William Leigh Brent was a U.S. Representative representing Louisiana's 3rd congressional district

Louisiana's 3rd congressional district

Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district surrounds the southern tier of the Greater New Orleans Area. The district contains large portions of southeastern and south central Louisiana, including River Parishes and East Acadiana...

. Brent was born at Port Tobacco, Maryland, on 1784 February 20, the nephew of Virginia congressman Richard Brent

Richard Brent (Virginia)

Richard Brent was an American planter, lawyer, and politician from Stafford County, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate.-External links:*...

. He studied law and was admitted to the bar of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 and moved to Louisiana about 1809 and commenced the practice of law there. Brent was appointed by President James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

 as Deputy Attorney General for the western district of the Territory of Orleans. In 1822 he was elected as an Adams-Clay Republican to the Eighteenth Congress

18th United States Congress

The Eighteenth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1823 to March 3, 1825, during the seventh and eighth...

 and as an Adams Republican to the Nineteenth, and Twentieth Congress

20th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President: John C. Calhoun * President pro tempore: Samuel Smith - House of Representatives :* Speaker: Andrew Stevenson -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

es. He served from 1823 March 4 to 1829 March 3. Representative Brent was a founding member of Louisiana's Whig Party

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

, but was not again a candidate for public office. Brent resumed the practice of law in Louisiana and in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. He died in St. Martinville, Louisiana

St. Martinville, Louisiana

St. Martinville is a city in and the parish seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on Bayou Teche, sixteen miles south of Breaux Bridge, eighteen miles southeast of Lafayette, and nine miles north of New Iberia. The population was 6,989 at the 2000 census. It is part of the...

, on 1848 July 7. He is buried there in St. Martin’s Catholic Cemetery.