On The Record, Vol. 3, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, August 12, 2011 Page: 26 of 44
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A True Pioneer: The
There are few verified written accounts of
the life of John B. Denton. No photographs
or illustrations of the city and county of
Denton's namesake exist.
Even his middle name is shrouded in
mystery — various accounts claim it's
Barnard, Bunard or Bunyan.
Historical accounts agree that John B.
Denton was a charismatic preacher, laywer
and captain who left an indelible mark on
North Texas before his untimely death at
the hands of Keechi Native Americans.
According to an article in the Frontier
Times written by Judge J.M. Deaver in 1931,
John B. Denton was born in Tennessee
July 26,1808.
After being orphaned at a young age,
Denton apprenticed under blacksmith
and Methodist minister Jacob Wells, who
moved Denton and his new family to Clark
County, Ark.
Denton ran away at age 12 to work
as a deck hand for ships travelling the
Mississippi River and returned to Clark
County in 1824.
According to the Denton Texas Historical
Commission, John B. Denton met his wife,
Mary Grenlee Stewart, in Clark County. His
wife is often credited with teaching him to
read and write.
"With the faithful help of his wife, he
acquired the rudiments of an education
upon which he improved until before his
death," Deaver wrote. "He had become one
of the best read and educated men of his
day and time."
In 1826, Denton became a Methodist
preacher, travelling for 10 years throughout
Arkansas and Missouri.
It wasn't until 1836 that Denton became
what Deaver called a "loyal and consistent
Texan," and crossed the Red River into the
nascent Republ ic of Texas.
Frustrated with the difficulties of estab-
lishing a Methodist ministry in the fron-
tier, Denton began a career as a lawyer in
Clarksville, Texas. The rhetorical skills he
developed as a preacher served him equally
well as an attorney.
Captain J.C. Terrell described Denton in
court in a 1906 book about the early days
of Fort Worth as being "as calm, cool and
emotionless as if he were an animated
statue."
"But every point he made was as clear
as the noonday sun," Terrell wrote. "And
he spoke as he shot to the center every
time."
With the wild frontier of Texas dependent
on volunteer militias for safety, Denton
joined the Texas Militia in 1839, and quickly
became a captain.
He fought under the leadership of
General Edward H. Tarrant, the name-
sake of Tarrant County.
On May 14,1841, Denton and a group of
volunteers went to seek out a Keechi Native
American village responsible for the deaths
of a family in Clarksville.
Upon trying to take the village, the
militia was met with gunfire.
"John Denton was instantly killed by a
shot through his body as he was raising his
rifle to fire," Deaver wrote.
Denton left behind his wife and six chil-
dren, three of which grew up to be physi-
cians and Methodist preachers like their
father.
Denton was beloved in Clarksville,
apparent by "the cries and screams that
awoke the citizens of that town when the
first courier arrived with the sad news that
the Indians had killed Captain Denton,"
Deaver wrote.
John B. Denton's fame only grew in
the five years following his death. When
the Texas legislature voted to establish a
new county on April 11,1846, it seemed
fitting the county be named after the man
who defended its people against Native
Americans.
-Alex Macon, Staff Writer
JOHN B. DENTON DAYS
commemorating
THE
200th BIRTHDAY
JOHN B. DENTON
JULY 28, 29, 30, 2006
bTJun Ma/5'taff Photographer and courtesy of Denton Public Library
26 Cover Story
ntdaily.com
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Zucker, Shaina. On The Record, Vol. 3, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, August 12, 2011, periodical, August 12, 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth209156/m1/26/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .