Margaret Brent, c.1601-1671

An illustration of Brent addressing the assembly. Photo credit - Wikipedia

A prominent colonial Marylander was the first woman in the American colonies to go to court under Common Law to claim land or defend her interests. Considered a “founding mother” of Maryland and one of North America’s first feminists.

Margaret Brent was born in Gloucestershire, England, one of thirteen children of a wealthy Catholic family.

While officially part of the Church of England, the Brents were scrutinized after one of their sisters returned to the Catholic church during the 1630s.

Brent, her sister Mary, and two of their brothers decided to immigrate to the New World and settle in Maryland since its land owner Lord Baltimore had declared it a Catholic refuge with a potentially profitable enterprise.

On November 22nd, 1638, the four siblings arrived at St. Mary’s City, Maryland, where they were granted lands and political offices due to their noble social class and political affiliations.

While one of her brothers returned to England, Brent, then 37 years old and unmarried, and her sister, decided to stay, and on October 4th, 1639, she became the first woman in Maryland to own land. On their 70.5-acre, they established the Sisters’ Freehold; her various business ventures included trading tobacco, and transporting servants, had enlarged the property, and she became one of the most prominent landowners in Maryland.

Over time she became an ally of Maryland Governor Leonard Calvert, and the brother Lord Baltimore, the colony’s landowner.

In 1645, the impact of the English Civil War spread to Maryland, and Protestants raided the Catholic settlement, burning down structures and terrorizing the settlers, who escaped to Virginia. Governor Calvert recruited mercenaries to stop the raiders but became ill. Before his death, he nominated Brent to use his assets and pay the mercenaries to continue protecting the colony.

As there was no official successor to the governor, Brent acted on his behalf, collecting rent and taking care of his financial matters. On January 3rd, 1648, the Provincial Court appointed Brent as attorney-in-fact for Lord Baltimore, who managed the business and advocated for the colony in England.
On January 21st, 1648, only a few weeks after receiving the role, she attended the provincial assembly asking for a voice and two votes in the council, one as an independent landowner and one as Lord Baltimore’s attorney but got denied because of her gender.

Following disagreements with Lord Baltimore, Brent, and her sister moved to Westmoreland County, Virginia, and established a 1000 acres plantation called “Peace.” She lived there until she died at the age of 70.

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“I've come to seek a voice in this assembly. And yet because I am a woman, forsooth I must stand idly by and not even have a voice in the framing of your laws.”

“I've come to seek a voice in this assembly. And yet because I am a woman, forsooth I must stand idly by and not even have a voice in the framing of your laws.”

Fun Facts

  • She and Governor Calvert were the guardians for Mary Kittamaquund, a seven-year-old daughter of a Piscataway chief. Later, her brother, Giles, married her.
  • Records on her land investments indicate the purchase of lands in several places in Virginia - Alexandria, Fredericksburg, and Mount Vernon.
  • She annually held a festival for her people called court leets.
  • Most of the documentation of her life was destroyed during British raiders in the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.
  • The St. John’s site archaeology museum holds an exhibit devoted to her.
  • The garden at the Historic St. Mary’s City is dedicated to her.
  • Margaret Brent Hall at St. Mary’s College of Maryland is named in her honor.
  • A historical marker at Jones Point Park in Alexandria, Virginia, commemorates her pioneering land ownership and her fight for women’s rights.
  • The American Bar Association’s Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award was established in her honor.
  • Several schools in the state of Maryland are named in her honor.
  • She is named a member of the inaugural class of Virginia Women in History.
  • She was among the first women inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985.

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Category: Politics & Leaders
Tags: Spiritual Leader

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