Thomas Dent Sr. (c1715->1788) was a freeholder of Newport West Hundred, Charles Co., Maryland (near present day Dentsville), who likely had a substantial family. Researchers have yet to find, however, any of the standard sources, such as birth records or probate records, that would typically be used to prove his family composition. In the absence of such sources, his family must be reconstructed through a patchwork of other sources. A key to this reconstruction is a group of Dents found living in close association in southeast Franklin Co., Virginia, from the late 1780's. The table below summarizes key information about Thomas Sr.'s known or suspected children (for specific sources for the below information, see the linked chronological summaries):

Explanatory notes:

• General. By process of elimination, Thomas Sr. is the best parental candidate for the above children. During the late 1740's to late 1760's, there were a finite number of men, all sons or grandsons of John Dent (1674-1733, son of Capt. John of Chaptico, St Mary's Co.., Maryland), who were siring children in the Newport area. Each of Thomas Sr.'s Newport kin, however, can either conclusively or convincingly be shown not to be good parental candidates:

     - Elder brothers John (c1705-1791), Benjamin (c1710-1778) and Michael (1712-1795) each left detailed wills which did not include any of the above children. Another elder brother Hatch (1707-1783) had each of his children's births placed in the Trinity parish register (his will was less complete); none of the above children were included.

     - Remaining brother Peter (1718-c1800) began having children 1737, but then moved from the Newport area probably about 1764, eventually arriving in Bedford Co., Virginia, by 1775. He most likely would have taken any younger children with him, although there is a remote possibility that he could have left some children with his eldest son Peter Jr., who remained behind in Newport. No will or administration has yet been found for Peter Sr.

     - The children of nephews John son of John (c1735-1799) and John son of Hatch (1729-1778) are both known through reliable sources, and include none of the children in the above table.

     - Nephews John (c1738-1816) and Michael (c1740-1829), sons of Michael, both left Newport for Franklin Co., North Carolina, by 1771, where they stayed through the end of their lives.

     - Nephew Peter son of Peter (1737->1821) remained behind in Newport after his father and probably the rest of his family departed about 1764. He was a known bachelor through 1763, when he married. His children, known through a published family record, do not include any of the above children.

     - Nephew John son of Peter (c1745?-1821) went to Bedford Co., Virginia, with his father Peter Dent, where he raised his family.

     - There are other remote possiblities for the above children's parentage which nonetheless ought to be mentioned:

          - Some of the above children could have been from one of the Dent families located elsewhere in southern Maryland, although there are no known candidates for such a relocation to Newport from amongst the known Dent families in the region.

          - Some of the above children could have been the illegitimate offspring of a Dent female. Charles Co. court records, however, tended to record when women had "base born children", and none involving a Dent female have been found during the target time period.

• Confidence Factor. This column indicates the degree of certainty from 1 to 10 (10 is complete certainty) that the person named was actually a child of Thomas Sr. Following are explanations of the assessed confidence factors, from most certain to least certain, along with a few key details on each child:

     - William (10): In several records referred to as "William Dent of Thomas". As Thomas' probable eldest son, he came into possession of Thomas Sr.'s landed estate, where he remained until death.

     - Henry (10): Often known as "Henry Dent of Thomas". The 1783 Charles Co. tax list strongly indicates that he and Samuel were living as single men with minimal property in Thomas Sr.'s household. In 1790, Henry purchased from a probable cousin Walter Manning part of the old Manning family plantation in Port Tobacco West Hundred of Charles Co., and probably moved from Newport to there about that time. In 1812, he again purchased land from another probable Manning relative.

     - Mary (10): Hezekiah Farrand of Bryantown Hundred (immediately to the north of Newport East and West) named as the executors of his 1783 will his wife's brother Henry Dent, and his wife Mary; Thomas Dent and Joseph Manning (a probable cousin, grandson of John Manning) were sureties to Mary and Henry in the administration of the estate. By 1786, Mary was the wife of Walter McGregor. Walter and Mary probably lived in Port Tobacco West Hundred of Charles Co. before moving to Franklin Co., Virginia.

     - Samuel (9): The 1783 Charles Co. tax list strongly indicates that Henry (a known son of Thomas) and Samuel were living as single men with minimal property in Thomas Sr.'s household. This household association is very strong evidence for a parent-child relationship between Thomas Sr. and Samuel.

     - Thomas (7): From 1777 to 1780, the elder Thomas and this Thomas were differentiated as Sr. and Jr. During the 1700's, however, the use of Sr. and Jr. did not presuppose a father-son relationship. A stronger case for a father-son relationship is that the Newport Dent family appeared to have had a tradition of naming one son after his father. Each of Thomas Sr.'s five brothers had a namesake, and, if Thomas Jr. is assumed to be Thomas Sr.'s son, then for four of six brothers the namesake was the only male so named amongst his Dent first cousins (the name John, the major family name, was apparently used by each of the brothers, while John and Hatch both named a son Hatch).

     - John M[anning] (7): As mentioned above, John was apparently the traditional family name for the Newport Dents. In this John's case, he may have actually been named after his possible maternal grandfather John Manning (one of John M. Dent's daughters had a middle name of Manning, and one of his sons had a middle name rendered by descendants as "Mannon"); this connection with the Manning name tends to link John M. more closely to Thomas' family. Additionally, each of Thomas Sr.'s five brothers had a son John who can be differentiated from the John who lived in Franklin Co., Virginia, from 1790 to 1797. In the following generation, most of the Dent men named John were given distinctive middle names, none of which started with "M"; none of these men were old enough to be listed as an adult in 1790, when John Dent of Franklin Co., Virginia, first appeared in tax records. While no John M. Dent or "John Dent of Thomas" has yet been isolated in Charles Co., Maryland, records, the John Dent of Franklin Co., Virginia, is an excellent candidate for Thomas Sr.'s bestowal of the traditional family name.

     - Walter (7): The main evidence for Walter being a son of Thomas is his close association with other known or suspected children of Thomas in Franklin Co., Virginia. Aside from his association in Virginia with Newport Dents, Walter of Franklin Co. can be further linked with Newport through his eldest son, Mark Winnett Dent, who was named after Mark Winnett of Bryantown Hundred, the hundred just to the north of Newport; Winnett was also a member of the same Anglican parish as the Dents, Trinity Parish.

     - Jane (5): Thus far known only through Broady family records, Jane is closely associated through her husband with Thomas Sr.'s known or suspected children in southeast Franklin Co., Virginia. Although there are no known references to Joseph Broady or Jane Dent in Charles Co., other evidence links them to the Newport area. Her son placed her and her husband's state of birth as Maryland in the 1880 census. Also, a small Broady family did live in nearby Bryantown Hundred and were known Trinity Parish members. A Broady, in fact, married the brother of Hezekiah Farrand, Mary Dent's first husband.

• Other associations. Aside from living in the same neighborhood in southeast Franklin Co., Virginia, there is other evidence of associations between some of the above children or suspected children of Thomas Sr.:

     [a] Walter's son Mark referred to an "Uncle John Dent" in an 1831 letter to his son. Since the context of the letter strongly suggests that this "Uncle John" is the John Dent of Franklin Co., Virginia, and then Grainger Co., Tennessee, this letter constitutes substantial evidence that Walter and John were brothers.

     [b] Walter Dent and Joseph Broady showed a close association by shadowing each other's movements for a while in Virginia. Walter appeared in northeast Henry Co., Virginia, by 1785, with Joseph joining him by 1786. In the fall of 1787, first Joseph in September and then Walter in November purchased land just over the county line in southeast Franklin Co., with both first appearing in Franklin Co. tax lists in 1788.

     [c] After living as neighbors in Franklin Co., Virginia, Joseph Broady and John Dent then became neighbors in Grainger Co., Tennessee. Joseph moved to Grainger Co. about 1796, and John followed probably the next year. "John Bready" (probable garble) and John Dent both appeared within Capt Cox's Company in the 1799 Grainger Co. tax list. After the death of his wife Jane in 1807 and his remarriage in 1808, Joseph moved away to Washington Co., Kentucky, by 1811, leaving John in Grainger Co.

     [d] Samuel Dent's son Josiah Dent and John M. Dent's son John M. Dent were together in Hickory Co., Missouri, from 1850 to about 1863. The 1850 census indicates that John M. had recently moved to Hickory Co. from Kentucky [Marshall Co.]. He and Josiah appeared on consecutive pages of the census, suggesting proximity. Following John M.'s death around 1863 (the date of probate of his 1854 will), Josiah was a security to John M.'s executor.

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