John Dent and Nona McFann

[Millmoor]

Hi

John Dent was the younger brother of my grandfather Robert Dent. He was born 10 July 1885 in Sacriston, Co Durham, England - parents Thomas Dent and Mary Jane Purvis. In the 1901 census he is aged 15, a joiner's apprentice.

I have located a shipping record which shows that John went to the United States in 1906, arriving in New York November15th.

The next sighting I have of him is his marriage to Nona McFann in Cuyahoga County in May 1910. Nona's parents are given as A. J  McFann and Bessie Callin. I believe that A. J and Bessie divorced and that they both remarried - A. J ( Andrew) to first Emma Hoover and after her death Catherine Klingensmith while Bessie married David Lakie and died in Chicago in 1939.

John and Nona had a daughter who was stillborn and was buried at Parkside Cemetry, Cleveland Aug 30 1911.

I cannot find any other documents relating to John and Nona. ( I have located a marriage for a Nona Dent to Arthur Simonsen in Lake County, Indiana in 1913 but this is inconsistent with other documents found. The Nona Simonsen  I have found married to Arthur in the 1930 census has her born in Ohio but in 1940 is transcribed as Nona Simonson born in Kentucky. The record on find a grave also has birthplace as Kentucky. Arthur Simonsen's WW1 draft papers show he was single as does the 1920 census).

Any help in finding out what happened to John Dent and Nona McFann would be much appreciated.

Thanks

William

[shellyesq]

The year of birth is off, but this appears to be John's WWI draft registration card.  https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-26468-18667-12?cc=1968530

The nearest relative listed appears to be Nona B. Dent.

[Millmoor]

Thank you for such a prompt reply. Apart from the year of birth it does seem to fit. Nona is recorded as Nona B McFann in the 1910 census.

William

[shellyesq]

You're welcome.

There is a John Dent on the Ohio death index who died in 1927 in Summit Co.  https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VK5S-QVR  Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the actual death certificate on there, so I'm not sure if it's him.

[Millmoor]

Thanks again but it looks as though the 1927 death was for a baby who sadly died the day he was born.

William

[shellyesq]

There appear to be death notices for A.J. McFann and last wife Mary Catherine in the Cleveland Necrology File.  http://dxsrv4.cpl.org/WebZ/Authorize?sessionid=0&next=/html/obit_start.html&dbchoice=1:dbname=necr&bad=html/authofail.html&style=noframe  Unfortunately, no mention of Nona in them.

This mystery is frustrating, as I feel we should be able to solve it. 

[Millmoor]

Thanks for your continued interest and for the records. I feel that I am running out of places to look!

William

[Tadmaster]

Hi -

I'm also seeking info on this couple; I'm trying to complete a Descendant survey for a James Callin, and Nona's mother, Bessie Viola, is his 2x-great-granddaughter. I'm hoping to confirm whether Nona had any children.

[Update: I probably posted prematurely. Making some changes to the following.]

Based on the information on the WWI Draft card, I looked for John Dent in Akron, and found him listed in the U.S. City Directories database in 1912, 1914, and 1915. In each record, he is listed with no middle initial, and works for the Goodyear Co. In 1912 his address is 24 Irvin, and in the 1914 & 1915 records, "rms rear 53 S Case Ave".

I couldn't find any U.S. Census record for John and/or Nona in 1920 - at least not in Ohio. Up to this point, I'm reasonably sure this is the John Dent we're all interested in, and that Nona is probably living with him at the addresses listed, at least until 1918 (when the WWI Draft card was filled out).

After 1920, there are more U.S. City Directories records in Akron - these all list a John M Dent, with a wife (I assumed) named "Oleta". This IS a different John Dent from the one we are concerned with. I determined this from looking for Dudley and Mark Dent (bolded in the transcribed records below) in the Census; in 1910, the whole family is in Center, Monroe county, Ohio - about 130 miles south of Akron.

Since these are just city directories, there isn't a lot of information about how the people listed might or might not be related to our John Dent, but this should give you an overview of the other Dent folks in Akron, Summit county, Ohio over the years:

1912
Dent Clyde E [Laura], wks Firestone Co, res rear 1208 S Main

1914
Dent Clyde E [Laura], wks Firestone Co, res rear 1208 S Main
Dent James P C P A with Goodrich Co, rms 494 W Market

1915
Dent Clyde E [Laura], wks Firestone Co, res rear 1208 S Main
Dent Hazel A res 138 Wooster Ave

(I left out our John above. Again, this is a different John Dent below.)

1922
Dent Alphonso [Margaret] wks Goodrich Co h 122 W North
-Charles wks Goodrich Co r 122 W North
-Clyde E [Laura], wks Averill Dairy Co h 514 Bell
-Dudley h 154 Fulton
-George E [Ollie E] carp h 702 McKinley ave
-John M [Oleta] carp h 154 Fulton
-Joseph H [Letha M] foreman Goodyear Co h 107 High Point ave
-Mark wks Goodyear Co h 154 Fulton
-Rosario driver h 122 W North

1924
(Note: on previous page to the main results):
Dent Clyde E [Laura], wks Averill D Co h 376 Cross
(on following page):
DENT
-Dudley h 154 Fulton
-George E [Ollie E] carp h 702 McKinley ave
-John M [Oleta] r 154 Fulton
-Joseph H [Letha M] foreman Goodyear Co h 107 High Point ave
-Mark H wks Goodyear Co r 154 Fulton

1925
Dent Charles [Josephine] wks Goodrich h 176 W North
-Clyde E [Laura] driver h 376 Cross
-Dudley B wks Goodyear r 154 Fulton
-George E [Ollie E] carp h 702 McKinley ave
-Gwendolyn h 376 Cross
-John M [Oleta] carp r 154 Fulton
-Joseph H [Letha M] formn Goodyear h 107 High Point ave
-Levida h 782 S Main
-Mrs Lillian manicurist H A Schaffer h 454 Bettie
-Mack M [Maria] carp h 381 Bell
-Mark H wks Goodyear r 154 Fulton
-Perry wks Firestone r 994 Lovers lane


1926
Dent Charles A [Josephine M] wks Goodrich h 169 Rugby place
-Clyde E [Laura] wks Averill Dairy Co h 455 Emmet ct
-Dudley B wks Goodyear r 154 Fulton
-George E [Ollie E] carp h 702 McKinley ave
-Gwendolyn M student h 455 Emmet ct
-John M [Oleta] r 154 Fulton
-Joseph H [Letha M] with Goodyear h 107 High Point ave
-Mrs Lillian G beauty opr H A Schaffer h 454 Bettie
-Mark H wks Goodyear r 154 Fulton
-Oliver P student h 702 McKinley ave
-Wanda B student h 455 Emmet ct


1930
Dent Alphonse E [Margaret C] wks Goodrich h 158 Tarbell
-Anthony C [Hermina] wks Goodrich h 156 Tarbell
-Chas [Josephine] wks Goodrich h 857 Cordova ave
-Clyde E [Laura] wks Averill Dairy Co h 455 Emmet ct
-Dudley B wks Goodyear h 233 Arch
-Mrs Ella E (wid Ross) h 916 Work dr
-John M carp h 233 Arch
-Joseph H [Letha M] wks Goodyear h 107 High Point ave
-Lawdy L wks Goodyear r 1215 4th ave
-Mark H wks Goodyear h 233 Arch
-Mrs Olle clk THE M O'NEIL CO h 702 McKinley
-Perry T [Lola M] wks Goodyear r 476 Delmar ave
-Thos L [Ella E] wks Miller R Co h 140 N 26th (K)
-Wanda B clk h 455 Emmet ct

I also found an Ohio Birth Index record:

Name:   Bessie M Dent
Birth Date:   24 Aug 1911
State File Number:   1911061076
Additional Information:   McFann

In that database, the "Additional Information" field usually either has the father's given name or the mother's maiden name - so it seems highly likely that this Bessie  is the daughter of Nona and John Dent... most likely the stillborn daughter the original poster mentioned above.

If anyone is interested in examining these records I've transcribed here, I ought to be able to share them from Ancestry. I'll share whatever they let me share!

Cheers,
Tad Callin

[Millmoor]

A warm welcome to Rootschat, Tad. You have been busy!

My interest in John in part comes from remembering my late father telling me years ago that he had an uncle John who was the "black sheep" of the family who had gone off abroad and that he had no idea what had happened to him. Inevitably this conversation took place long before I had any interest in family history and so I was not as engaged as I might have been.

I had put this search on the backburner and put in the hope something will turn up category but you have rekindled my interest. One thing that I can confirm is that the rest of the family remained in the United Kingdom. It does strike me as odd that there is no sighting of John and Nona in the 1920 census. ( Mind you I have yet to locate him in the 1910 census.) I have considered all manner of possible mistranscriptions and have drawn a blank.

William