Leah's maiden name is also found spelled Hikus and Hickis in marriage documents of her daughters Sarah and Anna.  We find no like spelling for heads of households in Lancaster County in the Federal Censuses from 1800 through 1820, but particularly in nearby counties such as York, Adams and Cumberland, a number of similar surnames were recorded, including Heiges, Higas, Hykes, Hykas, Heikes and Hikes.  We strongly suspect that Leah was related to the Heikes family/families (also originating in Pennsylvania) who lived nearby in McDonough County, but we have not yet pursued that connection.

John Denison's farm in Hancock County was located in section 4 of Hancock Township.  To view a representation of the location, Follow this link.  On the certificate of purchase (the upper portion is displayed below), recorded July 1, 1852, the preparer first wrote Dennison, then amended it to Denison.  Unlike other documents of this era, we have found the accuracy of purchasers' names on these certificates to be at a high percentage.

Much of the following is based on information shared by Maxine Dennison, researcher and descendant of John and Leah through their son, John Jr., Maxine's second great-grandfather.  John Sr. used the spelling Denison, as did all of his children but two, John Jr. and Michael Huffman, who used Dennison.

i.	William Denison, was born May 13, 1833, in Pennsylvania, died August 8, 1889.  He is buried at Yetter Cemetery in Hancock Township, Hancock County, just west of Majorville Cemetery.
ii.	John B. Dennison Jr., was born about 1837 in Pennsylvania, died before April 13, 1928.  He married Mary Catherine Willey (or Wiley) in Hancock County on June 11, 1857.  Maxine found a reference indicating they were both buried in Fountain Green, Hancock County, but she has not located a marker or any further records.
iii.	Anna E. Denison was born in 1838 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  She died in April 7, 1926, in Fountain Green Township, Hancock County, and was buried at Majorville Cemetery, Hancock County.
iv.	Sarah Denison was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  She died at Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois, on April 13, 1928, and was buried at Majorville Cemetery. There is some confusion regarding her date of birth.  First, her obituary reported she was born on August 10, 1841, and that her age at death was 86 years, 6 months, 3 days; this calculates to a birth date of October 10, 1841.  Second, the tombstone of Abraham Dennison, her brother, is reported to be inscribed with a birth date of August 23, 1841.
v.	Abraham Dennison, reportedly born August 23, 1841, in Pennsylvania, died February 5, 1862.  He enlisted in the Union Army in December 1861, along with Daniel Ebert, who would eventually marry Sarah, Abraham's sister.  Abraham and Daniel served in the same company. Abraham went to Camp David in Chicago for training, where it's believed he contracted an illness and died.  He is buried at the Spangler Cemetery. An ironic note is that a cousin of Mary Catherine Willey Dennison (Abraham's sister-in-law) was in the battle of Fort Donaldson in Tennessee, fighting for the Confederacy.  He became a prisoner of war and was taken to Camp David a couple of months after Abraham died.
vi.	Michael Huffman Dennison, born January 1, 1846, in Lancaster County, died at his home in Hancock Township, Hancock County, burial at Majorville Cemetery.

Researchers wishing to correspond with Maxine may leave a message for her on the
Majorville Bulletin Board.

John Denison, 45, male, farmer, value of real estate 1000, value of personal estate 500, born PA
Leah, 45, female, born PA
William, 26, male, farmer, born PA
Ann, 21, female, born PA
Abraham, 19, male, farmer, born PA, attended school within the year
Sarah, 17 ?, female, born PA, attended school within the year
Mikel H, 13, male, born PA, attended school within the year

Dennison, John, 61, male, white, farmer, born PA, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
William, 31, male, white, carpenter, born PA, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
Hoffman, 22, male, white, carpenter, born PA, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
Anna, 28, female, white, tailoress, born PA
Sarah, 26, female, white, born PA
Leah, 60, female, white, born PA

Dennison, John, white, male, 70, married, born PA, father born Ireland, mother born PA
Leah, white, female, 68, wife, married, keeping house, born PA, both parents born PA
William, white, male, 42, son, widower, carpenter, born PA, both parents born PA
Ann E [or C], white, female, 41, daughter, single, seamster, born PA, both parents born PA
Sarah, white, female, 32, daughter, single, keeping house, born PA, both parents born PA