David Thomas Denny (March 17, 1832, Part II: Chapter 3, p. 203. – November 25, 1903.) was a member of the

Denny Party The Denny Party was a group of American pioneers credited with founding Seattle, Washington. They settled at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. History On April 10, 1851, a wagon party headed by Arthur A. Denny left Cherry Grove, Illinois and he ...

, who are generally collectively credited as the founders of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, United States. Though he ultimately underwent

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, he was a significant contributor to the shape of the city. Roger Sale, in his book ''Seattle, Past to Present'', described him as having been "the pioneer to turn to if one had a plan that would be 'good for Seattle', and one needed a respectable tone and a willing investor."

Early life and journey to the Oregon Country

Denny was born in Putnam County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. With what would become known as the ''Denny Party''—named after Denny's older brother Arthur Denny—he traveled west by

covered wagon A covered wagon, also called a prairie wagon, whitetop, or prairie schooner, is a horse-drawn or ox-drawn wagon used for passengers or freight hauling. It has a canvas, tarpaulin, or waterproof sheet which is stretched over removable wooden ...

in 1851 to Oregon. Along with John Low and Lee Terry, he traveled by boat to the future site of Seattle, arriving September 25, 1851. As Low went to reconnoiter with the rest of the group, and Lee Terry headed south on

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

in search of tools, David Denny—too young at this time to stake a

land claim A land claim is "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include Aboriginal title, aboriginal land cla ...

in his own right—was briefly left as the sole member of the group at Alki in what is now

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of List of neighborhoods in Seattle, neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the List of neighborhoods in Seattle, thirteen districts, Delridge, Seattle, Delridge and Southwest, ...

Marriage to Louisa Boren

On January 23, 1853, Denny married his sister-in-law Louisa Boren, also a member of the Denny Party, in a civil ceremony performed by "Doc" Maynard, the city's first non-Indian wedding; they were to have eight children, including

Emily Inez Denny Emily Inez Denny (December 23, 1853 - August 23, 1918) was a painter who drew scenes from Seattle's early history, along with landscapes of the Puget Sound region. Her parents were Seattle pioneers David Denny (1832-1903) and Louisa Boren Park, L ...

.. He proved to be adept at languages, and (unlike some of the settlers) maintained generally good relations with the natives of the area.

1853 land claim

The Dennys' 1853

—, standard for a married couple—ran from what is now the

Seattle Center The Seattle Center is an entertainment, education, tourism and performing arts center located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Constructed for the Century 21 Exposition, 1962 W ...

grounds (the area where they first settled) east to

South Lake Union South Lake Union (sometimes SLU) is a neighborhood in central Seattle, Washington, so named because it is at the southern tip of Lake Union. The official boundaries of the City of Seattle Urban Center are Denny Way on the south, beyond which ...

; its south boundary was present-day

Denny Way Denny Way is an east–west Arterial road, arterial street in Downtown Seattle, downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. It forms the northern end of the Belltown, Seattle, Belltown street grid as well as the boundaries of Belltown, Lower Q ...

. In 1882, the Lake Union and Lumber Company established a sawmill (the city's largest) on this land near the southwest corner of

Lake Union Lake Union () is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east t ...

; Denny bought the mill in 1884, renaming it the Western Mill. The following year, he cut a weir from

Portage Bay Portage Bay is a body of water, often thought of as the eastern arm of Lake Union, that forms a part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle, Washington. To the east, Portage Bay is connected with Union Bay—a part of Lake Washington� ...

at the northeast corner of the lake to

Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...

. This allowed logs to be floated from that larger lake to Lake Union, so that the entire area of Lake Washington became a catchment for his mill.. Denny operated the Western Mill until 1895; his employees and their families were among the first settlers of the South Lake Union area. Seattle's first cemetery (1861) was on Denny's land. In 1876, the bodies were relocated to Washelli Cemetery, which is off of Aurora Avenue North in north Seattle and part of the Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery. The Dennys donated what became

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

, on Seattle's

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

, and the Dennys donated the more central tract as the site of the city's first park, now called

Denny Park Denny Park is a park located in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It occupies the block bounded by John Street and Denny Way on the north and south and Dexter and 9th Avenues N. on the west and east. History Denny Par ...

in their honor. Another donation to the city became the site of the Civic Auditorium (later remodeled as the Opera House and now McCaw Hall) and several other buildings that now form part of Seattle Center.Campus Walking Tour / Narrative for Seattle Center
, Seattle Center. Accessed online October 19, 2007.

Public offices

Active in public life, Denny served as

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

Commissioner, a member of the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...

, a director of the

Seattle School District Seattle Public Schools is the largest public school district in the state of Washington. The school district serves almost all of Seattle. Additionally it includes sections of Boulevard Park and Tukwila. As of the 2021-2022 academic year, 10 ...

, and regent of the Territorial University of Washington, predecessor to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. He was an advocate of

woman suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffrage was in effect during ...

(which was won in Washington the 1880s, though later rescinded) and the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

, and opposed the Anti-Chinese movement in the mid-1880s.

Business success

In the early 1880s, Denny was one of Seattle's wealthiest citizens, his fortune estimated at

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

3 million. His interests went well beyond his original land claim and Lake Union: he farmed in the

Duwamish River