William Brown, Esq. and the docket of the General Court, which
will be fully able to satisfy Harmon Pearson, Houton Clarke, and
the other signers who have signed the before recited ignominious
piece against me to be false.
As to any other expression that I have made use of to the
prejudice of Obed Denham, I am able and willing to establish them
from one portfilio to the other. The different publications
relative to the above will fully satisby the public in the
various recitals as may be seen in the following herein stated.
Samuel Westerfield.
Whereas a publication was forwarded to the printer of the SKY,
whereby the character of Samuel Westerfield was much ________;
the names mentioned in said publication are, Harmon Pearson,
Jeremiah Beck, Sr., James SAouth, Houton Clarke, Kelly Burk,
Jeremiah Beck, Jr., and Barzella Osborn -- We the Subscribers do
hereby certify, that we have not put our names nor ordered our
names to be put to said publication which differs from that which
was signed by us. Signed: Kelly Burk, J. Beck, Sr., Harmon
Person, J. Beck, Jr. (can not read rest.).
I can not read all of the copy but it appears that the named
persons signed a statement and the statement was later altered by
Obed Denham. Most signers included individual letters of public
apologies to Samuel Westerfieldabd indicated that they were
mislead.
To the Public
Whereas a publication was forwarded to the printer of the "Spy,
whereby the character of Samuel Westerfield was much ---, the
names mentioned in said publication are Harmon Pearson, Jeremiah
Beck, Sr., James South, Houton Clarke, Kelly Burk, Jeremiah Beck,
Jr. and Barzella Osborn -- We the subscribers do hereby certify,
that we have not put our names nor ordered our names to be put to
said publication, which ---- (can not read, At any rate Brazella
Osobrn signed his name by his mark on 1st September 1799 at
Denham's town that he didn't agree with Obed Denham.)
Brazella Osborn, his X mark
Attest: Peter Light
Take Notice
To my surprise I found a publication in a paper of the Spy,
wherein was publshed a slanderous report on the character of
Samuel Westerfield being signed by Harmon Pearson, Kelly Burk,
Houton Clark, Jeremiah Beck, Sr. Jeremiah Beck, Jr., Brazella
Osborn, and myself, I threfore notify the public that the general
character of the said Samuel Westerfield, appears to be
unblemished and honorable, and the publication above recited to,
is false and differ from any instrument that I had ever signed
for the public. Given under my hand this 12 day of September,
1790.
Signed by James South; Attest: Peter Light.
Northwestern Territotry, Hamilton County, 9 September 1799.
We the undersigned have had dealings with Obed Denham, and from
our own experience, & the observations we have made on his
dealings with others, believe said Denham to be a quivocating,
unfair dealer.
William Blair, John Evans, X his mark, Nathaniel Donham, William
Toph, Henry Donham, Joseph Frazee, John Webb.
All of the above appeared in the 17 September 1799 issue of the
Western Spy on page 2, Col. 4 and 5.
Children:
1.John DENHAM
2.Timothy DENHAM
3.Charity DENHAM
4.Elizabeth DENHAM
5.Rachel DENHAM
6.Sarah DENHAM
7.James DENHAM
8.William DENHAM
9.Obadiah "Obed" DENHAM , Jr.
James Denham died in Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, on April
2, 1760. He left a will. He gave his widow, Abigaile Denham, his real
and personal property for her lifetime or as long as she remained his
widow. If she were to die or marry again, the estate was to be equally
divided between his four sons, each paying Five Pounds Current Money, to
their sister, Margaret, as they become of age. The final settlement of
the estate was on December 18, 1762. (Will Number 3449-3452-L, B.G. Page
187 W, Account 1762, States Archives, Trenton, New Jersey).
It is believed that Abigaile Denham, with her sons and daughter, left New
Jersey for the old homeplace in Virginia around 1763. Sound reasoning
tells us this could be true as her youngest son, Obadiah Denham, entered
the services of the Revolutionary War while living in Virginia. (This
was before his marriage.)
..................................
Obadiah Denham, youngest brother of William Denham, married Mary Ball in
Providence, NJ on July 8, 1781. They were married in the Presbyterian
Church. (Taken from the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, Vol. II,
page 90.) It has been stated that his wife was a niece of Martha
Washington (Minerva Moody's Diary).
..........................
Obadiah Denham, called "Obed" throughout his life, came to Fayette
County, Kentucky (according to tax records) in 1787. A record in the
Fayette County Circuit Court shows him to be living in a log cabin on the
William Denham-Thomas Turner plantation which was located on North
Elkhorn Creek. He was holding "squatter's rights" on this public land
which was under government regulation with the purpose of William Denham
and Thomas Turner clarifying title to said property. (Land Titles, Book
A, Pages 58-61; Books B, C, D, and E; File Box Number 45, Bundle 3: File
Box, Number 19, Fayette County Circuit Court, Lexington, Kentucky).
The Fayette County, Kentucky tax records do not reveal that Obed Denham
owned any land. He was taxed for horses and cattle. He left Fayette
County in May 1795 and came to Madison County, Kentucky. He migrated to
Clermont County, Ohio and settled Denhamtown, now Bethel, Ohio in 1797.
He was an abolitionist at heart. He never owned a slave and it has been
stated that he did not approve of the fact that his brothers owned them.
He gave land and money to erect the first Baptist Church in the area. He
inserted a clause in the deed that no slaveholder could hold membership
in the church. He gave land and money for the first English School in
Denhamtown. He gave ground for the first cemetery and a building lot to
the first born child in Denhamtown. The child was Mary Osborne.
Obadiah "Obed" Denham died on June 3, 1817. His wife, Mary Ball Denham,
died on April 28, 1818. They were buried in the Denham-Burke Cemetery.
The settlement records of Obadiah Denham's estate have not been found in
Probate Court in Clermont County, Ohio. Records were searched; there was
no will or estate settlement. It was found in various deed books (Deed
Books M through T) that John Denham, the son, handled all land sales and
other legal transactions concerning the real property of his father the
late Obadiah Denham.
The various deed books show the heirs of Obadiah and Mary Ball Denham as
follows: John Denham and wife, Sarah; Timothy Denham; Charity Denham and
husband Jeremiah Beck, Jr.; Elizabeth Denham and husband, James Denham of
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Rachel Denham and husband, Jesse Denham
of Madison County, Kentucky; Sarah Denham and husband, Davis Crane; James
Denham and wife Sarah; William Denham and wife Sarah; and Obed Denham,
Jr. and wife Sarah.
To the descendants of Obadiah Denham, the following Revolutionary War
Records date: "Obadiah Denham, born in Virginia in 1747; died in Clermont
County, Ohio on June 3, 1817; lived in Kentucky until 1797; pensioned in
Ohio with 1700 acres bounty land in 1800." 'Sons of the Revolution."
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