[2] His father had been born a slave but had earned enough money to buy his freedom and obtained a government job.

He bought land at 18th and L streets, NW Washington where he built the family house in which Calvin T.S.

[5] Calvin's son, John Edmonson Brent (born in 1889 and named after his grandfather), was also an architect and practiced in Buffalo, New York.

[7] After Albertine died, Calvin Brent married Laurelia Brown, a widow with a private income.

[8] His Washington, D.C. residence at 1700 V Street, NW is on the African American Heritage Trail of that city, and is marked with a plaque.

He built a row of nine buildings for the developer William A. Stewart at 4th and E Streets, NE, on Capitol Hill, which are still standing.

He built a group of ten houses at Grant Street and Florida Avenue, NW.

The towered corner house in this group was built for Garrett Wormley, his brother-in-law, and drew praise from the Washington Bee.