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THE KENT CONNECTION
There was a strong connection between the Beals and Kent
families. There were at least six intermarriages. Isaac Kent
married Rachel Beal, daughter of Andrew and their daughter,
Abigail, married Andrew's grandson Abel. Zarah (son of
Isaac) Kent's daughter, Catherine, married Isaac (son of
Abel) Beals. Arod (another son of Isaac) Kent's son, Micah,
married Sarah Jane Beals, daughter of Stephen and
granddaughter of Abel. Isaac's brother, Ebenezer and sister,
Mercy also married a Beal. Confused? Perhaps a "picture"
will help.
Andrew Beals
_____I______
I I
Abel Rachel Isaac Kent
I I____________________________I
I I I I
Abel Abigail Zarah Arod
I________________I I I
I I I I
Stephen Isaac Catherine I
I I______________I I
I I
Sarah Jane Micah
I__________________________________I
The Kent name originated in England and was brought to North
America by John who came to Dedham, Mass. in 1645. His
fathers name was also John. The genealogy for John, the
immigrant, follows:
JOHN KENT, m.21 May 1662 in Dedham, Mass., Hannah
(d.9 Jan 1690), dau of Francis and Mary Griswald. They
had issue, all born in Charlestown, Mass.:
(1)Hannah, b.2 July 1667, m. Joseph Cahoon.
(2)John, b. 1668, d. 1753, m.22 Dec 1692, Sarah Smith.
(3)Mary, b.3 Feb 1669/70, died young.
(4)Joshua, b.15 June 1672, d.20 June 1672.
(5)Joshua, b.4 July 1674, d.5 Jan 1702, m.4 Nov 1697,
Agnes Okeman.
(6)Joseph, b.15 Oct 1675, d.30 May 1753, m.26 Nov 1702,
Rebecca Chittendon.
(7)Samuel, b.23 Mar 1678, d.16 Mar 1702/3.
(8)Ebenezer, b.18 Aug 1680, d.16 Feb 1752, m.8 Dec
1703, Hannah (4 Aug 1648-27 Mar 1767), dau of
Joseph and Deborah (Coombs) Gannett.
(9)Lydia, b.16 July 1683, m. 1714, Ebenezer Simmons.
(10)Mary, b.12 May 1686.
(11)Susanna, b.13 Aug 1689.
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EBENEZER, the youngest son of John and Hannah, moved to
Hingham, Mass. about 1703, married in nearby Situate and
died in Hingham. Details of his family follow:
(1)Abigail, b.12 Oct 1706, d.12 Mar 1709.
(2)Hannah, b. 1707, d.22 July 1782, m.16 Jan 1727/28,
Israel Whitcomb Jr.
(3)Mercy, b.31 July 1709, m. (1) 27 Nov 1727, Stephen
Stodder, (2) 8 June 1757, David Bates, (3) 27 Aug
1761, Jonathon Beal.
(4)Susanna, b. 1711, d.23 Apr 1715.
(5)Mary, b. 1713, m.31 Aug 1743, Joseph Blake.
(6)Elizabeth, b. 1715, m. (1) 7 May 1735, Eliakim Mayo,
(2) --- Pitcher.
(7)Ebenezer, b.18 Apr 1717, d.3 Feb 1786, m.11 July
1739, Sarah Beal.
(8)Isaac, b.27 Sept 1719, d.29 Dec 1784, m.25 Oct 1739,
Rachel (25 Aug 1719-15 May 1805), dau of Andrew
and Rachel (Bates) Beal.
(9)Seth, b.3 Apr 1721.
(10)Abigail, b.29 Mar 1723, d.2 Mar 1808, m.22 Oct 1744,
Joseph Souther.
(11)Lydia, b.24 Apr 1725, m.22 Dec 1743, Noah Ripley.
(12)Abel, b.7 Aug 1730, d. 1826, m.17 Nov 1757, Hannah
Hobart.
In 1755 the Seven Year War between Britain and France was
getting under way and the colonial government in Nova Scotia
was becoming very apprehensive about which side the French
Acadian population would take if France invaded the country.
The government, under Charles Lawrence, was not prepared to
wait and see so they decided to deport the Acadians. They
were forced to leave the land they had occupied for
generations and were shipped out of the country with the
majority sent to what is now the state of Louisiana. This
resulted in a lot of rich farm land in the Annapolis Valley
and the Cornwallis area being left vacant. So in 1758 and
1759 Governor Lawrence sent advertisements to the American
Colonies inviting Protestant settlers to come and fill up
this vacant land.
Isaac and Rachel Kent took up this challenge and became part
of a group now known as the "Planters". Their trip is
described in "Planters and Pioneers" by Esther Clark Wright:
On May 17, 1760, 25 heads of families, making with wives
and children 45 passengers, were embarked at Boston on
board the Charming Molly. There were also on board
10 oxen, 11 cows, 2 horses, 10 sheep, 1 "sow bigg with
piggs", 6 lambs and 7 small cattle. The vessel, one
suspects, was not so charming when she arrived at
Annapolis. On June 19 the Charming Molly again sailed
from Boston with ten more settlers for Annapolis.
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In 1760 both Rachel and Isaac were 41 and there were seven
children in the family, five having died before this date
(including one set of twins in 1759). One additional child
was born in Nova Scotia. They brought with them two oxen and
one cow. Isaac was given a grant of land in Annapolis County
bordering on the Annapolis River in the area now known as
Round Hill. It was directly across the river from Belleisle.
The size of the grant is not known but in 1770 Isaac owned
1498 acres. We can assume that at least part of this was
well developed land which only five years earlier had been
cultivated by the deposed Acadians. Details of Isaac Kents
family are as follows:
(1)Rachel, b.28 July 1740, d. 1746.
(2)Isaac, b.9 June 1742, d.1 Jan 1835, m. (1) 17 May
1770, Sarah Wheelock, (2) Sarah Way, (3) Sarah
Holbrook, (4)Rhoda Kenny, widow. He remained in
Massachusetts.
(3)Susanna, b.30 July 1744, d.2 May 1751.
(4)Elizabeth, b.15 Aug 1746, d.13 Mar 1749.
(5)Rebecca, b.11 Aug 1748, d.9 June 1791.
(6)Anna, b.15 July 1750, d.9 Jun 1791, m.30 Sept 1770,
Israel Longley.
(7)Abigail, b.1 Mar 1752, d. 1 Apr 1820, m. Abel Beal
(6 July 1755-23 Aug 1830), son of Abel and
Deborah (Lambert) Beal.
(8)Arod (Arach), b.4 Oct 1754, m. 1801, Abigail (Bent)
Harrington.
(9)Zarah (Zara), b.4 Oct 1754, m. Mary, dau of Henry
and --- (Harttman) Hardwick.
(10)John, b.31 Jan 1757, d.20 Apr 1815, m. Lucretia
Hardwick.
(11)Caleb, b.15 Apr 1759, d. May 1759.
(12)Joshua, b.15 Apr 1759, d. Aug 1759.
(13)Hannah, b.12 Sept 1764, d.4 Apr 1796.
Ten years after the Kents arrived in Nova Scotia the 1770
census indicates there were nine in the family: 1 man,
3 boys, 3 women, and 2 girls. Strangely, the census for 1768
only counted seven but the number of farm animals had
certainly increased during the eight year period and
included: 1 horse, 2 cows, 9 oxen, 7 young cattle, 10 sheep
and 2 swine.
Two of Isaac's sons, Zarah and Arod, also owned land in the
Round Hill area. The fifth generation of Kents occupied at
least part of the origional grant of land as late as the
1940's. (Stanley, born 1889 -- Watson, born 1848 -- Micah --
Arod -- Isaac).