As secretary and commissioner Mr. Avent has been identified with the work of the Tennessee State Railroad Commission for fourteen years, and probably there is not a man in the state better informed on the technical, legal and commercial details of Tennessee’s transportation system than Frank Avent.     

In 1906 he was elected to fill an unexpired term of two years in the commission, and in 1908 was elected to the full term of six years, representing the middle division of Tennessee. In 1899 he began his service as secretary of the commission, which he continued until his election as one of the members. During these years the work of railroad commissions throughout the country have been vitalized into one of the most important services of the state government, and Mr. Avent has taken a creditable and useful-part in promoting the better relations between the public and the transportation companies, but probably more important still in laying the foundations and precedents upon which the work of succeeding commissions will long be based.     

Mr. Avent was born in Murfreesboro on the 7th of March, 1858, a son of James M. and Mary Williams (Childress) Avent. The father, who was a son of James Avent, a Virginian and a pioneer settler at Murfreesboro, was born near Petersburg, Virginia, and died at Murfreesboro in 1895, his active career being spent as a lawyer for more than fifty years. The mother was born at Murfreesboro and was a daughter of Maj. John W. Childress.     

Reared on a farm, Mr. Frank Avent began his education in private schools, after which he took a special course for two years in Vanderbilt University, and in 1880 was graduated in law from the Cumberland University at Lebanon. He was engaged in practice at Murfreesboro for six years, and has been a resident of Nashville since 1898. He was elected to the legislature in 1886, and in 1894 declined a second nomination. Mr. Avent is a Democrat, his fraternities are the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows, and he is a member of the Methodist church South. He was married in 1891 to Miss Mayna Treanor, of Nashville, and they have two children, Mary and James M.   Additional Comments:From:   A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans : the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities by Will T. Hale Chicago:  Lewis Pub. Co.,  1913