William Leigh Brent

Adams Representative of Louisiana's 3rd district

Congresses Served

House Terms

February 20, 1784 (64 years old)

Birthday

July 7, 1848

Death

Was a lawyer, plantation owner, and slaveholder in Maryland and Louisiana.
Served as a three-term U.S. Representative for Louisiana’s 3rd congressional district.
Born into a family with a long history of land ownership in Maryland, with ancestors who were prominent in the area since about 1640.
Married Maria Fenwick, with whom he had nine children.
Moved to Louisiana early in his marriage, where he began his legal career and was appointed Deputy Attorney General for the western district of the Territory of Orleans.
Elected to the Eighteenth Congress as an Adams-Clay Republican and served from March 4, 1823, until March 3, 1829.
Was a founding member of Louisiana’s Whig Party but did not seek public office again after his terms in Congress.
Resumed practicing law in Louisiana and Washington, D.C., after his political career.
Died in St. Martinville, Louisiana, and was buried in St. Martin’s Catholic Cemetery, noted for his popularity with the Acadian population.
Four of his sons followed in his footsteps, becoming lawyers and politicians, with careers spanning Maryland, Louisiana, California, and service in the Confederate Army.