Richard Brent | |
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| United States Senator fromVirginia | |
| In office March 4, 1809 – December 30, 1814 | |
| Preceded by | Andrew Moore |
| Succeeded by | James Barbour |
| Member of theVirginia Senate fromPrince William andFairfax Counties | |
| In office 1808–1809 | |
| Preceded by | John C. Hunter |
| Succeeded by | William Tyler |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's17th district | |
| In office March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1803 | |
| Preceded by | Leven Powell |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Claiborne |
| In office March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1799 | |
| Preceded by | Richard B. Lee |
| Succeeded by | Leven Powell |
| Member of theVirginia House of Delegates from Prince William County | |
| In office 1800–1801 | |
| In office 1793–1795 | |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates fromStafford County | |
| In office 1788–1789 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1757 (1757) |
| Died | December 30, 1814(1814-12-30) (aged 56–57) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party | Democratic-Republican |
Richard Brent (1757 – December 30, 1814) was an American planter, lawyer, and politician who representedVirginia in both theU.S. House and theU.S. Senate, and at various timesFairfax,Prince William andStafford counties as he served at various times in both houses of theVirginia General Assembly.
Brent was born in 1757, the eldest son of lawyer and future patriot legislator William Brent (1732-1782), at his father's plantation estate, 'Richland' on thePotomac River inStafford County in theColony of Virginia. Nearly a century earlierGeorge Brent had emigrated across the Atlantic Ocean to the Virginia Colony to avoid England's Civil Wars and persecution as a Catholic and established 'Woodstock' plantation; others from that prominent Catholic family would includeMargaret Brent, and Eleanor Carroll, sister of the futureArchbishopJohn Carroll, who as a priest in Maryland crossed thePotomac River to serve the Brents and other Catholics in Northern Virginia[1][2] Privately educated, Brent also read law, but never married.
Admitted to the Virginiabar, Brent had a private legal practice in northern Virginia. Although Virginia had several laws (including one requiring an oath the support the Church of England, which restricted Catholics from practicing law and sitting in the legislature, those were not enforced against him. Before his birth, some relatives moved toPrince William County, Virginia and establishedBrent Town (modernBrentsville) to avoid such anti-Catholic legislation, although such mostly grew after William Brent's death, first when it became the Prince William County government seat, and later with the development of theOrange and Alexandria Railroad.[3]
After his father's death Brent continued his family tradition and several times won election to theVirginia House of Delegates, representing Stafford County in 1788 and representing Prince William County in 1793, 1794, 1800 and 1801.
In 1794, Brent won election to the United States House of Representatives and representedVirginia's 17th congressional district during the4th and5th Congresses, serving from March 1795 to March 1799, when he returned to the Virginia House of Delegates, again winning election from Prince William County. Brent again won election to the U.S. House and served another two-year term during the7th Congress from March 1801 to March 1803. He served in theVirginia State Senate from 1808 to 1810.[4][5]
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 inWashington, D.C., on December 30, 1814.
He is buried at the private Brent family cemetery nearAquia in Stafford County, Virginia.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 17th congressional district March 4, 1795 – March 4, 1799 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 17th congressional district March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1803 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Virginia March 4, 1809 – December 30, 1814 Served alongside:William B. Giles | Succeeded by |
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