VELORUS KENT & KENT FAMILY

From "Past and Present of Eaton county" - 1906

VELORUS M. KENT is a representative of one of the early pioneer families of Eaton county and is one of the prominent and honored citizens of Grand Ledge, having a fine farm of seventy acres, a portion of which lies within the corporate limits of the city. Mr. Kent was born in Oneida township, this county, December 25, 1853, being a welcome Christmas guest in the home of his parents, Francis M. and Harriet A. (Lovell) Kent, the former of whom was born in Forks township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, September 15, 1827, and the latter in Madison county, New York, November 20, 1832. The father died, in Oneida township, Eaton county, April 29, 1886, and the mother remained on the homestead until her death, May 2, 1895. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch was Isaac Kent, who was born in eastern Pennsylvania, and who died in Grand Ledge, in the spring of 1855, at the age of seventy-nine years.

The Kents were numbered among the first settlers of Oneida township, the first representative of the family in Eaton county having been Peter M. Kent, son of Isaac. He came here in 1836 or the early part of 1837 and purchased five hundred and sixty acres of government land, in Oneida township. In the autumn of 1837 Isaac Kent and the other members of the family came from the state of New York to Michigan, passing the first winter in Portland Ionia county, and then coming to Eaton county. Isaac Kent had been the owner of a farm of eighty acres in New York, and the proceeds from the sale of this property were utilized in purchasing the land in Oneida township. At that time no roads had been constructed through this section, which was still a veritable forest wilderness. Of the tract secured as noted above, one hundred and sixty acres were located for Michael Krupp, son-in-law of Isaac Kent. There were but few permanent settlers within the confines of the county at the time of the arrival of the Kent family, and Indians were still much in evidence, while all kinds of wild game was plentiful, contributing largely to the larders of the sturdy pioneers. Isaac Kent was the father of five children, namely: Peggy, who married Peter Kiser, both passing the closing years of their lives in Whitewater, Wisconsin; Lydia, who married a man named Houser, the latter dying in the state of New York, while she was a resident of Grand Ledge, this county, at the time of her death; Lucy, who married Michael Krupp, previously mentioned, both she and her husband dying in the state of New York; Peter M., who was the first of the family in Eaton county and who secured the land for the others, as has been noted in this article; he married Eliza Hixson and both continued resident of Oneida township until death; and Francis M., who was the youngest of the children and who was the father of him whose name initiates this sketch.

He was for many years associated with his brother Peter M. Kent and Abram D. Hixson in the ownership and operation of the grist and saw mill in Grand Ledge. He had previously reclaimed a considerable portion of his farm of one hundred and sixty acres, of which he finally disposed, having applied a portion of the proceeds to the purchase of an interest in the milling property, while about the same time, in 1855, he purchased the homestead farm now owned and occupied by his son Velorus M., in section 11, Oneida township, the original tract having been eighty acres, entirely unimproved. He reclaimed about thirty acres of this farm, now largely within the corporate limits of the city, and he continued to be identified with the operation of the mill until within a few years of his death, having been one of the influential and honored citizens of this part of the county.

Velorus M. Kent was born in the first frame house erected in Oneida township, the same having been the home of his maternal grandfather, Rufus Lovell, who was a pioneer of the county and of stanch Puritan ancestry, the original progenitor of the family in America having -come across the Atlantic in the historic "Mayflower." Of the seven children of Francis M. and Harriet A. Kent the subject of this review was the first born; Metta E. became the wife of George B. Brown and died, in Leslie, Ingham county, in 1904; Flora died at the age of four years, as did also Lellan E.; Darwin L. is a resident of Leslie, this state, where he is superintendent of the electric-light plant;.and Myra and Myrta were twins, the former dying at birth, and the latter at the age of two and one-half years. The parents were zealous members of the Free-will Baptist church, and at the time of his death the father was a stanch supporter of the cause of the Prohibition party. He served several terms.as a member of the village council of Grand Ledge, and was essentially liberal and public spirited in his attitude.

Velorus M. Kent secured his early educational discipline in the public schools of Grand Ledge and after attending the high school he entered the Michigan State Agricultural College, near Lansing, where he remained a short time, having been compelled to withdraw on account of impaired health. At the time of examination on entering the college he and his cousin, Albert Kent, made an average of ninety-eight percent in their studies, this being the highest record of their class, which was the largest -ever matriculated in the institution up to that time. After
leaving school Mr. Kent assisted more or less in the work of the mill in which his father was interested, but in January of 1874 he located on his present farm, his father -having erected for him the handsome brick residence which he now occupies, though he himself cut the timber utilized in the building. He has developed the farm, having cleared about thirty acres personally, while he has sold about ten acres for building purposes and has platted a number of village lots, having now seventy acres of finely improved land, whose value is augmented by the location, contiguous to the beautiful village of Grand Ledge.

In politics Mr. Kent is a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, but in local affairs he supports the candidates and measures which he approves, without r soft="soft" /> regard to strict partisan lines. He served two terms as treasurer of Oneida township, two terms as president of the village of Grand Ledge and is now serving his fourteenth year as supervisor of Grand Ledge. The esteem in which he is held in the community is indicated in the gratifying support always accorded him when a candidate for public office. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife are identified with its adjunct organization, the Order of the Eastern Star, while both are members of the Free-will Baptist church. September 10, 1873, Mr. Kent was united in marriage to Miss Frances A. Dewitt, who died September 29, 1898. On Christmas day of the year 1899 he married Miss Myrta L. Brewer, who is his present wife.

**Note- The 80-acre Kent farm was purchased by the Grand Ledge School District and is now home to Neff Elementary School, Beagle Middle School, The High School and the Football Field. The Kent Home was initially used as the kindergarden building, and stood in what is today the Neff playground.