Margaret (Evans) Dent (1764 - 1851)

Born 9 Nov 1764 in Loudoun County, Virginia [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of John Dent — married Jun 1780 in Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 23 Nov 1851 at age 87 in Monongalia County, Virginia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Bryan Fogle [send private message]

Biography

Monongalia Mirror.
Morgantown, (Va.) Saturday, November 29, 1851.
Volume III–No. 120.
Page 3, Column 1
Obituary.
COMMUNICATED.
–––“Smitten friends / Are angels sent on errands full of love, / For us they languish and for us they die.”
Died,––at her residence near Laurel Point, Monongalia county, Va., on Sunday morning, November 23, 1851, Mrs. MARGARET DENT, (widow of the late JOHN DENT,) aged 87 years, 11 months, and 16 days. The deceased was for 63 years a member of the Baptist church, and maintained, during an eventful life, an exemplary walk and conversation; giving an example of Christian fidelity by filling her place in the sanctuary even amidst the pressing infirmities of age. Like the patriarch Jacob, she ‘worshipped, leaning upon her staff.’ The writer has frequently seen her at places of public worship, at a distance of several miles from home, when it seemed as though every breath might be her last, from her great bodily weakness, and yet no persuasion of fond friends could detain her at home. On the evening previous to her dissolution, she fell into a deep sleep, from which she could not be awakened, and thus breathed her last without a struggle or a groan. On the day following her death her remains were interred in the presence of a numerous circle of relatives and friends. A funeral discourse was preached by Rev. S. Siegfried, from Prov. 14, 32: ‘the righteous hath hope in his death.’
Mrs. Dent emigrated to this county, from Loudon [sic] county, Va., in 1770, and was married in June, 1780. They raised 12 children, (4 daughters and 8 sons.) She left behind about 150 grand children, and about 40 great grand children. Her descendants are supposed to be not far from 300 in number, residing in Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, California & Oregon.
She was forted in Kern’s and Burrows’ forts at different times during the frontier wars, and at one time at her own house, which was surrounded by Indians, she stood sentinel from one o’clock at night until day-light, with a loaded musket in her hand and two by her side; her only companion being a mulatto girl, (who stood by her side with an axe, ready for conflict) and two little children. At another time an alarm came from the ‘Station,’ when she and her husband were at the farm now occupied by James Evans, Esq. The river was high. They started to go home, accompanied by her father. They came to the river where Granville now stands, and swam their horses across, arriving at home before her father, who went by way of Morgantown. Her life was full of spirit-stirring incidents, the recital of which would form a volume. It is said that in early life she practised shooting at mark, with the boys of the vicinity, to prepare for defence [sic] against the savages.
All of her children, except the two eldest, were born at her late residence; and all the deaths that have occurred at that place since the house was built, a period of 65 years, (with the exception of 3 colored persons) were Mr. John Dent and his widow. The former died on n [sic] Sabbath morning, in Sept. 1840; having been in usual health ten minutes previously. His widow also died on a Sabbath morning, very suddenly.
Her father, who died in this county, was the only child of his parents, and was born when his mother was in the 50th year of her age. He died at the age of 96, in the year 1836. Mrs. Dent was the oldest child of her father.

Find A Grave Memorial# 8404991

Birth: Nov. 9, 1764 Death: Nov. 23, 1851

Inscription: Erected by Col James and Col Dudley Evans

Burial: Oak Grove Cemetery Morgantown Monongalia County West Virginia, USA Plot:

Buried November 26, 1851 in Old Zoar Cemetery, Monongalia County, VA. ^[1][2]

Margaret was born about 1763. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.tribalpages.com/family-tree/dent2005
2. ↑ Entered by Nae X.
3. ↑ Source will be added by Bryan Fogle by 23 Feb 2018.

• http://genforum.genealogy.com/dent/messages/1026.html

• http://www.tribalpages.com/family-tree/dent2005

• Genealogical and personal history of the upper Monongahela valley, West Virginia, By James Morton Callahan, http://books.google.com/books?pg=RA2-PA1267&dq=harrison+county+west+virginia&id=FGAMAAAAYAAJ#v=onepage&q=harrison%20county%20west%20virginia&f=false , page 1310.

• Ancestry.com link

Mrs. Margaret Dent obituary (hand copied by Roy L. Lockhart from an original, unmicrofilmed newspaper at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV).

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Nae X for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Nae and others.

Findagrave Created by: Jennifer Selfridge Record added: Feb 19, 2004

• Sue Fogle