Evening star., 1939-06-18
Mayor Brent
Is Left Out
OF Record
First Chief Linked
With Family Home
In Virginia
By John CIagen Proctor.


To say Just who the first fam
lilies of Washington were is not an
easy thing to do, for, though the
census reports of the more recent
decades are quite full and accurate,
yet the farther back they go the
briefer they are and the more
omissions and mistakes they con-
tain
The first census of the United
States was taken in 1890, the year
after the Constitution went into ef-
feet. At this time the District of
Columbia had not been taken pos
session of by the Federal Govern
ment. the Residence Act itself not
having been approved until July
16, 1870, and since the United States
census is taken only every 10 years,
the first one that included the Dis
trict as separate territory was
taken in 1800 and this, for many
years. only included the heads of
families by name. In the City of
Washington alone. the enumeration
shows about 427 heads of families,
which, after all, seems a good show
ing for a city substantially carved
out of forest primeval only nine
years before.
Looking over this list a few days
ago, the writer noted the absence of
a number of names of persons who
were likely in Washington at the
time the census of 1900 was taken.
For instance. the name of Robert
Brent, Washington's first Mayor,
does not appear, though this may be
due to the possibility that he was
then residing in the vicinity of
Acquia, Va, the home of the BrentS,
where George Brent and several
other members of the family were
interested in the sandstone quarry
on Higginston Island in the Po-
tomac, which had an area of about
II acres. For this the Government
paid $3,192, and it was from this
quarry and the stone quarries on
Acquia Creek, leased for a preiod of
10 years from George Gibson of
Dumfries, that the sandstone came
for the outer walls of the original
Capitol Building and the White
House and for the stonework In the
early brick buildings of the execu-
tive departments.
Robert Brent married Eleanor
Young, daughter of Motley Young
one OF Washington's original pro-
prletors and one OF its most wealthy
pioneer citizens, who married the
daughter of Nicholas Digges and
whose descendants are numerous.
Recorded by Society.
According to story in the records
OF the Columbia Historical Society
read by George C. Henning in 1912,
this author gives as Motley Young S
surviving issue by this wife: Motley
a secular priest; Nicholas, Benjamin.
Mrs. Mary FenWick, Ann. who mar
ried Peter Casanave and who was
the mother of the wife of Mai
Parke HoWle of the Marine Corps,
and Eleanor. who married Robert
Brent, as before stated, and who re-
sided in the Young mansion, which
once stood on G street between
Ninth and Tenth streets SW., and
which Is said to have been built
about 1856. or nearly half century
before the Capital was removed to
Washington
Motley Young's second wife, whom
he married in 1882. was the daugh-
ter of Daniel Carroll of Marlbor-
ough and sister of Archbishop John
Carroll. There is said to have been
no issue from this union.
Robert Brent was appointed Mayor
of Washington June 4, 1902, by
President Thomas Jefferson, and by
reappointments continued to serve
until succeeded by Daniel Rapine
in 1912. After moving from the
Young mansion Mayor Brent re-
sided in a house formerly on the
southeast corner of Twelfth street
and Maryland avenue SW. Subse-
quently this house was owned and
occupied by Dr. James E. Morgan
who lived here for about 20 years
prior to 1872. The second house
from the corner was built by Mayor
Brent for his son, Robert Young
Brent
Robert Brent was ill for some time
before his death, which occurred
September 4, 1919; regarding which
the National Intelligencer says:
DIED
ION Tuesday evening, after pain
full and protracted illness, our worthy
fellow citizen, Robert Brent, Esq.
late paymaster general of the Army
and Judge of the Orphans Court for
the County of Washington. No. man
has enjoyed among us more esteem
than he. His honorable and vir-
tuous character commanded gen.
eral respect, which his amiable and