Dent, John Horry, 1815-1892

Planter-farmer of Georgia and Alabama.

From the description of Farm Journals and Account Books, 1840-1892. (Auburn University). WorldCat record id: 28196837

Jonah Horry Dent was born on 5 August 1815 in Newport, Rhode Island, the son of John Herbert Dent and Elizabeth Anne Horry Dent. Dent grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and spent summers with his family on a plantation in Colleton County, South Carolina. When he was still a young child, his name was changed from “Jonah” to “John” when an older brother, named John, died, leaving little Jonah as the oldest living son. He was known as John Horry Dent the rest of his life.

Dent married Mary Elizabeth Morrison in 1835 and moved to Barbour County, Alabama, in 1836. He purchased 360 acres of land on Cowikee Creek, paying $15 an acre, and named the new plantation “Good Hope.” He and Elizabeth had seven children: Robert Morrison Dent (1836-1837); Emma Julia (Minna) Dent (1838-1919); John Horry Dent, Jr. (1840-1864); Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Dent (1842-1870); John Herbert Dent (b. 1845); Anne Horry Dent (1847-1889); Charles Baring Dent (b. 1849); Sarah Lining Dent (1851-1866); Kate Constance Dent (1853-1919).

Dent amassed a good fortune but lost most of it after the Civil War when slavery was abolished and his slaves became freemen. After his wife’s death in 1853, he married Fanny A. Whipple in 1854. Together they had six more children: Fannie Whipple Dent (1856-1892); George Columbus Dent (1858-1879); Lucy Gertrude Dent (b. 1861); Helen Almira Dent (1865-1872); Carrie Mae Dent (1868-1910); and an infant daughter (b. 1875).

In 1866 sold his properties in Barbour County and moved to Cave Springs, Floyd County, Georgia. Following the death of his second wife, Fanny, in 1875, he married Elizabeth Anne Dowd in 1876.

Dent kept detailed records about his crops and properties until very late in life. He died in Cave Springs on 17 May 1892.

From the guide to the John Horry Dent Papers MSS. 0430., 1840-1891, (University Libraries Division of Special Collections, The University of Alabama)