Germanicus Kent (1790-1862) |
Reverend Aratus Kent (1793-1869)
Younger brother of Germanicus Kent was Presbyterian minister in Galena. Encouraged Germanicus to come to Illinois. First Christian religious service in Rockford held in Germanicus Kent's cabin, lead by Rev. Aratus Kent. Aratus Kent founded and was the first president of the board of director's at Rockford Female Seminary (Rockford University) and helped to found Beloit College.
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GERMANICUS KENT Biographical Timeline
• 1790 -- Born in Suffield, Connecticut
. 1818 -- Attends Yale College
• 1820 – Moves to Virginia and then Huntsville, Alabama
• 1829 -- Purchases slaves including Lewis Lemon
• 1833 – Sells slaves except Lewis Lemon
• 1834 – Contracts with Lemon to allow him to buy his freedom
• 1834 – August 24 -- Camp at Kent’s Creek (Midway)
• 1834-- Returns to Galena, leaves Blake to build cabin
• 1835-- Begins Sawmill, dam,
MAY-- Brings family to site - Wife and 5 children
• 1835-- JUNE – Aratus Kent, Kent’s brother, conducts church service, first in
Rockford
1836-- Contracts with farmer to grow hemp for the ferry
1836-- Receives permission to run a ferry across the Rock River at what is now State Street
• 1836-- Uses his capital to begin a general store, blacksmith shop, hotel
• 1837-- Sarah Kent (toddler) dies and is buried at eastside cemetery
• 1837-- Financial panic causes Kent to lose all money
• 1838-- First elected representative from Winnebago County to State Legislature
• 1839-- SEPTEMBER -- Lewis Lemon Kent purchases his freedom—Germanicus Kent
writes and signs deed of manumission
• 1842-- Deed of manumission document filed at Winnebago. County Clerk’s Office
• 1843-- Leaves with familly for Blacksburg, Virginia and live with daughter who
married into the Black family
• 1859-- Writes a letter expressing desire to see Lewis Lemon again but knows
Lemon can not come to Virginia during such troubled times
•1862-- Dies in Blacksburg, Virginia and buried in Westview Cemetery, Blacksburg, Virgina
• 1790 -- Born in Suffield, Connecticut
. 1818 -- Attends Yale College
• 1820 – Moves to Virginia and then Huntsville, Alabama
• 1829 -- Purchases slaves including Lewis Lemon
• 1833 – Sells slaves except Lewis Lemon
• 1834 – Contracts with Lemon to allow him to buy his freedom
• 1834 – August 24 -- Camp at Kent’s Creek (Midway)
• 1834-- Returns to Galena, leaves Blake to build cabin
• 1835-- Begins Sawmill, dam,
MAY-- Brings family to site - Wife and 5 children
• 1835-- JUNE – Aratus Kent, Kent’s brother, conducts church service, first in
Rockford
1836-- Contracts with farmer to grow hemp for the ferry
1836-- Receives permission to run a ferry across the Rock River at what is now State Street
• 1836-- Uses his capital to begin a general store, blacksmith shop, hotel
• 1837-- Sarah Kent (toddler) dies and is buried at eastside cemetery
• 1837-- Financial panic causes Kent to lose all money
• 1838-- First elected representative from Winnebago County to State Legislature
• 1839-- SEPTEMBER -- Lewis Lemon Kent purchases his freedom—Germanicus Kent
writes and signs deed of manumission
• 1842-- Deed of manumission document filed at Winnebago. County Clerk’s Office
• 1843-- Leaves with familly for Blacksburg, Virginia and live with daughter who
married into the Black family
• 1859-- Writes a letter expressing desire to see Lewis Lemon again but knows
Lemon can not come to Virginia during such troubled times
•1862-- Dies in Blacksburg, Virginia and buried in Westview Cemetery, Blacksburg, Virgina
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Germanicus Kent, his wife and children left Rockford in 1843. They went to Virginia where Kent lived with his daughter, Mary Kent Black. Lewis Lemon, Kent's freed slave, remained in Rockford. |
Mary Kent Black (1835-1911)
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First Congregational Church of Rockford built by Germanicus Kent and George W. Brinkerhoff through a grant from the east. 1838. Southwest corner of Church and Green Streets. Rockford. Removed.
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Germanicus
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Sources: (1.) PHOTO: Horvath, Gene. "Pulling Together ". Taken by Carol J. Fox. (2.) PORTRAIT: Germanicus Kent:. Midway Museum Center, Photo by Carol J. Fox. (3.) PORTRAIT: Aratus Kent. in Decker, Taylor. Germanicus A. Kent: Founder of Rockford. IL. 1834. [written an researched by Taylor Decker and Clement Burns] Rockford, IL: Rockford Historical Society, 1981? (3.) PORTRAIT: "Mary Kent Black" in Decker, Taylor . . . . (4.) SLIDESHOW: a. "Kent Creek Bluff". Photo by Carol J. Fox; b."Kent and Blake's Log House Near the River" in . . . . c. " Kent School" (sepia tone). Old Post Card. d. "Remnant of old Kent School Preserved in Booker T. Washington Center, Rockford, IL", photo by Carol J. Fox. e. "Kent School" (tinted). Old Post Card. f. "Railroad Bridge Across Kent Creek" photo by Carol J. Fox. (5.) SLIDESHOW: (four drawings) in . . . . (6) DRAWING: "Germanicus Kent Birthplace" in Decker, Taylor . . . . (7) PHOTOS:"Kent Gravestone" and "Memorial Marker" from "Find a Grave."
