Birth

[c1715? Newport W Hundred (Hd) Charles Co MD (Chas Co): Thomas Dent born; father John Dent, mother possibly Catherine ----- (see narrative article on John Dent son of John¹)]

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Mar 1738/39 Chas Co: Thomas Dent presented his servant Edward Duelan in court to be adjudged of his runaway time, and made oath in court that said servant had unlawfully absented his service 28 days and that he had expended 480 lbs of tobacco in taking him up; it was then adjudged by the court that said servant serve his said master four days for each one of his runaway time aforesaid and six months for the expences aforesaid «Chas Co Ct Prcdgs (ChCP) T2:532» [the only other known Thomas Dent in or near Chas Co during this time frame was Thomas Dent {Thomas³, William²,Thomas¹}, who was a resident of Stafford Co VA (just over Potomac River from Chas Co)]

Movt

[by 1742: Chas Co court records suggest Thomas Dent may have moved from Newport W Hd and lived for a number of years in Port Tobacco W Hd]

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8 Jun 1742 Chas Co: grand jury presented Thomas Dent for breach of the peace by information of Thomas Mudd and John Stromat [both residents of Port Tobacco W Hd]; also presented William Maddox on same charge by same informants. 10 Aug 1742 Chas Co: in case of Lord Proprietary vs Thomas Dent for breach of peace, Thomas, in custody of sheriff, came before the court in his proper person and protested that he was in no wise guilty of the charges but that he would not contest them, whereupon he was fined 2s 6d; William Dement [of Newport W Hd] came into court as pledge and security for paying the fine and costs; Thomas paid fine in court; proceedings against William Maddox exactly the same, with Ralp(h) Shaw as his pledge and security. «ChCP X2:372,431» [the informants being from Port Tobacco W Hd tends to place the infraction there, while Thomas' surety being from Newport W Hd appears to tie Thomas back to his native neighborhood]

Marr

[c1742-44?: Thomas Dent probably married a dau (first name unknown) of John Manning {Joseph¹} (1678-1735), of Port Tobacco W Hd, and Mary Wade (1687-aft 1744) {Richard², Zachariah¹}; following factors point to a surname of Manning for his wife and the mother of most if not all of his children:

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Thomas' elder brother Michael Dent probably married a dau of John Manning

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Thomas was probably residing in Port Tobacco W Hd about the time of his marriage

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One of Thomas' probable sons was John M[anning] Dent, who had children named John M[anning?] Dent, Temple Manning Dent and Thomas "Mannon" Dent

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Joseph Manning {Richard³,John²,Joseph¹} was a witness to the 1783 will of Thomas' son-in-law Hezekiah Farrand; Thomas Dent and Joseph Manning were sureties for Hezekiah Farrand's executors, widow Mary Farrand and her brother Henry Dent {son of Thomas}; within about three years Mary was remarried to Walter McGregor, who was probably a resident of Port Tobacco W Hd

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Thomas' son Henry Dent purchased part of the old Manning family plantation in 1790 from Walter Manning {John³,John², Joseph¹}; he also bought land in 1812 from Richard Manning {prob Joseph⁴,Richard³,John²,Joseph¹}

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[Note: there are no probate records of any type known to exist for Thomas, and there are no vital records known to exist for any of his children, so his family must be reconstructed from other sources; for details, see narrative article "The Family of Thomas Dent Sr. of Newport Hundred, Charles County, Maryland"]

Son

18 Sep 1745 [Chas Co]: William [Dent] of Thomas born «"Dent Family Prayer Book"» [probable eldest son surviving or remaining in Chas Co, since he inherited Thomas' plantation]

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Mar 1746/47 Chas Co: in case of Lord Proprietary vs Henry Davis of Chas Co [probably of Durham Par], planter, said Henry came into court together with John Sanders his "mainpernor" [probably one required to ensure the presence of a charged person into court]; was charged with a trespass and a breach of the peace in breaking the cellar door of Richard Coffer and committing sundry other misdeamenors in the dwelling house of said Coffer in company with Henry Woodyard, Robert Haislip and John Delozier; the said Henry declared that he was in no wise guilty of the charges but that he would not contest them, whereupon he was fined 40s; Thomas Dent of Chas Co planter came into court as pledge and security for paying the fine and costs «ChCP Vol41:(10-)15»

Son?

[c1750? Chas Co: Thomas Dent born (in Chas Co records during 1777-78 as Thomas Dent Jr; possibly was eldest son; probably moved out of Chas Co or died c1780)]

Son?

[c1753? Chas Co: Walter Dent born]

Movt

[by 1753: Thomas Dent Sr returned to his native Newport W Hd]

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13 Jun 1753 Chas Co: John Dent {elder brother} and Mary his wife sold to Thomas Dent for 5000 lbs tobacco "unto ... Thomas Dent his heirs of his body lawfully begotten for ever and if the said Thomas Dent should die without such heirs to return to the next heir at law ..." 150A of "Dent's Inheritance" [wording suggests Thomas was heir to the land he was receiving]. 30 Jun 1753 Chas Co: John Dent and Mary his wife acknowledged deed. 14 Jul 1753 Chas Co: deed recorded at request of Thomas Dent. «Chas Co Deed Bk (ChD) A3:111»

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1754-74 Chas Co: debt books list Thomas Dent with 150A of "Dent's Inheritance"

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22 Oct 1755 Trinity Par Chas Co: vestrymen and church wardens met at newly built parish church, at which time a large number of Protestant freeholders of the parish met according to notice and declared their desire to have pews distributed through lottery scheme proposed by parish vestry; those present included church warden Hatch Dent, and freeholders Tho^s Dent, Michael Dent, Peter Dent, Benjamin Dent and John Dent Sen^r «Trinity Par Vestry Prcdgs (TPVP)»

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31 May 1756 Trinity Par: ¹/₃ of pew no. 20 assigned to Tho^s Dent, who paid £0.13.4; ²/₃ of pew no. 20 assigned to Hatch Dent and Peter Dent, who paid £1.6.8 «TPVP»

Son

[c1756 Chas Co: Henry Dent born (known as Henry Dent of Thomas as adult)]

Dau

[c1758 Chas Co: Mary Dent born (first husband Hezekiah Farrand in his 1783 will named his wife's brother Henry Dent and his wife Mary as his executors)]

Son

[c1760 Chas Co: Samuel Dent born (see 1783 Chas Co tax list record below)]

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Aug 1760 Trinity Par: following on list of parishioners contributing to aid sufferers from Boston fire, with amounts given: Hatch Dent with £0.11.3, John Dent Jr {son of Hatch} with £0.3.4, Benjamin Dent with £0.7.6, John Dent with £0.7.6, Michael Dent with £0.7.6, and Thomas Dent with £0.7.6 «Calendar of Md St papers, Black Bk series #1010 X, 132»

Son?

[c1762? Chas Co: John M[anning] Dent born]

Dau?

[c1765? Chas Co: Jane Dent born (possibly had younger siblings)]

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c1766 Chas Co: goods and chattels of Andrew Hilton decd appraised by Thomas Dent and Hatch Dent (inventory presented in court 15 May 1766) «Prerog Ct of MD Invy Bk (PCI) 90:69»

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Jun 1766 Chas Co: Thomas Dent served as a grand juror in county court «ChCP N3:771»

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[1777 Chas Co: Thomas Dent Sr not on county-wide militia list, though Thomas Dent Jr is listed (indicates Thomas Dent Sr probably over 50 at the time) [published in Clements and Wright, "Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War"]

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Aug 1777 Chas Co: Thomas Dent on list of grand jurors for Aug court session «ChCP X3:566»

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7 Aug 1777 Chas Co: John Dent {elder brother} and Mary his wife sold to Thomas Dent 14A of "Dent's Addition" «ChD V3:203»

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Early 1778 Newport W Hd Chas Co: Thomas Dent Sr on constable's list of men over 18 years of age «ChCP X3:630-640»

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9 Mar 1778 Chas Co: Thomas Dent took oath of fidelity to State of MD before magistrate Daniel Jenifer. 10 Apr 1778 Chas Co: Thomas Dent took oath before magistrate Joshua Sanders [of Bryantown Hd]. «ChCP X3:641-651» [one oathtaker was probably Thomas Sr and the other was probably Thomas Jr, but cannot say which is which]

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5 Jul 1778 Chas Co: Thomas Dent [possibly Jr vice Sr], Joseph Waters of James and James Waters witnesses to will of Benjamin Dent. 15 Aug 1778 Chas Co: same three witnesses gave oath at probate. «Chas Co Will Bk (ChW) AF7:207»

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1779 Trinity Par: Thomas Dent Sr on list of subscribers to parish from "West Hundred"; listed for one subscription and 120 lbs of tobacco total contribution [probably actually four subscriptions (each poll was 30 lbs each): himself, and possibly single sons 16&<21 Samuel and John, and possibly possible grandson Dent Hamblin; Thomas Jr was not listed; William, Walter and Henry were listed separately)] «TPVP»

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1780 Trinity Par: Thomas Dent Sr on account (a "list (of subscribers) given in to collect") of Capt Hezekiah Dent {prob nephew, of Newport W Hd} for 120 (lbs of tobacco) «TPVP» [Note: this is the last known reference to a Thomas Sr or Jr; Thomas Jr probably left county or died (although no reference appears in Chas Co probate records) by or shortly after this date]

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19 May 1781 Chas Co: Bennett Dyson, Michael Dent and Thomas Dent witnesses to will of Hatch Dent Sr. 10 Sep 1781 Chas Co: same three witnesses gave oath at probate; letters testamentary on estate of Hatch Dent Sr granted to Hezekiah Dent, his son and executor, who posted £1000 bond with Thomas Dent and Michael Dent his sureties. «ChW AF7:665,681»

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1783 2nd Dist (Newport E and W Hds) Chas Co: Thomas Dent on tax list with following assessment: 150A of "Dent's Inheritance", containing dwelling house, and 14A of "Dent's Addition", all valued at £410; 6 slaves valued at £184; 3 horses and 10 black cattle valued at £42; other property valued at £45; total amount of £681; and tax assessment total of £6.16.2; listed with 6 white inhabitants in household [himself, possibly his wife, John, Jane, possibly Dent Hamblin and other unknown]; Henry Dent and Samuel Dent were listed as single men with no assessed property immediately after Thomas, which in this list consistently indicated that they were living in Thomas' household (William Dent and Walter Dent were listed in separate households)

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19 Apr 1783 Chas Co: letters testamentary on estate of Hezekiah Farrand granted to Mary Farrand {widow} [in Hezekiah's will Henry Dent, identified as his wife's brother, was also named executor, but he was not named in this record], who posted £200 bond with Thomas Dent and Joseph Manning {Richard³,John²,Joseph¹} as her sureties «ChW AG8:146»

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[by 1786 Chas Co: Thomas Dent possibly gave a young negro to probable dau Jane, who had married Joseph Broady, prior to their departure for Henry Co VA; in Joseph Broady's first entry in Henry Co tax lists in 1786, he was listed as "Broadway Joseph & 1 Young Negroe" (by his next tax entry in 1788 in Franklin Co VA, Joseph no longer possessed this black); since Joseph appeared to have come from a relatively poor family, receiving it from his father-in-law is the best possibility]

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26 Mar 1787 Chas Co: Thomas Dent and Joseph Manning named as securities on final account on estate of Hezekiah Farrand, decd, filed by Henry Dent, executor, Walter McGregor and Mary his wife (formerly Farrand), executrix [Thomas probably did not appear in court on this date, but was merely listed as surety] «ChW AH9:344»

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5 May 1788 Trinity Par: Thomas Dent on account of John Cooksey to vestry of parish for sundries collected by Cooksey as per list; had paid 28 (lbs of tobacco) «TPVP I:199»

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[c1789? Chas Co: Thomas Dent probably conveyed his entire landed estate, consisting of 150A of "Dent's Inheritance" and 14A of "Dent's Addition", to his son William Dent; this conveyance has not been found in Chas Co deed records, but the 1798 Federal tax list and later deeds indicate that William did have sole possession of the lands (see William Dent chrono)]

Movt?

[1789-90: Thomas Dent's probable youngest son John M. Dent probably moved from Chas Co to Franklin Co VA (Frkln Co) (where he first appeared in tax lists in Nov 1790), joining probable siblings Walter Dent and Samuel Dent, probable brother-in-law Joseph Broady, and possible nephew Dent Hamblin; it is possible that Thomas Dent accompanied his son to Frkln Co at this time, although no reflection of Thomas Dent appeared in Frkln Co tax lists (he would have exceeded the age for the poll tax)]

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[1790 Chas Co: Thomas Dent not a household head in census; also does not appear to have been enumerated in households of William Dent, Henry Dent or Walter McGregor, his known family remaining in Chas Co]

Death

[aft 1788 unknown place: Thomas Dent died (1788 was last known record; could have died in Chas Co or possibly in Frkln Co; there are no known probate records for Thomas Dent; he possibly completely distributed his property to his children prior to his death, removing the need to go through probate)]