Dr. Edgar Thomas Dennis


Dr. Edgar Thomas Dennis (1889-1961) was born on Mary 20, 1889 in Trenton, TN to Albert and Emma (Moore) Dennis. Albert was a night watchman in the oil mills and Emma was a laundress. Edgar was a graduate of Fisk University and Meharry Medical College. He practiced medicine in Western Kentucky before moving to Louisville. We could not find a date, but sometime between 1925 and 1928, he married Freddie Charlotte Hankal (1881-1976), the daughter of Dr. Hezekiah and Mariah (Netherland) Hankal. Freddie was born in Johnson City, TN and was one of 10 children. It is unclear when she moved to Louisville, but the city directories show her working as an agent for the Mammoth Life & Accident Insurance Co. Her sister Estelle (Hankal) Moorman was also living in the city.

According to the 1930 Census, Edgar was a veteran of World War I. Edgar and Freddie lived at 3106 Grand Avenue in the Parkland Neighborhood. Edgar continued working as a physician with an office at 720 S. Preston Street. During his lifetime, Dr. Edgar Dennis was President of the Falls City Medical Society and a member of Kentucky State Medical Association and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was a staff member of the Red Cross Hospital and a 15 year trustee of the Plymouth Congregational Church. Edgar was admitted to Waverly Hills Sanatorium on January 1, 1961. He died of tuberculosis four days later at Waverly. He was originally buried in Louisville Cemetery, but he was reburied in Section 1AD, Lot 38 of Eastern Cemetery on July 25, 1961. Freddie died on April 5, 1976 and was buried in West Lawn Cemetery in Johnson City with her parents. The photo of Edgar is from “Courier-Journal” January 5, 1961.


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