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History, honor at Brent Family Cemetery in Aquia

Christine Stoddard | Catholic Herald

The faithful celebrate a Field Mass at Brent Family Cemetery in Aquia Oct. 24.

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The altar at the cemetery was built in 1929.

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A little-known knob in the tree of Virginia history lies at
the end of a dirt road in Aquia. Neighboring St. William of
York Church in Stafford and flanked by wooded swampland, the
Brent Family Cemetery dates back to 1686, when King James II
of England granted George Brent a swath of 30,000 acres
nestled between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. With
that grant, the king also issued a royal mandate for the
Brents to freely practice their Catholic faith.

Brent was the nephew of Maryland Governor Giles Brent who,
with his better-known sister, Margaret – a businesswoman and
the first American woman to demand the right to vote – fled
to Virginia in 1649 following attacks led by Protestant ship
captain Richard Ingle. Like many Catholic families after the
outbreak of the English Civil War, they no longer felt safe
in Maryland. Thus, the Brents became the first Catholic
family to settle permanently in Virginia.

This was the legacy observed at the Brent Family Cemetery
Oct. 24, when the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Woman’s
Club of Richmond, St. William of York Church and other
community members convened for a Field Mass. The faithful
worshipped to sunshine and birdsong among the graves,
surrounded by trees ablaze with the colors of Virginia
autumn.

In his homily, Father Anthony J. Killian, parochial vicar of
St. William of York, called upon those present to reflect on
what he described as “transtemporal reality,” or man’s
ability to “reach across time.”

“Our faith assures us that death is not the end,” said Father
Killian. “Death does not obstruct our bond with those who
died centuries ago.”

He also mentioned the Brent family’s courage for observing
their faith during a challenging time in Catholic history.

“Think of what they had to do,” he said. “It’s so easy for us
now – now, but we have to prepare for the future.”

The Mass featured a patriotic witness of the Knights Honor
Guard, a blessing of the wreath commissioned by the Catholic
Woman’s Club and “America the Beautiful” as the recessional
hymn.

The Field Mass tradition dates back to Oct. 6, 1929, which
was a few years before the Catholic Woman’s Club undertook
cemetery preservation efforts. They cleared the land, built
the brick wall that now encircles the bulk of the burial
ground and erected the altar. In 1930, the Catholic Woman’s
Club also had a crucifix installed at the intersection of
Route 1 and Telegraph Road near the cemetery. The bronze
monument – which was designed by sculptor Georg J. Lober, who
apprenticed under Mount Rushmore sculptor, Gutzon Borglum –
commemorates the Brent family and religious tolerance.

Today, the Catholic Woman’s Club does not preserve Brent
Family Cemetery in isolation. Other patrons include Knights
councils from Manassas, Stafford, Aquia, Quantico, Triangle
and Gainesville; Flaherty Ladies of the Fourth Degree; Ladies
Auxiliary of George Brent; and Margaret Ladies of Widmer
Council.

Carrol J. Frederick is chairman and William A. Edmond is
co-chairman of the Brent Family Cemetery Committee, which
also includes Father Killian, James H. Everett, David S.
Hermann, Thomas G. Vetter, Daniel J. Sullivan and James A.
Lowder. Among the committee’s associate members are
representatives from the Stafford County Cemetery Committee
and the Arlington Diocese, with Martha Williams serving as
the consulting archaeologist.

At a luncheon following this year’s Field Mass, Holy Trinity
Assembly No. 2520 made a presentation outlining current and
planned actions for the Brent Family Cemetery.

A developer who recently purchased land near the cemetery,
which qualifies as a Virginia Historical Site, has promised a
donation of $10,000 once its first subdivision plan is
approved. The developer also has agreed to improve the access
road, resurvey the property and help install an on-site power
drop. The donation will be made to the Arlington Diocese and
then applied according to the committee’s plans.

In addition to maintaining the grounds and fighting
vandalism, the committee hopes to identify the cemetery’s
graves. Specifically, the committee wants to pinpoint the
burial locations of the aforementioned Margaret Brent and her
great-grandniece, Sarah Brent Mason. Mason was the second
wife of Founding Father George Mason, who drafted the
Virginia Declaration of Rights. David Hermann contacted the
National Geographic Society Oct. 3 for assistance in the
search, but has yet to receive a response.

These endeavors will preserve the church’s legacy in Northern
Virginia, while ensuring the site remains a pleasant and safe
place for worship.

“I come here every year as a pilgrimage,” said Brenda
Whitlock Latham, president of the Catholic Woman’s Club of
Richmond. “This is my Mecca.”

Find out more

To learn more about the George Brent Council, contact Jim
Reynolds at [email protected] or 703/368-4326

Stoddard can be reached at [email protected].

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