Blazing the Way; Or, True Stories, Songs and Sketches of Puget SoundDenny, Emily Inez
History
Blazing the Way; Or, True Stories, Songs and Sketches of Puget Sound
Denny, Emily Inez
Indians of North America -- Northwestern States; Oregon Territory -- History; Washington (State) -- History
The story of the early life of the Denny brothers tallies very nearly
with the history of Seattle. Mr. and Mrs. David Denny were married in a
cabin on the north end of A. A. Denny's claim near the foot of Lenora
street, January 23, 1853. The next morning the couple moved to their own
cabin--built by the husband's hands--at the foot of what is now Denny
Way. The moving was accomplished in a canoe.
Though they professed a great respect for David Denny, the Indians were
numerous and never very reliable. In a year or two, therefore, the
family moved up nearer the sawmill and little settlement which had
grown up near the foot of Cherry street. D. T. Denny had meanwhile
staked out a very large portion of what is now North Seattle--a plat of
three hundred and twenty acres. Later he made seven additions to the
city of Seattle from this claim. In 1857 it was a wilderness of thick
brush, but the pioneer moved his family to his farm on the present site
of Recreation park in that year. The Indian war had occurred the winter
before and the red men were quiet, having received a lesson from the
blue jackets which were landed from the United States gunboat Decatur.
Three or four years later the family moved to a cottage at the corner of
Second avenue and Seneca street. In the early '70s they moved to the
large home at the corner of Dexter and Republican streets, where the
children grew up. In 1890 the family took possession of the large house
standing on Queen Anne avenue, known as the Denny home, which was
occupied by the family until a few years ago, when they moved to Fremont
and later to the house where Mr. Denny died, in Licton Park, some
distance north of Green Lake.
Until about ten years ago David T. Denny was considered the wealthiest
man in Seattle. His large property in the north end of the city had been
the source of more and more revenue as the town grew. When the needs of
the town became those of a big city he hastened to supply them with
energy and money. His mill on the shores of Lake Union was the largest
in the city, when Seattle was first known as a milling town. The
establishment of an electric light plant and a water supply to a part of
the city were among the enterprises which he headed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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