Before joining her brother and his wife in Virginia, Margaret Brent made a name for herself in Maryland. She was arguably the most remarkable person in a remarkable clan.  Born in 1601, she was the seventh child of Sir Richard Brent (1573-1652) and Lady Elizabeth Willoughby de Broke.  When Margaret landed in 1638 at St. Mary’s City in Maryland, she was no common immigrant, as she came with four maidservants, five male servants, and two letters from Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, granting all the lands she could manage.  By any measure, she could manage quite a bit:  administering her own and sister Mary’s affairs; as executrix for deceased governor Leonard Calvert; and representing her brother Giles (I)’ legal interests.  She appeared before Provincial Court at least 124 times between 1642-1650.  Her own estate was “Sisters Freehold,” and she managed “Trinity,” “St. Gabriel,” and “Fort Kent.”  Probably the largest landowner and most influential person in the Maryland colony, she shocked the Maryland Council in 1648 by confronting them with legal requests and demanding the vote (actually two votes) on the council.  Rebuffed by the council (and by Calvert from England), Margaret shifted her interests and residence to Virginia.