Denby family

Biographical Notes

Charles Denby (1830-1904)

• 1830, June 16: Born, Mount Joy, Va.
• 1850: Graduated, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va.
• 1855: Admitted to the Indiana bar; began practicing law in Evansville, Ind.
• 1858: Married Martha Fitch
• 1861: Appointed lieutenant colonel, 42nd Indiana Volunteers
• 1862: Engaged in battle of Perryville, Ky. Appointed colonel, 80th Indiana Volunteers
• 1863: Resigned from military
• 1876: Delegate to Democratic National Convention, St. Louis, Mo.
• 1884: Delegate to Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Ill.
• 1885 - 1898 : United States minister to China
• 1898: Named to United States Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain
• 1899: Appointed to United States Philippine Commission Visited Philippines
• 1904, Jan. 13: Died, Jamestown, N. Y.
• 1906: Posthumous publication of China and Her People (Boston: L. C. Page and Co. 2 vols.)

Charles Denby (1861-1938)

• 1861, Nov. 14: Born, Evansville, Ind.
• 1882: Graduated, College of New Jersey, Princeton, N. J. (now Princeton University)
• 1885 - 1893 : Second secretary, United States legation, Peking, China
• 1893 - 1897 : First secretary, United States legation, Peking, China
• 1895: Married Martha Dalzell Orr
• 1897 - 1900 : In business with Arnhold, Karberg and Co., Tientsin, China
• 1900: Appointed secretary general of provisional government, Tientsin, China
• 1902 - 1905 : Foreign advisor to viceroy of Chilhi Province, China
• 1905 - 1907 : Chief clerk, State Department, Washington, D. C.
• 1907 - 1909 : United States consul general, Shanghai, China
• 1909 - 1915 : United States consul general, Vienna, Austria
• 1915 - 1917 : Vice president, Hupp Motor Car Corp., Detroit, Mich.
• 1917: Director, Bureau of Foreign Agents, War Trade Board, Washington, D. C.
• 1918: Special representative, State Department, Japan and China
• 1922 - 1923 : Special representative, United States Shipping Board, Japan and China
• 1938, Feb. 14: Died, Washington, D. C.

Edwin Denby

• 1870, Feb. 18: Born, Evansville, Ind.
• 1887 - 1894 : Served in Chinese Maritime Customs Service
• 1896: Received law degree, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Started law practice, Detroit, Mich.
• 1898: Gunner’s mate, Yosemite (auxiliary cruiser)
• 1903: Elected to Michigan House of Representatives
• 1905 - 1911 : Republican congressman, Michigan First District, United States House of Representatives
• 1911: Married Marion Bartlett Thurber
• 1917: Enlisted in United States Marine Corps.
• 1920 - 1921 : Chief probation officer, Recorder’s Court, City of Detroit, Mich., and Circuit Court of Wayne County, Mich.
• 1921 - 1924 : Secretary of the navy; resigned following Teapot Dome affair
• 1929: Died, Detroit, Mich.

From the guide to the Denby Family Papers, 1850-1911, (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)