Biography: Dr. Eli Forrest Denson born February 15, 1853

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ELI FORREST DENSON, M. D.

(b. 1853 – d. 1910)

BIOGRAPHY and GENEALOGY

SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA

Eli Forrest Denson, M. D. of Pelham, Alabama was a practicing physician, a farmer, and stock raiser. He came to Pelham on his graduation from the medical department of Vanderbilt university in 1879, and had been one of its chief citizens since that time. He was a native of Rome, Georgia, where he was born Feb. 15, 1853, the son of Wiley Clinton Denson(b. 1840 d. 1911) and Mary (Stubblefield) Denson (b. May 19, 1831 – d. Oct 29, 1903).

The grandfathers were Eli Denson and John Stubblefield, the paternal grandmother a Miss Wooten. His father was a merchant in Rome in his earlier manhood and later at Greensport, Ala., and was also quite extensively engaged in farming in Shelby county. Dr. Denson’s father resided with him in his later years, his wife having passed to her rest in 1903.

During the great Civil War, he served his State for two years in General Forrest’s cavalry. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Odd Fellows, and he and his wife were life-long members of the Baptist church. They had a family of seven children, six were living in 1904. The deceased one was a son, Charles who died while in attendance at Jefferson Medical college. One daughter was named Minnie Josephine Denson (b. 1856 d. 1927) Minnie married ca. 1877 John Ward McWhorter (b. Nov. 15, 1854 d. Jun 1928).

Dr. Forrest Denson was educated at Oxford college and Vanderbilt University and practiced in Pelham for over twenty-five years. He was a proprietor of a drug store and owned a fine farm near the town. In 1878, he married Mrs. Emma C McWhorter of Alabama and they had ten children, named as follows:

1. Bertie Otis Denson
2. Ethel Denson
3. Austin Denson
4. Ruby Denson
5. Myra Denson
6. Garland Denson
7. Grady Denson
8. Morgan Denson
9. Rosebud Denson
10. Estey Denson

Dr. Eli Forrest Denson died July 14, 1910, and his wife Emma Corrine (McWhorter) Denson died June 6, 1937 and they are buried in Pelham City Cemetery, Shelby County, Alabama. His parents are buried in Pelham City Cemetery as well.

SOURCES

1. Notable Men of Alabama edited by Joel Campbell DuBose Volume III
2. 1900 Shelby County, Alabama census
3. 1860 St. Clair County census
4. FindAGrave.com Memorial# 7073614 # 7073615 # 34921991  7073631 # 7073626

This biography can be found in Biographies of Notable and Not-so-Notable Alabama Pioneers Volume VI

About Donna R Causey

Donna R. Causey, resident of Alabama, was a teacher in the public school system for twenty years. When she retired, Donna found time to focus on her lifetime passion for historical writing. She developed the websites www.alabamapioneers and www.daysgoneby.me All her books can be purchased at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. She has authored numerous genealogy books. RIBBON OF LOVE: A Novel Of Colonial America (TAPESTRY OF LOVE) is her first novel in the Tapestry of Love about her family where she uses actual characters, facts, dates and places to create a story about life as it might have happened in colonial Virginia. Faith and Courage: Tapestry of Love (Volume 2) is the second book and the third FreeHearts: A Novel of Colonial America (Book 3 in the Tapestry of Love Series) Discordance: The Cottinghams (Volume 1) is the continuation of the story. . For a complete list of books, visit Donna R Causey

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