Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Genealogy

Dad,

I've created your very own post for more family history.
Love,

John

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Johns 7th Grandfather was William Dent. William was born about 1660 and was eldest son of Judge Thomas Dent. As the eldest son he received the majority of both his fathers and grandfathers (William Wilkinson) will and inherited a large portion of both estates. William maintained a country home in Nanjemoy, a town home in Annapolis and estates in Mattawoman in Prince Georges County and Portobacco Cliffs. He played an active part in the Royal Governors administration of Francis Nicholson. It appears there was a blood relationship between the Nicholson administration and the Dent family since Judge Thomas Dents grandmother was Margaret Nicholson of York. There is also evidence of a close relationship between the Dent family and the Secretary of State, Sir Thomas Lawrence.

William Dent followed his father into law and became one of the leading barristers of the province. On March 20, 1682/3 at the age of 22, William was sworn in as an attorney. At the age of 26 he began his public service to the province as Clerk to the Lower House of the Assembly. William's legal accomplishments eventually caught the eye of the English Throne when he was appointed by the Court to be the attorney "For our sovereign Lord and Lady ye King and Queen". William went on to serve in many public areas including Kings Councilor at the Royal Colonial Court, Attorney General of the Province, Speaker of the Lower House of the Maryland Assembly and Colonel of the Provincial Militia. He received the confidence of the electorate at each seceding election and on April 26, 1704, a short time before his death, he was elected Speaker of the House.


In addition, William was also prominent in the life of the community and when the Episcopal Church was instituted as the Established Church of Maryland, he and his brother-in-law, Gerard Fowke, Esq., were elected members of the vestry of Nanjemoy Parish, now called Durham Parish.

On February 8, 1684/5, William, who was in the military, married Elizabeth Fowke. Elizabeth was the daughter of Colonel Gerard Fowke and his wife Anne. Anne was the wealthy widow of Job Chandler before her marriage to Gerard. This marriage in Colonial America united two ancient families of old England and it was perhaps the most promising marriage of the sons of Thomas Dent. Shortly after 1702 his wife Elizabeth died and he remarried Sarah Brooke who was step-daughter to his sister Barbara (Dent) Brooke.

William died shortly before the re-convened Lower House on December 5, 1704.

Bucky said...

Response to Family:
Johns 8th Grandfather, Judge Thomas Dent, was born in Gisbourgh, Yorkshire England in 1634 and came to St. Mary's City, Maryland in 1657. Johns family originated in the town of Dent in the northern part of England.

Judge Thomas Dent arrived with John Dent (a family member of unknown kinship). From these two men, a long family line was established in America. Both Thomas and John were actively involved in the political life of the community. John, the more liberal of the two, and Thomas remained apart socially, politically and economically.

In America, Thomas practiced law in Barristers' Row of St. Mary's City. He was granted 50 acres of land by Cecilius Calvert within the town limits of St. Mary's on Aldermansbury St. which he called "The Lawyer's Lodging. The 50 acres eventually grew into an estate of over 3,000 acres.

It was in St. Mary's City that Judge Dent met and married the daughter of an Anglican clergyman, the Rev. William Wilkinson. Rebecca Wilkinson, from all accounts, was adored by Thomas throughout their marriage. Rebecca's family were originally from Virginia.

Judge Dent was named High Sheriff in 1667. When, in 1671, St. Mary's City was granted its second charter, Judge Dent was named as one of the seven councilmen. In 1674 he became Shrievalty of the County.

In the midst of a brilliant career Judge Dent died at the age of 42, leaving his wife (who was expecting a child at the time), a daughter and four sons. This was the beginning of Johns family in America.

Anonymous said...

Judge Peter Dent,the son of Colonel William Dent, was born in 1693 at the Nanjemoy Plantation in Maryland. In 1704 at his father's death he received 1,569 acres of "Friendship" in Prince Georges Co. and a portion of " Gisborough" of about 400 acres. In 1726 after he was married he settled on his 894 acre plantation of "Whitehaven" on the Mattawoman in Piscataway Hundred, of Prince Georges County. He had purchased "Whitehaven" from his brother in 1715 and it became the traditional seat of his descendants for several generations. The "Whitehaven" plantation was patented after the town and port of considerable size in County Cumberland, England. "Whitehaven" is now the District of Columbia. The name "Whitehaven" is more associated with the Addison family (Rebecca (Wilkinson) Dents second husband) than the Dent family.

Judge Dent married his cousin, Mary Brooke who was born on October 8, 1709. Mary was the daughter of Major Thomas Brooke III and Luch Smith and the grand-daughter of Barbara (Dent) Brooke. The Brookes family was very active in the political and ultra-social life of Southern Maryland. Judge Dent and his wife lived in a spacious eithteenth-century dwelling on "Whitehaven". Mary was raised under the direction of the Anglican Church. Her great-grandfather, Richard Smith, was the first Attorney-General of the Province and her paternal grandfather, Colonel Thomas Brooke II, was a member of His Lordship's Council of State.

Judge Dent established himself firmly as a gentlemen planter of Prince Georges Co. In 1727 he was commissioned the Deputy Commissary of Prince Georges and was holding that office as late as 1749. In 1730 he was commissioned by the Governor and the Council upon the approval of Lord Baltimore, a Magistrate of the County, later made one of the Quorum, and at the time of his death was the Chief Justice of the County. In 1743 he was the Deputy Surveyor of Prince Georges.

Peter Dent died in the autumn of 1757. This death notice appeared in the Maryland Gazette of Annapolis as of October 20, 1757: "Sunday last died in Prince Georges County, Mr. Peter Dent who had been Deputy Commissary of that County upward of 20 years and for many years and at the time of his death Chief Justice of County". He gave this advice to his children in his will:
"It is my earnest desire...my dear children that they be dutiful to their mother during her life and loving and obliging to each other the youngest always submitting to the oldest in reason and the oldest bearing with the infirmity of the youngest and advising them in the best manner they live in unity and concord all their lives".

Anonymous said...

I love to read about your family genealogy. I think many people take for granted that they can easily discover their heritage. In your quest to learn where you come from, don't forget to realize where you are at. -Anonymously Anonymous- ((What a cool word!))

Anonymous said...

Walter Dent was son of Judge Peter Dent and was John's fifth Great Grandfather. He was born at Whitehaven, Charles Co., Maryland about 1744, and according to to some records he married Elizabeth Burrell. The 1776 census for St. Johns parish states that his wife was born about 1740.

On September 14, 1771, Walter and his brother, Thomas gave their share of their inheritance to their brother Richard. Unlike his ancestors Walter took no interest in public service. Although he was in the Revolution, his participation was apparently minor.

In the census taken in St. John's Parish in 1776, Walter gave his age as 32 and his wife, Elizabeth, stated her age as 35, and there were four children living at home (Chloe, Age 9; Jane, Age 5; Walter C., Age 4; and Ann, Age 2. In addition, there was a Margaret Montgomery, 29, of no stated relationship.

On November 2, 1790, Walter and Elizabeth sold 339 acres of Whitehaven to John Harris, stating in the deed that he with brothers Thomas Dent and Richard Dent were devisees of their father, Peter Dent, and that on September 14, 1771, he and his brother, Richard Dent, executed deeds of partition. It was furthermore stated that Whitehaven adjoined the plantation Market Overton held by the descendants of Governor William Stone.

By disposing of his land, it was obvious that Walter was preparing to move from Maryland. There are reasons to believe that he was the Walter Dent who lived for a time in Franklin County, Virginia, but other family records indicate that Walter died in Oglethorpe Co, Georgia, where some of his children had settled.

Anonymous said...

One correction on Walter Dent. Several sources have Walter married to Margaret Montgomery and others to Elizabeth Burrell. Although it is almost certain he was married to one, I have not been able to confirm his marriage to either.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of information about John’s forth Great Grandfather, Richard Dent.

He is said to have lived near Augusta, Georgia. He enlisted in the military in Oglethorpe Co., Georgia on February 3, 1814 under Capt. Henry Cox as a Private. He was also a private in the Georgia Militia and was wounded at battle of Chalibre Swamp. He was also an officer in Artillery during the Siminole War of 1835-1842.

Richard married Ann Nancy Thomas, the daughter of James Thomas Sr., on May 15, 1799. They settled on land given them by Ann’s father in Oglethorope County, GA and had nine children. The Census of 1820 lists them in Oglethorope, Co. with five males and six females.

Richard died on July 4, 1846 and Ann on April 13, 1858. Both Richard and Ann died in Tuscaloosa, Co., Alabama are buried in the Frierson Cemetery. Their graves can be found there today.

Anonymous said...

Theodore Dent was John’s third Great Grandfather. According to census records, Theodore was born in 1820 and was the forth son of Richard and Ann (Nancy) Thomas. Theodore was the first generation of Dent's born outside of Maryland. Theodore was born in Olglethorpe County, Georgia where he spent his youth, but the family later moved to Tuscaloosa County, Alabama where other members of the family had located. It was in Alabama that Theodore met and married Virginia Cannon originally of Barnsville, South Carolina. Virginia was the daughter of Capt. S. R. Cannon who had moved from South Carolina to Barbour County, Alabama. Barbour County was some distance from Tuscaloosa and it is unknown as to how Theodore and Virginia met but since there were other members of the Dent family living in Barbour County it is conceivable that Theodore spent some time in that part of the state. It was reported in The Eufaula Democrat published in Eufaula, Alabama that Theodore and Virginia were married by the Reverend L. C. Harrison on December 19th, 1849 in the home of J. N. Copeland. They apparently went back to Tuscaloosa to live with Theodore's mother as they are listed in the 1850 Tuscaloosa County census as living with Ann Dent. There first daughter, Laura V. Dent was apparently born shortly after their marriage since she is shown as 6 months old in the 1850 census. In the years between 1850 and 1860 it was becoming more and more evident that there would be a clash between the north and the south on the issue of slavery and it was clear that Alabama would be in the middle of the trouble. During the same time Theodore and Virginia were experiencing serious family troubles. Theodore’s father Richard had died in 1846 and he and his brother, William Smallwood, were taking care of their mother. Theodore and Virginia's second daughter, Emma, (born April 10, 1854) died suddenly on August 10, 1856. One year later and for reasons unknown, Theodore petitioned the court in Alabama to have his brother James committed for lunacy. James was described in the petition as for almost 10 years as "occasionally exhibiting strong symptoms of lunacy". In the petition, Nancy Dent, Theodore's mother, was described as "very aged and has in her household two widowed daughters and no other white person except for James Dent". One year later, in 1858, Nancy died and was buried along side her husband in Frierson cemetery. Theodore’s brother, William Smallwood, moved to Macon, Moxubee County, Mississippi. According to a letter written in 1963 by Kathleen Dent Selman (grand daughter of Theodore), "two brothers, Jim & another moved to Texas, with Theodore". So far there has been no evidence found of who the second brother was but one brother has proven to be James. No other evidence has been found that alludes to James' mental condition.

Theodore and Virginia were to have three other children besides Laura and Emma. Thomas Cannon Dent was born on April 3, 1856 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. George Malcom Dent was born in 1857 and James was born in 1859.
Any of the above could have been the reason but for whatever reason Theodore, his brother/s, wife and family moved from Tuscaloosa in 1859 to Austin County, Texas near the town of Bellview. Theodore is listed in the 1860 Austin County census with his family and James. Theodore died of causes unknown in 1864. It was shortly after his death that his wife, Virginia, married Theodore’s brother James. James and Virginia moved to Colorado County, Texas between 1865 and 1870. They would have two additional children (Frank, born in 1862 and Dorthea born in 1864). James died in 1870 and Virginia in 1880.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Thomas Dent who came to Maryland in 1657 is my 7th gt. grandfather through my 1st great grandfather John James Hoback married to Sarah Ellen Gearhart, Valentine Gearhart married to Harriet Mulkey, Johnathon Mulkey married to Nancy Howard, Obediah Howard married to Priscilla Breed, Stephen Howard married to Sarah Sanders, then Edmund Howard married to Margaret Dent the daughter of Thomas Dent and Rebecca Wilkinson.

Keith Hoback, Ontario Canada
goodnite@vianet.ca