It is possibly Riley H Denney born 1856 & died 1935. Below are some notes on
him, he was a Portland business man but I had never heard he had a
Bookstore. The Denneys were & still are quite prominent in Jay County, IN &
Mercer County, Ohio. My ancestor, William Felton Denney was an early pioneer
of Jay County, IN
Riley was living with his family on Meridian Street in Portland, Jay County,
IN during the 1900 census. They were shown as Riley Denney age 43, born in
IN; wife Sadie age 41, born in Ohio; daughter Ina M. age 14, born in IN; son
John R. age 10, born in IN; son Clarence J. age 5, born in IN; and daughter
Gladys A. age 3, born in IN.
Bill Denney had gave me Florence J. as a child for this family, the 1900 Jay
County Soundex report from Mary Denney shows the child as Clarence J. An
article by W. T. Jay, History of Jay County Indiana gives it as Florence.
The data for Riley's family came from William Denney, Vancouver, WA and is
supported by the 1900 Jay County, IN census.
The name Sarah J. for his first wife came from divorce application (below).
She died after several years of complications at her home on South Meridian
Street, Portland, IN. Per her obituary, she had lived at Portland for forty
years. She was buried at the Green Park Cemetery.
He is buried at the Greenmound Cemetery, Mercer County, Fort Recovery, Ohio.
Riley was a teacher for several years in Jay County and later was engaged in
the Jewelry Business for a number of years in Portland, IN. See the 1896
Portland, IN High School Year Book Advertisement for his business in photo
page
His tombstone gives a DOB of 1857, the 1900 Jay County census gives it as
Jul 1856!
It is possible that he married a second time, there is an obituary for a
Mrs. Riley H. Denney in the Portland Commercial Review Dtd Mar 11, 1922:
Mrs. Emma B. Denney, wife of Riley H. Denney of East Water Street died
Friday night at a hospital in Oak Park, IL. She was there visiting a
daughter. Her last name was probably DILL as a brother William Dill was
listed as a survivor. Sharon Mallard informs me that she saw in a Jay County
Court House Index to civil papers where Riley Denney and Sarah J. Denney
filed for divorce Aug 15, 1911. If they divorced, it would have been between
1907 and 1920 as the 1907 Portland City Directory still showed Riley & Sadie
living with children and in the 1920 census, Sadie was living with her son
John Ray.
UPDATE: As to the second marriage for Riley, Sharon Mallard has provided
this data. The Portland Commercial Review, WED, Aug 16, 1911 p.4, col.. 2,
Mrs. R.H. Denney seeks a divorce. A suit was filed in the circuit court late
Tuesday evening by Mrs. Sarah J. Denney of this city, seeking divorce from
her husband, Riley H. Denney. The complaint is short, making a single
charge, that of being unfaithful to his marriage vows. Mrs. Emma Bacon (EMMA
above!) is named in the complaint as correspondent. Mr. & Mrs. Denney were
married May 31, 1885, it is averred, and lived together as husband and wife
until Aug 7, last, when Mrs. Denney alleges she obtained for the first time,
positive evidence of her husband's infidelity. Mrs. Denney asks to be given
the custody of their two younger and minor children. Based on this news
article, I am adding Emma Bacon as a second wife for Riley.
ADDITIONAL
DATA ON CHILDREN
At the time of Riley's death in 1935, John was living in Portland, IN, Ina
and Florence were living in Gary, IN, and Gladys was living in Indianapolis,
IN.
Richard Denney
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----- Original Message -----
From: "arfa5" <arfa5(a)libcom.com>
To: <INJAY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 1:06 PM
Subject: [INJAY] R.H. Denney & L.M. Holmes
Listers,
I've come across an 1883 book titled "New Elocution and Vocal Culture"
which contains a stamped advertisement for
"R. H. DENNEY, Dealer in BOOKS, STATIONERY, Wall Paper, Blinds & Fixtures,
PORTLAND, IND.", and an autograph by "L. M. Holmes, Portland, Ind." I
know very little about Portland, Ind. and I'm wondering if anyone can tell
me if either of these surnames are of any significance in that area?
Regards -- Norm Meinert
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