Memorial to the Dennys of Castlegreen
The Denny family commemorated by the memorial in the foreground are usually called the Dennys of Castlegreen (in order to distinguish them from another prominent family of that name – see below).
"In memory of Alexander Denny, merchant, Glasgow, who died 14 September, 1855, aged 70 years.
Peter Denny, of Castlegreen, who died 19 February, 1856, aged 68 years.
Sons of the late John Denny, of Castlegreen.
James Denny, his grandson, who died 14 September, 1858, aged 44 years.
Elizabeth Denny, his granddaughter, who died 4th January, 1872, aged 60 years".
The Peter Denny named here was the grandson of David Denny of Corslet (as Crosslet was once called – see
Image), and was the son of Provost John Denny.
Peter Denny was a grain merchant. He went into a shipbuilding partnership with Daniel Rankin (
Image); their company, Denny and Rankin, initially operated out of the Woodyard (see
Image), and then at Castlegreen (for the location of the Castlegreen area, see the comments at
Image).
Peter Denny of Castlegreen was Provost of Dumbarton from 1834-44, and from 1848-51. He was a bachelor; on his death, the proceeds of his estate passed to his nephew and niece, James and Elizabeth, who are named in the inscription.
The Dennys of Castlegreen are not to be confused with the Dennys of Braehead: the two families were not closely related; they were related(*), but more distantly. Both families were active in the local shipbuilding industry, and each produced a Peter Denny who was at one time Provost of Dumbarton. (For the other Peter Denny, of Helenslee, see
Image) See also http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Dumbarton-Cemetery#shipbuilding-and-other-industries
[Biographical details are from Donald MacLeod's "The God's Acres of Dumbarton" (1888); there are one or two minor discrepancies (in the day of the month) between the dates given there and those in the inscription itself; I have followed the inscription here.]
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(*) The precise relation between the Dennys of Castlegreen and those of Braehead can be inferred from a detailed family tree that is among the clippings in Dumbarton Library, and that was compiled by Arthur F Jones:
The common ancestors of both families are the Dennys of Townend. A certain Walter Denny, burgess, in Townend, had a son called Walter, who had died by 1692. This second Walter had a son called John Denny (1670-1723), farmer in Townend; this John is the common ancestor of both branches of the family, but they descend from two different wives.
Below, I have listed just enough names to allow the family connection between the two branches to be inferred; there are many more siblings at each level. I cannot be sure of having copied all dates correctly, but the main aim here is to set out the generations clearly.
■ Generations leading to Denny of BRAEHEAD:
(1) John Denny (1670-1723) of Townend married Margaret Brock (d.1703); she was probably his first wife.
(2) Their son John Denny (1700-), farmer in Townend, married (1729) Katherine Bryce.
(3) Their son John Denny, maltman, of Townend, and later of Braehead, married (1768) Agnes Lang.
(4) Their son William Denny (1779-1833), shipbuilder, First of the Woodyard, married Christian McIntyre.
(5) Their son Peter Denny (1821-1895) of Helenslee, Provost of Dumbarton, married (1845) Helen Leslie.
(6) Their son was William Denny (1847-1887), Third of the Woodyard, who died in Buenos Aires.
(William II – meaning "William, Second of the Woodyard" – was another son of William I, was the brother of Peter, and was therefore the uncle of William III. William II was the founder of the firm William Denny & Bros, shipbuilders: his memorial is shown in
Image For Peter Denny of Helenslee, his brother, see
Image and
Image)
■ Generations leading to Denny of CASTLEGREEN:
(1) The same John Denny (1670-1723) of Townend married (1704) Christian Paterson after the death of Margaret Brock; Christian was probably his second wife.
(2) Their son David Denny (1709-) married (1742) Margaret Lindsay.
(3) Their son John Denny (1745-), of Corslett, later of Castlegreen, Provost, married (1782) Katherine Murray.
(4) Their son Patrick alias Peter Denny (1787-1856) of Castlegreen, Provost, shipbuilder, partner in the firm Denny and Rankin, is the Peter Denny of Castlegreen who is commemorated on the gravestone in the picture.
The relationship between the two Peter Dennys is therefore that the great-grandfather of Peter Denny of Castlegreen is the great-great-grandfather of Peter Denny of Helenslee, namely, John Denny of Townend; the two Peters are second cousins once removed (for what it is worth, they might, because they are descendants through different wives of their common ancestor, be described as "second half-cousins once removed", but I suspect that most readers will not find that description very enlightening).