HOME
SURNAME LIST
NAME INDEX
SOURCES
GEDCOM FILE
EMAIL US 		bullet Susannah Brent Parents: Robert Brent and Susannah Seymour.

bullet Susannah Brent Parents: George Brent and Catherine Trimmingham.

She was married to Dr. John Sutherland on Sep 15 1756.

bullet Susannah Brent was born on Jan 2 1739. She died on Mar 4 1739. Parents: Robert Brent and Mary Wharton.

bullet Susannah Brent was born on Nov 29 1739. Parents: Benjamin Brent and Mary.

bullet Teresa Brent was born on May 3 1767. Parents: Robert Brent and Anna Maria Parnham.

She was married to James Fenwick Colonel. Children were: Maria Fenwick .

bullet Thomas Brent died in 1795 in Great Bridge, Norfolk, Virginia. Never married. Parents: Robert Brent and Ann Carroll.

bullet Thomas Lee Brent Capt. was born on Feb 6 1813 in Coton, Loudon County, Virginia. He died on Jan 11 1858 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Parents: William Brent Jr. and Winifred Beale.

bullet Thomas Ludwell Lee Brent was born on Aug 9 1784 in Richland, Stafford County, Virginia. He died on Oct 6 1847 in Rosemont, Flushing, Genessee County, Michigan. Parents: Daniel Carroll Brent and Anne Fenton.

bullet Commander Thomas William Brent USN(1) Photo was born on Feb 20 1808 in Washington, D.C.. He died on Nov 10 1875 in Pensacola, Escambia, Florida. He was buried on Nov 13 1875 in St.Michael's, Pensacola, Florida. A brief biographical sketch of CDR Thomas William Brent CSN/USN is as follows: He was Born in Washington DC - 20 February 1808. Appointed Acting Midshipman USN - 27 August 1825. Advanced to Passed Midshipman by examination - 1831. Advanced to Lieutenant USN - 1835. Married Merced Gonzalez Pensacola, FL - 1841. Advanced to Commander USN - 1855. Commanding Officer USS Marion (16 Gun Sloop) December 1857 - October 1860. Resigned as Commander USN - 12 January 186. Resignation accepted by SECNAV Toucey - 19 January 1861. Assigned as Commandant, Confederate Navy Yard, Pensacola, 27 March 1861 - May 1862. Assigned to Savannah Station - 1862 - 1863. Assigned as Commandant of Naval Affairs, West of the Mississippi; Shreveport, LA, October 1863 (Red River). Assigned to Staff of Adm. Buchanan CSN Mobile Squadron Ships Maintenance officer ashore 1863 -1864 Commanding Officer CSS Savannah - Savannah Squadron 1864. Charleston Station - 1865
Paroled - 22 May 1865 Mobile, AL
Father of eleven children
Died in Pensacola, FL - 10 November 1875.
* Do not have any information as to what
Brent did during these tours of duty)He was an Officer (later a Commander) in the United States Navy and when the South seceded he joined the Navy of the Confederate States. His Navy sword and scabbard was passed on to his great grandson Thomas William Saltmarsh, Jr. and was in his possession in at least to 1997.

15 SEPTEMBER 1997

PENSACOLA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A Talk on Commander Thomas William Brent
…by Larry Grimes, Spouse of a Great Granddaughter

Good evening ladies and gentlemen; I am going to speak to you this evening about Commander Thomas William Brent USN & CSN. Commander Brent was the first Brent to come to Pensacola in the late 1830's as the Provisions officer at the Navy Yard. I first learned of his existence From Dr. Pearce's Book "U. S. Navy In Pensacola From Sailing Ships To Naval Aviation (1825-1914)". He was mentioned as the confederate Commandant of the yard appointed by Secretary of the Navy of the Confederacy, Stephen Russell Mallory in March 1861. When I asked my father-in-law, Mr. J. Brent Watson, if he had ever heard of him, he said "yes - my uncle George Brent gave me his portrait along with a portrait of his first son, Daniel Gonzalez Brent". He stated that both portraits were in his back closet. Sure enough, there they were! Thomas William had some paint chipped off but Uncle Danny was in pretty good shape. Since that time Thomas William has been artistically restored in Mobile, Alabama and hangs over the fireplace in Mr. Watson's home.

Thomas William Brent, first son of William Brent and Catherine Walker Johnson Brent, was born in Washington, D.C. On 20 Feb. 1808. His father was Colonel William Brent, U. S Militia, who served for many years as the Clerk Of The Courts of the District of Columbia. He also acted temporarily as Secretary to President Thomas Jefferson. Thomas William Brent was appointed as an acting midshipman (Explained) on 27 August 1825. He achieved the rank of passed midshipman on 4 June 1831 and was later advanced to Lieutenant on 3 March 1836. Thomas William Brent did not attend, nor graduate, from the naval academy at Annapolis as some sources state. The Naval Academy opened it's doors in 1845 for its first class. Prior to 1845, aspiring naval officers received their training in the classroom and aboard ships. Subsequent to being promoted to Lieutenant, Thomas William Brent met Merced, the beautiful teenage daughter of Celestino Gonzalez and granddaughter of don manual Gonzalez. Celestino Gonzalez and his family lived in a home very close to Fort Barrancas. Celestino worked at the Navy Yard as a consultant engineer. Thomas William Brent and Merced were married in Pensacola on 12 July 1841 and had eleven children from 1842 to 1862. Of the eleven, two died very early. Two married, Francis Celestino married Mary Ella Shuttleworth and Margaret Eveline married Ernest Olmstead Saltmarsh. Two children served the confederacy in the military, Daniel Gonzalez Brent, born 1842, and number one son and Francis Celestino Brent, the fourth child born in 1848. Uncle Danny was a second lieutenant in the confederate states marine corps having once been a member of the Pensacola rifles who was part of the force from the state of Florida that received the surrender of the Navy Yard from Commodore Armstrong in January 1861. Francis Celestino joined the Confederate Army at age 16. He fought in the Battle of Blakesly in Alabama where he was captured and placed in a POW camp on Ship's Island, near Vicksburg. After the war all three Brents were paroled.

Thomas William Brent was advanced to the grade of Commander, USN on 14 September 1855. His first command from December 1857 to October 1860 was the sloop of war USS Marion, a 16 gun ship. (show picture) On 12 Jan 1861, Commander Brent resigned his USN commission, as many regular officers did as their home states began proceedings to secede from the union. On 16 March 1861, President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, appointed Thomas William Brent as a Commander in the CSN, a rank that he retained throughout the civil war. (show document). Two days later, Thomas William Brent was appointed as commander of the Navy yard Pensacola by Secretary Of The Confederate Navy, Stephen Russell Mallory. (show document) He was to relieve Captain Victor Randolph who was appointed as Commander of the Yard by governor Perry of Florida after the state had received the surrender of the yard from Commodore Armstrong on 12 January 1861. Let me say here that the term "Captain" is a title for any officer in command of a unit or ship. Thomas William Brent may or may not have achieved the rank of Captain. President John F. Kennedy is an example.
Due to the absence of Captain Randolph, his executive officer, Cdr. Ebeneezer Farrand was acting commander of the yard when Brent took command. (explain the term "acting")
During the command tenure of Thomas William Brent, little happened that could be related as a victory for the confederates. Lieutenant Slemmer of the U. S Army continued to command Fort Pickens across the bay from the Navy Yard, until relieved by Colonel Brown and later on 22 Feb. 1862 by General Lewis G. Arnold. The main events during the Confederate occupation of the yard were:
· 2 September 1861 - Dry dock at navy yard totally destroyed by Order of Colonel Harvey Brown.
· 14 Sept. 1861 Confederate war schooner Judah that was moved to the wharf at the naval yard was boarded by union forces and totally burned during the night. There were casualties on both sides.
· 9 Oct. 1861 - A night attack by confederate forces of 1000 men under General R. H.. Anderson was conducted against the camp of Colonel William Wilson's 6th New York regiment on Santa Rosa island. The confederates landed on the island at 0200, burned a part of the camp four miles from fort Pickens and retired to their boats after encountering union reinforcements from the fort. Union forces lost 67 -confederates 87. Captain Brent was in charge of the boats that carried the confederate forces to the island.

Other than occasional bombardments leveled against Fort Barrancas, Fort McRee, and the Navy Yard, nothing else of significance happened at the navy yard until the evening of 9 may when the Navy Yard was burned and evacuated.
During the period March 1861 - May 1862, the Confederate Army was present in Pensacola at Fort Barrancas and Fort McRee. On 11 March 1861, General Braxton Bragg assumed command of confederate forces in the Pensacola area. Cdr. Brent was subordinate to General Bragg. On 27 January 1862, BGEN Samuel Jones relieved Bragg as commander of Confederate Forces. On 8 March 1862, General Jones was relieved by Col. Thomas M. Jones under whom the evacuation took place. Jones directed Brent to evacuate all naval stores to the interior and salvage whatever watercraft that was possible. On the evening of 9 may 1862 at 11:30 pm the Navy Yard, Fort Barrancas, and Fort McRee and their surrounding buildings were torched. The city of Pensacola surrendered to Union forces at 0730 12 may 1862. Many residents fled the city to Greenville, Alabama where Thomas William Brent and Merced had bought some property in August 1963. There is evidence that Second Lieutenant Daniel Brent was in Greenville recuperating from an illness on 15 February 1865. It is not is not known if he was staying with his mother or not. There is also evidence that Merced and her children spent some time at the Gonzalez estate north of town during the war.
After departing Pensacola in May 1862, Commander Brent was assigned to the Savannah station, Savannah, Ga. from 1862 - 1863. Later in 1863 he served as Commander Of Naval Affairs West Of The Mississippi in Shreveport, La. participating in the Red River defenses and then served on the staff of Admiral Buchanan, CSN, in the Mobile Squadron - 1863-64. Later in 1864, commander Brent returned to Savannah station to command the confederate ironclad CSS Savannah. (show picture). While in command of the Savannah he was directed to put to sea to avoid the oncoming thrust of General Sherman's union army. Because or many torpedoes (mines) CSS Savannah was unable to make the open sea. At 7:30 pm, 21 Dec. 1864 the CSS Savannah was burned intentionally after the evacuation of the captain and the crew. Captain Brent was later assigned to Charleston station in 1865 and remained there until the war was over. Cdr. Brent was paroled in Mobile, Alabama on 22 may 1865. Thomas William Brent returned to Pensacola after the War and worked in the Fire/Casualty insurance business until his death on 10 November 1875. After his death his wife, Merced, lived with her unmarried children in the house built for her by her son Francis Celestino on the northwest corner of Baylen and Jackson streets. She died on 10 Dec 1919. Both are buried at St. Michael's cemetery.
The sea chest at Lighthouse - Naval Air Station - was donated by the family of Sinclair Watson after his death.
The Brent legacy still lives on in this city. Much has been written about F. C. Brent and his family. Now we know a little about his father, Thomas William Brent.
-30-
Sources :
· 1. U. S. Navy in Pensacola from sailing ships to naval aviation (1825 - 1914) Dr. Pearce
· 2. Thomas William Brent papers - national archives 1091 roll 34
· 3. Captain Victor Randolph papers - national archives 1091-roll 30
· 4. The Confederate States Marine Corp. The Rebel Leathernecks By Ralph W Donnelly - White Mane Publishing Company, Inc. 1985.
· 5. The Official Records Of The Union And Confederate Navies In The War Of The Rebellion Vol. I - Items 15, 16, 17, 21, 25. Vol. Ii - Items 1-2,3
· 6. Gonzalia By Sutton Ch 6
· 7. The Descendants Of Coll. Giles Brent, Cap George Brent and Robert Brent, Gent., Immigrants To Maryland And Virginia by: Chester Horton Brent


Parents: Colonel William Brent and Catherine Walker Johnson.

He was married to Merced Gonzalez on Jul 12 1841 in Fort Barrancas, Pensacola, Florida. Children were: Daniel Gonzalez Brent, Anna Pauline Brent, William Thomas Brent, Francis Celestino Brent, Catherine Irene Merced Brent , Mary Ella Brent, George Douglas Brent, Mary Bertha Brent, Robert Johnson Brent, Margaret Eveline Brent, Emily Brent.

bullet Thomas William Brent Photo was born on Oct 30 1876 in Pensacola, Escambia, Florida. He died on Oct 22 1958 in Pensacola, Escambia, Florida. He was buried in St.Michael's Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia, Florida. No children. Parents: Francis Celestino Brent and Mary Ella Shuttleworth.

He was married to Mary Waterman Warren about 1899.

bullet Ursula Brent Parents: George Brent and Marianna Peyton.

bullet Walter Chandler Brent Parents: William Brent and Jane.

bullet Colonel William Brent was born in 1775 in Aquia, Stafford County, Virginia. He died on Dec 15 1848 in Washington, D.C.. He was one of the three commissioners appointed to receive subscriptions for Washington's first manufacturing plant, the Columbia Manufacturing Co. He was a member of the Municipal Council and Colonel of the Militia. For many years he was Clerk of the Courts of the District of Columbia and also acted temporarily as Secretary to President Thomas Jefferson. Parents: Robert Brent and Ann Carroll .

He was married to Catherine Walker Johnson in 1805. Children were: Commander Thomas William Brent USN , Henry Johnson Brent, John Carroll Brent, Edward Seymour Brent, Dr. Daniel Brent, Emily Catherine Brent.

He was married to Elizabeth Neale on Apr 3 1825. Children were: Charles Edward Brent, George Brent, Francis Neale Brent, Mary Virginia Brent, Clementina Douglas Brent , Emily Catherine Brent.

bullet William Brent was born in 1600. He died in 1691. Parents: Sir Richard Brent and Elizabeth Reed.

He was married to Barbara.

bullet William Brent was born about 1652. Died unmarried. Parents: George Brent and Marianna Peyton.

bullet William Brent was born in 1708/9. He died in 1745/46 in Charles County, Maryland. His will shows distribution of land called Goose Creek, and land in Prince William County, Maryland to his heirs. Parents: Henry Brent and Jane Thompson.

He was married to Jane. Children were: Henry Brent, Walter Chandler Brent, Unborn Child.

bullet William Brent was born on Sep 28 1820. He died before 1848. Parents: William Leigh Brent and Maria Fenwick.

bullet William Brent Parents: Edward Cole Brent and Fanny Baker.

bullet William Brent was born in 1853. He died in 1923. Parents: George Brent and Catherine Merrick.

bullet William Brent was born about 1677 in Richland, Stafford County, Virginia. He died on Nov 26 1709 in St. James Parish, Clarkenwell, Middlesex, England. Parents: Giles Brent and Mary Brent .

He was married to Sarah Gibbons on May 12 1709. Children were: William Brent.

bullet William Brent was born on Mar 6 1710 in England. He died on Aug 17 1742 in Aquia. Parents: William Brent and Sarah Gibbons.

He was married to Jane about 1730. Children were: William Brent, Giles Brent.

bullet William Brent was born on Jul 26 1733 in Richland, Stafford County, Virginia. He died about Mar 1782. Parents: William Brent and Jane.

He was married to Eleanor Carroll. Children were: Colonel William Brent, Daniel Carroll Brent, Senator Richard Brent, Eleanor Brent, Anna Brent, Elizabeth Ashton Brent, Brent.

bullet Colonel William Brent was born. Parents: William Brent and Eleanor Carroll.

bullet William Brent Jr. was born on Jan 13 1783 in Richland, Stafford County, Virginia. He died on May 13 1848. Parents: Daniel Carroll Brent and Anne Fenton.

He was married to Winifred Beale on Mar 22 1810. Children were: Richard Brent, Thomas Lee Brent Capt., Daniel Carroll Brent, Ann Fenton Brent, William Brent, Dr. Arthur Lee Brent, Richard Fenton Brent, George Lee Brent, St. Ledger de Brent, Henry Martyn Brent.

bullet William Brent was born on Dec 5 1818 in Coton, Loudon County, Virginia. He died on Sep 19 1862 in Richmond, Virginia. He was buried in Hollywood Cem.. Parents: William Brent Jr. and Winifred Beale.

bullet William Leigh Brent was born on Feb 20 1784 in Brentfield, Charles County, Maryland. He died on Jul 3 1848 in St. Martinsville, Louisiana. Lawyer. Commissioned by President James Madison as Deputy Attorney General for the Western District of the Territory of Orleans. Elected Representative of Louisiana in Congress 1822, 1824 and 1826. Parents: Robert Brent and Dorothy Leigh.

He was married to Maria Fenwick on Apr 4 1809. Children were: Robert James Brent , James Fenwick Brent, Maria Brent, Henrietta Brent, William Brent, Sarah Ann Brent, Edward Cole Brent.

bullet William Louis Brent was born on Jul 26 1892 in Pensacola, Escambia, Florida. He died on Jan 30 1977. Parents: Francis Celestino Brent and Mary Ella Shuttleworth.

He was married to Alice Harriet Wall on May 20 1921. He was divorced from Alice Harriet Wall. Children were: Molly Thomas Brent.

bullet William Thomas Brent was born on Dec 23 1846 in Pensacola, Florida. He died after Dec 23 1846 in Place and Time of Death unknown. Unmarried. Parents: Commander Thomas William Brent USN and Merced Gonzalez .

bullet William Thomas Brent was born on Jun 14 1810. He died on Aug 7 1859. He was christened. Parents: George Brent and Matilda Thomas.

bullet Suzanne Brian was born about 1655 in Sedan, Ardennes, France.

She was married to Abraham Soblet on Dec 4 1648 in Sedan, Ardennes, France. Children were: Pierre-Louis Soblet.

bullet Agnes Bristow was born about 1796. Parents: Archibald Bristow and Philadelphia Bourne.

bullet America Bristow was born in 1798. Parents: Archibald Bristow and Philadelphia Bourne.

She was married to Thomas M. Parrish about 1819. Children were: Caroline B. Parrish, Martha I. V. Parrish, Erasmus Darwin Parrish, Ann M. Parrish, Thomas C. Parrish, Sarah A. Parrish, Frances C. Parrish.

bullet Archibald Bristow was born in 1772. Parents: James Bristow Jr. and Sarah Mewsnan.

He was married to Philadelphia Bourne about 1795. Children were: Agnes Bristow, America Bristow.

bullet Gideon Bristow was born in 1768. Parents: James Bristow Jr. and Sarah Mewsnan.

bullet James Bristow was born about 1725. ! Came to America. Parents: Robert Bristow and Aurelia Curtis.

He was married to Patiency Grayson about 1748. Children were: James Bristow Jr..

bullet James Bristow Jr. was born in 1751. ! Served in Revolutionary War. Private in Samuel Ashe's Company, First Troop of North Carolina, Light Dragoons, Revolutionary War. His name appears on roll of organization from January to March 1778. Parents: James Bristow and Patiency Grayson.

He was married to Sarah Mewsnan about 1766. Children were: John Bristow, Gideon Bristow, James Bristow, Archibald Bristow.

bullet James Bristow was born about 1770. Parents: James Bristow Jr. and Sarah Mewsnan.

bullet John Bristow was born in 1767. Parents: James Bristow Jr. and Sarah Mewsnan.

bullet Robert Bristow was born about 1698 in Argot, England.

He was married to Aurelia Curtis about 1722. Children were: James Bristow .

bullet Anne Brooke

She was married to William Neale about 1740. Children were: Reverend William Chandler Neale , Most Reverend Leonard Neale, Raphael Neale, Charles Neale Rev., Reverend Francis Ignatius Neale, Clara Neale, Mary Neale, Eleanor Neale , Anne Neale Sister.

bullet Baker Brooke

He was married to Ann Calvert.

bullet Elinor Hatton Brooke was born in 1642. She died in 1725.

She was married to Colonel Henry Darnall. Children were: Henry Darnall .

bullet Amanda Brosnaham was born on Sep 26 1832 in Pensacola, Florida. She died on Dec 26 1858 in Pensacola, Florida. She was christened. She was buried in St.Michael's Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia, Florida. Parents: John Brosnaham Dr. and Isabella Eugenia Sierra.

She was married to William Louis Shuttleworth Colonel, USMC on Feb 20 1851 in Pensacola, Florida. Children were: Mary Ella Shuttleworth, David Shuttleworth Dobbs .

bullet Andrew Brosnaham was born about 1758. He died in 1833. He was christened.

He was married to Margaret Rim in 1787. Children were: George Brosnaham, John Brosnaham Dr..

bullet Angelina Petrona Brosnaham was born about 1823. Parents: John Brosnaham Dr. and Maria Josefa Martinez.

bullet Clotilda Santiago Brosnaham was born in 1821. She died in 1850. She was christened. Parents: John Brosnaham Dr. and Maria Josefa Martinez.

She was married to William Louis Shuttleworth Colonel, USMC in 1843. Children were: John George Shuttleworth, Mary Shuttleworth, William Rodman Shuttleworth.

bullet Cynthia Anne Brosnaham (Private). Parents: George Othman Brosnaham Jr. and Ann Leak Patton.

Children were: William Ralph Richardson, George Patton Richardson , Cynthia Anne Richardson, Teresa Eden Richardson.

bulletFlorida Brosnaham was born in 1829. She died in 1851. She was christened. Parents: John Brosnaham Dr. and Isabella Eugenia Sierra.

She was married to Francis B. Renshaw about 1850.

bullet Francis Eugene Brosnaham was born in 1877. He died in 1879. He was christened. Parents: George Othman Brosnaham and Cynthia Gingles.

bullet George Brosnaham was born in 1787. He died in 1855. He was christened. Parents: Andrew Brosnaham and Margaret Rim.

Back Back       Next Next