Denison family
| Denison family | |
|---|---|
| Current region | York, Ontario |
| Members | |
| Motto | Perseverando (Perseverance) |
The Denison family was an influential, land-holding family in the development of the town of York, Ontario, present-day Toronto. During the 19th century, many figures in the Denison family held a moderate degree of political authority and contributed significantly to the heritage and politics of Toronto.
History
Captain John Denison immigrated to York with his wife Sophia, and sons George, Thomas and Charles, after a personal invitation from John Graves Simcoe to come to the newly formed York.[1] He lived in Castle Frank for a short period, but as English-speaking Anglican Protestants, the Denison Family received land grants: 100-acre (0.40 km2) park lots in the family's name, developed into manor homes, farms and residences over the decades that followed.
In 1815, Colonel George Taylor Denison, son of Captain John Denison, bought park lots 17 and 18 and built the Bellevue Homestead. The original road up to the homestead is now known as Denison Avenue in Toronto.[2]
The Denison family had land holdings in west Toronto, with the family manor, Bellevue House, located in what is now Kensington Market. Numerous landmarks and streets in this neighbourhood and around west Toronto are named after the Denison family, including Denison Square, Avenue and Creek, Bellevue Avenue, Dovercourt Road, Rusholme Road, Ossington, Major, Robert, Borden, Lippincott streets. Denison Avenue used to be the family's driveway from their house to Queen Street. St. Stephen's-in-the-Field Church, the first Anglican Church west of Spadina, was founded and paid for entirely by Captain John's grandson, Robert Brittain Denison, as a parish church for farm workers on his estate. The Kensington Market that is still presently used today was born out of a Denison family estate, the Belle Vue.
"John Denison, the first Canadian Denison, began life in York (Toronto) managing someone else's farm; his son rented land to more than a hundred tenants, and his grandson developed the same land into urban residential sites. The Denison record, in effect, is the record of an evolving urban community." This ownership of land and the development of land is how the Denison family accumulated their fortunes.
Another notable Denison was George Taylor Denison III, great-grandson of John Denison. He presided over the Toronto police court for 44 years and he had a reputation for an unconventional practice of law. The position of wealth and privilege accompanying land-ownership in Victorian Toronto afforded George Taylor Denison the opportunities that made these accomplishments possible. His grandfather fought with Gen. Isaac Brock in the War of 1812.
The Denisons played a consistent role in public life, involving themselves in issues affecting the growth and direction of Canadian nationhood. As soldiers, Loyalists, nationalists, and imperialists they played active roles in the War of 1812, the rebellion of 1837, the militia crises of 1854–1864, the Canada First movement, the loyalist crisis of 1888–1891, and the struggle for imperial unity 1893–1911.
Family crest
The Denison family crest is a hand, its index finger pointing towards a star. For John Denison, that star was the North Star. The Denison's family motto, displayed on the family crest, is Perseverando ('Perseverance' in English).
Family tree
- John Denison (November 20, 1755, Yorkshire – October 28, 1824, York, Upper Canada), m. Sophia Taylor
- George Taylor Denison (December 29, 1783, England – December 18, 1853, Toronto, Canada West)
- Richard Lippincott Denison (June 13, 1814 - March 10, 1878)
- Herbert Francis Denison (January 22, 1855 - February 10, 1916)
- Norman Lippincott Denison (January 1, 1889 - October 18, 1958)
- John Burton Denison (June 30, 1916 - January 6, 2001)
- Norman Lippincott Denison (January 1, 1889 - October 18, 1958)
- Herbert Francis Denison (January 22, 1855 - February 10, 1916)
- George Taylor Denison II (July 17, 1816, York, Upper Canada – May 30, 1873, Toronto, Ontario)
- George Taylor Denison III (31 August 1839, Toronto, Ontario – 6 June 1925, Toronto, Ontario)
- Frederick Charles Denison (November 22, 1846 – April 15, 1896)
- John Denison II
- Richard Lippincott Denison (June 13, 1814 - March 10, 1878)
- Thomas Denison (November 1, 1786- August 23, 1846)
- Charles Denison (1789 - August 15, 1828)
- George Taylor Denison (December 29, 1783, England – December 18, 1853, Toronto, Canada West)
References
- ^
Robert Evelyn Denison (1910). "A history of the Denison family in Canada, 1792 to 1910 : for the use of members of the family only". Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
The cottage referred to in this account, appears to have been built on Front Street, near Bay. Help for household work was very hard to get then as now, and we read that Miss Russel presented Mrs. John Denison with a negro female slave, Amy Pompadour, said to be the last slave ever legally held in Upper Canada.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Peppiatt, Liam. "Chapter 38: The Bellevue Homestead". Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited.
- Dennis De Klerck, & Corrado Paina. College Street-Little Italy Toronto's Renaissance Strip. Mansfield Press, Toronto, ON 2006.
- Edith Iglauer. Denison's Ice Road. E.P. Dutton & Co, Inc. New York 1975 (Pp2).
- David Gagan. The Denison Family of Toronto 1792–1925. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON 1973 (pp 4–5).
- Adam Mayers. The Toronto Star. George Denison: A judge of character. Nov. 30, 2006.
- Ontario Archives. Col. George Taylor Denison III. 1898.
- Denison family website. Site with family tree and some history