Blackistone Family Collection

Archive

-

St. Mary's County Historical Society, Leonardtown, MD

Name/Title

Blackistone Family Collection

Entry/Object ID

2004.008.0001

Scope and Content

12 boxes and considerable loose material This large collection includes correspondence, land records, financial records, and family records for several generations of Blackistones and Dents. These families were closely related by marriage. A considerable portion of the material belonged to John F. Dent, a substantial land owner, public servant, and family man who lived in the Oakley area of the 4th district (now 7th) of St. Mary's County from the 1830s until his death in 1898. His first wife was Lillia Blackistone. Mr. Dent kept day books for most of his adult life and these are in this collection. He was the alpha male for his siblings and so kept all the family land records and assisted family members in many transactions over the years. He was highly regarded in his community and was given the responsibility for the administration of many estates and was made guardian of many children. He served in the Maryland House of Delegates on several occasions, was a roads commissioner, a school commissioner, and general man of affairs in the county. He was very close to all of his children and supported or nagged them as the occasion arose. The quantity of records is prodigious--Mr. Dent must have been writing nearly every waking minute. The collection also includes material from Ida Louise Dent, who taught at River Springs School for 31 years, retiring in June 1960. The collection also includes some material from Wade Blackistone, a 20th century member of the family, who saved all of this history for us.

Collection

Blackistone Family Collection

Archive Details

Primary Language

English

Archive Items Details

Date(s) of Creation

1600 - 1992

Location

Container

Multiple Boxes/Locations

Building

Tudor Hall

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Dent, Ida Louise

Person or Organization

Dent, John F. (1814-1898)

Person or Organization

Blackistone, Wade H.

Person or Organization

Blackistone, Zachariah D. (1871-1982)

Person or Organization

Dent, John Marshall (1844-1929)