Robert Brent (1764 – September 7,1819) was the first mayor of City of Washington,federal capital of the United States of America. Brent was born into a prominent Catholic family,members of which emigrated to the Maryland colony in the 17th century and for which the Brent Society is named. [1]
Brent was born in 1764,on the Woodstock estate in Aquia,Stafford County,Virginia. to parents Robert Brent and Anne Carroll Brent. Several of his ancestors had emigrated to northeastern Virginia after a political falling out with the Calvert family,the proprietors of the Maryland colony,and the Brents retained their Catholic faith,practicing it quietly when it became illegal in the Virginia colony. His maternal uncle,John Carroll became the first Catholic Bishop appointed for the United States,and traveled from his Maryland base into Virginia occasionally to conduct religious services at Brent family properties. Several of his Brent ancestors and relatives were lawyers and even members of the Virginia legislature representing Stafford County and later (when it was created) adjoining Prince William County,in addition to operating plantations using enslaved labor. Brent's father was a businessman who also owned the Aquia quarry.
In 1789 or 1787,Brent married Mary Young—the daughter of Notley Young,a plantation owner in Prince George's County,Maryland. [2] The couple resided on the Young family property after their marriage. A few years later,Young's property was among those annexed by the Federal government for the new national capital,making Brent one of the first residents of the newly created City of Washington. He soon took over his father's businesses,selling sandstone to the U.S. government for the White House,U.S. Capitol,and other early construction projects in the District of Columbia and thereby becoming one of the capital's most prominent merchants.
In 1802 Congress officially incorporated the city,including in its incorporation a directive for a mayor to be appointed annually by the President of the United States. On June 3,1802 Thomas Jefferson wrote to Brent, [3] informing Brent of his intention to appoint Brent as mayor of the city. Brent replied accepting the appointment that same day:"Altho I feel great diffidence in the talents I possess for executing that duty,in a manner which may afford general satisfaction,yet feeling it a duty to contribute my feeble aid for the public service,I will venture upon its duties." [4]
Brent was reappointed to the position seven times by Jefferson and three times by James Madison,finally relinquishing the position in June 1812. During his tenure,he essentially created the city government from the ground up — establishing markets,public schools,a police department,a fire department,and a system for taxation. In addition,since city planner Pierre L'Enfant had been dismissed before completion of his design,Brent was responsible for laying out many of the streets in the new city. [5] In ten terms as mayor,Brent took no salary. [6]
During his lifetime,Brent also served as Paymaster-General of the United States Army, [7] Judge of the Orphan's Court for Washington County, [8] and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Public Schools. He was the first president of the Patriotic Bank and of the Columbia Manufacturing Co. [2] [9]
Brent's home was located on the southeast corner of the present 12th Street and Maryland Avenue SW in Washington,DC,but he owned land throughout the region,including parts of Montgomery County,Maryland,and Washington County. His landholdings were largely inherited through his father's family,his mother's family (the Carrolls of Maryland),and his father-in-law.
In 1817 Brent had the Brentwood Mansion constructed in Washington County (the mansion site - Florida Ave and 6th Street NE is now part of the Gallaudet University campus in Northeast DC) as a present for his daughter Eleanor on her marriage to Congressman Joseph Pearson (Federalist - N.C.). Brentwood was designed by one of the Capitol's architects,Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The Prince George's County,Maryland,towns of Brentwood and North Brentwood and the DC neighborhood of Brentwood (which formed most of the original estate) take their names from his home.
Brent died in City of Washington,at his home on September 7,1819,after suffering from a stroke. He was buried in a vault on the property of Brentwood Mansion but vandalism and desecration of the crypts forced the last owners of the property to re-inter the remains of Brent and his family members to Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church Cemetery in Forest Glen,Maryland in 1915.[ citation needed ]
Robert Brent Elementary School in City of Washington is named in his honor. His son William Brent Jr. served in the Virginia House of Delegates and as charge de affairs to Argentina.
Brentwood is a neighborhood in Northeast Washington,D.C.,Bounded by Rhode Island Avenue NE,Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood Metro Sta Train Tracks NE,Montana Avenue NE,and New York Avenue NE. And is named after the Brentwood Mansion built at Florida Avenue and 6th Street NE in 1817 by Robert Brent,the first mayor of Washington City. He built it as a wedding present for his daughter Eleanor on her marriage as second wife to Congressman Joseph Pearson,and it stood for a hundred years before burning down in 1917.
James Hoban was an Irish-American architect,best known for designing the White House.
Daniel Carroll Jr. was an American politician and plantation owner from Maryland and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He supported the American Revolution,served in the Confederation Congress,was a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 which penned the Constitution of the United States,and was a U.S. Representative in the First Congress. Carroll was one of five men to sign both the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. He was one of the few Roman Catholics among the Founders.
The Residence Act of 1790,officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States,is a United States federal statute adopted during the second session of the 1st United States Congress and signed into law by President George Washington on July 16,1790. The Act provides for a national capital and permanent seat of government to be established at a site along the Potomac River and empowered President Washington to appoint commissioners to oversee the project. It also set a deadline of December 1800 for the capital to be ready,and designated Philadelphia as the nation's temporary capital while the new seat of government was being built. At the time,the federal government operated out of New York City.
The history of Washington,D.C.,is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. The site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was first selected by President George Washington. The city came under attack during the War of 1812 in an episode known as the Burning of Washington. Upon the government's return to the capital,it had to manage the reconstruction of numerous public buildings,including the White House and the United States Capitol. The McMillan Plan of 1901 helped restore and beautify the downtown core area,including establishing the National Mall,along with numerous monuments and museums.
Richard Brent was an American planter,lawyer,and politician who represented Virginia in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate,and at various times Fairfax,Prince William and Stafford counties as he served at various times in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly.
Captain George Graham,a Virginia planter,lawyer,soldier and politician became an early federal government bureaucrat. He served twice as acting United States Secretary of War,including during the transition between the administrations of Presidents James Madison and James Monroe (1816-1817),as well as Commissioner of the United States General Land Office (1823-1830) under Presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.
Margaret Brent,was an English immigrant to the Colony of Maryland,settled in its new capitol,St. Mary's City,Maryland. She was the first woman in the English North American colonies to appear before a court of the common law. She was a significant founding settler in the early histories of the colonies of Maryland and Virginia. Leonard Calvert,Governor of the Maryland Colony,appointed her as the executrix of his estate in 1647,at a time of political turmoil and risk to the future of the settlement. She helped ensure soldiers were paid and given food to keep their loyalty to the colony,thereby very likely having saved the colony from violent mutiny,although her actions were taken negatively by the absentee colonial proprietor in England,Cecil Calvert,the second Lord Baltimore,and so ultimately she paid a great price for her efforts and was forced to leave the colony.
William Leigh Brent—was a lawyer,plantation owner,and slaveholder in Maryland and Louisiana,and three-term U.S. Representative representing Louisiana's 3rd congressional district.
John Walker Maury was an American municipal politician from the Democratic Party. He served as the fifteenth mayor of the City of Washington for a single two-year term,from 1852 to 1854.
Aquia Creek sandstone is a brown to light-gray freestone used extensively in building construction in Washington,D.C. in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Quarried at Aquia Creek in Stafford County,Virginia,the stone was valuable for its ease of shaping and the quarry's proximity to the tidewater portion of the Potomac River,45 miles (72 km) south of Washington.
The Public Quarry at Government Island in Stafford County,Virginia is the principal source of Aquia Creek sandstone,a building stone used in many of the early government buildings in Washington,D.C.,including the U.S. Capitol and the White House. A quarry was established just off the Potomac River at Wigginton's Island on Aquia Creek by George Brent after 1694,providing stone for tombstones and to houses and churches in northern Virginia,including Gunston Hall,Christ Church in Alexandria,Virginia,Mount Airy in Richmond County,Virginia,and Aquia Church,as well as steps and walkways at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Washington selected Aquia sandstone as the primary material for use in Washington's government buildings. Acting on the government's behalf,the Wigginton's Island quarry was purchased by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1791,becoming known afterward as Government Island.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the District of Columbia:
The Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences (1816–1838) was a literary and science institution in Washington,D.C.,founded by Dr. Edward Cutbush (1772–1843),a naval surgeon. Thomas Law had earlier suggested of such a society "at the seat of government." It was the first "learned society" established in Washington and was organized on June 28,1816,sixteen years after the city was occupied,and less than two years after the invasion by the British troops. The second article of its constitution states:"The Institute shall consist of mathematical,physical,moral and political sciences,general literature and fine arts."
The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws,and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the D.C. Council. In addition,the mayor oversees all district services,public property,police and fire protection,most public agencies,and the district public school system. The mayor's office oversees an annual district budget of $8.8 billion. The mayor's executive office is located in the John A. Wilson Building in Downtown Washington,D.C. The mayor appoints several officers,including the deputy mayors for Education and Planning &Economic Development,the district administrator,the chancellor of the district's public schools,and the department heads of the district agencies.
Mary Kittamaquund was a Piscataway woman who played a role in the establishment of the Maryland colony. The daughter of the Piscataway chieftain Kittamaquund,she was sent by her father as an adoptee to be raised by the English governor. Her life helped establish peaceful relations between English immigrants to the Maryland and Virginia Colonies and their native peoples.
Thomas Corcoran Jr. was an Irish American merchant who served as mayor of the town of Georgetown,District of Columbia and 22 terms on the Georgetown Common Council. He also held several appointed positions with the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. He was one of Georgetown's and Washington's first philanthropists,and the father of banker and philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran.
William Matthews,occasionally spelled Mathews,was an American who became the fifth Roman Catholic priest ordained in the United States and the first such person born in British America. Born in the colonial Province of Maryland,he was briefly a novice in the Society of Jesus. After being ordained,he became influential in establishing Catholic parochial and educational institutions in Washington,D.C. He was the second pastor of St. Patrick's Church,serving for most of his life. He served as the sixth president of Georgetown College,later known as Georgetown University. Matthews acted as president of the Washington Catholic Seminary,which became Gonzaga College High School,and oversaw the continuity of the school during suppression by the church and financial insecurity.
The District of Columbia was created in 1801 as the federal district of the United States,with territory previously held by the states of Maryland and Virginia ceded to the federal government of the United States for the purpose of creating its federal district,which would encompass the new national capital of the United States,the City of Washington. The district came into existence,with its own judges and marshals,through the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801;previously it was the Territory of Columbia. According to specific language in the U.S. Constitution,it was 100 square miles (259 km2).