Andrew Kent

Andrew Kent was born c. 1791 in Kentucky, to Isaac Kent; his mother's name is unknown. On April 30, 1816, he wed Elizabeth Zumwalt, a Missouri native born in April 1798. Andrew worked as a carpenter, and he and Elizabeth had 10 children. While living in Missouri, they met Green DeWitt. In 1825, DeWitt received a grant to settle new families in Texas, and five related families of Kents, Zumwalts, and Burkets traveled together, reaching Texas in June 1830. Andrew Kent received a league of land on the eastern border of DeWitt's Colony, on the west bank of the Lavaca River about 10 miles south of present Hallettsville. On this site, Andrew farmed, ranched, and did carpenter work, and from here he traveled to Gonzales and to Lavaca Bay to trade and purchase supplies. On July 17, 1835, settlers of the Lavaca and Navidad River valleys met to discuss their dissent against Mexico's autocratic leader, Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna. In October of that year, Andrew Kent and his son David participated in the Battle of Gonzales. The following February, Andrew and David argued over who would go with others from the area in response to a plea for help from the defenders of the Alamo. Andrew sent his son home and proceeded to San Antonio with "The Immortal 32" and was among those killed at the Alamo. Kent County was later named in his honor. Kent's widow and children struggled, as did many others, to overcome the hardship of loss and the destruction of their property during the Texas Revolution. David and brother Bosman later served in the Mexican and Civil wars. Their father's life as a Texas patriot, and the stories of their own lives and those of their siblings, friends and neighbors demonstrate the courage and tenacious spirit brought to Texas by its pioneer settlers. (2006).