Rev. John Edward Dinning was born in Stamfordam, Northumberland County, Scotland. His family came to Scotland from Ireland. He married Jane Robson on February 13, 1843

John was a minister with the Church of England and after a long search of his feeling with the Church. John left the Church of England and after long thought he decided that time was right to leave Scotland and move his family to Liverpool, England. After he made sure that his family was situated he left on a sailing ship and headed to America in 1850. He would sail into the Port of New York and work his way from coalmine to coalmine until he had settled in Akron, Ohio. In mid-summer of 1852 his wife Jane (Robson) Dinning and his four children would come to be with him. On September 3, 1852 he and his family would be naturalized as new United States Citizens. But by a clerks mistake the last name of Dinning would change to Denning. They're for giving birth to a whole new family. The Denning Family would now be established in America on September 3, 1852. In 1857 he and his family would start out west and in the fall of 1857 they would settle for the winter months in Terra Haute, Indiana area.

His wife Jane would give birth to their first Untied States born child. His new child and wife would die from milk fever in 1857. John and Jane had four children, Hannah, Peter, Joseph and Elizabeth.

He hired a local girl from Clay County, Indiana to help take care of his four children, Rebecca Ann Little. She was the daughter of William Little and Grace Hughes-Little of Clay County, Indiana. John and Rebecca Denning traveled west through out Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Settling in 1862 in Henry County, Illinois. Then in 1864 heading west toward the gold fields in Montana. He left this oldest daughter Hannah and a hired hand at the Denning home in Henry County and headed west. Hannah is oldest married the hired hand Peter McGinnity in 1865 in Rock Island, Illinois. But they raised their six children in Henry County. John Denning grandson was no other then Joseph Jerome McGinnity. Joseph was named after his uncle Joseph Denning. Elizabeth Denning while in Montana would marry Brown Ferrell and settle down for the rest of her life in Montana. John and Rebecca Denning would settle in Streator, LaSalle County, Illinois with their new family. John and Rebecca would have nine children. One would be a baby that they lost in Montana in the winter of 1865. John Edward Denning Jr. who was born in 1860, Henry Nelson Denning born 1862, Rebecca Ann Denning.1864, Ervan L Denning 1868, William Denning 1869, Rosetta Grace Denning 1873, George Washington Denning 1875, Edward Denning 1881.

In 1871 John and Rebecca would be two of 23 founders of the Primitive Methodist Church in Streator. John was a coalminer and a coalmine owner in Streator. He owned the John Denning Coal Mine and the John Denning Coal Company.

In 1893 they moved to Lincoln, Illinois to be closer to their children. John died in 1896 after only three years of living in retirement in Lincoln, Illinois.


OBITUARY: Lincoln Weekly Courier News Jan. 14, 1896, Page 3,
Logan County, IL

LOGAN COUNTY, IL - OBITUARIES
Lincoln Weekly Courier
14 January 1896

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
John DENNING, JANUARY 1896 - LINCOLN
Death of John Dinning Recalled by the Removal of His Widow.
Mrs. Dinning, wife of the old Scotsmen, John Dinning, who was buried
Tuesday, January 7, 1896, has removed to Greenview,Ill., where she
has three sons and one daughter to make her future home.

The removal recalls memories of the deceased. About 3 years ago he
came to Lincoln and settled on a piece of land west of the city,
where he worked hard, supported himself and wife, occasionally came
to town, met friends and had pleasant chats.

Mr. Dinning was a native of Scotland where he was born about 1819. He
came to American in 1850. He was twice married and became the father
of twenty-one children, twelve of whom are living and scattered over
the United States. His surviving wife, Rebecca, he married in Terre
Haute, Ind., 40 years ago and during all these years they lived
happily and contented.

Rev. John Altie, as good and noble and as sincere a man as walks the
earth, says of John Dinning: "He preached the gospel for more than
fifty years. He believed in the principles of the Primitive Methodist
Church, was well informed in the bible, every zealous and jest with
everybody. I took him into my church two years ago and preached his
funeral sermon and can conscientiously say miss him sorely."

Preparations for death were made. The day previous he called his wife
and told her he would die the next day at noon and he did. She
carried out his instructions even to the special request that she
call at the The Courier Office and liquidate a balance with his
favorite newspaper.

The surviving children of the deceased are: Henry, George, Edward
and Mrs. Otto McMurray, of Greenview; Rosa Musick* of Wollsville, Kas.,
Eliza Ferit and Hannah McGinty, of Montana; Wm. Dinning, of Richmond,
Mo., Peter Dinning, of Bates County, Mo.

The deceased sleeps in Zion cemetery following a long, useful,just
and upright life. His residence in Lincoln, though short was prolific
of kindness and good fellowship. He will be long remembered.

**Among the harvest of children gathered by the Reaper, one riper abeaf was
taken. John Denning died at his home two miles west of Lincoln, on Saturday,
of neuralgia of the heart. He was seventy-seven years of age and a native of
Scotland. He had been in this country forty-six years, but had resided in
Logan county only three years. The funeral services were held at his late
home Tuesday at 1 o'clock, conducted by Rev. Altic. Burial in Zion cemetery.

*the original obit shows Rosa Musik, Musick is the correct spelling


Last name in Scotland was Dinning it was accidently changed in 1852 to Denning when the Judge wrote on the paper work Denning. although you will find out through history they still used Dinning.