Brent, George
(born: 1821 - died: 1870)George Brent* was born near Greensburg, KY; he and his parents were slaves owned by Louis C. Patterson. Brent's father gained his freedom and moved to Lexington, KY, where he secured a note for the purchase of his son.
George Brent then moved to Lexington, where he was employed as a blacksmith. He became a freeman when he paid off the note of $1,200 at the end of three years.
A year prior to his freedom, George Brent married Mildred Smith, a free-born woman from Campbellsville, KY. In 1837, the Brent family moved to Illinois, eventually settling in Springfield at 1417 East Adams Street. Springfield had become the capital of Illinois in 1837 thanks to the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and several others.
The Brent family was among the first African American families to settle in Sangamon County. George Brent became an ordained minister in 1864 and the following year was pastor of the Zion Baptist Church in Springfield, formerly known as the Colored Baptist Church from its beginning in 1838.
The first church building was constructed under the directorship of Rev. George Brent. He and three others made the bricks from which the church was built; Rev. Brent and the three men were owners of the brick yard. Rev. Brent was pastor of the Zion Baptist Church until 1887.
George and Mildred Brent family included four children in 1870, according to the U.S. Federal Census. In February of that year, two of the children were killed when they were struck by lightning; see George Brent at Find A Grave.
For more see History of Sangamon County, Illinois; together with sketches of its cities, by Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago) [available online at Google Books].