Joseph A. Bent [RG3597.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3597.AM:  Joseph A. Bent, 1823-1906

Papers:  1854-1902

Vermont, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska:  Congregational minister and land agent

Size:  Two folders

BACKGROUND NOTE

Born at Middleboro, Vermont, on April 23, 1823, Joseph A. Bent graduated from the State University and prepared for the ministry at Andover and Union Seminaries.  Several years later, Reverend Bent organized a colony and led them to southern Illinois, where they established Hoyleton in 1858.  He established a seminary at Hoyleton, where he preached and conducted educational work until 1886.  Bent lived in Wheaton, Illinois, for a time, but due to failing health, he moved west to pursue land and horticultural pursuits.  Over the next fifteen years, Bent served as a land agent, selling land in Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.  He lived in Sioux City, Iowa, Houston, Texas, and eventually, San Marcos, California.  Rev. Joseph A. Bent died at his home in San Marcos, California, in 1906.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE   

This collection consists of two folders containing sermons, 1854-1904, and correspondence, 1889-1902.  The collection relates to Joseph A. Bent’s two careers as a Congregational minister and a land agent.  The first folder contains photocopies of four sermons Bent delivered, including one discussion of missionary work on the Sandwich Islands in 1882.  The correspondence in the second folder deals primarily with Bent’s land transactions in Cedar County and Wayne County, Nebraska.  A few letters Bent received from his son in South Omaha, Nebraska, are also included.  These letters discuss local politics, land transactions, and family news.

INVENTORY

Folder

1. 1. Sermons, 1854-1904 (photocopies only)

1. 1. Correspondence, 1889-1902

Subject headings:

Bent, Joseph A., 1823-1906

Clergy — Nebraska

Congregational Church in Nebraska

Land — Nebraska — Cedar County

Land — Nebraska — Valley County

Land — Nebraska — Wayne County

Land settlement — Nebraska

Missionaries

Real estate agents — Nebraska

AIF                      12-12-1979

Revised TMM      11-20-2020