Page:A Naval Biographical Dictionary.djvu/294

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280

DENT—DENYER—DE ROS—DE ROVEREA.

part of 1811 he accompanied his Captain into the San Josef 110, flag-ship in the Mediterranean of Sir Chas. Cotton, in which he continued until promoted, 6 Feb. 1812, to a Lieutenancy in the Royal Sovereign 100, Capt. Wm. Bedford, stationed in the Channel. In April, 1813, Mr. Dent rejoined Sir R. King in the San Josef; and, from March, 1815, to March, 1816, he next served in the St. George and Impregnable, flag-ships at Plymouth of Sir John Thos. Duckworth. He then removed to the Minden 74, Capt. Wm. Paterson, with whom, after sharing in the battle of Algiers, he proceeded to the East Indies; where, from March to July, 1817, he acted as Captain of the Conway frigate. On the latter date he returned to the Minden as Flag-Lieutenant to his patron Sir R. King. Since his last promotion, which took place 30 Oct. 1820, Commander Dent has been unemployed.

He married, in 1821, a daughter of Colonel Hawker.



DENT, formerly Hedley. (Lieutenant, 1825. f-p., 16; h-p., 21.)

William Dent Dent, born 18 April, 1796, is only son of the late Matthew Hedley, Esq., by Jane Charlton, of the family of Charlton of Lee Hall, co. Northumberland, great-niece of Sir Wm. Lorraine, of Kirke-Harle. He assumed his present surname, in lieu of his patronymic, Hedley, on succeeding, in 1831, to the property of his great-uncle, John Dent, Esq., of Shortflatt Tower, in the above county.

This officer entered the Navy, 22 June, 1810, as Midshipman, on board the Rifleman 18, Capts. Alex. Innes and Joseph Pearce, employed on the Home and American stations. On one occasion, when off the Penobscot, he contrived, in a tender, with only four men, to capture one of the enemy’s heavily laden ships; but he had scarcely despatched his prize to New Brunswick, when he had the misfortune to be himself taken captive. He soon, however, effected his escape; and, in Oct. 1814, joined the Royal Oak 74, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Pulteney Malcolm, whom he accompanied in the expedition to New Orleans; where he commanded the ship’s cutter at the disembarkation of the troops, and was in immediate attendance on the last-mentioned officer, and also on Major-General Keane. While co-operating with the army on shore, he fell in at night with a body of Americans, and, being again taken prisoner, was sent 400 miles up the Mississippi. On being eventually exchanged, Mr. Dent returned home, and in Sept. 1815 joined the Alert 18, Capt. John Smith, with whom he served for three years on the east coast of England. Having passed his examination in June, 1816, he was next successively appointed Admiralty-Midshipman and Mate, on the Downs and Mediterranean stations, of the Severn 40, Capt. Wm. M‘Culloch, Cambrian 48, Capt. Gawen Wm. Hamilton, and Euryalus 42, Capt. Augustus Wm. Jas. Clifford. While in the Cambrian, in 1820-3, Mr. Dent escorted Lord Strangford to Constantinople, and was stationed in the Archipelago at the commencement of the revolution in Greece. On obtaining his commission, which bears date 14 Feb. 1825, he joined the Sybille 48, Capt. Sam. John Pechell; with whom he continued until April, 1826. He then returned to England, and has since been on half-pay.

Lieut. Dent is in the commission of the peace for co. Northumberland. He married, 12 May, 1840, Ellen Mary, daughter of Andrew Seton Kerr, Esq., of Kippilow, co. Roxburgh, by whom he has issue a son and two daughters.



DENYER. (Lieut., 1815. f-p., 8; h-p., 32.)

James Richard Denyer entered the Navy, in July, 1807, as Ordinary, on board the Centaur 74, Capt. Wm. Henry Webley, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore, afterwards Vice-Admiral, Sir Sam. Hood; under which gallant officer, until his death in Dec. 1814, he successively served in the Hibernia 110, Tigre 74, Owen Glendower 36, and Illustrious and Minden 74’s, on the North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean, and East India stations. While in the Centaur, he attended the expedition to Copenhagen in Aug. and Sept. 1807 – beheld, in Dec. of the same year, the surrender of Madeira – assisted, in company with the Implacable 74, at the capture, 26 Aug. 1808, in sight of the whole Russian fleet, near Rogerswick, of the 74-gun ship Sewolod, after a close and perilous conflict, in which the Centaur lost 3 men killed and 27 wounded, and the enemy 180 killed and wounded – and, in Aug. 1809, accompanied the armament sent to the Scheldt. He returned home with Capt. Geo. Henderson in 1815, on board the Malacca 42; and, since his promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, which took place on 20 Sept. in that year, has been unemployed.

Lieut. Denyer is married.



DE ROS, F.R.S. (Captain, 1835. f-p., 14; h-p., 1.5.)

The Honourable John Frederick Fitzgerald De Ros, born 6 March, 1804, at Boyle Farm, co. Surrey, is second surviving son of the late Lord Henry Fitzgerald (second son of James, first Duke of Leinster), by Charlotte Baroness De Ros; and only brother of the present Lord De Ros. An elder brother, Arthur John Hill De Ros, died a Lieut.Colonel in the Army, in the 33rd year of his age, 23 Feb. 1826.

This officer entered the Navy, 10 March, 1818, as Midshipman, on board the Tonnant 80, flag-ship of Sir Benj. Hallowell at Cork. He afterwards served, under Capts. Hon. Robt. Cavendish Spencer and Hon. Fred. Spencer, in the Ganymede 26, Owen Glendower 42, Alacrity 10, and Créole 32, on the Mediterranean and South American stations. On 30 May, 1825, he obtained a Lieutenancy in the Jupiter 50, flag-ship at Halifax of Rear-Admiral Willoughby Thos. Lake; subsequently to which he joined – 25 June, 1827, the Royal Sovereign yacht, in which he accompanied H.R.H. the Lord High Admiral, as Flag-Lieutenant, in his first visit to the out-ports – and, 14 Aug. following, the Undaunted 46, Capt. Augustus Wm. Jas. Clifford. Assuming the rank of Commander 24 Jan. 1828, Capt. De Ros was next appointed, 14 May, 1831, to the Algerine 10, on the South American station; where he succeeded, at Cape Frio, in recovering a considerable portion of the treasure from the wreck of H.M. late ship Thetis, and for that service received the warm thanks of the Commander-in-Chief. The Algerine was paid off 3 Dec. 1833. Since that period Capt. De Ros, who acquired Post-rank 7 Feb. 1835, has not been afloat.

Capt. De Ros published, in 1827, a Narrative of Travels made by him in the United States and Canada, together with Observations on the Maritime Resources of North America, and the state of the Dockyards and Navy. Agents – Messrs. Stilwell.



DE ROVEREA. (Lieutenant, 1815. f-p., 9; h-p., 32.)

Frederick Nicholas De Roverea died about the early part of 1847.

This officer entered the Navy, 6 Dec. 1806, as Sec.-cl. Vol., on board the Malta 80, Capts. Edw. Buller and Wm. Shield, employed off Cadiz and in the Mediterranean. Between Aug. 1808 and June, 1814, he served, under Capt. Rich. Hussey Moubray, in the Montagu and Repulse 74’s; in the former of which ships he assisted at the reduction, in April, 1810, of the island of Sta. Maura, where the Montagu lost 4 men killed and 21 wounded. After a further attachment to the Salvador del Mundo, Impregnable, and St. George, flag-ships of Sir John Thos. Duckworth at Plymouth, Mr. De Roverea (who, while in the Montagu and Repulse, had also seen much active boat-service) obtained a Lieutenant’s commission, dated 24 Feb. 1815. He did not afterwards go afloat. Agent – Fred. Dufaur.