John Steele's and Lynne Busby's Genealogy Pages
Dr. Dr. James Nathaniel DENSON
1836 - 1907 (70 years)
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Name Dr. James Nathaniel DENSON Prefix Dr. Nickname Dr. Jim Born 17 Jun 1836 Scott, County, MS 
Gender Male Died 20 Mar 1907 Leake County, MS 
Siblings9 Siblings Person ID I645 Steeles_Genealogy Last Modified 28 Sep 2013
Father Shadrach James DENSON, b. 23 Apr 1800, Ashbury, NC , d. 14 Jan 1888 (Age 87 years) Relationship Birth Mother Alethia CHAMBERS, b. 20 Apr 1800, North Carolina , d. 06 Feb 1860 (Age 59 years) Relationship Birth Married 1820 Family ID F49 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Mary Foster LEE, b. 18 Oct 1840, Steward County, Georgia , d. 21 Dec 1895, Leake County, MS (Age 55 years) Married 23 Nov 1856 Ludlow, Scott County, Mississippi Children 1. Richard Burr DENSON, b. 02 Apr 1869, Scott County, Mississippi , d. 11 Jun 1953, Leake County, MS (Age 84 years) [Birth]Last Modified 28 Sep 2013 Family ID F136 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Photos 
JamesNathanialDensongravestone.jpg
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Notes - He was a Captain with Company F of the 36 Mississippi Infantry CSA
James Nathaniel Denson, the youngest son of Shadrach James and Alethia Chambers Denson, was their first child born in Scott County. His early education was obtained at the male academy at Brandon, Mississippi, where his father maintained a house during the school year so that his children could attend the male and female academies located there as there was not a school near their home in Scott County.
Beginning his professional life as a farmer, he owned by 1859 four slaves and some 320 acres in Scott County. Prior to the Civil War he studied medicine under his elder brother, Dr. Josiah C. Denson, who served as mentor. Following his return from the war he continued his studies at the University of Louisiana during the 1869-70 term, obtaining from the Mississippi State Board of Health on 11 May 1882. Throughout his life he was affectionately known as "Dr. Jim" and was ready night and day to attend to those in need of medical care. At all times a horse and buggy were kept ready for him so that he could easily come to the aid of those who had summoned him.
Like those so many of his neighbors and relatives, the life of James N. Denson was, at first, interrupted and later drastically changed by the Civil War. Early in the struggle for Southern independence he answered the call to arms of his infant country. On 5 Mar 1862, he joined, at Meridian, County F, 36th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, which was commanded by his brother, Col. Thomas J. Denson. Proving himself an able leader of men, he was swiftly promoted through the ranks. He served his unit as 1st Sergeant and later Lieutenant. On 26 May 1862 was named Regimental Acting Chief of Staff.
By July 1863 James N. Denson had been promoted to the rank of captain and found himself and his compatriots defending the besieged port of Vicksburg. Called "The Gibraltar of the South", Vicksburg stood as the last bastion of the Confederacy on the Mississippi and the last link between the eastern and western portions of the infant nation. After weeks of almost constant bombardment from the northern invaders, starvation and deprivation, the weary defenders were forced to surrendered the city on 4 Jul 1863. James N. Denson, along with the other survivors of General Pemberton's gallant defenders, found himself a prisoner of war. Signing an oath not to take up arms against the Federal government nor to act in any capacity for the Confederate government until he had been exchanged, he was released.
James N. Denson's tour of duty ended when his unit was surrendered at Blakely, Alabama on 9 Apr 1865. He was interred at Ft. Massachusetts on Ship Island on 15 Apr 1865. Upon his release, he made his way back to Scott County on foot. From 1888-1890, he served as president of the Leake County veterans association.
A document found in his service record contained information concerning his physical appearance. It stated that he was 5'10," of fair complexion, with blue eyes and dark hair. He was a farmer by profession and born in Scott County.
Conditions being what they were in Scott County following the War, James N. Denson decided to leave Ludlow. By 1872, James N. Denson began selling his property in Scott County and the next year he and his young family were living in Leake County. Three years later he bought a vast amount of acreage from R. W. and R. S. Harris which encompassed much of the area around Tuscola (then called Pensacola) in Leake County. Also sold to him was land in Scott County and two town lots in Forest. Here at the old Harris home he established himself, his family and later his medical practice.
Like his father before him, James N. Denson served in the Mississippi legislature and was a staunch and stalwart supporter of the Baptist church From 1874 until 1878, he represented Leake County in the Mississippi State House of Representatives. He served for many years as a delegate to the Harmony Association and other associations with which his churches were affiliated, as well as the Mississippi Baptist Convention.
In 1882, James N. Denson made plans to move his family to Harperville in Scott County where he had earlier established his medical practice and where his eldest daughter, Ida, and her husband, Colon McMurphy, had already settled. On 28 Aug an advertisement appeared in The Carthaginian in which he offered to sell his 460 acre plantation on the Tuscolameta Creek (250 acres of which were cultivated), along with the original two story, six room plantation home which had been sold to him by the Harris family. His plans to move his family were thwarted in November 1883 when his home in Pensacola burned forcing him to return to Pensacola.
Mary Foster (Lee) Denson died of cancer at Tuscola on 21 December 1895 and was buried in the old Sweetwater Cemetery located to the northwest of Tuscola on Mississippi Highway 487. After her death, her widower retired from farming and moved back to Ludlow. Since their eldest son, Dr. James Oscar Denson, had already established his medical practice and family at Lake Como in Jasper County, Dr. James N. Denson turned over the operation of his plantation to his second son, Robert Lee Denson. Finding that his aptitude was not for large-scale farming and preferring a more scholarly vocation, Robert L. Denson relinquished management of his father's land to his younger brother, Josiah Hunter Denson.
In Ludlow, Dr. James N. Denson resided with his brother-in-law and niece, Thomas Hugh Lee and his wife, Alethia Jane Denson, and headquartered his medical practice at Lee's store. Two years later, he moved his letter back to Jerusalem Baptist Church and in 1904 and 1906, he sold most of his remaining land in Tuscola to two of his sons, Richard Burr Denson and Josiah Hunter Denson.
Never failing in his service to his church and community, in 1901 he co-authored a history of the church his parents helped establish. In 1905 and 1906 he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Ludlow High School, as well as being its secretary-treasurer. He remained active in both ecclesiastical and civic affairs until his death in 1908.
James Nathaniel Denson died on 20 Mar 1908 at the age of 71 years, nine months and three days. His body was interred in the Tuscola Cemetery.
Family links:
Parents:
Shadrach James Denson (1800 - 1888)
Alethia Chambers Denson (1800 - 1860)
Spouse:
Mary Foster Lee Denson (1840 - 1895)
Children:
Richard Burr Denson (1869 - 1953)*
Joseph Hunter Denson (1873 - 1961)*
Claude Denson (1877 - 1879)*
- He was a Captain with Company F of the 36 Mississippi Infantry CSA
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