James Denune, kinsman of Dr. William Denune who married Elizabeth Duvall, is a shadowy character whose identity is only now beginning to present itself — two and a half centuries after he walked this earth. What information I have been able to piece together about James is rather spotty, but it goes this way: Schoolmaster In the 7 July 1729 edition of the New York Gazette, James Denune of Prince George's County "advertised for the return of a runaway, Thomas Smith, a linen weaver, who had recently been an usher." Mr. Denune was the Master of the Free School of Prince George's County, Maryland (according to "School Teachers of Early Maryland" by Robert Barnes, Maryland State Archives document SC 5300). "Free schools" were institutions created by the agreement and funding of middle class families in colonial America. The families forming the schools lived near one another and desired that their children should be basically educated. The schools provided teaching and diversion for the children and a source of income for citizens who might be considered trustworthy but less financially solvent than others in the community. Willingness to conduct the classes in the school and the ability to read, write, and do figures tended to be the only qualifications someone would need to become the Master of a Free School. An "usher" was a teacher's assistant. This was not a prestigious job, and the fact that in this case the usher was a slave lends credence to the undesirability of the employment. But one can imagine how nevertheless attractive the position of usher might be for an enterprising slave. Thomas Smith appears to have been a man who recognized opportunity when he saw it. Studying along with his charges, Mr. Smith with a basic command of the "3 Rs" could upon his escape pose as a freedman. I have found so far no evidence of Mr. Smith's capture or return. Whether related to his former slave or not, James Denune upon his death did own a woman, Patt, and her two children, Jenny and Macy. Thomas Smith's escape sheds new light on William Denune It is interesting to me that the incident mentioned in the Gazette took place less than a year after the wedding of William Denune and Elizabeth Duvall and three months before the birth of their first child. When I first learned of the existence of James Denune and the fact that the more prominent William was next-of-kin, I treated James as a poor relation. Perhaps, I thought, William had volunteered his relative for the schoolmaster position of the newly formed school, for James's welfare. But William did not have a family when James was teaching, or at least no children of age to be taught. Thus, it is doubtful that William would have been one of the founders of the school. Rather, the school was established, and James Denune — no doubt already a member of the community — was hired for a schoolteacher. This might mean that William and James both were teachers in the free school, or that one was the teacher with the other the usher. Then, when William married and benefited from his wife's dowry, James became the sole teacher, and the slave Thomas Smith was recruited or purchased to assist him. This begs the question, "Was William Denune called 'Doctor' because he was a physician, or because he was an academician?" Family historians have always said that his title meant that he was a medical doctor. Suddenly, a family "memory" is cast in a new light. And all, thanks to a slave's escape! Father James may have been William's father. Or he may have been William's brother. Or the relationship may have been a different one. What we know for certain is that James was a father himself. Though we do not know the name of the woman with whom he formed a family, we do know at least one child's name. James had a daughter named Rebecca. On the 11th of January 1738/39, according to church records from Ann Arundel County (MSA: Administrative Accounts, Lib. 17, fol. 354), Rebecca Denune, daughter of James Denune of Prince George's County, married John Lawson. There is no record of the age of the couple. Was Rebecca a sister or niece to William Denune? Husband In a slightly curious twist, James Denune married Rebecca Woodall at St. Ann's Church in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1735. The bride was the widow of John Lawson (likely James's daughter's father-in-law). James and the former Mrs. Woodall lived in Annapolis until his death in 1738. Died intestate, sometime in 1738 Though he exited this world as he entered it, James did leave behind some belongings (sad to say, including slaves). Because he had no last will and testament, his estate was inventoried by a Maryland court and transferred almost entirely into the hands of his widow (court records indicate that James's next-of-kin, William, received reimbursement from the estate for funerary expenses). Read James Denune's estate inventory and other public records regarding the settlement of the estate.