An Account of Oakland County / edited by Lillian Drake Avery.

PERSONAL SKETCHES

279

away from friends and where he is unknown to be successful. Mr.
Kent's experience is quite contrary to this popular idea as he is a
native son of Oakland county and was born on the homestead near
Ortonville which his father still owns and occupies. He is the son
of Frank and Ella (Markham) Kent, and was born August 6, 1886.
His mother died in 1917; his father, a man of sterling character and
virile personality, is now retired. He has always been a farmer and
his considerable holdings in and around Ortonville attest to his complete success. He is also a keen lover of horses and is widely known
for his horsemanship. Floyd Kent attended the high school at Ortonville until 1904, at which time he transferred to the Flint high school
and graduated there in 1905. Afterward he attended Albion College.
During his vacations while at Albion College he was employed as a
salesman for the F. B. Dickerson Publishing Company of Detroit.
During this time he was very successful, and it is a fact that while in
college he paid his own expenses and had money in the bank. This
instance is quite typical of his thrift, and no doubt has contributed
materially to his present success. After leaving college he continued
his affiliations with this publishing company until 1913, during which
time he built up a substantial business in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. While thus engaged his entire time was
devoted to the employing and training of college men to sell, the same
as he had done, and he incidently received a fine training in salesmanship and became a successful executive. In 1913 after learning the
fundamentals of this business he felt himself capable of larger activities and entered the real estate business as a salesman for the Hannan
Real Estate Exchange, one of the leading real estate firms in the city
of Detroit. During the time he was connected here he started at the
bottom and learned the fundamentals of success of this business and
received a complete education in the development of high grade subdivision properties. In the early part of 1916 he formed an affiliation
with several responsible Detroit men and purchased the old Roberts'
homestead on the western side of Pontiac and organized the Seminole
Hills Land Company, the offices of which were located in the Dawson
building in Pontiac. As the business developed the old offices proved
quite inadequate, and in the summer of 1923 large and well appointed
offices were taken on the ground floor of the First National Bank
building. Mr. Kent is the sole agent for the exclusive Seminole Hills
residential district, and in addition he has selling contracts on Elizabeth
Dale on Elizabeth lake; Crescent Lake Park on Crescent lake, a summer cottage development; Oakland Hills, situated one mile from the
city limits on Oakland avenue, now coming to be known as Woodward avenue. The proposed Telegraph road also borders this fine
property. He is also interested in the development of a large tract
bordering Big Fish lake, which lies in Oakland and Lapeer counties.
Not satisfied with these accomplishments and with his characteristic
vision Mr. Kent has plans well under way for the development of an
area which will be similar in its restrictions and landscaping to Seminole Hills. However with the trend of the times this development will