Germanicus A. Kent (1791–1862) together with Thatcher Blake and Lewis Lemon founded

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, United States in 1834.

Biography

Germanicus A. Kent was born in

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region, and located in the Connecticut River Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, in 1791 and attend

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. Around 1822, Kent moved to

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, establishing himself as a

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and Common ...

merchant, marrying Arabella Amiss of

Blacksburg, Virginia Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg and the surrounding county is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia T ...

, on June 7, 1827. Kent was later a cotton merchant as a partner in the firm of Patton, Donegan & Co at the Bell Cotton Factory on the

Flint river The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from th ...

near Huntsville. The Kent family, including Lewis Lemon, a slave purchased by Germanicus as a boy, relocated to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1834. After exploring the local area, Kent, Lemon and Thatcher Blake, a school teacher and farmer from

Oxford, Maine Oxford is a town in Oxford County, Maine, Oxford County, Maine, United States. Oxford is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 4,229 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. ...

, founded the settlement that was later to be called Rockford in 1834-1835. Germanicus and Arabella's daughter, Mary, was born in Rockford in 1836. They also had younger two sons called Lewis and John. In 1843, the Kent family returned to Arabella's hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia. Arabella died on May 26, 1851, and from 1856 Germanicus lived with his daughter, (now Mary Black) in Blacksburg until his death on March 1, 1862.

Memorials

In 1976, a statue called "Pulling Together" depicting a stylized scene of the founders of Rockford dragging their supply wagon through a swamp was unveiled as part of the Founders Memorial on Wyman Street Bypass, Rockford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Germanicus 1791 births 1862 deaths People from Rockford, Illinois People from Suffield, Connecticut People from Huntsville, Alabama People from Blacksburg, Virginia Rockford, Illinois American city founders Yale College alumni