Tom Smith Kent Sr. came to Houston County, Texas, from Mississippi about 1870 and settled in Reynard. He was engaged in farming and ranching there and operated a general merchandise store. He was married in 1874 to Georgia A. Beazley. To this union, four sons were born: 1. Robert T. Kent married (name unknown). He had two sons, Paul and Earl, from this marriage. He later married Nellie Tatum and to this union Nellie A. was born. 2. Albert Ephraim Kent married Carrie Cummings Hill (daughter of Andrew Malone and Emma Barbour Hill) and to this union ten children were born: Albert, Georgia Inez, Albertine, Thomas Hill, Mildred Mae, Maude, Edwin Lee, Carrie Pauline, Luther Andrews, and Lillie Bell. 3. Leonard Kent married (name unknown) and their children are: Otis, Victor, and Maugreite. 4. George T. Kent dies at the age of 7 months. Tom S. Kent Sr.’s second wife was Nursie Fulghum. They married in 1883 and she died the same year. One son was born to this union and he died when he was seven years of age. His name was (5.) Ira Sidney Kent. In 1885 Tom S. Kent Sr.’s third wife was Ellen Rocinda (Nellie) Hill (daughter of Jacob Albert Hill) and to this union three sons and three daughters were born: 6. Elizabeth (Bess) married Thomas F. Dailey and they had eight children: Charles T., Liston D. (Pete), John Hill (Jack), Ellen, James Kent (Mike), Iva Tom, Dan D. and Thomas Franklin Jr. (Felix). 7. Leoti Kent married Henry H. Dailey and to this union five children were born: Irene, Frank Chapman, Ruth Ellen, Kent, and Henry H. Jr. 8. Tom Smith Kent Jr. married first LuEllen Denton and they had eight children: Dorothy, Donald, Helen, Charles. Tom S. III, Dick, Lu Ellen, and Harry. Tom Jr.’s wife, LuEllen, died in 1922. In 1930 he was married to Hazel Gentry and they had two sons, Pat and Dan. 9. Lloyd Kent died at the age of one month. 10. Sallie Mae Kent married G. Arthur Walton and to this union four children were born: Ralph, Arthur Jr., Shirley and Marjorie. 11. Charles E. Kent married Lura M. Owens and they had three children: Charles E. Jr., Lois, and Jim Tom. Excerpts from Reynard News as printed in The Grapeland Messenger: June 18, 1906 “T. S. Kent has had his house painted and papered and it looks real nice. He had the honor of having the first painted house in this part of the county.” Dec. 7, 1906 “T. S. Kent has a brand new outfit to carry his family around in with lamps on both sides so he can travel night and day.” Tom Kent moved to Grapeland about 1908 and was engaged in general merchandising and cotton buying. He was located in the building now occupied by Weaver’s Custom Shop (East Addition, lot 3, block 21). He was one of the original stockholders and organizers of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, now the First State Bank in Grapeland. He and Mrs. Kent were very active in all work in the Grapeland First Baptist Church. He retired from business about 1930, but remained active until his death in 1938. He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Nellie R. A number of his grandsons and granddaughters live in Grapeland and there are literally hundreds of descendants of this family scattered over Texas and the United States.