Clark, Robert Carlton, Ph.D. "History of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Vol. 3.
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1927. p. 213.

BYRON DENNY

     A lifelong resident of Marion county, Byron Denny has witnessed the
progress of civilization in this region and has long been classed with the most
successful farmers and stock raisers of the Willamette Valley. He makes his home
in Stayton and has filled public offices of trust and responsibility. He comes
of sturdy pioneer stock and bears a name familiar to every student of the
history of the Pacific northwest.
     Mr. Denny was born September 8, 1863, in the Waldo Hills district, and his
parents were Allan Wylie and Sarah Jane (Campbell) Denny, the latter a native of
Missouri. Allan W. Denny was born in Indiana in 1834 and was but a year old when
his father, John Denny, removed to Illinois. He lived for sixteen years in the
latter state and during that period the mother passed away. In 1851 John Denny
brought his family to Oregon, crossing the plains in a covered wagon drawn by
horses, and settled in Marion county. His brother James entered a donation claim
and developed the land on which Sublimity is now located. He was the proprietor
of the first store in the settlement, starting the business in 1852, and was
appointed postmaster when the town was established in 1853, filling die office
until his death in 1855. At that time his brother, John Denny, took over the
donation claim and later sold the property. He next purchased a half section
east of Sublimity and cultivated the place for a few years. A man of generous
impulses, he donated the land for the first school and church in Sublimity and
he was called to public office, becoming a member of the Oregon legislature. In
later life he went to Seattle, Washington, and there resided with his sons until
his demise, which occurred about the year 1872. His brothers, Arthur A. and
David T. Denny, were the founders of Seattle, which they platted in 1851, and
built its first house, a log structure. Each filed a donation claim of three
hundred and twenty acres and lived to see their homesteads become the site of
one of the chief cities on the Pacific coast. Their property rapidly increased
in value and at one time Arthur Denny was offered one million dollars for his
old home, orchard and cow pasture, which occupied the heart of the city. Gifted
with clear vision and rare judgment, he glimpsed Seattle as a great seaport and
time has justified his faith in its future. Although more than twenty years have
elapsed since his death, his memory is still fresh in the hearts of those who
knew him and his name will ever be revered by Seattle's citizens.
     His son, Allan Wylie Denny, received his education in Illinois and was a
youth of seventeen when the family came to Oregon. He assisted his father in
developing the ranch and eventually became the owner of three hundred and twenty
acres of prairie land five miles east of Sublimity. He erected a good home on
the place, which he transformed into a valuable farm, devoting the remainder of
his life to its improvement. His death occurred about the year 1902 and his wife
was called to her final rest in 1915. She was a daughter of James Campbell, who
made the overland journey to Oregon with the pioneers of 1846 and was one of the
earliest settlers in the Waldo Hills district. He acquired a donation claim of
six hundred and forty acres, situated east of Salem, and cultivated the farm for
several years, after which he sold the property and established his home in the
Capital city, where he passed away about 1875, and in 1878 Mrs. Campbell
responded to the final summons. To Allan W. and Sarah J. (Campbell) Denny were
bom six children: Albert, Henrietta and Elmer, all of whom are deceased; Byron;
Clara, who lives in Silverton, Oregon; and Ernest, a resident of Stayton.
     Byron Denny received his education in the rural schools of Marion county
and performed his share of the farm work. He remained at home until he was
twenty-three years of age and after his marriage purchased a tract of two
hundred and forty acres five miles east of Sublimity. It was covered with a
dense growth of forest trees and he hewed a farm out of the wilderness. Through
arduous effort he felled the trees and dug out the stumps, after which he
prepared the soil for the growing of crops, displaying the energy,
resourcefulness and courage of the true frontiersman. He cleared one hundred and
sixty acres of the place, on which he built a good house and barn. He separated
his fields by neat fences and carefully tilled his land. In 1917 he sold the
ranch and moved to Stayton, buying the modern home in which he now resides. Here
he has several acres of ground and is raising blue foxes with marked success. In
1922 he repurchased the old farm and now keeps about one hundred head of pure
bred Shropshire sheep. He has one hundred and thirty-six lambs and is a
scientific breeder, familiar with every detail of the work. He also owns another
stock ranch, which is situated in Linn county, and he displays keen sagacity in
the conduct of his affairs.
     In 1886 Mr. Denny married Miss Alice English, who was born in Marion
county, a daughter of Levin and Elizabeth (Riggs) English, the former a native
of Iowa and the latter of Missouri. In 1845 they journeyed to Oregon in a
covered wagon drawn by oxen and settled in Marion county on a donation claim of
six hundred and forty acres, situated on Howell prairie, ten miles northeast of
Salem. Subsequently Mr. English sold the property and went to California. At the
end of two years he returned to Oregon and purchased land near Sublimity. He
remained on the ranch until his death in 1917 and hi? widow passed away in
March, 1927, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. To their union were born
four children: Nelson and William, both deceased; Alice; and John, who lives in
Stayton. Mr. and Mrs. Denny are the parents of a daughter, Florence, who was
born in Marion county. She was graduated from the Stayton high school in 1927
and is at home.
     Mr. Denny is a Mason and has filled all the chairs of Santiam Lodge, No.
25, F. & A. M. For a quarter of a century he acted as clerk of the school board
and was also elected road supervisor, an office which he filled for several
years. He has conscientiously discharged life's duties and obligations and his
efforts have been productive of beneficial results. Genial, frank and
unassuming, he readily makes friends and is esteemed throughout the county.

     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in March 2012 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.