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John B. Denton : the bigger-than-life story of the fighting parson and Texas Ranger
- Author / Creator
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- Physical
- Summary
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"Denton County and the City of Denton are named for pioneer preacher, lawyer, and Indian fighter John B. Denton, but little has been known about him. He was an orphan in frontier Arkansas who becam...
"Denton County and the City of Denton are named for pioneer preacher, lawyer, and Indian fighter John B. Denton, but little has been known about him. He was an orphan in frontier Arkansas who became a circuit-riding Methodist preacher and an important member of a movement of early settlers bringing civilization to North Texas. After becoming a ranger on the frontier, he ultimately was killed in the Tarrant Expedition, a Texas Ranger raid on a series of villages inhabited by various Caddoan and other tribes near Village Creek on May 24, 1841. Denton's true story has been lost or obscured by the persistent mythologizing by publicists for Texas, especially by pulp western writer Alfred W. Arrington. Cochran separates the truth from the myth in this meticulous biography, which also contains a detailed discussion of the controversy surrounding the burial of John B. Denton and offers some alternative scenarios for what happened to his body after his death on the frontier"--
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- Creator
- by Mike Cochran
- Format
- Books
- Language
- English
- Publication
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- Denton, Texas : University of North Texas Press, [2021]
- Series
- Physical Details
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- xi, 243 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
- ISBNs
- 9781574418408, 9781574418507, 1574418505, 1574418408
- OCLC
- on1260689430, on1256627700
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- The Obscure Early Life of John B. Denton -- The Dentons Move to Arkansas -- The Call to Preach -- The State of the Church in Texas -- Littleton Fowler, John B. Denton, and Texas Methodism -- Settling in the Sulphur Forks -- Clarksville: The Gateway to Texas -- Conflict with Native Americans -- The Texas Rangers: Defending the Frontier -- The Cherokee War -- John B. Denton: Lawyer and Family Man -- The Regulator-Moderator War and the Election of 1840 -- Indian Conflicts in Northeast Texas -- The Ripley Massacre and the Tarrant Expedition -- The Battle of Village Creek -- Aftermath of the Battle and the Creation of Denton County -- John B. Denton's Will and Estate -- Honoring John B. Denton -- Rev. William H. Allen's Report on Denton's Bones -- The Reburial of a Hero -- The Martyrdom of John B. Denton -- Who Is Buried in Denton's Tomb? -- An Alternate Explanation for the Denton Bones -- Art Imitating Life: Alfred W. Arrington -- Pulp Westerner -- Rev. Paul Denton and the "Apostrophe to Water" -- John Denton and the Murder Trial of Mary Denton -- John B. Denton's Legacy -- Afterword -- Appendix 1: Alfred W. Arrington: Preacher, Poet, Lawyer, Scoundrel -- Appendix 2: Tarrant Expedition Muster Roll