Giles Brent, Lt. Governor of Maryland

Biography

From Jordan, D. W., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Giles Brent (ca. 1652–1679). (2016, November 10). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Brent_Giles_ca_1652-1679.

Giles Brent Jr. was born about April 5, 1652, probably near Aquia Creek in the portion of Northumberland County that became Westmoreland County in 1653 and Stafford County in 1664. His parents were Giles Brent (1600–1672) and Mary Brent, the daughter of a tayac, or emperor, of the Piscataway. A Catholic of both Indian and English heritage, Brent was an anomaly in seventeenth-century Virginia, and like others in his strong-minded family he frequently provoked controversy.

Brent's father had a remarkable career before arriving in Virginia. The younger son of a prominent Gloucestershire family, he had migrated to Maryland in 1638 with three siblings. His Catholicism, affluence, and education led to his quick attainment of positions of authority, such as member of the assembly, councillor, and chief militia officer on Kent Island. More often than not the Brents opposed proprietary prerogatives, both in protection of their own interests and in rallying dissident groups against the Calverts. Despite earlier conflicts Lord Baltimore appointed him acting governor in April 1643. An ardent Royalist, the elder Giles Brent antagonized Protestant supporters of Parliament and helped set off an uprising in the colony before being dismissed from office and transported to England in 1645. After obtaining his freedom he returned to Maryland and was briefly reinstated as a councillor. A final break with the Calverts prompted Brent and his equally influential sister Margaret Brent to move to Virginia about 1649 and settle near Aquia Creek. Giles Brent married the orphaned daughter of a Piscataway leader who had been raised by Margaret Brent and Jesuit missionaries who had converted her and her father to Christianity. If he had hoped that the marriage would secure him a claim to Indian lands and that he could promote her right of succession to her father's title, he was disappointed on both counts. Despite legislation restricting the rights of Catholics and occasional complaints about Catholic influence, the Brent family prospered in Virginia. The senior Brent became a militia officer, and his nephew George Brent (b. ca. 1640) held several responsible public offices in the Northern Neck.

Origins

• Richard Brent, Esq., Sheriff of Gloucestershire1
• M, b. circa 1573
• Father Richard Brent1 b. c 1548, d. 1587
• Mother Mary Hugford1 b. c 1551

Richard Brent, Esq., Sheriff of Gloucestershire was born circa 1573 at of Admington, Gloucestershire, England.[1]

He married Elizabeth Reade, daughter of Giles Reade, Esq., Sheriff of Gloucestershire & Worcestershire and Katherine Greville, in 1594; They had 6 sons (Fulk; Richard; 'Col. Giles, Esq';William; Edward; & George) & 7 daughters (Margaret; Mary; Catherine, a nun; Elizabeth, a nun; Eleanor, a nun; Jane; & Anne).[1]

Richard Brent, Esq., Sheriff of Gloucestershire was buried on 1 May 1652 at St. Mary's, Ilmington, Gloucestershire, England.1 His estate was probated on 21 May 1652.1

• Family Elizabeth Reade b. c 1572, d. c 16 May 1631

Citations

• 1.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. I, p. 305.
• http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p4782.htm#...

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'Ancestral records and portraits: a compilation from the archives ..., Volume 2 By Colonial Dames of America. Chapter I, Baltimore, Grafton Press

http://books.google.com/books?id=Pox2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA524&lpg=PA524&dq...

Pg. 522-523

The name of Odo de Brent's son is not known, but that of his grandson Jeffry, whose son, Nicholas, was the father of Sir Robert, who died in 1262 (46 Henry III.), having married Millicent ___. (She married second, Raymond Malet.5) Their son, Sir Robert, married Isabella, the daughter of Simon de Montecute; she survived him, his death occurring in the second year of Edward II. When Edward I. went into Gascony, 1277, Sir Robert attended him, as he did in most of his expeditions into Scotland, being then a Knight. In 1297 he was Knight of the Shire of Somerset, at the Parliament then held at Westminster. he is said to have been the first to use a seal of his arms, viz., a Wiven, as it is now borne and has generally been used by his descendants.[6]

His son, also Sir Robert de Brent, married Claricia, the daughter and heir of Sir Adam de la Ford, of Ford, in the Parish of Bawdrip, by whom he had the Manor of Ford, and other lands, in this County, Wilts, Hants and Essex. Sir Robert is buried on the north side of the shoir of the Abbey Church of Glastonbury. This Robert was also a knight and a great benefactor to the Abbey of Glastonbury.

His son, Sir Robert de Brent, married Elizabeth Deneband, and died 1357 (25 Edw. III.). One of their sons, also Sir Robert, succeeded his father at Cossington. Another son, John, settled himself at Charing, in Kent, on some lans which were Sir Adam de la Ford's, and became the progenitor of a family which continued there with great dignity for many generations.8

Their son, Sir John Brent, married Joan, the daughter and heir of John le Eyre, of Midlezoy, by whom he

Pg. 524

had a manor in that parish. The arms of Le Eyre were: Ar, on a chevron, sable, three quatre foyles oF.[9]

Their son, Sir John Brent of Cossington, married, first Ida, the daughter of Sir John Beauchamp, of Lilisdon, Knt., by whom he had Sir Robert, who succeeded him in the estates of Cossington; and, second Joan, the daughter of Sir Robert Latimer, Knt.

A son of the second married, Sir John, succeeded to the estate of Cossington (upon the death and exinction of the line of his half-brother, Sir Robert Brent).[10]

His son, Sir Robert, married Margaret, the daughter of Hugh Malet, of Currypool.

Their younger son, Robert married Margery, the daughter of George Colchester, Lord of Stoke and Admington, and died 1531. This Robert Brent founded the Brent family of Stoke and Admington, whose place of burial was in the church at Ilmington, in Warwickshire, where a memorial tablet in brass gives an account of their marriages and deaths.

A son, Sir William Brent, Lord of Stoke and Admington, married Elizabeth ___, and died 1595. Their son, Sir Robert, married, 1572, Mary, the daughter of John and Katharine (Hennage) Huggeford, and died 1587. The will of Mary Brent, widow,11 bequeathed silver to her grandchildren, Elizabeth, Elinor, Anne, Jane, Richard, Gyles, William, Edward, and George Brent.

Pg. 525

The elder son, Sir Richard, married, 1594, Elizabeth, the daughter of Giles Reed, Esq., Lord of Tusburie and Witten, and Katherine Greville, his wife. Sir Richard died 1652, and was buried at Ilmington. He had thirteen children, a number of whom were conspicuously connnect with the early history of Maryland and Virginia, viz.: Foulke, 'Giles', Mary, and Margaret.

Their sixth child, George, was granted administration on his father's estate, May 21, 1652. He is mentioned in his grandmother's will and in a conveyance of 1663, as of "Defford." he married Marianna, the daughter of Sir John Peyton, of Doddington; she was twice married after George Brent's death, and died after 1663. Their son GEORGE, was the colonist, who went to Virginia.

From Melissa Thompson Alexander' page on Giles Brent:

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=madagtene...

•ID: I27417

• Name: Giles BRENT
• Sex: M
• Birth: 1604 in Admington, Gloucestershire, England
• Death: 31 AUG 1671 in Stafford Co, VA
• Event: Land Peace
• Religion: 1638 From England to Maryland

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Note: Jerry Clark, Provo, UT (clark4@itsnet.com) "From Early Settlers of Maryland by Gust. Skordas 1637 Immigration and Transportation to Maryland, Mr. Giles Brent ABH 64 Immigrant, became Governor of Maryland."

George Calvert

cybercat@ntr.net

"Giles Brent married an Indian princess and moved to Stafford Co., Va; where he established a large estate. Today, this is the town of Brentsville [presently in Prince William County]. His sister Margaret and Mary also moved to Virginia where they lived on Giles' estate which was called "Peace". (It wasn't "peaceful", Giles was always at odds with either the Calverts or his Protestant neighbors.)

from Paul Tobler citing "Colonial Families of the United States" p 112, The Giles Brent Line

"Giles Brent, Sr. fifths son of Sir Richard and Elizabeth (Reed) Brent of Larke Stoke and Admington, England; b. in 1606 and d in 1671, at his estate 'Retirement,' Westmoreland Co, VA. He migrated to Maryland in 1638 with his brother, Fulke and sisters, Mary and Margaret. he was Deputy Governor of Maryland; Lieutenant-General of Militia; Lord of Kent Fort Manor; Member of the Council of the House of Burgesses, etc. and his estates in Maryland and Virginia were enormous; he left Maryland in 1650 and went to Virginia,

m (firstly) c 1650, the Princess Kitomagund, dau of the Emporer of Piscatoway (she was adopted by Margaret Brent, educated and baptized and given the name of Mary Brent);

m (secondly) c 1660, Mrs Frances Harrison, nee Whitgreaves, by which marriage there was no issue. "

A short distance up St. Inigoes, bearing north, is St. Andrew's Creek. Beautifully situated on a bank overlooking the two creeks is Clocker's Fancy. Tradition states this is the next to the oldest house now standing in St. Mary's County.

This land forms a part of the estate of T. Rowland Thomas of St. Mary's County and Baltimore City. Mr. Thomas also owns the adjoining properties which are of historic interest; The Whitehouse Lot patented in 1639 to Deputy Giles Brent, Brent's Forge and Sister's Freehold, patented in 1639 for Mistress Margaret and Mary Brent, Greene's Rest, patented 1639 for Gov. Thomas Greene, and Justis' Freehold, the home of William Deakins. These various lands are today linked into one estate of several hundred acres, known as Brentland Farm and extend from St. Inigoes to St. Mary's River.

On the south side of St. Inigoes Creek is Grason's Wharf, and just beyond on the banks of the creek is standing today what is said to be the oldest house in Maryland, Cross Manor, the home of Sen. and Mrs. Charles Sterett Grason.

The building of Cross Manor is put at 1644, because it is recorded that about a year after it's supposed date of erection the owner made a claim against the Crown of England for silverware and other valuables that had been stolen from it.

Leaving St. Inigoes Creek, ...following a southerly course for 2 miles, one reaches the Potomac and turns east around Kitty Point. To the left is Smith Creek...situated on the right entrance to this creek is a square house with brick ends, owned by Charles Neubert of Baltimore.

Recently a handsome monument has been erected (in St. Mary's City) by the Maryland Society of the Colonial Dames of America to mark the vault of Gov. Lionel Copley. The inscription of the monument reads: "Here Lyeth the body of Lionel Copley of Wadworth, Co. York, England, Born !648, Died Sept. 27, 1693, and of Anne Boteler, his wife, of Watton, Woodhull, Co. Herts, England, Died March 5, 1692. He was sometime Lt. Governour of Kingston-upon-Hull, 1689-1690, Lt. General, Governour-in Chief and Chief Admiral of Maryland in America, 1691-1693." This memorial erected September 27, 1922."

Father: Richard * BRENT b: 1573 in Larke Stoke, Gloucestershire, England

Mother: Elizabeth * REED b: ABT 1578 in of Tusburie, England

Marriage 1 Mary KITOMAGUND b: ABT 1633

• Married: ABT 1643 in SMC, MD

Children

• 1. Mary BRENT
• 2. Richard BRENT
• 3. Henry BRENT
• 4. Margaret BRENT
• 5. Giles BRENT b: 1652 in Stafford Co, VA

Marriage 2 Frances UNKNOWN

• Married: BET 1660 AND 1665 [1]

Sources:

• 1.Title: Consettct@aol.com
  • Page: 112

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From the Wikipedia page on Chopawamsic, apparently the island on which Giles Brent first settled when coming to Virginia in 1649:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopawamsic

The first English resident of the island was Giles Brent, who settled here in 1649 with his wife, Mary Kittamaquund. She was the daughter of the paramount chief, or Tayac, Kittamaquund, who led the Piscataway nation, the most powerful on the north shore of the Potomac and one to which other tribes were tributary. The Piscataway were allied with the Powhatan Confederacy. At the time, they had friendly relations with the English governments in Jamestown and the colony of Maryland.

An early owner of the island was the Rev. Alexander Scott of the Church of Overwharten (now known as Aquia Church). He purchased the property from the Brent family in the early 18th century.

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From the Wikipedia page on the Piscataway Indian Nation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piscataway_Indian_Nation

English explorer Captain John Smith first visited the upper Potomac River in 1608. When the English began to colonize what is now Maryland, the Tayac managed to turn the newcomers into allies. He granted the English an Indian settlement which they re-named St. Mary's City, after their own monarch.

The Tayac intended the new colonial outpost to serve as a buffer against Susquehannock incursions from the north. The Tayac Chitimachen converted to Christianity in 1634[1], and had a daughter Mary who married colonist Giles Brent of Maryland. They crossed the Potomac to live at Aquia Creek, Virginia.

Any benefits to having the English as allies and buffers were short-lived. The Maryland Colony was initially too weak to pose a significant threat, but as the English were successful in developing a colony, they turned against the Piscataway.

By 1668 western shore Algonquians were confined to two reservations: one on the Wicomico River, the other, on those settlements that comprised a portion of the Piscataway homeland. Refugees from dispossessed Algonquian nations coalesced with the Piscataway.

Reference:

• 1. Conoy Indian Tribe History excerpted from Handbook of American Indians 1906

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From the Wikipedia page on the Crow's Nest Natural Area:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crow's_Nest_Natural_Area_Preserve

By the 1670s English homesteads dotted the Potomac River shores far past Potomac Creek. There was a gradual abandonment of the Patawomeck homelands, with the people primarily going to live among other Algonquian-speakers, including the Potopacos (Portobago Bay on the Rappahannock River to the south.

The Potomac Neck area was patented to John Rookwood and later to Giles Brent in 1651. The last chief of the Patawomecks, Wahanganoche was alleged to be murdered in Caroline County, Virginia in 1664. Historical records show that the Patawomecks ceased to exist as an organized society after the late 17th century. In her book "Pocahontas’s People", Helen Roundtree states that “No patent mentions the site of the Patawomeck town and no documents mention the Patawomecks at all after 1665.”

Frank Speck, author of “Chapters on the Ethnology of the Powhatan Tribes of Virginia” believed that a small group of families, whose names are mostly Newton and Green represent what may be the residue of the Indians who are recorded to have inhabited Potomac Creek. Speck estimates their number back in the 1920s to be about 150.

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From the Wikipedia page on the Piscataway Tribe:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piscataway_(tribe)

English colonization

English explorer Captain John Smith first visited the upper Potomac River in 1608, and referred to the Piscataway by the name Moyaons, after their "king's house", i.e., capital village or Tayac's residence, also spelled Moyaone. Closely associated with them were the Nacotchtank people (Anacostans) who lived around present-day Washington, DC, and the Taux (Doeg) on the Virginia side of the river. Rivals and reluctant subjects of the Tayac hoped that the newcomers would alter the balance of power in the region.

In search of trading partners, the Virginia Company, and later, Virginia Colony, consistently allied with Piscataway enemies. Their entry into the dynamics began to shift regional power. By the early 1630s, the Tayac's hold over some of his subordinate werowances had weakened considerably.

But when the English began to colonize what is now Maryland in 1634, the Tayac Kittamaquund managed to turn the newcomers into allies. He had come to power that year after killing his brother Wannas, the former Tayac.[4] He granted the English a former Indian settlement, which they re-named St. Mary's City after their own monarch. The Tayac intended the new colonial outpost to serve as a buffer against Iroquoian Susquehannock incursions from the north. Kittamaquund and his wife converted to Christianity in 1640 by their friendship with Father White, a Jesuit, who also performed their marriage.[4] Their only daughter Mary Kittamaquund became a ward of colonist Margaret Brent, who became influential in St. Mary's City and saw to her education, including learning English.

At a very young age, Mary Kittamaquund married much older English colonist Giles Brent, one of Margaret's brothers. He made various attempts at claiming Piscataway territory, but they then moved across the Potomac to live at Aquia Creek in present-day Stafford County, Virginia. A recently approved historical highway marker there memorializes Mary Kittamaquund and notes her marriage to Brent.[5] They were said to have had three or four children together. Mary died young, at about age 22, as Brent married again in 1654.

Benefits to having the English as allies and buffers were short-lived. The Maryland Colony was initially too weak to pose a significant threat. Once the English began to develop a stronger colony, they turned against the Piscataway. By 1668 western shore Algonquians were confined to two reservations: one on the Wicomico River; the other, on a portion of the Piscataway homeland. Refugees from dispossessed Algonquian nations merged with the Piscataway.

References:

• 4. Kittamaquund, Tayac of the Piscataway (d. 1641)", Exploring Maryland's Roots, Maryland Public Television, 2010, accessed 22 Apr 2010
• 5. "Eleven New State Historical Markers Approved", Appomattox History, accessed 22 Apr 2010

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From the Wikipedia page on River Farm:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Farm

The River Farm property was first established in 1653-54 when Giles Brent and his wife, a princess of the Piscataway tribe, received a grant of 1,800 acres (7.3 km2) named Piscataway Neck. Upon inheriting title in 1739, William Clifton renamed the property Clifton's Neck, and by 1757 had built the brick house now serving as AHS headquarters.

In 1760 George Washington obtained clear title to the property for £1,210 in a bankruptcy sale. He changed its name to River Farm and leased it to tenant farmers. Today's smaller River Farm is located on the northernmost division of that original property. The property subsequently passed through a number of owners, and at one point was nearly sold to the Soviet Union as a country retreat. Instead in 1973 it was given to the American Horticultural Society (AHS).

Today River Farm features the estate house (enlarged and remodeled) with naturalistic and formal garden areas. It still preserves several historical associations with Washington.

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From the Wikipedia page on his more famous sister, Margaret Brent:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Brent

Margaret, her sister Mary, and her brothers Giles and Fulke sailed together from England and arrived at St. Mary's, Maryland on November 22, 1638.[2]

Large entitlements of land grants and high political offices were secured due to their prestigious bloodline and/or political affiliations. Wanting individual independence, Margaret came to Maryland's Proprietary Governor, Leonard Calvert (with whom she shared a guardianship of Mary Kitomaquund, the daughter of a Piscataway "Emperor" chief). He appointed her his executrix while on his death bed on June 9, 1647,[2]%29 with land entitlement letters from Maryland's Proprietary Governor, Lord Baltimore, entitling the Brent sisters to land grants of equal size to those of the Maryland arrivals of 1634.[2]

Their initial entitlement was enlarged to 800 acres (3.2 km2) per sister, as written in the colonization inducements offered to women, since Margaret had also brought with her five men and four maid servants. In the end, due to the letters from Lord Baltimore, the Brent sisters each received much larger land grants. Then on October 4, 1639, she became the first Maryland female land owner. She obtained the first recorded land grant in St. Mary's, a 70.5-acre (285,000 m2) patent with which she established the "Sister's Freehold", and an adjacent 50 acres (200,000 m2) titled St. Andrew's.

Next Giles Brent turned over to her a 1,000 acre (4 km²) land tract on Kent Island, Maryland as payment of a debt owed her. Her land holdings grew as she continued to import bondservants and sell their indentures.[2]

References

• 2. Article Margaret Brent -- A Brief History © Lois Green Carr retrieved on July 31, 2006
  • http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/002100/002177/html/...
• From Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, 2011, by Douglas Richardson: Mary Brent, married (as his 1st wife) Giles Brent, son of [Col.] Giles Bent, by his 1st wife, Kittamaquund. He was born 5 April 1652. He married (2nd) Frances Hammersley. Giles Brent died at Middlesex County, Virginia, 2 Sept. 1679 Source: *VMHB 12 (1905): 439-445 *Gens. of Virginia Fams from VMHB 1 (1981): 233-428