Margaret Brent Historical Markers

These two historical markers describe the life and legacy of Margaret Brent (c.1607-c.1671), one of the most notable figures of early American history. Brent, who was Catholic, was a prominent and well-respected landowner, entrepreneur, and lawyer. She owned land in the Virginia and Maryland colonies including the tract of land that formed original part of Alexandria. In 1647 just before his death, the governor of the Maryland Colony, Leonard Calvert (1606-1647), appointed Brent as the executor of his estate and in that role she saved the colony from mutinous soldiers. However, Brent is best known for asking for the right to vote in the all-male colonial assembly in 1648 (she in fact requested to have two votes; one for herself as a landowner and one for her role as attorney for Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of the colony and Calvert's older brother. The assembly denied her request). The markers are located in Jones Point Park, which was part of Brent's landholdings.

Margaret Brent was born around 1601 in Gloucestershire, England to a noble family. Her father, Richard Brent, was the Lord of Admington and Lark Stoke, and her mother, Elizabeth Reed, was the daughter of Edward Reed, who was the Lord of Tusburie and Witten. Brent was one of thirteen children (seven boys and six daughters) and her father apparently tutored her in the law. She immigrated to the Maryland Colony in November 1638 with a sister and two brothers to seek a new life away from the religious turmoil between Catholics and Protestants in England. In 1639, Brent acquired her first land grant in present-day St. Mary's, Maryland and eventually owned 800 acres plus an additional 1,000 acres she received from her brother Giles. Like most of the other settlers, which included Catholic (Jesuit) priests, she grew tobacco. She also also imported and sold indentured servants and lent money to new settlers. She never married and supported herself without oversight from her brothers. Brent represented herself and her brothers in court on a number of occasions, which earned the respect of her peers.

The colony was managed by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, who appointed his brother Leonard Calvert as its governor in 1632. Lord Baltimore knew that in order for the colony to be successful, he would need both Protestant and Catholic settlers. As a result, he declared that the colony would be welcome to any qualified individuals regardless of religion. In short, it was an experiment in religious toleration.

Despite being far from England, Brent and her siblings could not escape the tensions between Catholics and Protestants, which eventually boiled over into the English Civil War (1642 to 1651) fought between King Charles I and the English Parliament. In early 1645, a Protestant sea captain fighting for the parliament, Richard Ingle, sailed to the colony and raided St. Mary's. They destroyed property and seized Giles and the Jesuit priests, whom they took back to England. Leonard Calvert escaped to Virginia and many settlers moved there as well (the population of the colony decreased from around 500 to 100 settlers). The next year, he and a contingent of soldiers returned in December to reassert control and were successful. However, he became ill by summer and appointed Thomas Greene as governor and Brent as executor of his estate. He died on June 9.

The soldiers had not been paid by then and were becoming more disgruntled by the day; mutiny was a real possibility. Before he died, Calvert promised to sell his estate to pay them. However, English law prohibited Brent, as executor, from selling the land. The rectify the issue and avert an existential crisis, on January 3, 1648, the Provincial Court appointed her as Lord Baltimore's lawyer to grant her the authority to sell the property (this was done without Lord Baltimore's approval; there was no time to ask for his consent). It was on the 21st that she appeared before the assembly to request the right to vote. On that day she also sold Lord Baltimore's cattle since Calvert's property was not enough to pay the soldiers.

Lord Baltimore was very angry with Brent and thought she had confiscated his property, but her actions likely saved the colony and its policy of religious toleration. Some historians have claimed Brent as a feminist for requesting the right to vote, which they perceived as her challenging male power. However, others argue that the request was simply an attempt to assert her belief that she was entitled to the right to vote given her role in saving the colony.

Brent and her sister moved to northern Virginia in 1650 and lived on a plantation in what is now Westmoreland County. She apparently bought more land and, after her sister died in 1658, acquired her sister's property of 1,000 acres. Brent died around 1671 in present-day Stafford County, Virginia.

Carr, Lois Green. "Margaret Brent - A Brief History." Maryland State Archives. February 7, 2002. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/002100/002177/html/mbrent2.html.

Converse, Gayle & Miller, Pat. "The story of 1600s landowner ‘Gentleman’ Margaret Brent." Alexandria Times. September 25, 2020. https://alextimes.com/2020/09/the-story-of-1600s-landowner-gentleman-margaret-brent.

Henretta, James. "Margaret Brent: A Woman of Property." Varsity Tours. Accessed March 1, 2023. https://www.varsitytutors.com/earlyamerica/early-america-review/volume-3/margaret-brent-a-woman-of-property.

Masson, Margaret W. "Margaret Brent, c.1601-c.1671: Lawyer, Landholder-Entrepreneur." Notable Maryland, Women, ed. by Winifred G. Helms Ph.D. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/002100/002177/pdf/notable.pdf.

"Margaret Brent (ca. 1601-ca. 1671)." Maryland State Archives. 1997. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/002100/002177/html/brochure.html.

"The Remarkable Margaret Brent." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed March 10, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=62026.