The following article was written by Ms. Nancy Neiger for Volume I of the Heritage of Escambia County, Florida. Ms. Neiger stated "Even people living in Sanders Beach fifty years many not know that in the 1870's there was a fair sized island just offshore, at the mouth of Bayou Chico. On Brent's Island was a lumber mill owned by Pensacola native Francis Celestino Brent. With diligence, energy, and determination Brent established the financial firm of F. C. Brent and Company in 1876 with W. H. Knowles, and purchased controlling interest in the Firs National Bank of Pensacola, incorporated in 1880, regarded by many as world class. Brent also invested in the area's burgeoning lumber industry, along with brothers Daniel and Robert Brent. In 1902 he was President of Brent Lumber Company, and Vie President and treasurer of the Cedar Creek Mill company in nearby Brewton, Alabama. Commercial and business interests in Pensacola became extremely intertwined by the 1900's. On January 1, 1914 the Liverpool, England firm of Crow, Rudolph and Company, announced its bankruptcy. First National Bank of Pensacola, heavily invested in Crow Rudolph, was forced by federal receiver R. W. Goodheart to close despite heavy doubts about whether the closure was necessary since the bank could have met all its financial obligations. Goodheart's sworn testimony in court hearing that followed was vague at best. The forced bank closure and citywide depression it caused, impacted Pensacola and the area for nearly fifty years. The lumber industry continued to decline and the mill eventually closed. The island suffered severe damage in the hurricanes of 1906, 1916, and 1926 and eventually submerged below the surface of Pensacola Bay." Francis Celestino Brent was born in Pensacola on May 12, 1848 to the union of Thomas William Brent and Merced Gonzalez. Following his service with the Confederate Army he returned to Pensacola in 1865 and married Mary Ella Shuttleworth on July 9, 1872. The couple would produce twelve children. He and his brother Daniel Gonzalez Brent would enter into numerous areas in the area to become one of Pensacola's kings of commerce. He became such success that his name lives on in such names as the Brent Building at Palafox and Garden Streets, the communities of Brent and Brentwood and Brent Lane. Brent was named after the family's summer farm and Brent Lane is named after the two lane dirt road leading to their summer house. Their family home was located at 200 West LaRua Street, but fell into disuse and was demolished after 2005 to make room for an apartment complex.
Francis Celestino Brent
The war adventures of his younger brother Francis Celestino Brent were not quite as extensive as that of Daniel. Francis was born on May 2, 1848 and as the storm clouds of civil war gathered over Pensacola, Francis attempted to enlist like his big brother, but he was too young to enter the army. But finally, in 1864 at the age of sixteen he was finally old enough to sign his name to the dotted line, so he enlisted in Company “B” of the 62nd Alabama Infantry Regiment, a unit known for the youthfulness of its members. This unit was originally known as Lockhart’s Battalion under the command of Lt. Colonel Harrison C. Lockhart. The battalion was later combined in July 1864 with other units to become part of the 62nd Alabama regiment made up of old men and young boys. In fact, most of the soldiers in the regiment were so young that it was nicknamed the “boy’s regiment.” Captured at the battle of Fort Gaines in Mobile, Francis was sent to Ship Island POW Camp. The prisoners were imprisoned for only a short period of time and were finally exchanged on January 4, 1865 and returned to the Confederate lines in Mobile. There their commanders gave them a furlough so they could return home and recover from their harsh treatment. Upon their return to duty the boys of the 62nd Alabama were sent to Spanish Fort, as part of the brigade commanded by General Bryan Morel Thomas along with the 63rd Alabama regiment. There the regiment withstood the siege by the Union forces for six days before being relieved by another brigade. They were then transferred to the fortified lines within Fort Blakely where they endured the Union siege and bombardment on April 8th and 9th losing a number in killed and wounded before Lt. Colonel Brunaugh Yniestra surrendered the regiment after the enemy’s final assault. Again, taken to Ship Island, the men were exchanged in time to be surrendered with the Confederate forces under General Richard Taylor in May 1865. Even though the regiment was composed wholly of old men and boys such as fellow Pensacolians Sergeant Francis C. Brent, George Clifford and Moses Gale Yniestra, it still distinguished itself in the last battle of the war.
Daniel Gonzalez Brent
Born April 17, 1842, Washington, D.C. (his father was Thomas W. Brent, served in the Confederate States Navy); moved to Florida that same year with his family; served under E. A. Perry during the capture of the Pensacola Navy Yard; enlisted June 11, 1861, at Pensacola, in company "K", 1st Florida Infantry; discharged at Tullahoma, Tennessee (may have also served in company A, 2nd Florida Infantry); appointed 2nd lieutenant, Confederate States Marine Corps, March 31, 1863; stationed at Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina; sent aboard the CSS Macon, March 1, 1865; surrendered at Augusta, Georgia, May, 1865; died at Pensacola, Florida, November 28, 1918.
Robert Johnson Brent
(1856-1922) St. Michael's Cemetery
Brent House at 100 West Jackson Street
Pensacola News Journal 3-18-1945