Richard Brent (politician)

Richard Brent (1757 – December 30, 1814) was an American planter, lawyer, and politician from Stafford County, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate.

Richard Brent
United States Senator
from Virginia
In office
March 4, 1809 – December 30, 1814
Preceded byAndrew Moore
Succeeded byJames Barbour
Member of the Virginia Senate from Prince William and Fairfax Counties
In office
1808–1809
Preceded byJohn C. Hunter
Succeeded byWilliam Tyler
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 17th district
In office
March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1803
Preceded byLeven Powell
Succeeded byThomas Claiborne
In office
March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1799
Preceded byRichard B. Lee
Succeeded byLeven Powell
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Prince William County
In office
1800–1801
In office
1793–1795
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Stafford County
In office
1788–1789
Personal details
Born1757 (1757)
Stafford County, Virginia
Died (aged 57)
Washington, D.C.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican

Biography

Brent was born in 1757, the eldest son of William Brent (1732-1782), from the same family as Margaret Brent, and Eleanor Carroll, sister of the future Archbishop John Carroll, at his father's estate, 'Richland' on the Potomac River in Stafford County, Virginia.[1][2] He pursued an education in law and was admitted to the bar and subsequently entered practice. Brent was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates representing Stafford County in 1788 and was elected to represent Prince William County, Virginia in 1793, 1794, 1800 and 1801.

Brent was elected in 1794 to the United States House of Representatives representing Virginia's 17th congressional district for the 4th and 5th Congresses, where he served from March 1795 to March 1799, when he returned to the Virginia House of Delegates. Brent was elected again to the U.S. House and served one two-year term during the 7th Congress from March 1801 to March 1803. He served in the Virginia State Senate from 1808 to 1810.[3][4]

Following his service in the Virginia State Senate, fellow delegates elected Brent to the United States Senate, where he served from March 1809 until his death in Washington, D.C., on December 30, 1814.

See also

References
  1. Daniel M. French, Brent Family: the Carroll Families of Colonial Maryland (Alexandria, Va 1981) pp. 73. Eleanor Carroll was the sister of the future Archbishop John Carroll. However, this Richard Brent's brother, Daniel Carroll Brent (1759-1815), inherited 'Richland' and bequeathed it to his family, perhaps because Richard Brent never married.
  2. Virginia Biographical Dictionary, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (Somerset Publishers, 1999)
  4. Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Brent". Retrieved 5 March 2017.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Richard B. Lee		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 17th congressional district
March 4, 1795 – March 4, 1799		 Succeeded by
Leven Powell
Preceded by
Leven Powell		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 17th congressional district
March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1803		 Succeeded by
Thomas Claiborne
U.S. Senate
Preceded by
Andrew Moore		 U.S. senator (Class 1) from Virginia
March 4, 1809 – December 30, 1814
Served alongside: William B. Giles		 Succeeded by
James Barbour
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