Dent 
compiled and copyright by MJP Grundy, 2002
Nicotiana tabacum, from Chambers's Encyclopædia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People
(Phila.: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1885), 9:462.

This is not intended to be the definitive Dent family genealogy; its purpose is only to explore the individuals from whom our particular family line descends: James Dent^C (living in 1580), Peter Dent^B (1575-1642), Peter Dent^A (1600-1671), Thomas Dent¹ (1631-1676), and Barbara Dent² (b. 1676). Bold face type indicates individuals who are ancestors of our extended, many-branched family, whether or not they are Dents. See an explanation of the National Genealogical Society's numbering system used here.

Sources can be accessed by clicking on the bracketted blue numbers, or see all the citations at the bottom of this page.

If any reader has corrections or additions to this particular segment of the Dent line, I would appreciate hearing from you via e mail to . (This is not a hot link, you have to type it into your e mail.)

English Ancestors

Since the twelfth century our branch of the Dent family seems to have had a connection with the small town named Dent on the River Dee in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In old Anglo-Saxon the word means a dale or small valley. The town is sixteen miles east of Kendal. The family was not listed in the sixteenth century Visitations of York, presumably because it was not armigerous. In the seventeenth century Dent was an important center of hand knitting. A free grammar school was founded in Dent under a charter from James I which established a corporation board of fifteen governors. Today Dent is a small village of mostly eighteenth and nineteenth century grey stone buildings with a church that has parts dating to the fifteenth century.[1]

This region of Westmorland and Yorkshire was populated with sturdy, independent yeoman farmers who were not sympathetic to Puritanism. With geographically huge parishes, and far-flung manors unable or unwilling to exert the same close control as in the more densely populated south, people could more freely express their dissatisfaction with tithes and rents. The Pilgrimage of Grace of 1536 should probably be seen more as a tenant revolt than as a pietistic attempt to restore the old Catholic religion. The issues raised in the 1530s were still alive more than a century later when they merged with the Quaker testimony against compulsory tithes to support an established church. The area produced a number of Friends in 1652 and thereafter. John Dent of Sedbergh, and Thomas and Agnes WILKINSON of Dent became Friends, but their precise relationship with our line (if any) has not yet been discovered by me.[2] If a reader can help out, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks to the information sent to me by Gail Luke, our line can be documented back to James Dent^C who was living in Ormesby, Yorkshire, in 1580. James must have been closely related to "Roger Dente, of Newcastell, who used the same coat-of-arms as the Dents of Ormesby." Roger, born ca. 1500, married Anne, daughter of Sir Roger FENWYCKE, of Wallyington and Mydelton. They could conceivably be James's grandparents. Their fourth son, William Dent, had his pedigree recorded at the Visitation of Yorkshire in 1562. By 1548 after Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, William Dent had purchased a lot of former monastic lands in Newcastell, Bourbe, and elsewhere.[2a] Stuart MARSHALL, kindly shared with me documentation for our Dent line from Peter^B Dent, born in 1575, and died in 1642 in Ormesby, Yorkshire. He married Jane __ about 1597. She died in 1638 in Ormesby. Peter and Jane had children:

i.    George^A Dent, b. 1598; d. before 1671.

a) Jacob Dent, b. 1634 in Guisborough;
b) Peter Dent, b. 1637 in Guisborough; d. June 1717 in St Edward, Cambridge. Had a son, Peter, b. 1705, who was admitted to St. John's College, Cambridge, age 17, the "son of Peter Dent, gent, of Cambridge". He received a B.A. in 1727/8, and was made a priest in 1732.
c) John Dent, b. 1641 in Ormesby; d. 1712 in St. Mary's County, Maryland; m. MARY HATCH, daughter of John Hatch and Anne (SPINKE). Had a son, Peter, b. 1670 who was admitted to Jesus College, Cambridge, on 13 Nov. 1700. In his will written in Sept. 1711, John Dent named his son Peter who would inherit if and when he returned to Maryland. He apparently did. John and Mary also had 6 other children, including second born son Michael who d. intestate in Jan. 1696/7 shortly after being admitted to the Md. bar.[2b]
d) George Dent, b. ca. 1660; d. 1721 in St. Magnus Martyr, London; m. Elizabeth WILSON 15 Jan. 1688 in St. Katherine by the Tower, London; had two children, Sarah (m. Samuel SAVAGE 15 Sept. 1715), and George (m. Mary LANGFORD 19 Mar. 1718/9).
e) Christiana Dent

ii.   Peter Dent, b. 1600 in Ormesby; d. 1671 in Guisborough; m. 1624 Margaret NICHOLSON; had children.

iii.  Cicillye Dent, b. 1601, m. 21 May 1620 in Ormesby Richard MOON;

iv.   The Ormesby burial register it states "12 December 1605, birth and burial of aborted infant of Peter Dent at Ormesby". I assume this meant a miscarriage or more likely a full term child born dead.

v.    Elizabeth Dent, b. 1606.

Ormsby is a parish in Guisborough in what is now Cleveland but then was the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is near Middlesborough. On the north it is bounded by the River Tees. It is flat and wooded in the north, undulating and hilly in the south, with strong clay soil. St. Cuthbert's, where presumably the Dents worshiped, is a small, ancient church with Norman details.[3] Today Ormesby Hall is a “tasteful” three-storey Georgian house with some “fine period plasterwork” built in the mid-eighteenth century by Dorothy PENNYMAN, whose family had owned the estate since the beginning of the seventeenth century. In its day it was regarded as a “middling” house of modest proportions. It was enlarged by her successor, Sir James Pennyman. Remains of an earlier building form part of a kitchen and service quarter, with a “fine Jacobean doorway”.[4]

Peter^A Dent was born in 1600 in Ormesby, Yorkshire, and died in 1671 in Guisborough, Yorks. He married Margaret NICHOLSON in 1624, the daughter of the Rev. John Nicholson of Hutton Cranswick, a parish in the East Riding, near Hull. Margaret was baptised 8 March 1602 at Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorkshire.[5a] They are two separate villages, each on its own little hill within a half mile of each other near the River Hull. The church to which William was assigned is of the latter English style with a square embattled tower. It possesses an ancient Norman font ornamented with sculpture.[6] Fortunately for us, their son Peter Dent¹, Gent., listed his pedigree in 1684 in the College of Arms, London.[7]

Children of Peter and Margaret (Nicholson) Dent[7a]:

i.      William Dent¹, b. 1627 in Ormesby, Yorks.; d. between 1695-1698 in Sunderland, Durham [?]; m. Elizabeth __ in 1653. In 1673 the Hearth Tax return for Guisborough listed 214 households of which only 21 were taxed on four or more hearths. William Dent had nine, presumably living in the house he inherited from his father.[7b] By 1684 he was living in Sunderland, Durham. Had children:

a) Robert Dent, admitted to Jesus College, Cambridge, on 28 May 1672 as Robert Dent, "son and heir of William Dent of Guisborough, gent."; admitted at the Middle Temple in July 1674.
b) John Dent
c) Charles Dent, b. 1662 in Guisborough
d) Edward Dent, b. 1664 and d. 1664

ii.     Peter Dent, b. 1629 in Ormsby (he was 55 in 1684), d. Sept. 1689, All Saints, Cambridge; m(1) 1655 Katheren __. Stuart Marshall suggests that Peter "entered Cambridge in 1649/50, but never graduated. Perhaps his scientific curiosity devoured his time more than the academic life. However, in 1678 Peter Dent, apothecary and botanist of Cambridge received a 'Lambeth Degree'. These were special degrees granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, sometimes based on actual work and sometimes not. 'In some cases, the Lambeth degrees seem to have been conferred to give recipients respectability as physicians' It is possible that Peter Dent fell into this category. He was granted a MD, which he seemed to use in his connections with Cambridge. It would seem from what I have seen that he was principally self taught and this degree 'after the fact' gave his scientific pursuits that veneer of respectability that he might not otherwise have had." He was a Professor of Natural Sciences at Cambridge University. Katharine (the spelling varied) either died or was buried 3 June 1659 at Holy Sepulchre Church, Cambridge.[7c] Peter and Katheren had two children:

a) Margaret Dent, b. 1657 in All Saints, Cambridge; m. 10 June 1682 Henry NELSON in St Sepulche, Cambridge;
b) Peter Dent, b. 1659 in All Saints, Cambridge;

Peter m(2) ca. 1660 Elizabeth PLEYS, and had 12 more children:

c) Charles Dent, b. 1661; d. 1662.
d) Elizabeth Dent, b. 1662; d. 1723 in Al Saints; m. 25 Dec. 1683 in St. Sepulchre, Cambridge, Cambs., William ALLETT (1663-1718) son of George Allott and Margaret;
e) Peirce Dent, b. 1663; d. 1727; m(1) Deborah __ on 1692 (she d. Apr. 1702); m(2) Bridget STRANGE in 1710 (she d. 1734).
f) William Dent, b. 1665; d. 1694; m. Dorothy DALTON 2 Nov. 1684 in St. James, Duke's Place, London (she d. 1704).
g) Hepburne Dent, bapt. 23 Sept. 1666 at Impington, Cambs., while his parents were sojourning there.
h) Deborah Dent, b. 1667; d. 1725; m. John VALLAVINE in 1687 (he d. 1725).
i) Susanna Dent, b. 1668; d. 1669.
j) Ann Dent, b. 1671; d. 1672.
k) John Dent, d. 1673; d. 1688.
l) Henry Dent, b. 1675; d. 1675.
m) Peter Dent, b. 1676; d. 1679.
n) James Dent, b. 1677; d. 1677.

iii.    Thomas Dent, b. 1631 in Guisborough; d. 1676; m. Rebecca WILKINSON; emigrated to Maryland. In the 1684 Visitation of Cambridgeshire, he is listed under his brother Peter's register, as having "ob. in Maryland in the West Indies."[9]

iv.    George Dent, b. 1633 in Guisborough, Yorks.; d. 1694 in Guisborough; unmarried in 1684, he m. Oct. 1, 1685 Sarah NICHOLSON. She d. 1699 in Guisborough. George dated his will 1694 and mentioned his "couzens" (i.e. his nieces and nephews) Elizabeth Proddy, Dorothy Proddy, Thomas Proddy, William Proddy (children of his sister Dorothy Dent Proddy) and Wynifred Proddy (the widow of his deceased nephew John Proddy), among others.

v.     Stephen Dent, b. 1636 in Guisborough;

vi.     Dorothy Dent, b. 1637 in Guisborough; d. 1719 in Guisborough; m. Oliver PRODDY between 1655-1660, son of Nicholas Proddy and Elizabeth (LYSLE). Oliver was b. 1636 in Guisborough, and d. 1682; He was an apothecary and inherited his father-in-law's large morter and pestle; had children:

a) Peter Proddy, b. 1661 and d. 1661 in Guisborough.
b) Marie Proddy, b. 1662; d. before 1682.
c) Nicholas Proddy, b. 1663; emigrated to Maryland with his uncle Thomas Dent;
d) Thomas Proddy, b. 1665; d. 1707 in Cartmel, Lancs; m. 16 Jan. 1700 Bridget (__) FOWLER (she d. 1716). Thomas was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge in 1681; received a B.A. in 1685/6 and an M.A. in 1691; ordained a priest in 1694, served as vicar at Snaith, Yorks. in 1692, and a vicar of Eston-in-Cleveland from 1693-1696; moved to Cartmel, Lancs. in 1698for the rest of his life.
e) Oliver Proddy, b. 1666; d. 1666.
f) Oliver Proddy, b. 1667; d. 1720 in Guisborough; m(1) Anne SPENCER 30 Apr. 1704 (she d. 1710); he m(2) Elizabeth HALL 17 June 1712 (she d. 1766); had a son Thomas who apparently d. unmarried.
g) John Proddy, b. 1669; d. Feb. 1693 in Guisborough; m. 11 Jan. 1693 Wynifred HICKS in New Malton Parish (she was b. 1670).
h) William Proddy, b. 1670; d. 1755 in Guisborough; m(1) Dorothy __ ca. 1700 (she d. 1709); he m(2) a widow, who d. June 1766 in Guisborough. William had two daughters.
Elizabeth Proddy, b. 1675; m __ MOORE; had two children.
i) Dorothy Proddy, b. 1677; m. William LAOWDEN [LAWDEN?] in 1701

First (Immigrant) Generation

Thomas Dent¹ was born in Guisborough, Yorkshire about 1630, son of Peter and Margaret (Nicholson), and died in St. Mary’s County, Maryland in 1676. Thomas married Rebecca WILKINSON, the daughter of the Rev. William and his first wife, Naomi (HUGHES?).[10]

Thomas established himself as a barrister, and sought quarters on Barristers’ Row in St. Mary’s City. Cecil CALVERT, Second Lord Baltimore, granted him fifty acres within the town limits, on Aldermansbury Street, which he called “The Lawyer’s Lodging.”[14]

Thomas was a merchant and planter, as well as a barrister. Between his arrival and 1676 he entered rights for transporting at least 75 people. By 1669 he owned 850 acres. At the time of his death in 1676 he owned 1,083 acres plus three additional plantations of unspecified size.[15] Thomas and Rebecca lived on one of the creeks emptying into the St. Mary’s River, on the west bank in St. George’s Hundred, where Thomas had his own private landing.[16]

As might be expected, Thomas was asked to witness wills: those of Col. John PRICE of St. Mary’s County (1660), Henry COOKE of London, Eng. (1670), and Henry BANNISTER (1674), Edward CLARKE (1675), and Peter MILLS (1684), all of St. Mary’s County.[17] Thomas appraised the estate of Elizabeth RUDDEN 22 May 1674.[18] He and William HATTON, his wife’s brother-in-law, were named executors by his father-in-law, William WILKINSON 29 May 1663; the will was probated 21 September 1663.[19] He was also executor, with his nephew Nicholas PRODDY, for Jeremy DICKESON of Charles County (1673) and for Henry HULL of St. Mary’s County (1675).[20] Along with William Hatton and Randolph HANSON, Thomas was named overseer of Thomas HATTON’s estate in January 1675.[21]

Thomas’s public career began in 1661 as justice in St. Mary’s County, a position he held the rest of his life. From about 1665 through 1676 he was a member of the quorum. He was appointed sheriff for the County 1664-65, High Sheriff in 1667, and coroner in 1669.[22]

Thomas was an alderman for St. Mary’s City in 1673.[22b] When Lord Baltimore granted a second charter to St. Mary’s City in 1671 Thomas was named one of the seven councilmen.[23]

Thomas was elected to the Lower House of the Maryland legislature in 1669, and was elected to the third session of the 1674-74/5 term.[26 ]

As there were no banks in Maryland, and specie was always short, neighbors borrowed money from each other. We can catch sight of a few of these transactions if a loan was outstanding when a person died. Thomas Dent, along with our ancestors Thomas TASKER, John ADDISON, and the brother-in-law and son of our Margaret (Hatton) BANKS, appeared in the estate inventory of Richard and Elizabeth MAY in February 1675 because they owed money to the estate.[31] Thomas was also listed in the estate inventories of Dr. John MORECROFT (March 1675) and Benjamin SOLLY (ca. 1676). In May 1676 his estate was inventoried and appraised at a value of 44,019 pounds of tobacco. Two months after Thomas’s death, the inventory of Mr. Thomas CECLY listed “goods consigned to Mr. Thomas Dent (deceased)”. The following year, estates of Henry HULL, Mr. Edward CLARKE, Thomas PEARCE and John MACKY were settled, with Thomas Dent’s estate, or widow, or relict (now the wife of John Addison), listed among the debts.[32]

Thomas died at his plantation “Nanjamie” (also spelled Nanjemoy) in Charles County between 28 March 1676 when he signed his will, and 22 April 1676 when his death was reported to the St. Mary’s County court. He was 46 years old, and presumably was ill when he wrote his will. His estate was valued at £596.8.0 sterling (or 130,129 pounds of tobacco), and included six enslaved humans, eight indentured servants, silver plate, a seal ring, merchandise in the store, and books (among other things). His dwelling plantation was in St. Mary’s County; he also owned Nanjemy, or “Nanjemoy Quarters” in Charles County where he kept four of the negro slaves, three white indentured servants, much livestock, and a sailboat.[27] His will was witnessed by William HATTON, his wife's brother-in-law, and William HARPER. They filed a second inventory 9 May 1676, for the St. Mary’s County property.[28 ] Thomas named his wife executrix, bequeathed her land on Portobacco Clifts in Charles County, and left specific lands to his children, which are given below.[29] Rebecca filed the estate inventory 7-9 September 1676. Thomas had died before his daughter Barbara was born, so she was not named in his will. Rebecca conveyed 200 acres to William Hatton in trust for Barbara’s benefit on 20 November 1676; the deed was later confirmed 6 June 1704 by Rebecca and John ADDISON.[30]

Rebecca remarried in less than a year, some time before 13 February, John Addison, and had one more child. We are descended from her and both of her husbands.

John Addison died on a business trip to England, unexpectedly and without a will. On 19 July 1707 Rebecca signed over her dower rights for £620 paid by his son and heir, Thomas Addison. She then went to live with her daughter, Barbara (Dent) Brooke.[33]

Rebecca wrote her will 5 November 1724 and died in 1726. It was probated in Prince George’s County 20 August 1726. She bequeathed £20 to her son Thomas Addison and £200 to her grandchildren Lucy, Baker, and Thomas Brooke, with the provision that if they died it was to go to Benjamin Brooke. She left nothing to her Dent children or grandchildren except that the residue of the estate went to Barbara. Her estate was surprisingly small. She owned no slaves, silver, or jewelry. It was valued at a mere £20.3.3, not nearly enough to cover her bequests. Her son Thomas Addison was the only kinsman who approved the valuation.[34] One wonders what had become of her assets?

Children of Thomas and Rebecca (Wilkinson) Dent (order uncertain):[35]

i.      William Dent², b. 1660; d. 1704; m(1) 8 Feb. 1684 Elizabeth FOWKE (d. 1698/9), daughter of Gerard Fowke, or Foulke (1625-1669) of Charles Co. (Gerard Fowke a Protestant, i.e. neither Anglican nor Quaker); had 5 sons and 3 daughters; m(2) Sarah BROOKE (d. 1724), daughter of Thomas Brooke (ca. 1659-1730/1) of Prince George's Co.; Sarah m(2) Philip LEE (ca. 1681-1744), third son of Col. Richard Lee (1646-1714) and his wife Letitia, or Lettice CORBIN (1657-1706) of Westmoreland Co., Virginia.[36] Both his fathers-in-law served in the Md. legislature, as did William, and Philip Lee. William was an Anglican, apprenticed under Thomas BURFORD and became a lawyer.[37] William inherited "Westbury Manor" and part of the land at Nanjemoy in Charles Co. from his father. On 16 Oct. 1694 his 1571 acre "Friendship" was listed on Lord Baltimore's Rent Rolls.[38] William built the earliest part of "Friendship House", that has been reconstructed on the campus of the College of Southern Maryland in La Plata. William was one of the original trustees for King William's School in Annapolis, founded in 1696.[39] We are descended from Thomas Brooke through Sarah's sister Mary who married Patrick Sim. William inherited from his father a silver bowl with "the family coat-of-arms thereon", thus "proving conclusively that the Dents of Maryland were an armorial family and that their rights to bear arms are unquestionable."[39a] Children of William and Elizabeth:

a) Thomas Dent³, b. 1685 or 1686; d. 1725; m. Ann BAYNE, daughter of Capt. John, a wealthy planter; had 2 sons: Thomas m. Elizabeth COVE, and William⁴; lawyer; sheriff, Charles Co. justice and Burgess; gambled, bankrupt, and was put in debtor's prison Nov. 1722.
b) William Dent, b. 1687; d. 1695
c) Elizabeth Dent, b. 1688; d. 1699
d) Gerard Dent, b. 161688/9;
e) George Dent, b. 1690; d. 1754
f) Anne Dent, b. 1692;
g) Peter Dent, b. 1694; d. 1757; had a son, Peter Jr.⁴, Peter Jr. had a son, George⁵, who had a son Frederick⁶, who married Ellen Bray WRENSHALL. Their daughter, Julia⁷ Dent, was the wife of Ulysses S. GRANT, the 18th President of the United States.
h) Philip Dent,
i) Elizabeth Dent, b. after 1699

ii.      a second son who d.y.

iii.      Peter Dent, b. 1664 in Hull's Neck, Westbury Manor, third born but second surviving son; d. 1710/1; m(1) Elizabeth BALLARD, daughter of Charles (d. 1682) and his wife, the widow of John KING; m(2) Jane Pittman GRAY (b. 1689), daughter of Joseph Gray (d. 1724). Jane m(2) John SCOTT. Peter served in the Md. legislature, as did his second father-in-law, Joseph Gray. Peter was Protestant.[40] He inherited "Gisborough" and "Brothers' Joint Interest" in Charles County, equally with his brother George.

iv.      Margaret Dent, b. in St. Mary's Co.; m. 26 May 1681 Edmund HOWARD (d. 1713) in Somerset Co. She inherited one acre in St. Mary's Co. and several enslaved human beings from her father.[41] Edmund was apparently no relation to our Howards.

v.      George Dent, b. 1666; d. 1702. He inherited from his father "Gisborough" and "Brothers' Joint Interest" in Charles County, equally with his brother Peter. d.s.p.

vi.      Thomas Dent, b. in St. Mary's County; inherited the remainder of the land at Nanjemoy in Charles Co. from his father.

vii.      Barbara Dent, b. 1676; m. Thomas Brooke, the father of her brother's second wife.

Rebecca (Wilkinson) Dent and her second husband, John Addison, had one son:[42]

i.        Thomas Addison, b. 1679; d. 1727; m(1) Elizabeth Tasker; m(2) Elinor Smith.

Second Generation in Maryland

Barbara Dent² was born in early autumn 1676, after her father, Thomas, had died. She was an infant when her mother married John Addison. Her mother put in trust with Barbara’s uncle William HATTON, 200 acres for her until she turned sixteen years. It was terminated in 1704 as she was by then married to Thomas Brooke.[43 ] Barbara became the second wife of Thomas Brooke sometime before January 1699. There were four children for Barbara to raise from his first marriage, and she had eleven of her own. See Brooke Line.

After her step-father’s death, Barbara’s mother came to live with her, and the Brookes acquired most of Rebecca’s wealth.[44] It seems to have been swallowed up in the debts Thomas incurred.

Thomas died 7 January 1730/1. In his will, probated 25 January, he left most of his estate to his three youngest children, Baker, Thomas, and Lucy, and specified that they were to be raised in the Church of England under the care of their mother. If she died or married, they were to be taken under the care of Thomas’s sons-in-law Thomas GANTT and Alexander CONTEE. The three youngest children, along with Walter and Richard, the sons of their oldest half-brother Thomas, were bequeathed 100 acres of the much larger “Delabrooke Manor”, commonly called “Quantico” on the Patuxent River in St. Mary’s County. Thomas’s oldest son, Thomas, and son-in-law Thomas Gantt were named executors. The will specified which tracts were to be sold to pay the debts due to Capt. John Hyde & Co. and to Mr. Charles CARROLL. When the estate was finally settled, there was £355.3.0 of uncovered debts. Barbara claimed the one third widow’s portion the law allowed.[45]

Children of Thomas and Barbara (Dent) Brooke (order uncertain):[46]

i.         Nathaniel Brooke³,

ii.        John Brooke,

iii.      Benjamin Brooke,

iv.      Jane Brooke, d. 1779; m. Alexander CONTEE (ca. 1691-24 Dec. 1740) an Anglican who served in the Md. legislature.[47]

v.       Rebecca Brooke, d. 1763; m. John HOWARD (d. 1742) of Charles Co.

vi.      Mary Brooke, d. 1758; m. ca. 1721 Dr. Patrick Sim (d. 1740).

vii.     Elizabeth Brooke, b. 1699; d. 1748; m. George BEALE (1695-1780), son of Md. legislator Ninian Beale (ca. 1625-1717/8).[48]

viii.    Elinor Brooke, m(1) 1705 John TASKER, son of Thomas Tasker (d. 1700); m(2) Charles SEWELL, son of Nicholas (ca. 1655-1737); both fathers-in-law served in the Md. legislature, the first was Protestant, the second was Catholic.[49] John served on All Saints' Parish Vestry in 1705. Eleanor m(2) Charles Sewall (d. 1742) of Eltonhead Manor, St. Mary's Co.[50]

ix.     Baker Brooke, b. ca. 1715; he, Thomas, and Lucy were bequeathed the residue of their father's personal property after their mother took her widow's third; along with Walter and Richard, the sons of their oldest half-brother Thomas, the five of them were bequeathed 100 acres of "Delabrooke Manor" commonly called "Quantico" on the Patuxent River in St. Mary's Co.[51]

x.      Thomas Brooke, b. 1717; d. 1768; unmarried.

xi.     Lucy Brooke, b. ca. 1719; m. Thomas HODGKIN.

The Dents and their colonial Maryland relatives are described in The Southern Connection: Ancestors of Eleanor Addison Smith Holliday Price. It delves into the social system, economics, religion, and politics that developed in colonial Maryland. The white elite considered themselves the pinnacle of civilization, while their wealth and power were dependent upon a horrifically brutal racist enslavement system. This hardback print-on-demand book provides the context for the Dents' colonial Maryland situation. It also looks closely at the Dent's origins in England and the occupation of apothecary. Although I only follow two generations of the Dent family in Maryland, if you are interested in learning about the larger picture, this might interest you. The book is available at lulu.com. Click on the title, then on "preview" to see the table of contents and a few sample pages. The price is the cost of printing and binding, plus shipping. I make nothing on it.

See other colonial Maryland families that link one way or another, directly or indirectly, with these Dents:
Addison,  Bale,  Brooke,  Browne,  Dorsey,  Ely,   Hall,  Hatton,  Holliday,  Howard,  Isaac,  Molton,  Norwood,  Owings,  Randall,  Ridgely,  Sim,  Smith,  Stone,  Tasker,  Warfield,  and Wilkinson. All these families are all included in The Southern Connection.

If you have additions or corrections, I would be delighted to hear from you via e mail to .

See what other families are included in this web site, on the Index of Collateral Lines
or go to the homepage of this entire web site.

This page was updated on 5m/22/2021.


Citations and Notes

The first time a source is cited, the entire reference is written out. Thereafter, a shortened form is used. To see the full citation, scroll up to the first reference to it.

1. Harry Wright Newman, The Maryland Dents: A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Judge Thomas Dent and Captain John Dent who settled early in the Province of Maryland (Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1963), 3-4; Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, comprising the several counties, cities, boroughs, corporate and market towns, parishes, and townships, and the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, and Man, with historical and statistical descriptions, . . . 5th. ed., 4 vols. (London: S. Lewis & Co., 1842), 2:28.

2. David Boulton, Early Friends in Dent: The English Revolution in a Dales Community (Dent: Dent Family History Circle, 1986), 14, 16-20ff. See also H. Larry Ingle, First Among Friends: George Fox & the Creation of Quakerism (Oxford University Press, 1994).

2a. Harry Wright Newman, Charles County Gentry: A Genealogical History of Six Emigrants —Thomas Dent, John Dent . . . (orig. published in 1940, reprinted Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1971, 4-6. My thanks to Gail Luke for the link to this book on google books.

2b. Alan F. Day, A Social Study of Lawyers in Maryland, 1660-1775 (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1989), 304.

3. Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, 3:429.

4. Richard Powell, ed., AA Guide to National Trust Properties in Britain (Produced by the Publications Division of the Automobile Association, 1983), 145; Treasures of Britain and Treasures of Ireland, 5th ed. (Published by Drive Publications Limited, for the Automobile Association, 1986), 375. At least in 1983 Ormesby Hall was open from April to the end of October, with an admission charge; I don’t know if it is still open.

5. Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, 2:335; Treasures of Britain and Treasures of Ireland, 222.

5a. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch. My thanks to Gail Luke for this information, 5/22/2021.

6. Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, 2:543.

7. My thanks to Dale Flowers, who sent me notes from the Herald's 1684 Visitation to Cambridge, e mail 5m/12/2013; "The Arms recorded with the pedigree may be blazoned: Argent on a bend Sable three lozenges Ermine. No Crest was shown. Although underneath the drawing of the Arms there is a note: "That these Arms were found in a Book of Coats formerly belonging to Clarenceux Camden and Mr. Nic, Charles, Lancaster, now in possession of Sir Henry St. George, Clarenceux, page 65 as belonging to Dent of Newcastle upon Tyne", it would appear that the Heralds' by recording these Arms with the above family of Dent of Guisborough and Cambridge allowed them the same Armorial Bearings." See also, Newman, The Maryland Dents, 4.

7a. Stuart Marshall, "Descendants of Peter Dent", 3.

7b. Stuart Marshall, "Descendants of Peter Dent", citing Guisborough Before 1900.

7c. "England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1538-1983" familysearch database, from Gail Luke, 5/22/2021.

8. Edward C. Papenfuse, Alan F. Day, David W. Jordan, and Gregory A. Stiverson, A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979) 2 vols., 1:265.

9. Harry Wright Newman, To Maryland From Overseas: A Complete Digest of Jacobite Loyalists Sold into White Slavery in Maryland, and the British and Continental Background of Approximately 1400 Maryland Settlers from 1634 to the Early Federal Period with Source Documentation (Balt.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1985), 58.

10. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:265.

11. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 4.

12. Gust Skordas, The Early Settlers of Maryland: An Index to Names of Immigrants Compiled from Records of Land Patents, 1633-1680, in the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968), citing Liber 5, folio 245, notes that "Thomas Dent, Gent., Immigrated ca. 1662."

13. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 4. For more on John Dent’s line, see Francis B. Culver, “The Ancestry of Rev. Hatch Dent”, Maryland Genealogies from the Maryland Historical Magazine, 2:357-60.

14. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 4.

15. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:265. For details of these transactions, see Newman, The Maryland Dents, 10-11.

16. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 12.

17. Jane Baldwin, comp. and ed., The Maryland Calendar of Wills, vol. 1: Wills from 1635 (Earliest Probated) to 1685 (Balt.: Kohn & Pollock, Publishers, 1904), 1:18, 56, 87, 144, and 185-86.

18. V. L. Skinner, Jr., comp. Abstracts of the Inventories and Accounts of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, 15? Vols., Vol. 1, 1674-1678 and 1699-1703 (Libers 1-5) (Westminster, MD: Family Line Publications, 1992), 1:1.

19. Maryland Calendar of Wills, 1:26.

20. Maryland Calendar of Wills, 1:90, 112.

21. Maryland Calendar of Wills, 1:114-15.

22. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:265.

22a. Raphael Semmes, Crime and Punishment in Early Maryland (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1938), 127-28, citing Md. Arch., 49:212, 217, 218, 220, 231-36.

22b. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:265.

23. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 9.

24. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 9.

25. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 9-10.

26. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:265.

27. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:265; Newman, The Maryland Dents, 13; Skinner, Abstracts of the Inventories and Accounts, 1:30. It was valued at 44,019 lbs. of tobacco.

28. Skinner, Abstracts of the Inventories and Accounts, 1:30. The St. Mary's estate was valued at 86,110 lbs. of tobacco.

29. Maryland Calendar of Wills, 1:169; Skinner, Abstracts of the Inventories and Accounts, 1:30.

30. "The Brooke Family", in Maryland Genealogies from the Maryland Historical Magazine: A Consolidation of Articles from the Maryland Historical Magazine, indexed by Thomas L. Hollowick, 2 vols., 1:100, citing Charles Co. Lib. 21, fol. 116, 121; Newman, The Maryland Dents, 13.

31. Skinner, Abstracts of the Inventories and Accounts, 78.

32. Skinner, Abstracts of the Inventories and Accounts, 1:42, 47, 53, 54.

33. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 14-15.

34. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 15; Skinner, Abstracts of the Inventories and Accounts, vol. 1724-1727, 41, citing Lib. 11, fol. 673.

35. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:100, 265.

36. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:266; Robert Barnes, comp., Maryland Marriages, 1634-1777 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1976), 50, citing Charles Co. court rec. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 8 incorrectly names William's second wife as Elizabeth Brooke. For more on Philip Lee, see Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 2:526-27.

37. For more on these three men, see Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:172, 266, 326; for more on William Dent, see Newman, The Maryland Dents, 15-25; Day, A Social Study of Lawyers in Maryland, 1660-1775, 309-311.

38. Hester Dorsey Richardson, Side-Lights on Maryland History with Sketches of Early Maryland Families (Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Company, 1913) 2 vols., 1:307. His estate inventory is analyzed in Gloria L. Main, Tobacco Colony: Life in Early Maryland, 1650-1720 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1982), 135, citing Will Book 3, Inventories and Accounts, Liber 25, fol. 390.

39. J. D. Warfield, The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland (Baltimore: Regional Publishing Company, 1980 reprint of 1905 original), 219. William & Elizabeth's children from Day, A Social Study of Lawyers in Maryland, 1660-1775, 309.

39a. Newman, Charles County Gentry, 6. Of course there was also a small industry creating arms and titles for immigrants.

40. For more on Peter and his second father-in-law, Joseph Gray, see Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:264-65, 371; Newman, The Maryland Dents, 25-27.

41. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 13; see also Elise Greenup Jourdan, Early Families of Southern Maryland, 6:37ff.

42. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:100.

43. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 14.

44. Newman, The Maryland Dents, 15.

45. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:172 Maryland Calendar of Wills, 6:175; "The Brooke Family", 100.

46. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:171.

47. For information on Alexander Contee, see Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:229-30.

48. For information on Ninian Beale, see Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 1:122.

49. For information on Nicholas Sewell, see Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 2:724-25.

50. Biog. Dic. of Md. Legis., 2:724-25. For more on John, see "Tasker Family", 2:425-26.

51. Maryland Calendar of Wills, 6:175.

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the noxious weed:
source of wealth for the Dent family
and justification for the "necessity" to enslave fellow human beings