D. B. DENSENBERRY

DENSENBERRY

Posted By: Jake Tornholm (email)
Date: 4/22/2020 at 20:06:20

D. B. DENSENBERRY has been a resident of Adams county since 1876, and is one of the representative farmers of the county. A brief sketch of his life with mention of his ancestry is as follows:

D. B. Densenberry was born in West Virginia, September 27, 1857. His father, George Densenberry, was born in Virginia on the farm where he now lives and where he has passed his life. Grandfather Henry Densenberry, a native of the Old Dominion and a son of German parents, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and for service rendered received a land warrant. The mother of our subject is Alcinda Densenberry, a native of West Virginia. She and her husband reared a family of nine children, eight of whom are still living, namely: Henry, William, James, D. B., Mary, George, Larkin (deceased), Becky and Anna. The parents and six of the children live in Monongalia county, West Virginia. The father is a Democrat, and he and his family are members of the Methodist Church.

The subject of our sketch was reared at the old homestead, receiving his education in the common schools and completing his studies at Morgantown College, West Virginia. For some years he was engaged in teaching. In 1876 he came to Adams county, Iowa, and bought wild land. He now has a good farm of 130 acres in section 28, Carl township. His land is well improved with buildings, orchard, vineyard, grove, stock scales, etc. Mr. Densenberry is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, in which he has been very successful.

He was married November 28, 1878, to Miss Maggie Mathews, who was born in Illinois and reared in Kewanee, Illinois, and in Union county, Iowa. She is a daughter of John Nelson Mathews, who was born near Seneca lake, New York, son of Ambrose Mathews, a soldier of the war of 1812. Her father was a member of the Forty-second Illinois Infantry, Volunteers in the late war, and died at Hamburg, Tennessee, of typhoid fever. He was born in 1820 and died in 1862; left a widow and three children. The former, whose maiden name was Eliza W. Barton, was born at Meadville, Pennsylvania, daughter of Aaron and Matilda (Parks) Barton, and was married to Mr. Mathews in Geauga county, Ohio. In 1865 she was united in marriage with W. S. Oliver, and in 1873 came to this county.

Mr. and Mrs. Densenberry have five children: Bertie, Maud, Verne, Fay and Inez. Mr.Densenberry is a Democrat and a member of the Farmers’ Alliance. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.