KENT OF ST DENNIS
AND LANIVET
The
will of Grace Kent, widow, of St Dennis, Cornwall, was dated 6 September 1723 and
proved on 9 May 1732. It mentions her eldest son Nicholas Kent (and his
daughter Jane), son John Kent, daughter Mary (Worth or North), daughter
Elizabeth Prout, daughter Joan Richards, and daughter Grace Hore.[1]
The name of the testator’s husband is provided by the Quaker record of the
marriage intentions of “Jonathan Prout of the P[ar]ish Called St Dennis” and “Elizabeth Kent
Daughter of Robert & Grace Kent of the s[ai]d P[ar]ish”.[2]
This is supported by the baptism entry for Robert Kent in 1687 in the St Dennis
bishop’s transcripts, which names his father Robert and mother Grace.
There
appear to have been other Kent family links with the Society of Friends. Their
records include, for example, the birth in 1660 of John Kent, son of John Kent
of St Dennis.[3]
The
link between Nicholas Kent of Lanivet and the Kents
of St Dennis is supported by the administration records of John Robins of Lanivet. Administration was granted on 26 May 1707 to his
son Richard Robins, John’s widow Agnes having renounced her right. It was
granted again, de bonis non, to Nicholas Kent of Lanivet, farmer and John Kent of St Dennis, stannator (or tinner), during the minority of Jane Kent,
the next of kin of John Robins, on 29 October 1723.[4]
The
St Dennis parish registers also record the baptism of John, illegitimate son of
Grace Kent, on 16 June 1695.
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KENT
1 ROBERT KENT was buried on 6 May 1692
at St Dennis, Cornwall.[5]
He married GRACE who was buried on 7 May 1724 at St Dennis, Cornwall.[6]
Children of Robert and Grace
Kent:
2 i NICHOLAS KENT (ca 1678-1724); m AGNES ROBINS.
ii JOHN KENT.
ii ELIZABETH KENT, bap 4 Apr 1681, St
Dennis;[7]
m 12 Jun 1707, St Austell, JONATHAN PROUT.[8]
iv MARY KENT, bap 2 Feb 1682/83, St
Dennis.[9]
v GRACE KENT; m 20 Apr 1712, St
Dennis, BENNET HOAR.[10]
vi ROBERT KENT of St Dennis, tinner,
bap 29 Jun 1687, St Dennis,[11]
bur 26 Feb 1715/16, St Dennis.[12]
vii JOAN KENT, bap 1 May 1689, St
Dennis.[13]
viii JOAN KENT, bap 14 Apr 1691, St
Dennis;[14]
m 6 Oct 1716, Lanivet, THOMAS RICHARDS.[15]
2 NICHOLAS KENT of Lanivet,
farmer, was born about 1678[16]
and buried on 9 May 1724 at Lanivet.[17]
He married on 14 October 1704 at Lanivet, AGNES
ROBINS,[18]
daughter of John and Agnes (Hicks) Robins (see here). Agnes (Robins)
Kent was baptised on 2 February 1680/81 at Lanivet
and buried on 10 March 1717/18 at Lanivet.
Child of Nicholas and Agnes
(Robins) Kent:
i JANE
KENT, bap 1 Feb 1705/06, Lanivet,[19]
d ca 1773;[20] m
30 Dec 1724, Lanivet, NICHOLAS GROSE[21]
(see here).
[2] Society of Friends, East Cornwall Monthly Meeting records (National Archives, RG 6/1518, fol. 30).
[3] Society of Friends, Cornwall Quarterly Meeting records (National Archives, RG 6/1578, fol. 45).
[5] St Dennis parish registers.
[6] St Dennis parish registers; Kresen Kernow, AP/K/703.
[7] Abstracts of St Dennis bishop’s transcripts (www.cornwall-opc-database.org).
[8] Society of Friends, East Cornwall Monthly Meeting records (National Archives, RG 6/1518, fols. 30-31).
[9] Abstracts of St Dennis bishop’s transcripts (www.cornwall-opc-database.org).
[10] St Dennis parish registers.
[11] St Dennis parish registers; abstracts of St Dennis bishop’s transcripts (www.cornwall-opc-database.org).
[12] St Dennis parish registers; Kresen Kernow, AP/K/609.
[13] St Dennis parish registers.
[14] St Dennis parish registers.
[15] Lanivet parish registers.
[16] Kresen Kernow, CL/1/197/1.
[17] Lanivet parish registers.
[18] Lanivet parish registers.
[19] Lanivet parish registers.
[20] She was living in 1767 (Kresen Kernow, AR/4/1591) and was still alive in May 1772 when she was mentioned in the administration record of Nicholas Grose as his widow who renounced administration (Kresen Kernow, AP/G/7213). It seems very likely that she was one of the Jane Groses shown in the Lanivet parish registers to have been buried on 23 Sep 1772 and 3 Oct 1774. The second of these may have been the Jane Grose of Lanivet (widow of John Grose) whose will was dated 1 Jun 1773 and proved on 2 May 1777, but that Jane could also have been the one buried at Luxulyan on 20 Mar 1777. Therefore the exact date of burial of Jane (Kent) Grose is not clear at present.
[21] Lanivet parish registers.