Research has traced our family back to Charles County, Maryland, c. 1690. I will claim Joel Dent as our key ancestor and continue working to tie other Maryland Dents to our tree.
My grandfather, William Lee Dent, was born on Snow Creek, Franklin County, Virginia on
28 September, 1867. His mother died in childbirth and his father found a new wife and married less than two months after his wife's death. His early history is unknown. He was listed in the 1880 census as living with his paternal grandfather, William H. Dent. It appears that he followed the Norfolk & Western Railroad to Logan County, West Virginia. He met and married Mary Jane Williamson on February 6, 1892. He tried coal mining for a few years but by 1920 he was established as a merchant at Breeden, Mingo County. He was later elected Justice of The Peace and served as postmaster of Breeden.
Mary Jane Williamson was the daughter of Asa Williamson and Chloie Kirk . Asa was the grandson of Jennie Sellards Wiley, who was captured by Indians and taken from her home in Appalachian Virginia through eastern Kentucky to the Ohio River in western Virginia. Below is a short summary of her year-long ordeal.
My cousin, Timothy Marcum, of Breeden, Mingo County, West Virginia, spent several years researching the Kirk and Marcum families. The index file must be used to find the page number of the party you're looking for.
Index begins on page 224
Descendants of William Markham, Sr.
Index begins on page 258
Descendants of William Lee Dent & Mary Jane Williamson