Thank you to a number of folks for help with this puzzle: * Jim Nolan, for census data and a photograph link * Debbye Lansing, for the ancestral information * David Hoffman, for referring me to the NEHGS Register, 92:105, which provides the mother's name (Elizabeth Folsom), but which I haven't had time to get to yet. :-( For me the research ends here, since the Congressman does not descend from any of the Great Migration-era founders I'm working on, but your contributions have established a well-documented cache of information and URLs in the list archive for anyone in the future with the same question. It's just this sort of collaboration and sharing of resources that makes this list such a pleasure for me to be connected with. Chris Christopher Brooks, List Administrator: ============================================ BROOKS-NE-L (Brooks Families of New England) at RootsWeb.com ============================================

New York Times, May 5, 1873 THE FATHER OF THE LATE HON. JAMES BROOKS. A correspondent of the Portland (Me.) Press writes as follows: Capt. James Brooks, father of the member of Congress by the same name, whose death was announced Wednesday, was a native of England, and was for several years a worthy ship-master of Portland. His last cruise was as captain of the private armed sloop Yankee, a unique craft, modeled by John H. Hall, the inventor of the breach-loading rifle which was adopted by our United States War Department. The sloop had a flat bottom, with a keel six feet deep. She sailed from Portland in June, 1814. On Sunday, July 10, the Portuguese armed ship San Jose Indiano, with a cargo, most of which was British goods, came in as a prize to the Yankee. The armament of this ship was in the September following transferred by the Portland Rifle Corps to the dismantled brig Boxer, which placed the brig in position to defend Vaughan's Bridge from a threatened attack by the enemy. The capture of this prize by Capt. Brooks was the last that was heard of him or his vessel. Her deep keel probably caused her to founder in a storm. Capt. Brooks left a son and daughter—James and Eliza, who afterward married a Mr. Marsh, of New-York. The second son, Erastus, now of the New-York Express, was born several months after his father sailed. The orphan children drew an annuity from the United States Naval Pension Fund, and were cared for by their mother and their guardian, the late David Trull. New York Times, May 5, 1873 THE LATE JAMES BROOKS … On the lid of the casket was a plain silver plate, on which was engraved the following inscription: Hon. James Brooks Born in Portland, Me., Nov. 10, 1810 Died in the City of Washington, April 30, 1873 … Next after the pall-bearers were the immediate members of the family of the deceased. Consisting of Mr. Erastus and Mrs. Brooks, Mr. and Mrs. Neilson, Mr. James Milton Brooks and Miss Virginia Brooks, and Dr. and Mrs. George Brooks. These were again followed by the attaches of the Express. ====================== Notes by Chris, who is bouncing this message to the list from Debbye Lansing: Charles H. Neilson, the son-in-law, was the "straw man" the Congressman used to hold the Credit Mobilier stock. Neilson of course insisted he had made the purchase himself during the Congressional hearings, but was not believed. The Congressman's will left him twenty $1,000 first mortgage of the Union Pacific Railroad bonds, "on condition he defend all his other property against suits instituted by the United States or other parties." The "Express" referred to is the Congressman's newspaper, the New York Evening Express, in which his brother Erastus was a partner from about 1847 on.

Photo of: http://www.civil-war.net/cw_images/files/cartes_de_visite_images/c177.jp g

Jim Nolan wrote: > If you search the Brooklyn Eagle site for 1873 you will > find several articles on Congressman Brooks. His obit states > that his father was lost at sea when he was a child. I did, and I did. But I'm still after his father's identity. I'm amazed that RootsWeb's WorldConnect, which boasts of 368 million names, hasn't got one submitted entry for Congressman James Brooks, although he names three children, to whom he left significant (ill-acquired?) wealth in his will. I often suspect that at least some of the all-too-common "mysterious origins" stories we see (descended from Indians, lost at sea, etc.) are cover-ups to disguise some family embarrassment, like a parent who was the town drunkard, or convicted of murder, or something similar. Congressman James's will names brothers Erastus, of parts unknown, and Dr. George W., of NYC. I'll try pursuing them to see if perhaps some descendant has worked it out. Thanks for the lead, Jim. I've bookmarked it. Chris

I have come across a copy of the 'Memoirs of Bryant B. Brooks: Cowboy, Trapper, Lumberman, Stockman, Oilman, Banker, and Governor of Wyoming,' privately printed in limited numbers in 1939. Perhaps you have access to it, although I note that it is fairly rare and selling for several hundred dollars on collector sites. In case some of you might be interested, I thought I would summarize the genealogical content and offer to respond to any inquiries. Bryant Butler Brooks (1861-1944) was the son of Silas Newton Brooks and grandson of Dr. John Brooks, descended from Capt Thomas Brooks; spent early years in Bernardston, Mass and Chicago; then went west to become, indeed, a cowboy, trapper, etc. etc. etc. Of greater interest for our purpose is that his memoirs include a genealogy of both his family lines and those of his wife, Mary Naomi Willard. Since her father was a first cousin to Bryant's father, the result is information about a lot of intertwined families. He is writing memoirs, not a formal genealogy, and does not "properly" document his sources However, I have found no difference in his Brooks data and the material that I have (from my own research and that of Chris)... Additionally, his wife was very active in the DAR. In any case, I think the material is worth noting, at least in pencil. The family lines discussed in some detail include: BROOKS, BASCOM, BURROWS, CONNABLE (on his side) and WILLARD, CLARKE, and BRACKETT (on her side). Others, discussed briefly in relation to specific individuals, are: BARKER, CLAYES, COPPER/COOPER, DANFORTH, DIAMOND, ENGLISH, HAYWOOD, HOW, HUNT, LOVET, MASON, MERRIMAN, NEWTON, RYTHER, SHATUCK, WRIGHT (his side); and NYE, PARSONS, PHIPPS, POMEROY, SARTWELL, WEEKS (her side). PS. This is also a great read...a l-o-n-g way from our New England interests but full of anecdote and glimpses of history, from the great fire in Chicago to Custer to Pancho Villa! And a reminder of the immense vitality of the Brooks family line!

If you search the Brooklyn Eagle site for 1873 you will find several articles on Congressman Brooks. His obit states that his father was lost at sea when he was a child. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Archive/skins/BE/navigator.asp Jim

This morning, in a message listing some Brooks individuals connected with Penfield, Monroe County, NY, I included a Hiram, whose biography mentions that he left Penfield with his (unnamed) father in 1813 to go to Chili, NY. (Is that near Enchilada? Never mind.) If I'm not mistaken these towns are in the vicinity of Rochester, NY. I found an item which may mention Hiram's father. In William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper "The Liberator," 3 Oct 1835, appeared the following, severely edited for length and Brooks relevance. =================== (From the Oneida Standard and Democrat.) TO THE FRIENDS OF IMMEDIATE EMANCIPATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Believing that we have a high duty to perform in this crisis, and that upon the issues of the present conflict depend both the destinies of human liberty and the blessings of our holy religion, we desire to meet the occasion as becomes men, christians, and Americans. For the purpose of promoting a more extended co-operation and a more vigorous action in this holy cause, we therefore invite a STATE CONVENTION of the friends of immediate emancipation, to be held in the city of Utica on Wednesday, the 21st of October next, at 10 o'clock, A.M., for the purpose of forming a State Anti-Slavery Society for the state of New York. All Anti-Slavery Societies, recognizing the duty of immediate emancipation, are invited to send delegates. In places where no society is organized, those friendly to the cause are invited to meet and choose delegates. Individuals throughout the state and from other states, holding the principles of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and willing to co-operate in their support and extension, are invited to seats in the Convention. Signers: PERRINTON. Rev. A.G. Brooks, Gideon Ramsdell. CHILI. Rev. S. Brooks, Alred Scofield. =================== Does anyone out there recognize either the Rev. A.G. or the Rev. S. Brooks? Thanks, Chris

James Brooks was a Congressman from New York City who was censured for bribery in the Credit Mobilier scandal in 1873, and died about six weeks later. He was born in Portland, ME, according to his Congressional biography. As a young man in his twenties he was editor of the Portland Advertiser for several years, and a frequent correspondent/contributor to William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist weekly "The Liberator." By date and location he might be the son of William Cummings/6 Brooks, of the Woburn line, or of Cotton Brown/6 Brooks, grandfather of Rev. Phillips Brooks, in the Medford branch (Caleb/2, Capt. Thomas/1) of the Concord line. Do any of you know? Thanks, Chris

From: "Jane Devlin" <janedevlin@ameritech.net> Subject: [updates] Cumberland Co., New Jersey, Cemeteries on-line To: Web-updates@rays-place.com Message-ID: <4278E75E.8166.B5A1B0F@localhost> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII The following cemeteries from Cumberland Co., New Jersey, are now on line at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jdevlin/ Old Cohansey Cemetery, Burying Ground Of The Methodist Episcopal Of Farton, Presbyterian Burying Ground, Deerfield, Old Presbyterian Burying Ground, Pittsgrove Old Presbyterian Burying Ground, Greenwich & New Yard Back Of Church Deerfield Presbyterian Cemetery Cohansey Baptist, Roadstown & Presbyterian Church, Fairfield Jane Devlin Lake Orion, MI DUNHAM - WILCOX - TROTT - KIRK over 2300 data files from CT, MA, RI, NJ, NY & MI ===================== Click on the NEW link on Jane's home page. The Cumberland inscriptions are the second link in the first bullet at the top of the page. Chris

Jean McKee wrote: > Well, the one Brooks items is $25 but the whole package > of items, if you click and look at the other items, is $310, if > I am correct. > Which package do we want? I surely would be glad to > contribute so, I think knowing the dollar amount is important, > or do we just pool dollars and go for that affords? I personally would be inclined to pass on the offering, or at least the documents on the page for which I sent the URL. The 2003 offering included the family histories (which turned out to be essentially filled-in charts, names and dates already known, and no sourcing or evidence), but its real value lay in other artifacts, like a swatch of a wedding dress from the 1700s stitched onto one page, and a couple of 18th century silhouette portraits. The current lot (and I didn't look at the seller's other Brooks items) seems somewhat more pedestrian. Perhaps I'm just showing my own research bias for earlier generations rather than 19th and 20th century families. Rev. Kendall Brooks descended in the Woburn line of Henry/1 Brooks, and my thought in passing on the current link was we might have acquired a subscriber/descendant who would be interested. At the time of 2003 auction, no descendants or close relations came forward as I recall. A copy of the actual DAR application could be obtained at a much smaller cost. :-) I'm open to suggestions, of course, but have neither spare cash nor time at present to take much of a role myself in a repeat acquisition. But your offer to contribute is commendable, Jean. Chris

Listreaders may remember that in September 2003, a number of us pooled small contributions to rescue a Brooks/Kendall package of family albums from an eBay seller. These had been put together by female descendants of Rev. Kendall Brooks (b. 1821), president of Kalamazoo College. Debbye Lansing has dug up what may be a lesser portion of the same original family history collection, again for sale on eBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2980&item= 5577689748&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW (The URL will line-break. To make it work, copy and paste the two lines into one continuous string in your browser.) From the description: "Mrs. Kendall Page Brooks gathered some of this material around the turn of the century, and Mrs. Cynthia M. Page Brooks took up the task for years after that. She was a descendant of Governor Simon Bradstreet, seeking admission into the DAR, Colonial Dames, etc." Chris

The Rochester Gen. Soc. newsletter of Spring 2005 gives the following record for the Presbyterian Society of North Penfield (now Webster) of Children baptized, Oct. 30, 1842 Rachel Ann BROOKS Harriet Irene BROOKS Also admitted by Letter - Mrs. BROOKS Maybe that will help someone. Cheshire Jean

Sullivan County, NY Family History Center Microfilm/fiche (I have this information as a Word document, if needed). Ron Hughes rondh@cox.net (702)270-6955 Roll 514681 MARRIAGES Aug 7, 1869. George Moore of Forrestubur to Georgina Brooks at Lyons Motel. Apr 25, 1895. Ira D. Brock, 30Y of Woodbourne to Phebe J. Villee 30Y of Hasbrouck. Aug 25, 1903. Harry B. Brooks, 29Y of New Yokr City to Mamse A. Gettell, 30 Y, of White Lake. Jun 16, 1869. Eliss Brooks of Middletown to Hattie Martine of Werwereina. BIRTHS Mary Elizabeth b. Mar 21, 1851. bap Feb 15, 1856, dau of Thomas Dare and Fanny Brooks TOMBSTONES Brock, Mary. Wife of John. d. Jul 3, 1848. 53Y 9M Brock, John. d. Dec 10, 1830. 67Y Brooks, Henrietta. d. Apr 26, 1855. 11Y 5M 19D. Brooks, John. CoE, 120 Regt, NYV. 1836-1919. Celia Hall, wife. 1839-1910. Brooks, William C. 1827-1913. Dora Prechel, his wife, 1826-1895. J. Jessee Brooks, 1892-1918. Brock, Josephine Baker. W of Ira D. Brock 1867-1890. Brock, Oscar J. 1887-1887 Brock, Ann E. 1882-1890 Brooks, Ada. dau. Jessee & Ella. d. Feb 2, 1878 2Y 7M 3D Brooks, Jessee. 1843-1926. Ellen Aldrich, w. 1852-. Ida Brooks 1875-1878. Eva Brooks 1873-1883 Brooks, Nelson. Son of William & Mary. B Jan 1, 1881. d. Mar 26, 1906. Brooks, George W. 1860-. Bernissa (?) wife 1851-1928. Green, Frank L. 1869-1924. Oliver 1847-. Charlotte Brooks, wife, 1853- Brooks, Emily A. 1856-1917. Swartwout, Philip. b May 28, 1846. d Sep 5, 1911. Bevier (?) CoE, 1stRegt. Josana Brooks, wife 11851-. Roll 823668 TOMBSTONE Brooks, Dau of Grace B. N1206. 1899 Roll 837725 MORTAGEE then MORTGAGOR John Brooks. Jonathan Hoyt. 1851 John Brooks. Hiram Fulton 1856 John J. Brooks. John Ohrieu. 1860 John J. Brooks. Daniel B. St.John. 1871 Martia Brooks. Adam Benneth. 1871 Joseph Brooks. James H. Losey. 1874 William Brooks. Ethalnida (?) Gregory. 1875 Roll 837727 MORTGAGOR then MORTAGEE John J. Brooks. John A. McMillen. 1851 Daniel Brooks. Henry B. Morgan. 1860 John J. Brooks. Edward Brooks. 1863. Jesse Brooks. John Hansee. 1871. Chancelor and Louisa Brooks to Charles W. Scofield. 1871. John J. Brooks to Nathan S. Hammond. 1856. John J. Brooks to Jonathan Hoyt. 1849. Roll 838337 Chancelor and Louisa Brooks, Defendants. Schofield, Plaintiff. 1872 SUPREME COURT, ORANGE COUNTY Book D, Page 275 Jan 15, 1859 0833700 Alanson A. Bull & Martha, his wife William R. Brooks & Betsey, his wife ? Brooks & Sarah, his wife James Miller & C???, his wife Elisha Stevens and Sarah, his wife John Brooks and Sarah, his wife Land formerly occupied by Leonard Brooks, deceased. Town of Monroe Fiche 6,081,254 Part 1 Ira Brooks, Death, Neversink 6/4/1893 Joel Brooks, Letter of Administration, 6/13/1813 Fiche 6,081,265 Part 1 - Newspaper Article dated Oct 18, 1830 Mr. John Brooks of Monroe, died "Friday Last" Part 2 - Newspaper Article dated Oct 22, 1836 At Bloomingrove, the 13th inst, the wife of John Brooks, Esq. Part 2 - Newspaper Article dated Dec 3, 1896 The 21st ult. In Washingtonville, William Brooks, esq, in the 54th year. Book 975.735.V2bs, Vol 3 Robert Barrett, Greene County and Ruth Elizabeth Brooks, Upper Neversink. Reformed Dutch Church of Grahamsville, Sullivan, NY

From time to time I've mentioned Charles Francis Adams, Lincoln's minister to England during the Civil War, and (I'd forgotten) Martin Van Burne's vice-presidential running mate on the Free Soil ticket in 1848. His wife, Abigail Brown Brooks, was a descendant of Capt. Thomas/1 through his son Caleb/2. Turns out that C.F.'s summer home in Quincy, MA is for sale. Want to own a piece of history? Today's Boston Sunday Globe has the story at http://www.boston.com/realestate/articles/2005/05/01/mansion_in_q uincy_comes_with_pedigree/ Two caveats. First, the URL will wrap into two lines, and you'll need to reassemble it into one continuous line in your browser to get it to work. Secondly, The Globe is a daily newspaper, so the URL and story will be gone tomorrow. The early bird gets the worm! Chris

Help! My ggg-grandfather was William BROOKS, b. abt 1770; d. 1848 in Nashville TN. According to family lore, our ancestry includes Rev. Phillips BROOKS & Abigail (BROOKS) ADAMS. I’ve found early 1800’s tax records in Nashville for William – also for both Christopher & Matthew BROOKS, but don’t know if they are all related. Any info on William's ancestry would be appreciated. Thanks Brooks Snyder brooks.snyder@att.net

brooks.snyder@att.net wrote: > Help! My ggg-grandfather was William BROOKS, b. abt 1770; > d. 1848 in Nashville TN. According to family lore, our > ancestry includes Rev. Phillips BROOKS & Abigail (BROOKS) > ADAMS. I’ve found early 1800’s tax records in Nashville > for William – also for both Christopher & Matthew BROOKS, > but don’t know if they are all related. Any info on > William's ancestry would be appreciated. Which William? :-) William is, after John, the most common given name among male New England Brookses. In my own one-name regional study on New England Brooks families, I've identified 294 men with first name William and surname Brooks. Eight of these for whom I've found a documented DOB were born between 1764 and 1775, all in New England. None have any known connection with Tennessee. If you can give us *something* — anything — in the way of particulars about your William's origins, we could try to determine his identity, or offer suggestions for how to do so. But as the list administrator, and the resident one-name researcher, it's sometimes my unappealing duty to puncture family legends. Phillips Brooks was one of the most famous Americans of the 19th century, so family lore often borrows him as a relation without supporting evidence. But his line is exceedingly well-documented — his father spent decades compiling their family history, aside from the standard evidentiary resources available today — and there are no Southern connections. You can read a biography of Phillips Brooks in the first issue of the publication Tributaries, which can be downloaded from the Publications link at the URL in my signature below. The Abigail you mention would be Abigail Brown Brooks, who married Charles Francis Adams, son of John Quincy and grandson of John. Charles Francis Adams was Lincoln's minister to England during the Civil War. Abigail was a daughter of Peter Chardon Brooks, reputedly the first millionaire (maritime insurance) in Massachusetts, and a kinswoman of Phillips Brooks, whose father, William Gray Brooks of Boston, was a grand-nephew of Peter C. Brooks. Again, this line is quite well-documented due to the prominence of the names I've mentioned, and I have not seen any Southern connection. I ran a search of my own main database for any Brooks with any event in Tennessee. Out of 45,000 people, 11,000 of them surnamed Brooks, with roughly 96,000 defined events, I find a total of three events in Tennessee, and two of these are in the 20th century. Pelatiah Brooks, born in 1824 into the Glastonbury (CT) line, did venture into Tennessee in the 19th century, but that's still a century too late for your needs. I can send you privately the ancestral lines for Phillips Brooks and Abigail Brown Brooks if you like. Perhaps another subscriber to this list can offer more. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Chris |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Christopher Brooks BROOKS Families of New England http://www.tributaries.org ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

BROOKS Info from Middletown, CT 1/5/05--More Deed Indices Reel #1, Town of Middletown, CT Deeds, 1654-1766, General Index Deeds A-Z (I didn’t check the dates on the film). The following data are given in this order: Grantors; Grantees; Location; Volume and Page No. Brooks, Betsey; Stephen Hubbard; Haddam Road; 41; 559. Brooks, Catharine; John Bacon; Main St.; 43; 420. Brooks, Catharine; Ebenezer Wilson; --; 44; 504. Brooks, Catharine; Thomas Hulbert; Main St.; 48; 207. *Brooks, Daniel; Oliver Prout; South Farms; 49; 565. Brooks, David; Joseph Hubbard; --; 46; 539. Brooks, Elizabeth; Harris Prout; --; 45; 164. Brooks, Jabez; Joseph Hubbard 2d; --; 42; 233. Brooks, Jabez; Joseph Hubbard 2d; --; 46; 533. Brooks, Jerusha; Harris Prout; South Farms; 45; 164. Brooks, Jerusha; Partridge Johnson; Johnson Lane; 45; 511. Brooks, Jerusha; Seth Paddock; --; 48; 170. Brooks, Jerusha; Oliver Prout; Johnson Lane; 49; 569. Brooks, Jonathan; Stephen Hubbard; Haddam Road; 41; 559. Brooks, Ruhamah; Harris Prout; South Farms; 45; 164. Brooks, Ruhamah; Partridge Johnson; Johnson Lane; 45; 511. Brooks, Ruhamah; Seth Paddock; --; 48; 170. Brooks, Ruhamah; Oliver Prout; Johnson Lane; 49; 569. Brooks, Stephen; Benjamin Wilcox; --; 48; 209. Brooks, Samuel; Oliver Prout; Johnson Lane; 49; 568. Brooks, Timothy; John Bacon; Main St.; 43; 420. Brooks, Timothy; Jonathan Bill; Main St.; 44; 177. Brooks, Timothy; Henry Lyman; Main St.; 44; 179. Brooks, Timothy; Benoni Plum; Main St.; 44; 181. Brooks, Timothy; William Cooper; Main St.; 44; 183. Brooks, Timothy; Arthur W. Magill; Main St.; 44; 185. Brooks, Timothy; Christopher C. Wolcott; Main St.; 44; 185. Brooks, Timothy; Magill & Wolcott; Main St.; 44; 185. Brooks, Timothy; Alfred Wells; Main St.; 44; 187. Brooks, Timothy; John Griswold; Main St.; 44; 220. Brooks, Timothy; Samuel Russell; Main St.; 44; 220. Brooks, Timothy; Samuel Russell & Co.; Main St.; 44; 220. Brooks, Timothy; Samuel Wetmore; Main St.; 44; 220. Brooks, Timothy; Willard W. Wetmore; Main St.; 44; 220. George W. Bull; Brooks, Catharine w/Timothy; Main St.; 42; 83. John Bacon; Brooks, Catharine w/Timothy; Main St.; 42; 371. Ebenezer Wilson; Brooks, Catharine w/Timothy; --; 47; 225. Thomas Hulbert; Brooks, Catharine w/Timothy; Main St.; 48; 208. Town of Middletown; Brooks, David; South Farms; 44; 352. Joshua Brainerd; Brooks, David; --; 45; 392. Ebenezer Tracey; Brooks, David; --; 46; 538. Churchill Edwards; Brooks, David; Cromwell; 46; 542. Abijah Hubbard; Brooks, David; --; 48; 139. Sarah Hubbard; Brooks, David; --; 48; 139. Joseph Hubbard 2d; Brooks, Jabez; South Farms; 42; 10. Stephen Clay; Brooks, Jerusha; South Farms; 41; 34. Stephen Clay; Brooks, Ruhama; South Farms; 41; 34. Benjamin Wilcox; Brooks, Stephen; --; 46; 374. John Bacon; Brooks, Timothy; Main St.; 42; 371. *Know ye that I Daniel Brooks of Green [sic] in the County of Chenango and State of New York…for the sum of Seventeen Dollars Received to my full satisfaction of Oliver Prout of Middletown in Connecticut…have…forever quit claimed unto said Oliver Prout…a certain piece of land lying in said Middletown in South Farms so called, Containing Five acres more or Less--Bounded South on Partrige [?] Johnson, West on Elijah Johnson, North on Nathaniel Roberts, East on Harris Prout…In Witness Whereof I have hereto set my hand and Seal the 24th day of October in the Year of our Lord one thousand Eight-hundred and Seven and in the Year of the Independence of the United States of America--Signed, Sealed & delivered In Presence of Matthew T. Rassk [?], Stephen Taylor--Daniel Brooks (Seal). Middlesex Co. [?] Middletown Octr. 24th 1807 Personally appeared Mr. Daniel Brooks Signer and Sealer of the foregoing Instrument and acknowledged the same to be his free act and deed--Before me Matthew T! . Rassk [?] Just’e Peace. Jan’y 4, 1825 a true Record. Test--[J. W. Fisk?] Regr. Deed Indices: Reel 1, Volumes 1-20, dates on box 1654-1766, I didn’t check dates on film. Reel 2, Volumes 21-40, dates on box 1766-1812, on film 1766-1795. Reel 3, Volumes 41-60, dates on box 1808-1832, on film 1808-1825.

If any of you has a copy of this work, I would like to ask a favor. I have six apparently garbled or truncated Brooks listings extracted from the book for which I'd like a lookup and a correct copy. Please write me offlist if you can help. Thanks, Chris

Things are clearer, though not better. Over the past 30 hours or so a spammer has sent out thousands of emails using forged sender names and addresses at the Tributaries.org domain. The messages tout penny stocks from a shady Canadian corporation called Adsero, which has gone in and out of business and bankruptcy for some time. Their corporate web site looks great but has almost no information, and provides no means of contacting the corporation other than by telephone. More than a thousand of these spams have bounced back to me from corporate, personal and even religious entities all over the world. One bounce came from a non-profit committee established to aid victims of a massacre. These spammers have neither conscience nor shame. As a result, Tributaries.org as a sending address has been added to several spammer blacklists. There is a very real risk that my ability to send mail from my domain will be cut off. I am doing my best to learn about big-time spamming and "spoofing" (sending mail from forged addresses), and sending my own "Help! I'm innocent!" messages to the spam blacklists, but most of this is still over my head. The blacklists, of course, will not clear my domain from suspicion until the spammers, whoever they are, have felt the heat of detection closing in on them, and moved on to another forged address. If at some point mail to my address bounces, you can continue to reach me at brooks-ne-admin@rootsweb.com jose357@adelphia.net None of this should affect the web site's availability in any way. I hope the email difficulties will be over in a few days. Thanks, Chris Christopher Brooks, List Administrator: ============================================ BROOKS-NE-L (Brooks Families of New England) at RootsWeb.com ============================================

Good evening, I am being bombarded with spam and bounce notices for forged emails emanating from the tributaries.org domain which I own. About 80 of these have arrived in the last hour. The likely cause is that someone — who has my email address in their computer's address book, and who is therefore more likely than not subscribed here — has an infected computer which is autogenerating email from forged addresses based on a real one in the address book. For example, I'm getting bounces from such fictional addresses as jcuouenrywosd@tributaries.org. There's no such authorized user in my domain. The infected machine probably has the following entries in its address book: trib@tributaries.org (yrs truly) MSN Groups (at least one of these) PNA (Prayer News Alert) Is this *your* address book, dear reader? If so, you need to disinfect your computer, which is sending a steady stream of outgoing email (and who knows what else — malware? your personal passwords?) from your computer, without your knowledge or approval. In general, anti-virus software, spybot removal software, and other security programs which rely on a "signature file" are only as good as the last time you updated them. Last month's signature file can not and will not detect this week's new virus. I check for security updates at least three times a week, and often daily. If you consider that excessive, please consider yourself warned that Murphy's Law is real, and at a minimum adopt some sort of weekly or regular security update. To all those who are not the culprit, thanks for practicing safe computing. Christopher Brooks, List Administrator: ============================================ BROOKS-NE-L (Brooks Families of New England) at RootsWeb.com ============================================