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Articles & Local History > Denison Family

Photo: The family of Lucius and Lydia Denison who settled on the north edge of town in 1861. Edwin, Kate Allen, H.W. Henry and Lock

 

Lucius and Lydia Denison were born and married in Windham, Conn. They came west in the year of 1854, settling first in Winnebago County, Ill., where they remained until 1861, when they moved to Tampico. They were among the first to settle in this vicinity. Lucius died Nov. 5, 1882 and his widow remained in the old homestead until her death in 1898. She was the mother of 7 children. They brought her sister, Susan from Connecticut when they came. She never married and lived to be 79. They are all buried near the entrance of the Tampico Cemetery on the Denison lot. Lydia's youngest son Herbert and his wife lived with her after her husband's death. Lucius and Lydia's children were Kate, who married Henry Allen and they had 3 children: Joseph, Emma and Richard. Argol VanWert Denison married Mary Badgley and they had 5 children; they moved to West Port, S.D. (Ruby Denison, one of their children, still lives in Aberdeen, S.D.) Henry Denison married Louise Newton and they had 5 children (Newton, Leslie, Tracy, Luna Cummings and Ellen Stewart). Ellen Denison married Wm. Gowan and they had no children. Edwin Erastus Denison married Mary Giese and they had 4 children, they moved to Westport, S.D. and later to Salem, Ore. Lockwood DeRorest Demson had 3 children and they moved to Salem, Oregon. Herbert Winslow Denison married Ainanda Few. They had one daughter, Grace May, who married Glen Glassburn. Henry Denison, the son of the Pioneers, Lucius and Lydia Denison, still has grandchildren, great- and great-great- grandchildren living here. Vernon Denison is the son of Newton and Neva Denison, and is a plumber by trade. He married Myrtle Davis and they have 4 children and several grandchildren. Henry's youngest son, Tracy has a widow, Mabel Ruck Denison, who still lives in Tampico. Also, Henry's son Leslie, has a daughter, Lois (Mrs. Henry Kolb), who still lives in Tampico. She and her husband published the Tampico Tornado for many years. Herbert Denison, the youngest son of the Pioneers, Lu- cius and Lydia Denison, has 2 grandchildren living here. They are children of his daughter, Grace, who married Glen Glassburn (Gladys Glassburn Pierce and Gordon Glassburn). Gordon is a farmer who still has the farm the Denisons settled on at the northern edge of town in 1861 over 100 years ago. A plaque to that effect was erected by the sidewalk as you come into town from the north. Gladys collects the tele- phone, gas and electric bills at her place of business on Main St. and she worked for the Telephone Co. for 30 years. Leroy Stewart is a great-great-grandson of Lucius and Lydia Denison. He ran a service station for years. He was the son of Asa and Ivy Stewart and the grandson of Ellen Denison Stewart. Leroy married Ethel Kepner and they have one son, Irving. Leroy and Ethel still live in Tampico.

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