Saturday, June 28, 2008

William K. Denny

William K. Denny also known as “Denning”, was born 1839 in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

In 1840 there was an Edward, Nathaniel (2nd) and Richard Denny, all living in Gibson, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, and by 1850 there was one Esther Denny living in Gibson, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. In any case, William left Pennsylvania and moved west, eventually settling in Lansing, Michigan where, by 1860 he was working as a gunsmith and living with a farmer named Rowling in the Second Ward. He was quite possibly still living in Lansing in early 1864.

William stood 6’3” with gray eyes, black hair and a fair complexion, and was 25 years old and probably working as a laborer when he enlisted in Company G on January 11, 1864, at Pittsfield, Washtenaw County, crediting Pittsfield, and was mustered on January 12 at Grand Rapids. (Company G, formerly the “Williams’ Rifles”, was made up predominantly of men from the Lansing area.) He joined the Regiment on February 17 at Camp Bullock, Virginia, and was transferred to Company A, Fifth Michigan infantry upon consolidation of the Third and Fifth Michigan Regiments on June 10, 1864.

It seems that sometime after his transfer to the Fifth Michigan William was taken sick and indeed he was reported sick in August, possibly in Washington, DC. William died of chronic diarrhea on September 7, 1864, at Lincoln Hospital in Washington, DC, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

No pension seems to be available.

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