Denton, Nehemiah, 1773-1844.

Owner of a grain mill.

Nehemiah Denton (1773-1844) was born in Jamaica, N.Y., the third son of Thomas Denton and his wife, Mary Skidmore. His family descended from Rev. Richard Denton who came to Hempstead, L.I. in 1650. He was related to Daniel Denton, one of the first settlers of Jamaica, whose Brief Description of New York, Formerly New Amsterdam (1670) is one of the earliest accounts published.

Denton married Elizabeth Carpenter in 1797; they had two daughters. Elizabeth and both daughters were dead by 1837 and Denton married Janet Hogarth in 1839.

Although members of his family were among the founding members of the Presbyterian Church in this country, Denton attended the Dutch Reformed church in Brooklyn. He was appointed Elder in 1824 and served for many years. Denton's name appears in the Brooklyn City Directories in the 1820s and 1830s as an assessor for the Town of Brooklyn and as a commissioner of highways. In 1824, he became a director of the first bank in Brooklyn, the Long Island Bank, and served in that capacity for many years.

In addition to his business as a miller in Gowanus, Denton was a merchant in New York. He and his partner, Benjamin Smith, owned Denton and Smith at 25 Coenties Slip. He also owned land in downtown Brooklyn on which he built houses for speculation.

Denton died in 1844. He left as his heir his grandson, Nehemiah Denton Wilkins. He was buried in the family plot at the Prospect Cemetery in Jamaica.