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This article is from the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 6 volumes, edited by William S. Powell. Copyright ©1979-1996 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Denman, Charles

by William S. Powell, 1986

d. 24 Apr. 1739

Charles Denman, merchant, assemblyman, and local official, was living in Perquimans Precinct by April 1716 when he purchased 100 acres of land there. In addition to his mercantile business, he often bought land that he soon afterward sold. A grand jury list of 26 Oct. 1725 refers to him as Captain Charles Denman. As clerk of court of Albemarle and Perquimans counties at various times between 1728 and 1734, he was witness to wills, executor of estates, and involved in cases at law, primarily to collect money. For a number of years he was also treasurer of Perquimans Precinct. Between 1723 and 1735 (except for the session of 1727), he served in the Assembly where he was active on the committee that prepared replies to addresses of the governor. Several times he was chosen by the Assembly to deliver messages to the Council; in 1731 he delivered one maintaining that the Carolina Charter of 1663 denied the right of legislative bodies other than the colonial Assembly to levy taxes, and asking that officers' fees be regulated by the Assembly. At one session he was chairman of the Resolutions Committee and made its report.

Denman served on the grand jury several times and once wrote the report for the foreman who apparently could not write. In April 1731, as a member of the provincial grand jury, he signed an address to the king expressing gratitude that North Carolina had become a royal province. As an assemblyman he was also active in efforts to regulate the payment of quitrents and in inspecting and settling accounts. He apparently was a member of the Church of England, for in 1731 he was a vestryman in Perquimans parish.

Denman's first wife was named Sarah; they were the parents of Ann (b. 5 Feb. 1713), who married a Moore, Christopher (b. 30 Sept. 1717), and Sarah (b. 2 Oct. 1719). On 24 Mar. 1737 he married Rebecca Jones (widow, successively, of Joseph Sutton and Francis Toms), but they apparently had no children. His recent death was announced in the Assembly on 2 Mar. 1740. His widow was asked to pay his unsettled accounts as treasurer in February 1740.

References:

John L. Cheney, Jr., ed., North Carolina Government, 1585–1974 (1975).

Bryan Grimes, Abstract of North Carolina Wills (1910).

J. R. B. Hathaway, ed., North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register 3 (July 1903).

William S. Price, Jr., ed., Colonial Records of North Carolina, vol. 5, Higher-Court Minutes, 1709–1723 ([1977]).

William L. Saunders, ed., Colonial Records of North Carolina, vols. 2–4 (1886).

Mrs. Watson Winslow, History of Perquimans County (1931).

Additional Resources:

North Carolina General Assembly. Minutes of the Lower House of the North Carolina General Assembly February 06, 1739 - March 06, 1739.  Colonial Records of North Carolina vol. 4. Raleigh: P.M. Hale, Printer to the State. 1886. 403-404. https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/document/csr04-0138#p4-404 (accessed January 30, 2014).

Winslow, Raymond A., Jr. "Anatomy of a Family History." North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal 25, no. 3 (August 1999).  269-270. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/north-carolina-genealogical-society-journal-1999-august-v.25-no.3/1177033 (accessed January 30, 2014).

Subjects: 
Biographies
Merchants
Public officials
Authors: 
Powell, William S.
Origin - location: 
Perquimans County
From: 
Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.

1 January 1986 | Powell, William S.