Margaret Brent facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Margaret Brent
Monochrome painting of Margaret Brent speaking to the Maryland Assembly in colonial St. Mary's City. By Edwin Tunis (c. 1934)
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Margaret Brent (born around 1601, died around 1671) was an amazing English woman who moved to the Colony of Maryland. She was the very first woman in the English colonies of North America to go to court and speak for herself. She played a huge part in the early days of both the Maryland and Virginia colonies.

In 1647, the Governor of Maryland, Leonard Calvert, chose her to manage his affairs when he was dying. This was a very difficult time for the colony. Margaret helped make sure soldiers were paid and fed. This likely saved the colony from a dangerous uprising. However, the owner of the colony, Lord Baltimore, didn't like her actions. Because of this, Margaret had to leave Maryland.

Margaret Brent is considered one of the most important women in early American history, alongside Anne Hutchinson. Some people today see her as a pioneer for women's rights. She strongly fought for her legal rights as an unmarried woman who owned property. While her actions were unusual for the time, they were technically allowed by English law. But in the tough, male-dominated colonies, her independence was truly remarkable.

Early Life in England
Moving to Maryland
The English Civil War Reaches Maryland
Moving to Virginia
Legacy and Honors
See also

Early Life in England

Margaret Brent was born in Gloucestershire, England. She was one of six daughters in a large family of thirteen children. Her father, Richard Brent, was a local sheriff. Even though her family was officially part of the Church of England, their loyalty was questioned. This happened when one of her sisters, Catherine, became Catholic and moved to Belgium. Two more sisters joined her there during the religious conflicts that led to the English Civil War.

Moving to Maryland

Margaret, her sister Mary, and their brothers Giles and Fulke Brent sailed from England. They arrived in St. Mary's, Maryland on November 22, 1638. They hoped to find better opportunities there. In England, the oldest son inherited everything. The other children had to find their own way. Margaret Brent was about 37 years old and not married when she arrived.

The Brent family received large land grants and important political jobs in the colony. This was because of their important family background. Fulke Brent went back to England, but Margaret, Mary, and Giles stayed in Maryland.

On October 4, 1639, Margaret Brent became the first woman in Maryland to own land. She received a land grant of about 70.5 acres. She and her sister Mary used this to create a place called "Sisters' Freehold." They also had another 50-acre plot nearby. The sisters later received even more land, about 800 acres each. Giles Brent also gave Margaret 1,000 acres on Kent Island, Maryland to pay a debt.

Margaret Brent also received "headrights" for the nine servants she brought with her. Headrights were like credits given to people who brought workers to the colony. This encouraged people to bring more labor for the growing colony.

Margaret became a friend and supporter of Governor Leonard Calvert. They became guardians for a seven-year-old Native American girl named Mary Kittamaquund. She was the daughter of a Piscataway chief. The colonists promised to teach Mary English language and culture. In 1644, Giles Brent married Mary Kittamaquund.

The English Civil War Reaches Maryland

By the mid-1640s, the English Civil War started to affect Maryland. A Protestant sea captain named Richard Ingle attacked the colony in early 1645. Ingle was an ally of a Virginia trader who had a disagreement with Giles Brent. Ingle captured Giles Brent and two Jesuit priests and took them to England.

Governor Leonard Calvert returned and gathered armed men from Virginia to fight the attackers. The attackers were forced away. However, the colony was left with only about 100 residents. Calvert then became sick and died before he could pay the soldiers.

Before he died, Governor Calvert reportedly told Margaret Brent, whom he chose to manage his affairs, "Take all, spend all." Margaret used his money and property to pay the soldiers who had saved the colony. This later caused a big argument with Lord Baltimore, the governor's brother. Lord Baltimore ordered Margaret and her family to leave Maryland.

Lord Baltimore managed his colony from England. He needed to keep political support and show his loyalty to the new Protestant government. After Calvert's death, the court in Maryland appointed Margaret Brent to act on behalf of Lord Baltimore. This was because there was no time to contact him about money matters. She collected his rents and paid his debts.

So, Margaret Brent was representing Lord Baltimore, managing Calvert's estate, and was also a landowner herself. On January 21, 1648, she went to the colonial assembly. She asked for a voice in the council and two votes. One vote would be for herself as a landowner, and the other as Lord Baltimore's representative.

Margaret told the assembly, "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." Governor Thomas Greene said no to her request. The assembly believed such rights were only for queens. Margaret left but said she "Protested against all proceedings... unless she may be present and have vote as aforesaid."

That same day, Margaret asked for corn to be brought from Virginia to feed the hungry soldiers. Some stories say she used all of Leonard Calvert's money and then sold Lord Baltimore's cattle to pay the soldiers. Historians disagree on this point. English law usually didn't allow selling property without a court order.

Lord Baltimore, from England, complained about the sale of his property. He might have been suspicious of Margaret's actions. He may not have realized how much danger the colony was in if the soldiers weren't paid. Even though the assembly refused to give Margaret Brent a vote, they defended her actions. They wrote to Lord Baltimore on April 21, 1649, saying it "was better for the Colony's safety at that time in her hands than in any man's... for the soldiers would never have treated any others with that civility and respect..."

Moving to Virginia

Because of the disagreements with Lord Baltimore and Governor Stone, the Brent family decided to move. Giles and his wife Mary moved to Virginia in 1650. Margaret and her sister Mary also bought land in Virginia starting in 1647. They moved there by 1650. They lived on a large farm called "Peace" in what is now Westmoreland County, Virginia.

There are no records of Margaret working as a lawyer in Virginia. But she made smart investments in land. Some of this land later became parts of Alexandria, Virginia and Fredericksburg, Virginia. She also owned land that became part of George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Neither Margaret nor her sister Mary ever married. They were among the very few unmarried English women in the Chesapeake colony at that time. Men greatly outnumbered women there.

In 1658, Mary Brent died and left all her land to Margaret. Margaret Brent wrote her will in 1663. She died at "Peace" in Stafford County, Virginia, in 1671. Her will was officially approved on May 19, 1671.

The exact dates of Margaret Brent's birth and death are not known. This is partly because Brent family records were destroyed during the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Also, Union soldiers damaged the Brent family graveyard during the American Civil War.

Legacy and Honors

Margaret Brent is seen today as a "founding mother" of Maryland.
She is often called a historical figure who helped advance women's rights, even if she was mainly fighting for her own rights.
Historic St. Mary's City, the museum at Maryland's old capital, features Margaret Brent in its exhibits. It explains how she helped save the colony.
St. Mary's College of Maryland has a building named Margaret Brent Hall and a street named Margaret Brent Way.
In 1978, Virginia put up a historical marker in Jones Point Park to remember Margaret Brent's fight for women's rights and her land ownership.
The Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award was created in 1991 by the American Bar Association. It celebrates successful women lawyers.
In 1998, Virginia put up a historical marker near Route 1. It honors Margaret, Giles, and Mary Brent for creating the first Roman Catholic settlement in Virginia.
In 2010, Virginia put up another historical marker. It notes Margaret Brent's role as guardian for Mary Kittamaquund, a Native American princess.
Several public schools in Maryland and Virginia are named after her, including Margaret Brent Middle School and Margaret Brent Elementary School.
Margaret Brent was one of the first women added to the Virginia Women in History list in 2000. In 1985, she was one of the first women inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.