William S. Denison William S. Denison William S. Denison (17941880) was a Baptist farmer who was a major benefactor and namesake of Denison University in Ohio. William S. Denison was born in Colrain, Massachusetts on November 13, 1794 as the youngest of eight children. His family was originally from Stonington, Connecticut. Denison migrated to Ohio in 1810 settling in Putnam in Muskingum County, Ohio and then moving to Zanesville, Ohio. Denison attended Ohio University studying scientific farming methods. Denison eventually acquired nearly 1,500 acres of farmland. Denison was a longtime member of the Salem Baptist Church in Adamsville. In 1853, William S. Denison
William S. Robards William S. Robards William S. Robards served as North Carolina State Treasurer from 1827 to 1830. Robards was a member of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1806 and 1808, representing Granville County, where he also served as County Attorney. In 1827, Robards was elected to succeed the late John Haywood as Treasurer and faced the unhappy duty of presiding over an office clouded with much controversy while the shortages in the accounts of his predecessor were uncovered. Following a single term as Treasurer, at the end of which he declined to run for re-election, Robards served for many years