My Bigamist Black Sheep

Much of my own family history research has focused on my four grandparents and I have had little opportunity to investigate the family of my great grandmother, Edith Lilian Cowling formerly Dent.

Looking back through some old emails recently I found the tale of Edith’s brother, Tom, who allegedly was a bigamist and ran off to Australia never to be spoken of again. Now quite often with family stories like these there has been some embellishment over the years and the reality is far less exciting. However, I couldn’t resist the urge to do a little digging.

Henry Thomas (Tom) Dent was born in Woodford, Essex in 1886, the son of Henry Dent, a gardener, and Minnie Dent formerly Riches. In 1919 he married Kate Lilian Mant, the daughter of a railway guard, in Paddington, London and in August 1920 they had a daughter, Marjorie Edith Dent. It all sounds good so far, yes?

Then the fun begins. I was having a play on Ancestry and typed in “Henry Thomas Dent” into the Australian records collection. The first result that caught my eye was a couple of entries in the NSW Police Gazette. Ah…

Henry Thomas Dent was tried at the Sydney Quarter Sessions in December 1924 for, you’ve guessed it, a charge of bigamy. The documents include Henry’s marriage to Lillian Kate Mant in 1919 in Paddington but reveal that on 30th April 1921 Henry married an Elsie Victoria Usher at Annandale, New South Wales “the said Lillian Kate Mant being then alive”. Henry was sentenced to six months hard labour. The entry on the Police Gazette relating to Henry’s discharge described him as 5ft 7.5in with fair complexion and brown hair. He was also recorded as having a long nose and a large mouth!

Also included in the Police Gazette records was a reference to a photo book. As I have no photos of Henry, this had me very excited. Many of these photo books have recently been made available online at Find May Past and more information may be found here: New South Wales Gaol Photographic Description Books 1871-1969. Unfortunately, the book of interest here is not included in this collection and consultation with an Australian genealogist revealed that this book does not appear to have survived. Frustratingly, the same researcher found that Henry was not included in the surviving Quarter Sessions Index or Gaol Entry books.

However, more information was to be found in the newspaper reports for the trial amongst the marvellous collection at The National Library of Australia’s Trove website. Two of my favourite articles are transcribed below:

First in the Evening News (Sydney) dated Thursday 6 November 1924:

BIGAMY CHARGE

‘MUST HAVE BEEN MAD’

HENRY Thomas Dent, 38, carpenter, was committed for trial at Paddington Court to-day on a charge of bigamy. It was alleged that Dent was married at Paddington, England, in November, 1919, and on April 30, 1921, went through the marriage ceremony with another woman at Annandale. When arrested Dent, it was alleged, admitted that he knew his wife was alive when the second ceremony took place. ‘I don’t know, why I did It,’ he was said to have added. ‘I must have been mad’.

and secondly, in the Evening News (Sidney) dated Wednesday 10 December 1924:

HIS TWO WIVES

ONE IN ENGLAND

MAN’S PREDICAMENT

Ignoring a promise to go back to his wife in England as soon as he had fixed up his affairs in Australia Henry Thomas Dent, 38, carpenter went through the ceremony of marriage with a woman he had known before the war, according to evidence at Darlinghurst Sessions today. Dent pleaded guilty to a charge of bigamy. Mr J W Abigail, for accused, said he had served over five years in the AIF. Acting-Judge Rowland: He was in the provost corps. It was stated that Dent married Lillian Kate Mant in London, in November 1919. There was one child of the marriage. He did not tell his second wife of his marriage in England. He had known her for 12 years and she had corresponded with him all the time he was abroad.

WIFE’S STORY

According to the wife’s statement, Dent had not only failed to keep his promise to return, but he had prevented her coming to Australia. She had paid £23 for a steamer passage, but she had cancelled it on receiving a cable from Dent to the effect that he was leaving for England. However, he did not come. In 1920 he sent her £200, but she had received nothing from then until the end of 1922, when he commenced payments of £2 about every three months. Mr J W Abigail said that Dent had asked his wife to come to Australia but she said she would not leave her aged mother. Dent was remanded for sentence.

This family story of the black sheep of the family turned out out to be true. I particularly like the quote from Henry ‘I don’t know, why I did It, I must have been mad’…