John was baptised on 11 June 1848 at St John Evangelist Church, Whittle le Woods, Lancashire.  He was the  8th child of John Gent (1814-1891)  He was married to Mary Garstang on 19 August 1873 also at St John Evangelist Church, Whittle le Woods.  (John and Mary are pictured below)

 

John was baptised on 11 June 1848 at St John Evangelist Church, Whittle le Woods, Lancashire.  He was the  8th child of John Gent (1814-1891)  He was married to Mary Garstang on 19 August 1873 also at St John Evangelist Church, Whittle le Woods.  (John and Mary are pictured below)
John Gent followed his father’s occupation of reedmaker but was also a sexton, verger to St John’s church, Whittle le Woods.  Mary worked as a cotton power loom weaver before she married. Children of John & Mary Gent They had 7 children.

Name	Dates	Spouse(s)	Married	Place married
Agnes Ann Gent	1874-1975
Thomas Gent	1876-1899
James Gent	1877-1938	Elizabeth Withnell	1904	St John, Whittle le Woods
William Gent	1879-1949	Margaret Evelyn Goddard	1908	St John, Whittle le Woods
Elizabeth Alice Gent	1882-1972
Edward Gent	1884-1918	Annie Knowles	1909	St John, Whittle le Woods
Harry Gent	1888-1950	Margaret MacDonald	1915	South Africa

Bk Row:	Edward Gent, Tom Withnell, John Gent, William Withnell, Harry Gent, Matthias Astley
Mid Row:	Peter Beaver, Arthur Hartley
Fr Row	George Bradley, Arnold Blackwell, Herman Lancaster, Tom Beaver

In Chorley library we found the obituary of John Gent, born 6 May 1848, a reed maker and verger of St John the Evangelist Church, published in the Chorley Guardian of 12 January 1924.

	“Death of Whittle le Woods Verger and Former Parish Clerk An interesting character in the life of Whittle le Woods passed away on Monday last in the person of Mr John Gent, of Glencoe House. The deceased, who was 75 years of age, and one of the oldest inhabitants of the district, was a native of the village. He began work as a boy with his father as a reed maker at Waterhouse Green and later was occupied at the Print Works for a short time. Mr Gent had held the office of parish clerk and verger of St John’s Church for over 27 years. His connection with the church and Sunday school extending over 71 years, during part of which time he was both teacher in the school and a member of the church choir. He could remember eight vicars of Whittle le Woods and under four of them he had been verger.He was one of the oldest local Oddfellows and a trustee of the Sunday School Burial Society. His family numbered five sons and two daughters, but two of the former pre-deceased him.”
	Chorley Guardian (12 January 1924)

 

John died on 7 January 1924 and his wife Mary died 16 October 1915. It was known within the family that John had been an extremely strict father and had decreed that his daughters, Agnes and Alice (click for photos), need not think of marrying because their wages were needed and they themselves were needed to look after the men folk in the family.

In his Will he gave Glencoe House to Alice and Agnes and stipulated that his other houses, Glencoe Villas and two houses in Bach Street, Chorley Old Road which he rented out, should not be sold but that his sons James, William, Harry and Bessie, his granddaughter (only daughter of his son, Edward Gent who died in 1914) would share an interest in them.  Agnes and Alice were to have an interest in them only to the extent of £100 each.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Will of John Gent (1848-1924)

It would seem that he was still attempting to control his family from beyond the grave!  His Will would prove unworkable. How could five people (plus one in trust for a child) agree to pay for the maintenance of houses, whilst receiving one sixth of the rents for houses they would never be allowed to sell. They seem to have contested the Will for the houses were sold and the proceeds divided.

Interestingly, Harry, the fifth and youngest son, who was seeking his fortune in the gold mines of South Africa, authorised his share of £111. 1s. 5d to be divided between James, William, Agnes and Alice. A recent visit to the churchyard of St John the Evangelist, Whittle le Woods (June 2008) found a deterioration in the condition of the ground to the extent that much scaffolding had been erected by the the Health and Safety people to secure the graves.  Below is a photograph of the Gent family grave originally for Thomas Gent.

Mary is commemorated on the front of the stone (left) and John Gent on the side (top right).  The stone as it would have looked before 1918 (bottom right) when Edward (Ned) Gent was commemorated on the side.