• General Notes

  REFN: 2105
  Register of Maryland's Heraldic Families Vol 1:
  The earliest trace of this family name found in history is in the
  County of Durham, England, from whence it seems to have spread over the
  adjacent county of Yorkshire, England, and gradually drifted southward to
  the counties of Lincoln, Leicester, and Gloucester, until it reached
  London.  The Dents of early Maryland are from Yorkshire.  The name is of
  Latin origin, two well know Consuls of Rome, Denta & Dentatus, having
  settled in North Britton, one as early as 285 B.C.  In the West Riding of
  Yorkshire, there is still in existence the town of Dent.  The coat-Armor
  of the Maryland Dents is, "Argent, on a bend sable, three losenges
  erminois".
  Prominent among the early settlers in Lord Baltimore's palatinate of
  Maryland was Col. Thomas Dent, gentleman, who emigrated from Yorkshire
  England, in 1650, in company with his father-in-law, the Reverend William
  Wilkinson, who was the first Episcopal minister in the colonies.  Col.
  Thomas Dent was one of the first justices of the County courts of St.
  Mary's County in 1659, and was high sheriff in 1654.  By his will,
  probated April 21, 1676, he left the manor of Westbury to his eldest son
  William; to his sons Peter and George the "Gisborough" grant which was
  named after his birthplace in Yorkshire, Gisborough on the River Tees. 
  This land grant he received with others from the Lord Proprietor.  His
  manor of Westbury was situated in the part of the original St. Mary's
  settlement in the heart of Charles County near the famous old town of
  Port Tobacco.
  A few years after Thomas Dent came out, he sent for his brother,
  John Dent, who also received large grants of land.
  The Manor of Westbury was acquired by him under the will of the Rev.
  William Wilkinson, his father-in-law.
  About October 8, 1662, Mr. Dent and William Hatton, his brother-in-law,
  acquired by purchase a 900-acre tract on the north side of the Potomac
  River and the west side of Nanjemoy Creek, in Charles Co. Subsequently,
  by conveyance from Mr. Hatton, Mr. Dent became the sole owner of the
  entire property which was called "Guyther", but since variously spelled,
  the name of its first patentee.  This land has proven an invaluable aid
  in connecting the later branches of the family with their common
  ancestor.  The appraisement of Judge Dent's estate, May 19, 1676, attests
  that he maintained a plantation on the Nanjemoy land that he had there,
  indentured or redemptioner servants, slaves, crops, horses, cattle and
  hogs.  At a later period, Col. William Dent, at his death probably the
  most outstanding personage in Maryland (oldest son of Judge Thomas Dent)
  lived on this plantation.
  Based upon his transportation rights, a tract of 236 acres as patented to
  the two brothers-in-law, between whom there seemed to exist a bond of
  affection and intimacy and which probably led them to name their new
  acquisition, "The Brother's Joint Interest."
  Eventually Gisborough and the last mentioned tract passed into the
  possession of the Addisons.  For many years a part of Gisborough, which
  can be plainly seen from the southern end of Potomac Park, was a popular
  excursion resort for Washingtonians and visitors to the Federal Capital,
  although its more recent use, the manufacture of munitions for the World
  War and its present use as a "flying field", are probably more in keeping
  with the spirit and habits of its adventurous first owner.
  The ownership by Judge Dent of a 200-acre plantation called Wattfiels,
  which he purchased from the heirs of Richard Watson, who was also from
  Yorkshire, supplies another valuable link in the family chain, because it
  is through conveyances of this land that Barbara Dent, unnamed in his
  will and born after his death, is identified as his daughter and as the
  last wife of the Hon. Thomas Brooke.
  Will Abstract: 
  Thomas Dent -1676-St. Mary's Co., MD:
  28 Mch., 1676

Details of Thomas' family with Rebecca Wilkinson