| Notes |
- If you use any of these notes, please give credit to me, Lois Sorensen, and/or other sources as noted.
From the Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth, RI:
At a meeting of the town council 16 June 1651 -- "Robert Denis is received inhabitant amongst us and hath given his ingagement." (How old did a man have to be in order to be received as an inhabitant of a community in colonial RI? Would it have been 21, or as young as 18?)
Also from the above source, on 25 Aug 1656 -- Robert Dennis, planter, purchased 20 acres in Portsmouth, RI, from Job Hawkins of Boston and his mother Jane.
No one knows when this particular Robert Dennis was born. I initially assumed he may have been born c1640, based on his wife Sarah's birth year as 1645; but if he did buy land in 1656, I think he probably would have been at least 21 years of age by then, which would make his birth year no later than 1635. I am not sure if there was a strict age requirement for land purchases; there probably was, but there are exceptions to every rule, especially in a time when one's exact age was not always known. For details on this land purchase, see The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth p 326, at Google Books and elsewhere.
If he was at least 21 in 1651 when he was accepted as an inhibitant, that would place his year of birth as 1630 or earlier. So, based on the entry from 1651 and on the land purchase in 1656, I am tentatively estimating his birth year as 1630 (or before 1630), subject to further research.
He may have been a son of Thomas Dennis who came to Boston in 1630 with Gov. Winthrop's fleet. Unfortunately, no complete list of passengers exists, so we don't know if other Dennis families came then. Research shows that Robert Dennis of Portsmouth is likely related somehow to the family of the aforementioned Thomas Dennis of Boston, later of Woodbridge, NJ; and to the family of Robert Dennis of Yarmouth, MA, who moved to Woodbridge, NJ, around 1668 and died there in 1674/75. That Robert named his children in the distribution of his lands and goods, but did not mention a son named Robert. For this reason, it seems more likely that Robert Dennis of Portsmouth may be a son of Thomas. We do find the name Thomas passed down to several of his descendants.
On 9 July 1672 he deeded land in Portsmouth for use as a Quaker burial ground. This was prior to his marriage to Sarah. Sarah Howland's family were Quakers, subject to criticism and punishment in Massachusetts; so I speculate that Robert and Sarah decided to locate in RI territory because of the freedom of religion here. They were married during a Quaker meeting; see marriage notes.
On 19 Apr 1680 at a town meeting at Portsmouth, Robert Dennis and two others were chosen to serve on the Grand Inquest.
John Osborne Austin says that on 25 May 1691 he bought land in Monmouth, NJ, from Jedediah & Elizabeth Allen of Shrewsbury, NJ.
The will of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, dated 11 May 1691, proved 2 July 1691, mentions wife Sarah; sons Robert (eldest), Joseph, and John, all under 21; daughters Mary and Sarah; and brother-in-law Jedediah Allen. Land in Monmouth, NJ, went to eldest son Robert.
He was probably buried in Portsmouth but the location of burial is not known. His age at death was not given. See notes for his wife Sarah.
Misc. notes from Otis M. Humphrey and John Osborne Austin, my notes added in brackets: On 25 Aug 1656 a Robert Dennis, planter, purchased 20 acres in Portsmouth from Job and Jane Hawkins of Boston [but if this Robert was born c1640-45, he could not be the same individual who purchased land in 1656 -- too young; so maybe he was born earlier as noted above]. Austin omits a birth year. Robert Dennis was "admitted a freeman there" [where, Portsmouth? probably but not stated] in 1671 (source: Descendants of Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, RI by Otis M. Humphrey, NE Historic and Genealogical Register Vol 49 p 441; also John Osborne Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of RI p 65). [But the above source says he was admitted as an inhabitant in 1651.] Humphrey suggests that Robert might be related to Thomas Dennis, early settler of New Jersey. Jedidiah Allen was a judge in New Jersey, was also Robert Dennis's brother-in-law (they married two sisters); and Thomas Dennis's son Samuel served as a judge with Judge Allen [no source proof given that Samuel is s/o Thomas]. Robert was a member of Rhode Island's legislative House of Deputies 1673 - 1684.
Robert Dennis of Yarmouth, MA, was also involved in land affairs in Woodbridge, NJ. There has been speculation that Robert Dennis of Portsmouth is a son of Robert Dennis of Yarmouth, but this suggestion is dismissed by Humphrey (above source, but no reasons given). Humphrey also says that Robert Dennis of Portsmouth was likely married in middle age; I don't know how he arrived at this thought -- but if so, could he not be the same individual as Robert Dennis of Yarmouth, who perhaps remarried and relocated from Yarmouth, MA, to Portsmouth, RI, after his first wife died? History of Yarmouth info online says Robert died there in 1669 but again, no source or reference given. Maybe he just disappeared from the records there -- that is my guess, as he appears in Woodbridge, NJ, around late 1668 and remains there up until 1674/75, when it may be assumed he died.
There is much contradictory information on the identities of various Robert Dennises, but it seems clear to me that both Robert Dennis of Yarmouth, MA, and Robert Dennis of Portsmouth, RI, must have been at least fairly closely related as they both had family connections and land transactions in Woodbridge, NJ, and Newton, NJ.
One article titled "Dennisania" by Charles E. Stickney appears to be well-researched BUT has this Robert Dennis purchasing land at age 11 -- not likely. So, beware of online articles and family trees.
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Abt 1630 - 1691 (~ 61 years)
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