W.J. Kent
Encyclopedia
William Joseph Kent was a business and political leader in Bathurst
, New Brunswick in Canada
. Kent's business enterprises were significant in the economic development of the region, and Kent was a founding alderman
in Bathurst's first town council for sixteen years before serving as mayor
of Bathurst for two terms.
and was a pioneer in the development of the mining industry in New Brunswick. However, having not found sufficient success in mining, in 1842 the elder Joseph Kent bought land near Tetagouche
and prospered as a farmer
and blacksmith
. The younger Joseph Kent bought his own farm near Bathurst in 1873. The Joseph Kent Farm, where W.J. Kent lived as a child, is now on the Canadian Register of Historic Places
.
to study at Kerr’s Business College. In 1884, at the age of 23, Kent opened a small wood-frame store in downtown Bathurst and organized W.J. Kent & Company, LTD. Catering primarily to the local farming community, it was the first general goods store
in the area that was not owned by one of the large mining or lumber companies. The store proved popular, and in 1901, Kent built a larger brick building at 150 Main Street to house his growing enterprise. In 1914, the store was expanded again, and a third story was added to the complex creating what was then the largest department store
in New Brunswick.
Founded by Kent’s son, J. Harold Kent, Kent’s department store ran a successful catalogue
business that rivaled Eaton's
at its peak. The products offered for sale ranged from flour and animal feed to automobiles. In the 1950s and 1960’s Kent’s catalogue became nationally known as a supplier of mining equipment and supplies. A copy of the 1927 catalogue is in the collection of the Nepisiquit Centennial Museum.
In 1953, the company opened the first large supermarket
in Bathurst next door to the department store on Main Street. It remained in operation until 1974.
Kent’s department store was a fixture of downtown Bathurst and was well known for its use of a pneumatic tube
cash system that was among the last to be used in Canada. Rather than having a cash register at every counter, all transactions were handled by a central cashier who took payments and returned change through a tube system that connected to all the departments on all three floors.
Kent’s department store closed in September, 1990 after being in business for 106 years. The main building was subsequently torn down, but one of the warehouses continued to be used by the Bathurst Farmers Market.
Kent was visiting St. John’s, Newfoundland when he bore witness to the Great Fire of 1892
. He authored a book about the event titled , A Directory Containing Names and Present Addresses of Professional Men, Merchants and Shopkeepers, Burnt out by the General Conflagration of July 8th, 1892; A Full Account of the Great Fire, the Customs’ Tariff and Other Matter of General Information. Published in 1892, Kent’s book came to be recognized as the definitive account of the disaster.
in 1918 while with the Royal Flying Corps
in World War I
. His oldest son, J. Harold Kent, survived combat duty in France
during the war. He married Marjorie Young, the daughter of Frederick T. B. Young
, and had two children. Harold, who managed the department store and who founded its catalogue business, was W.J. Kent’s heir apparent
until he died unexpectedly of pneumonia
in 1928. George Kent, who then was being groomed to lead the business, died in 1942.
Upon W.J. Kent’s death in 1943, he was survived by his three daughters (Margaret, Adelaide, and Elizabeth) but management of all of Kent’s business interests fell to his youngest son, J. Harper Kent. Harper Kent managed W.J. Kent & Company until his death in 1987. The W.J. Kent fortune was largely distributed to charity
by Harper Kent and his wife Gwendolyn. One of the recipients, the J. Harper Kent Charitable Foundation, is active in providing college scholarship
s to high school graduates from the Bathurst area.
The W.J. Kent archives are housed at the Bathurst Museum, now known as the Nepisiquit Centennial Museum and Cultural Centre.
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....
, New Brunswick in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Kent's business enterprises were significant in the economic development of the region, and Kent was a founding alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
in Bathurst's first town council for sixteen years before serving as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Bathurst for two terms.
Family background
Kent was born to Hannah Branch and Joseph Kent. His grandfather (also named Joseph Kent) was an immigrant from Cornwall, EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was a pioneer in the development of the mining industry in New Brunswick. However, having not found sufficient success in mining, in 1842 the elder Joseph Kent bought land near Tetagouche
Tetagouche Falls, New Brunswick
Tetagouche Falls is a settlement in New Brunswick....
and prospered as a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
and blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
. The younger Joseph Kent bought his own farm near Bathurst in 1873. The Joseph Kent Farm, where W.J. Kent lived as a child, is now on the Canadian Register of Historic Places
Canadian Register of Historic Places
The Canadian Register of Historic Places is an online, searchable database that includes listings of historic places important to communities, cities, provinces, territories, and the nation...
.
Kent’s department store
In the early 1880s, W.J. Kent worked in the company store of the West Bathurst lumber firm of R.A. and J. Stewart. Wanting to open his own store, Kent went to Saint JohnSaint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
to study at Kerr’s Business College. In 1884, at the age of 23, Kent opened a small wood-frame store in downtown Bathurst and organized W.J. Kent & Company, LTD. Catering primarily to the local farming community, it was the first general goods store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
in the area that was not owned by one of the large mining or lumber companies. The store proved popular, and in 1901, Kent built a larger brick building at 150 Main Street to house his growing enterprise. In 1914, the store was expanded again, and a third story was added to the complex creating what was then the largest department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
in New Brunswick.
Founded by Kent’s son, J. Harold Kent, Kent’s department store ran a successful catalogue
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
business that rivaled Eaton's
Eaton's
The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...
at its peak. The products offered for sale ranged from flour and animal feed to automobiles. In the 1950s and 1960’s Kent’s catalogue became nationally known as a supplier of mining equipment and supplies. A copy of the 1927 catalogue is in the collection of the Nepisiquit Centennial Museum.
In 1953, the company opened the first large supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
in Bathurst next door to the department store on Main Street. It remained in operation until 1974.
Kent’s department store was a fixture of downtown Bathurst and was well known for its use of a pneumatic tube
Pneumatic tube
Pneumatic tubes are systems in which cylindrical containers are propelled through a network of tubes by compressed air or by partial vacuum...
cash system that was among the last to be used in Canada. Rather than having a cash register at every counter, all transactions were handled by a central cashier who took payments and returned change through a tube system that connected to all the departments on all three floors.
Kent’s department store closed in September, 1990 after being in business for 106 years. The main building was subsequently torn down, but one of the warehouses continued to be used by the Bathurst Farmers Market.
Other business interests
W.J. Kent & Company founded or owned many other Bathurst area businesses in addition to the department store. They included the Gloucester Hotel, Carleton Hotel, Kent Motel, Gloucester Dry Cleaning and Laundry, Bathurst Laundromat, Kent Sales, Northern Storage, Bathurst Propane, Miramichi Propane, Bathurst Ready Mix, Kent Farms, Kent Trailer Park, Capital Lanes Bowling Alley, Kent Lodge Resort, Chaleur Beach Picnic Site and Trailer Park, Kent Shoes, Bay-View Trailer Park, Bay-View Drive-In Theater, and Kent Theater.Witness to the Great Fire of 1892
Great Fire of 1892
The Great Fire in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 8, 1892, is remembered as the worst disaster ever to befall that city. Previous "Great Fire"s had occurred in St...
. He authored a book about the event titled , A Directory Containing Names and Present Addresses of Professional Men, Merchants and Shopkeepers, Burnt out by the General Conflagration of July 8th, 1892; A Full Account of the Great Fire, the Customs’ Tariff and Other Matter of General Information. Published in 1892, Kent’s book came to be recognized as the definitive account of the disaster.
Legacy
Kent had seven children with his wife Christina Dutch Kent, but three of his four sons died at young ages. Morley Kent was killed in action over BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1918 while with the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. His oldest son, J. Harold Kent, survived combat duty in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the war. He married Marjorie Young, the daughter of Frederick T. B. Young
Frederick T. B. Young
Frederick Temple Blackwood Young , better known at F.T.B. Young, was a business leader and politician from Caraquet, New Brunswick, Canada....
, and had two children. Harold, who managed the department store and who founded its catalogue business, was W.J. Kent’s heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
until he died unexpectedly of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in 1928. George Kent, who then was being groomed to lead the business, died in 1942.
Upon W.J. Kent’s death in 1943, he was survived by his three daughters (Margaret, Adelaide, and Elizabeth) but management of all of Kent’s business interests fell to his youngest son, J. Harper Kent. Harper Kent managed W.J. Kent & Company until his death in 1987. The W.J. Kent fortune was largely distributed to charity
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
by Harper Kent and his wife Gwendolyn. One of the recipients, the J. Harper Kent Charitable Foundation, is active in providing college scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s to high school graduates from the Bathurst area.
The W.J. Kent archives are housed at the Bathurst Museum, now known as the Nepisiquit Centennial Museum and Cultural Centre.