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(1602-1671), who married Marianna, daughter of
Sir John Peyton, of Doddington, England; Rich-
ard; William; and Edward (?-1625). SISTERS: Mar-
garet (1601-1671); Mary (?-1658); Catherine;
Elizabeth; Eleanor; Jane; and Anne. MARRIED
first, Kittamaquund, daughter of the Emperor of
the Piscattaway Indians. MARRIED second, Fran-
ces, widow of Jeremiah Harrison (?-by 1654), of
York County, Virginia. Her brother was Thomas
Whitgreaves, of Staffordshire, England. CHIL-
DREN. SONS: Giles (1652-1679), who married
Mary, daughter of George Brent and wife Ma-
rianna Peyton; Richard (?-died young).
DAUGTHER: Mary, who married John Fitzherbert,
brother of Edward Fitzherbert (?-?). PRIVATE CA-
REER. EDUCATION: literate, probably well edu-
cated. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Catholic. SOCIAL
STATUS AND ACTIVITIES: Mr. on arrival, and was
accorded special social and political distinctions
immediately; his marriage to an Indian princess
fostered his hopes of some political power but
greatly alarmed the proprietary interests. OCCUPA-
TIONAL PROFILE: planter. PUBLIC CAREER. LEGIS-
LATIVE SERVICE: Assembly, special writ 1638/39,
special writ 1640-1641 (also Kent County, 1640),
special writ 1641/42 (Aggrievances), special writ
1642 A, special writ 1642B (Laws), special writ
1647/48 (Accounts). OTHER PROVINCIAL OFFICES:
Council, 1638-1644 (suspended briefly, 1642),
1647-1649; treasurer, 1639-1643; commander,
Kent Isle, 1639/40-1642; acting governor and
lieutenant general, 1643-1644. STANDS ON PUB-
LIC/PRIVATE ISSUES an opponent of the propri-
etary prerogatives in the Assembly, 1642; sus-
pended briefly from the Council in 1642 on the
charge of disaffection to Lord Baltimore and was
removed from the commandership of Kent Isle;
found innocent by a jury of charges brought by
John Lewger that Brent had caused the failure of
an expedition against the Susquehannah Indians
and that he was guilty of contempt and other mis-
demeanors, 1642; issued a controversial order for
the seizure of Richard Ingle's ship, 1643/44; dis-
missed Lewger from the Council, 1644; a warrant
was issued for Brent's arrest for "crimes against
the dignity and dominion" of the lord proprietor,
1644/45; seized during Ingle's Rebellion and car-
ried to England, 1645; eventually broke com-
pletely with Lord Baltimore in the late 1640s after
his temporary reinstatement to the Council.
WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. LAND AT FIRST
ELECTION: 1,063 acres, 1638; acquired an addi-
tional 1,000 acres, Kent Fort Manor, in 1640,
which he later transferred to his sister; over 1,518
acres in Virginia, 1654. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED:
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will probated on February 16, 1671/72. LAND:
probably over 1,500 acres.
BRETTON (BRTTTON), WILLIAM (?-ca.
1672). BORN: probably in England. IMMIGRATED.
in 1637/38 as a free adult with his wife and child.
RESIDED: in Newtown, St. Mary's County; Charles
County, by 1668. MARRIED first, Mary, daughter
of Thomas Nabbs. MARRIED second, in 1651 Tem-
perance Jay. CHILDREN. SON: William, Jr. (ca.
1633-?). DAUGHTER OR STEPDAUGHTER: Mary,
who married William Thompson (?-1660). PRI-
VATE CAREER. EDUCATION: literate; extensive cler-
ical skills. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Catholic. SO-
CIAL STATUS AND ACTIVITIES: Gent, on arrival;
brought three servants with him; his clerical skills
led to quick and profitable patronage in a series of
clerkships. OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE: placeman;
planter. PUBLIC CAREER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE:
Assembly, present 1637/38, present 1641/42, spe-
cial writ 1642A, present 1647/48 (Defense), St.
Mary's County, 1649. OTHER PROVINCIAL OF-
FICES: clerk, Assembly, 1637/38-1650; clerk,
Council, by 1638-1647; clerk, Secretary's Office
and Provincial Court, 1647-1652, 1657/58-1660;
clerk, Lower House, 1650-1650/51, 1661-1666.
LOCAL OFFICES: justice, St. Mary's County, 1658-
1668; coroner, St. Mary's County, 1669-1670.
WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. LAND AT FIRST
ELECTION: acquired "Little Brittaine," 750 acres,
in 1640, and another 100 acres in 1649; sold both
tracts in 1668. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: ca. 1672;
size of estate unknown.
BREVARD (BRAVARD), BENJAMIN (?-1793).
BORN: probably in Cecil County, of age by 1757.
NATIVE: probably, if so, at least second generation.
RESIDED: in Back Creek Hundred, Cecil County.
FAMILY BACKGROUND. FATHER: probably John
Brevard, of Cecil County, one of the founders and
elders of the Broad Creek Presbyterian Church,
Cecil County. BROTHER: probably Dr. Ephraim
Brevard, who immigrated to North Carolina along
with other Cecil County families by 1775; chair-
man of the North Carolina committee that drafted
the Mecklenberg declaration of independence in
1775. MARRIED Rebecca (?-1802). CHILDREN.
SONS Joshua (?-by 1806); Adam; and Benjamin.
DAUGHTERS: Rachel (?-by 1799), who married in
1788 William Taylor; Rebecca, who married in
1796 Nicholas Chambers; and Clarissa, who mar-
ried in 1800 David Culbertson. PRIVATE CAREER.
EDUCATION: literate. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION
probably a Presbyterian. OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE:
farmer; perhaps also a surveyor, because surveying
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