Overview
William Gent, born 1879 and Margaret Evelyn Goddard, born 1878 were my paternal grandparents. This site chronicles the ancestors of William Gent. Margaret Evelyn has her own Goddard Family.
Research of the Gent family has been quite problematic on many occasions. This is primarily because there are too many Jonathans and Johns. We know that it is traditional for the first son to be named after his father, but our descendant line has rarely been from the first born son, so the predominance of identically named ancestors seems to be more than might be expected. There also seems to be an above average ratio of marriages within certain families.
For example, John Gent, b 1848 married a Mary Garstang b 1845. His brother, Jonathan Gent, b 1843 also married a Mary Garstang, b 1843. This does not make our research any easier!
Jonathan Gent, a reed maker, b 1785 married an Elizabeth (surname unknown) in 1809. His cousin Jonathan Gent, a tailor, married an Elizabeth (surname unknown) in 1806. We found that the first Elizabeth had the surname Towers and was married in Blackburn. The second Elizabeth had the surname Blackburn and was married in Chorley. This was not an easy one to detangle!
The Gent Family
- The Gent Story
- Jonathan Gent (1749-1795)
- Jonathan Gent (1785-1851)
- John Gent (1814-1891)
- John Gent (1848-1924)
- William Gent (1879-1949)
Associated surnames:
| Atkinson | Garstang | Lawson | Ward |
| Bamber | Goddard | Lingard | Whiteside |
| Baron | Haynes | Macdonald | Wilson |
| Brownley | Heys | Marland | Winder |
| Butterworth | Hilton | Medcalf | Withnell |
| Carter | Holmes | Midgley | Yates |
| Carlisle | Howarth | Parker | |
| Cockshutt | Isherwood | Pass | |
| Critchley | Knowles | Shaw | |
| Fowler | Kophamel | Towers |
Sources for our research were mainly Church Records, Censuses, Wills, GRO (General Registration Office index after 1837), IGI (Morman international genealogical index), Hospital/Asylum Records, Parish Magazines and notes and family details of HN Gent.