David Denton (1772-1846)
and Rachael Scholl Denton
by Marion Paris Marriott

Above is an old picture of one of the original dwellings at Merry Oaks, David and Rachel Denton's plantation in what is now Barren CO, KY.  On the same land was also the hotel owned by David and some of his sons. 

This is most likely a photograph of Denton's Mill on Beaver Creek, a few miles from the other establishments.   Marion relates that David and Rachel Scholl Dentons' enterprise included in toto  the hotel, the gristmill, a still, a racetrack, and a bowling alley!   David Denton was not only an undyingly loyal soldier (see his obituary below) he also was mechanically gifted.  In order to keep foodstuffs and dairy products cold, he diverted a nearby stream and built a cooling shed above it.  The same stream (on its way down hill) also made possible indoor plumbing.

(Color photos below by Marion Paris Marriott with thanks to her cousins, William F. "Bill" Denton and Gerald Witt)

David Denton's grave at the Denton Cemetery at the Merry Oaks with the marker which was arranged for by William F. Denton in cooperation with the DAR Revolutionary Graves project.

(David Denton's Obituary)
Another Revolutionary Soldier Gone

"Departed this life at his residence at the Merry Oaks, Barren County, KY., on the 18th of May, 1838, DAVID DENTON, Sr. aged 81 years.  He served his country as a private soldier five years and eight months during he Revolutionary war.  He was one of the heroic little band that crossed the Delaware in Dec. 1776, with Washington, and was in the battle of Trenton.  He was again with his beloved commander in the battles of Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown; he was with Wayne at the storming of Stony Point, and was one of the advanced guard, and with the first that entered the Fort.  He was at the siege of York and Capture of Cornwallis and his army; and shortly after peace was made, he emigrated to the West, and took part in most of the Indian wars that attended the first settlers of Kentucky: and in a close fight with an Indian, he was wounded with a tomahawk that rendered him an invalid for life.  He lived and died an honest man, beloved by all who knew him, professing an unshaken confidence in his Redeemer, and died in hope of a blessed immortality.  He was buried with the honors of war."

The Denton Cemetery at the Merry Oaks

Graves of David and Rachel Scholl Denton

David Barrow Denton's grave at Denton Cemetery at the Merry Oaks (youngest son of David and Rachel)

The grave of William Denton (third son of David and Rachel and husband of Betsy Christian Polllard.)

Stories From the lives of
Rachael Scholl Denton (1772-1846)
and her son, David Barrow Denton (b. 1811)

(Clark County Historical Society. "Early Settlements in Clark County," In Clark County Chronicles. (MS) Clark County, KY: no date.)

The narrative begins with an anecdote about Rachel Scholl Denton. Rachel Scholl, who was a sister of Peter, Joseph and Abraham Scholl, married David Denton and lived in the Scholl Settlement for a while, but afterwards moved to what was then Barren County, Kentucky, now Logan County [sic], near Merry Oaks. Mrs. Denton was alone one day and saw an Indian sneaking up towards the rail pen where their horse was confined. She leveled their rifle on the back of the chair and shot at the Indian, but missed him. He left, however, without the horse. [Early 1790s]

Encounter with the James Gang

A son of the Dentons, David Barrow Denton, was connected with a rather unusual incident, while living in Logan County. He was quite a hunter and every fall he and a number of companions would go on an extensive hunting trip. At this particular time he and his companions were in the town of Russellville with their dogs, wagons loaded with tents and other camping equipage, and were all dressed in rather gaudy colors. Denton went to the bank to get some money, and just at that moment Jesse James and his gang rushed into town, intending to rob the bank. But when they saw the hunting party and their outfit, they thought they had been discovered and troops were guarding the bank, so they "took to the woods." [1868]