CHRONOLOGY:​  THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1699

 

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Dentdale was known to the Romans although there is no evidence of settlement during that period.

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6th century

According to author David Boulton, Dent was at the centre of a 6th century Celtic Christian kingdom ruled by a warrior called Dunawt.

 

597                                                                                           Dunawt died in 597, possibly killed by invading Anglo-Saxons, but left his name to morph into Dent.

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10th century

Dentdale was first settled in the 10th century when Norse invaders first entered the dale.

Both place name and dialect evidence indicate that this area was settled by the Norse in the 10th century.                                                                 

 Geoffrey Hodgson, in 2008, argued that this invasion accounts for the high frequency of the Hodgson surname in the area.

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This part of the world was later prone to incursions by Danes and Norse and was so wild, or possibly part of the King of Scotland’s territory, that William the Conqueror’s Domesday surveyors gave it a miss. 

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12th century

The Normans eventually arrived in the 12th century, though, and the earliest parts of the present church date from then.

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14th century

Dent was the birthplace of Thomas de Dent, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, in the early 14th century.

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1511

We can trace back the family line (just on Oversby) to 1511, through an ancestor who came to UK through Hull on the Eastern seaboard.                                                                                            [AO note: Bold statement on a genealogy advertisement]

 

1541 Before the creation of the Diocese of Chester in 1541, the area north of the Ribble was in the Diocese of York,

 

1612 (11 May) John Oversbye married Ellen Sidgewick/Sigswicke (1577-) in St. Oswald's Church, Horton-in-Ribblesdale

 

1617 (23 Jan) Thomas Oversbie baptised at Giggleswick, Yorkshire,England.   Father:  Johannis Oversbie [John Oversbie]

 

1621 George Hodgeson (1621-1715), The Dent Vampire, born in Dentdale.   In 1715 George was buried in the corner of Dent Churchyard.

 

1640 (24 Jun) Thomas Oversby married Agnes Hasselden/Haselden in Giggleswick, Yorkshire, England

 

Abt 1648 Thomas Capstick (1648–) born in Dent, Yorkshire, England

 

1651 (11 May) Elizabeth Burton (1651–1696) born in Dent, Yorkshire, England.                                                                                               Died Feb 1696.

 

1672 John Oversby (1672–1730) born in Yorkshire, England.                      Died 6 Jun 1730 Dent, Yorkshire, England

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1678 (30 Mar) Thomas Capstick (1648-) married Elizabeth Burton (1651–1696) at St Andrew's Church, Dent, Yorkshire, England.

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1678 Elizabeth Mason (1678–1772) born in Yorkshire, England.

 

1682 (3 May) Cecily Capstack (1682–1730) born in Dent, Yorkshire, England.                                                                                               Died 23 Jan 1730.

 

1696 (Feb) Elizabeth Burton (1651–1696) died in Dent, Yorkshire, England

 

1698 (17 Dec) George Oversby (1698–1776) born in Dent, Yorkshire, England.                                                                                     Parents: John Oversby (1672–1730) and Elizabeth Mason (1678–1772)

 

1699 Thomas Oversby (1699–1779) born in Dent, Yorkshire, England.           Died 31 Jul 1779 Gawthrop, Yorkshire, England

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