Daniel Denison (1612September 20, 1682) was an early settler and political and military leader of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

Early life

He was the son of William Denison, an early settler of Roxbury,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He arrived in Roxbury with his parents in 1631, likely with the "apostle" Puritan Minister John Eliot, on the ship Lyon. Daniel Denison moved away in 1633 to become one of the first settlers of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. He married Patience Dudley, the daughter of Massachusetts Governor

Thomas Dudley Thomas Dudley (12 October 157631 July 1653) was a New England colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the tow ...

. He became a freeman of Cambridge on April 1, 1634, and served on the first Constable's committee to execute land allocation in the establishment of Cambridge (so ordered Feb. 3, 1634). He moved to Ipswich in 1635 to take up leadership responsibilities in the defense of the colony, and to develop a career in governance.

Career

In Ipswich he was elected deputy to the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

in 1635–1637 and from 1640 to 1652. He was elected speaker of the General Court in 1649, 1651 and 1652. In 1643 the town of Ipswich granted him 200 acres of land. He was captain of the first train band (militia company) of Ipswich in 1636. In 1644 he was chosen as the commander of the Essex Regiment of the Massachusetts Militia with the rank of sergeant major (equivalent to the modern rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

). In 1653 he was appointed as sergeant major general (equivalent to the modern rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

) in command of the Massachusetts Militia. In 1654 he was elected as one of the assistants on the

Governor's Council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...

and held that office until his death. In May 1658 he was chosen by the General Court to codify the laws of the colony. As payment for this effort, he was granted one quarter of

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

(now a part of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

). In 1660 he was elected as a member of the Artillery Company of Massachusetts. He was elected for a one-year term as the Company's captain in June of the same year. During

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

in 1675 he was the commander of the Massachusetts Militia but was unable to serve in the field due to illness. Major Thomas Savage commanded the militia in his place. He died in Ipswich on September 20, 1682, and is buried in the High Street Burial Ground in that town.

Notes

*The Town of Roxbury, Thirty-fourth Report - Boston Records: Its memorable persons and places; its history and antiquities with numerous illustrations of its old landmarks and noted personages. Frances S. Drake (1905). Boston: Municipal Printing Company. . 50 ccessed in Local History Room, Watertown Free Public Library, Watertown, MA *Proprietors' Records of the Town of Cambridge, 1635-1829. (1896). Cambridge, MA: University Press. . 2. Alt Title "The Register Book of the Lands and Houses in the "New Towne" and The Town of Cambridge with the Records of the Proprietors of the Common Lands". ccessed in Local History Room, Watertown Free Public Library, Watertown, MA *Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1633-1700. Waters (1905). Ipswich, MA: The Ipswich Historical Society. . 120-127 ccessed in Local History Room, Watertown Free Public Library, Watertown, MA *History of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888. Oliver Ayer Roberts. Boston. 1897. Volume 1. p. 191–192 (Cited as Roberts.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denison, Daniel 1612 births 1682 deaths People from colonial Boston People of colonial Massachusetts King Philip's War