Ira Rich Kent (1803-1898), known as Ira, was the third of Remember and Rachel (Bliss) Kent's eight children. Ira Kent's siblings were Remember, Jr. (1799-1881); Rachel Bliss (1800-1897); Abdiel (1805-1887); George (1805-1885); Ezekiel (1811-1893); John Van Rensselaer (1813-1892); and Samuel Newell Kent (1817-1835). Ira Kent was primarily a farmer. From about 1837 to 1860, he and his brother Abdiel ran several businesses together at the brick tavern at Kents Corner, a stage stop en route to Canada as "I. & A. Kent." The tavern contained a general store annex run by Ira Richardson "Rich" Kent (1834-1875, son of Ira Kent) and a boot and shoe shop managed by Ira Kent's brother, John V.R. Kent. The enterprising and increasingly prosperous Ira and Abdiel also ran a saw mill, a harness-making business, a starch factory, a haulage business, a woolen mill and a hotel in Craftsbury, Vt., and a store in Woodbury, Vt. The brick tavern complex and its surrounding area was designated a National Historic Site as the Kents Corner /Old West Church Historic District in 1973. Ira Kent died in Calais on November 2, 1887.
From the description of Kent family papers : series III : generation II : Ira Kent and Polly (Curtis(s)) Kent, and others, 1831-1903. (Vermont Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 726872265
