First contingent of Denny Party relocates to site of Seattle on April 3, 1852.

  • By Greg Lange
  • Posted 1/01/2000
  • HistoryLink.org Essay 1956

On April 3, 1852, the first contingent of the Denny Party relocate from Alki Point to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay, the site of future downtown Seattle. Those who make the move on April 3 are: William Bell (1817-1887), Sarah Ann (Peter) Bell (1819-1856), the four Bell children, Carson Boren's wife Mary (Kays) Boren (1831-1906), the Boren infant Gertrude, Louisa Boren (b. 1827), and recent arrival Dr. David Maynard (1808-1873).

For the moment, Arthur Denny (1822-1899) and his family were ill with ague (malarial fever) and they remained on Alki Point. Carson Boren (1824?-1912) and David Denny (1832-1903) had gone south to obtain livestock.

By mid-April, most of the original Denny Party had relocated to the Pioneer Square area. Charles Terry (1828-1867) and his brother Lee Terry (1818-1862) stayed behind. Charles established his New York Store, the first store in the future King County. Lee Terry returned to the East Coast soon after.


Sources:

Clarence Bagley, History of Seattle (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1916); Clarence Bagley History of King County, Washington (Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1929).
Note: This file was corrected on April 3, 2006. Lee Terry's and Charles Terry's birth and death dates were corrected based on the Terry family genealogical Website, "TERRYs of Oneida and Madison Counties New York," compiled by Debbie Jeffers, accessed on October 27, 2004 (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nyterry/). This corrects Lee Terry's 1889 death date as reported in Arthur Denny, Pioneer Days on Puget Sound, 1908 Edition. Lee Terry was a married farmer from Madison, New York, with two sons (a daughter was born in 1854).


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