WILLIAM DENNEY, M. D., one of the established and most successful physicians of Washington, is a native of the State, born in Jefferson, Greene county, October 28, 1851. John Denney, his great-grandfather, came to America from England at an early date, settling in Greene county, Penn. In his native land he was a tailor by trade, but in this country he followed agricultural pursuits, and at the time of his death was the owner of a considerable estate. His son, William, grandfather of Dr. Denney, married Elizabeth Blackledge, and some time in the "forties" they moved to Missouri, where they died of malarial fever. A brief record of their children is as follows: Enoch Harvey has special mention further on; Simon died in Missouri; John is a resident of Marion, Ohio; Benjamin is a practicing physician in Waynesburg, Penn.; George also resides at Waynesburg; William died in Missouri; Hannah is the wife of a wealthy farmer named R. Colony, in Johnston county, Iowa; Mary is married to a Mr. Keefer, and lives near Montezuma, Iowa; Grace is married, and resides near Tiffin, Johnson Co., Iowa. Enoch Harvey Denney, father of Dr. Denney, was born near Jefferson, Greene Co., Penn., in 1820. By occupation he was a carpenter, cabinet maker, and undertaker. In politics he is a Republican, for many years served as school director, and has been elected a justice of the peace six times. In 1880 he married Mary, daughter of Evan and Nancy (Fulton) McCullough, who lived and died on Castile run, in Greene county, Penn. The McCullough family have been prominent in educational matters in Iowa. The sisters Jane, Rachel and Margaret organized and have since conducted Mount Pleasant (Iowa) Female Seminary. Jane and Margaret are graduates of Washington Female Seminary, and Rachel of the Steubenville (Ohio) Seminary. The only brother was Col. John Fulton McCullough who, at the age of eighteen years, entered the United States army as a private in Company F, First P. V. C., but on account of his father's death, in 1861, received his discharge and returned home. In 1862 he organized Company A, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Reserves, and returned to active service; in 1864 he was promoted to major of the regiment, and was afterward commissioned colonel of the One Hundred and Eighty-third P. V. I. He was mortally wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor early in June, 1864, and died on the field. To Enoch H. and Mary (McCullough) Denney were born children as follows: William, Isabella (wife of David Bell, of Morgan township, Greene Co., Penn), Anna N. (wife of M. S. Smalley, president of the First National Bank of Hiawatha, Kans.), and Evan M., in the employ of the Southwestern Pipe Line Company, at Morgantown, W. Va. The mother departed this life on Christmas day, 1878, aged fifty-four years; the father is still living in Greene county. William Denney, the subject proper of this sketch, received his primary education in and near his native village. In the fall of 1864 he went to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where he studied for four years in Mt. Pleasant Seminary, under the direction of his uncle, Rev. E. L. Belden, who was principal of that institution. He then entered the Wesleyan University of Iowa, where he studied for about two years. In 1870 he returned to his native town of Jefferson and engaged in school teaching, which vocation he followed in different parts of Greene county until 1876. He then entered regularly upon his medical studies which he had been pursuing during vacation in teaching, in the office of his uncle, Dr. B. W. Denney, of Garard's Fort, Greene Co., Penn. He afterward entered Miami Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, in which he took the progressive course, and from which he graduated in the spring of 1879. In June of that year he established himself in Claysville, where he remained until December 1, 1891, when he moved to Washington and has since continued in the active practice of his profession, in which he has met with gratifying success, being professionally and socially highly esteemed in the community. On March 3, 1881, the Doctor was united in marriage with Lucinda, third daughter of John and Sarah Bell, of Morgan township, Greene Co., Penn., and they have two children: John McCullough and Mary Bell. Politically Dr. Denney is a Republican, and has held various offices of trust. He served as supervisor in the Eleventh Pennsylvania District, in connection with the eleventh decennial census of the counties of Washington, Greene, Fayette, Beaver and Somerset. He is a member of the Americus Club of Pittsburgh, Penn., and in religious faith is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Washington. Dr. Denney is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the lodge, chapter and commandery at Washington, Penn., and a member of Syria Temple, Pittsburgh.

Text taken from page 195 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed March 1997 by Karen Souhrada of Pittsford, NY as part of the Beers Project. Published March 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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