Fonds

This fonds focusses on members of the Trent family who lived in England (London and Cambridgeshire) and then in the Drummondville region during the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Born in London, George Norris Trent (1790-1857) joined the British Royal Navy in 1805, as the Napoleonic Wars were raging. He was quickly promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Demobilized in 1815, he lived off the half-pay stipend given to retired Navy troops. In 1821, he married Dorothy Bennington (1782-1830), the daughter of a London jeweller. Settling in the Isle of Ely region in Cambridgeshire, the couple had three children: George (1822), Maria Dorothy (1824-1910) and Henry (1826-1906).

In 1836, as England struggled with a major economic and political crisis, George Norris Trent and his children immigrated to Canada. The family settled on a farm in the Township of Wendover near Drummondville, Lower Canada. Trent had a stone house built on his property along the Saint-François River, from 1837 to 1848, and also acquired land in the Township of Acton. In addition to farming, George Norris Trent was active in the timber trade.

Maria Dorothy and Henry Trent attended the local school in Drummondville. Henry then continued his studies at École Saint-Paul in Montreal and the Seminary of Nicolet, while Maria Dorothy was educated at Miss Easton's school for young ladies, in Montreal. In 1852, Maria Dorothy Trent married William Skoine Robins (1825-1863). The couple had at least one child, Robin Norris Robins (1858-1946?), who was educated at Bishop's College School. He went on to pursue a career as an accountant, treasurer and administrator in the Sherbrooke region.

In 1854, accompanied by his son Henry, George Norris Trent returned to his homeland of England to live out his final years. Upon his death, Maria Dorothy and Henry inherited his English and Canadian properties.

Henry Trent inherited the family farm in the Drummondville area. After a trip to Vancouver Island in 1862 to prospect for gold, he settled on the farm and ran it with some success. He married Eliza Caya (1844-1936) in 1864. The couple had fourteen children, ten of whom reached adulthood. In 1906, Henry bequeathed the family property to his son, Frederick Trent (1881-1963), who ran it until his death. Known as the "Manoir Trent" or "Trent Manor," the building that was home to three generations of the Trent family received heritage status in 1964 and is still standing today.