Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Fort Madison, Iowa, where he was educated and performed farm work.
After completing his studies at Denmark Academy, Kent began the first of two terms as Lee County superintendent of schools in 1867.
In 1888, Kent aided the establishment of the Lee County Savings Bank and was appointed the institution's director and vice president.
During his tenure as a state legislator, Kent was a member of gubernatorial commissions convened by William Larrabee and Horace Boies.
In 1894, governor Frank D. Jackson named Kent to the commission that planned the Cherokee Mental Health Institute, which opened in 1902.