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Richard Denton, Reverend

Richard Denton, Reverend

Male 1601 - 1663  (62 years)


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  • Name Richard Denton  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11] 
    Title Reverend 
    Suffix Sr. 
    Birth 5 Apr 1601  Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    FSID LCXT-HB3 
    Burial 1662  Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [10, 11] 
    Death 6 Dec 1663  Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I45244  footsteps | Bunker
    Last Modified 30 Jul 2025 

    Family Maria Duerden,   b. Abt Oct 1604, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
    +1. Samuel Denton,   b. Bef 29 May 1631, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [Father: natural]  [Mother: unknown]
    Family ID F24938  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 30 Jul 2025 

  • Notes 


    • Denton was a crucial element in the early development of religious pluralism in colonial America and in American Presbyterianism, specifically.
      Richard Denton was born in Warley, West Yorkshire, England to Henry Denton and Maria Duerden. He was baptized April 19, 1601 at the parish church in nearby Halifax.

      Denton matriculated from St. Catherine's College, Cambridge. He was ordained a Deacon in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire on March 9, 1623 and a Priest on June 8, 1623. He first became pastor in Turton, Lancashire and later Curate of Coley Chapel in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
      It is not known exactly when or why Denton split from the Church of England to profess and preach Reformed theology, but it was at a time of much religious upheaval. It may have had something to do with the "Book of Sports" controversy. The "Great Migration" of the Puritans to New England had been underway for several years when Richard Denton and his young sons led a large group of Presbyterians to Massachusetts circa 1635, possibly on the ship "James."

      He arrived abt 1638/39 to America before soon removing to Wethersfield, Connecticut and even later to Stamford in 1641, probably due to friction with local Puritans. This friction may have been political, rather than religious, in nature.

      As early as 1644, Denton relocated his congregation to Hempstead, Long Island, situating themselves under Dutch rule and law. All inhabitants were allowed to vote in New Netherland, and the Denton congregation made it a requirement to do so; they were likely barred from voting in Puritan territory. However, this was not the end of Denton's interactions with his own people, for he is said to have preached to English soldiers at the military fort in New Amsterdam during the Indian wars.

      Denton was well received in New Netherland, as evidenced by two letters sent to Holland by Johannes Megapolensis and Samuel Drisius, the former being the leader of the Dutch Reformed Church in New Netherland and the latter being a pastor who could minister in French as well as Dutch.

      These letters also inform us that the Puritan Independents in Hempstead attended Denton's services, but left his church when he baptized children of parents who were not members. Nonetheless, he was respected by prominent Congregationalists - notably, Cotton Mather - for his theological treatise "Soliloquia Sacra."
      Despite flourishing in Hempstead, Rev. Denton became dissatisfied with his salary and departed Long Island for Virginia in 1657 "seeking remedy." Gov. Stuyvesant himself had appealed to Denton to stay in New Netherland, to no avail. Apparently no remedy was found in Virginia, for in 1658 he was again contracted to minister at Hempstead, the same place he had left one year earlier. This return to normalcy, however, would be short lived for Richard and his wife returned to England in 1659 to settle a deceased friend's estate and collect a legacy of 400 Pounds Sterling.
      Richard Denton died in Hempstead, Essex in 1663. The church he founded and pastored in Long Island - Christ's First Presbyterian - still exists at 353 Fulton Ave.
      http://www.christianforums.com/threads/the-rev-richard-denton-c-1635.7619647/

  • Sources 
    1. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68ZD-XMR5 : Fri Apr 12 19:15:19 UTC 2024), Entry for Denton and Richardi, 11 March 1633.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68ZD-XMRY

    2. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68ZH-5H3M : Sun Mar 10 20:43:48 UTC 2024), Entry for Maria Duerden and Richus Denton, 21 January 1625.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68ZH-5H39

    3. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68ZH-5H9H : Sun Mar 10 20:43:37 UTC 2024), Entry for Richus Denton and Maria Duerden, 21 January 1625.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68ZH-5H9H

    4. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68K1-N4YZ : Sat Apr 13 19:04:04 UTC 2024), Entry for Daniel Denton and Richardi, 10 July 1632.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68K1-N4Y8

    5. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68K1-JMZQ : Fri Mar 08 16:32:36 UTC 2024), Entry for Mary Denton and Richard, 21 June 1638.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68K1-JMZ7

    6. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68ZD-49Q7 : Fri Apr 12 20:05:20 UTC 2024), Entry for Petrus Denton and Richardi, 5 June 1637.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68ZD-49QW

    7. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68ZD-NNB5 : Sat Apr 13 17:32:17 UTC 2024), Entry for Timothius Denton and Richardi, 28 July 1631.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68ZD-NNBY

    8. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68K1-RD7F : Sun Mar 10 10:17:03 UTC 2024), Entry for Richard Denton and Henry, 19 April 1601.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68K1-RD7F

    9. [S281] England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957, "England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:68K1-N46V : Sat Apr 13 17:30:41 UTC 2024), Entry for Samuel Denton and Richardi, 29 May 1631.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68K1-N462

    10. [S283] England, Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991, "England, Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:JDHV-B56 : Fri Mar 08 07:54:38 UTC 2024), Entry for Denton, 6 12 1658.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDHV-B56

    11. [S321] England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997, "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997", FamilySearch (https://www./ark:/61903/1:1:XKZP-WX8 : Fri Aug 30 22:22:27 UTC 2024), Entry for Denton, 06 Dec 1658.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XKZP-WX8


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