The Confusion concerning Walter Dent in Harry Wright Newman's Published Works 

The noted Maryland genealogist Harry Wright Newman, in an article on Walter Dent son of Judge Peter published in his 1940 book Charles County Gentry (CCG), attributed to this Walter some information actually attributable to a contemporaneous Walter Dent. This misattributed information included four of the latter Walter's children. In an updated article on Walter Dent son of Peter posthumously published in his 1963 book The Maryland Dents (MdD) Newman largely backed away from his earlier error, but since CCG has reached a much wider audience than MdD, the confusion over these two Walters is deeply imbedded into many derived genealogies to this day. This confusion is compounded by Newman's failure to account for the latter Walter at all in either of his books. The goal of this article is to lay out contrasting information about these two Walters which will help concerned genealogists clearly distinguish between them and thereby correct their pertinent family records.

Walter Dent son of Judge Peter was born about 1744 and grew up on his father's plantation, "Whitehaven", a large tract that lay mostly in southwest Prince George's Co., but also spilled over the county line into Charles Co. After his marriage about 1764, he lived on a portion of the tract situated in Prince George's Co., and in 1771 he and his brothers Thomas and Richard partitioned the tract amongst themselves (his father having died in 1757). Most of his children are known through either St. John's Parish records, or through the 1776 special census for Prince George's Co. Walter remained in Prince George's Co. up through early 1791, around which time records have him selling his land and appointing a power of attorney to handle his Prince George's Co. affairs. By Apr 1791, Walter was recorded in Greene Co. GA as a resident buying land. According to a family tradition cited by Newman in MdD, Walter died in Oglethorpe Co. GA, probably as early as the late 1790's. Walter's children all resided in nearby counties in GA through at least the 1810's. For more details on Walter and his children, see his chronological summary.

Walter Dent, probable son of Thomas, was probably born around 1752 in Newport West Hundred (a subdivision of Trinity Parish) in Charles Co MD, near present day Dentsville. He was married around 1776, possibly to a daughter of Mark Winnett of Trinity Parish, since his probable eldest child Mark Winnett Dent was born in 1777. He remained in Newport West Hundred, most likely as a tenant farmer, as late as 1783 when he was recorded without land in the 1783 Charles Co. tax list. By 1785 he had moved to NE Henry Co. VA, where he remained until buying land just north over the county line in SE Franklin Co. VA. Walter appeared in Franklin Co. tax records from 1788 through 1814, when he probably died. The aforementioned misattributed children (at least the three males) regularly appeared in Franklin Co. tax lists and other records with Walter. For more details on Walter and his children, see his chronological summary.

Contemporaneous to the above two Walters was yet another Walter Dent who was recorded in Anne Arundel Co. MD in 1778 taking the required oath of allegiance to the State of Maryland. No further information is known concerning this Walter, except that he could have been the Walter Dent who was paid in 1782 for revolutionary service in Lt. Clemens' company within Maj. Higgins' battalion. While more research concerning Lt. Clemens and Maj. Higgins might shed more light on where in Maryland their recruits might have been drawn from, at present it is difficult to determine which of the three contemporary Walter Dents this reference pertains to.

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