--=======499238E======= Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-66AE7375; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Pam Venn wrote: >"The Farmington, Connecticut Committee of Inspection investigated >reports that militia officer Thomas BROOKS was "unfriendly to the >constitutional rights of America in June 1776!" Brooks freely >admitted that he "could not satisfy himself that the colonies were >justified in their present measures and that he could not join them >to take up arms." Such "principles and temper," the committee voted, >disqualified him from holding a militia office, and it recommended >that the General Assembly strip him of that office. Committees >repeatedly used the formula of stating the furthest extent of >suspicion brought to their attention before indicating that the >evidence demonstrated a specific and less serious infraction." > ~~~ >SOURCE: The Loyalists in Revolutionary America, 1760-1781 >by Robert McCluer Calhoon >pg. 301 >ISBN 0-15154745-9 > >Can anyone on the list provide additional details of what followed >for Thomas? I find 5 men named Thomas Brooks associated with Hartford County, though=20 none with Farmington specifically, within the appropriate time frame. While= =20 militia companies were organized by town, they collected into regiments=20 organized by county, so proximity rather than literal residence is probably= =20 a sufficient qualifier. (1) Jacobus includes a Lt. Thomas/4 (Stephen/3, Lt. Thomas/2, Henry/1)= =20 in the Wallingford/Cheshire line, but gives no indication of military=20 service beyond his rank. Born at Wallingford 7 Mar 1738, he died 3 Dec=20 1812, and is buried at Burlington, CT -- where his gravestone styles him a= =20 Revolutionary soldier. (2) 20 or so miles away at Glastonbury, there's a Thomas/5 Jr.=20 (Thomas/4, Sgt. Samuel/3, Samuel/2, John/1) in what I call the Glastonbury= =20 line, although the emigrant progenitor lived at Windsor and Simsbury.=20 [Note: this line has proven difficult to document, and a number of=20 listreaders are still digging on this, both in CT and in Chenango County,=20 NY -- so don't hold me to that pedigree.] This fellow was born between 1750= =20 and 1761, depending on whom you ask :-), and is said to have died in 1822=20 in Chenengo County. The father of, among others, Theseus, Socrates, and=20 Roswell -- names with which we have had lots of fun on this list -- my=20 notes say that he was also a Revolutionary soldier, though I failed to=20 record the source (ugh). Hopefully one of the Chenango folks will set me=20 straight on this. When I search for Brooks events at Farmington, every single person I turn=20 up pre-1800 belongs to the Cheshire line, without exception. There is at least one documented family of Loyalists in the Cheshire line.= =20 In 1776, New Hampshire's provisional government undertook a census,=20 combined with a loyalty oath (the "Association Test") to the Revolutionary= =20 government. Capt. Benjamin/3 Brooks, born in Cheshire, had a year or two=20 previously gone up with three or more sons to Claremont, situated on the=20 Connecticut River in what is today the extreme southwestern corner of New=20 Hampshire. According to the state papers of New Hampshire, "The Names of=20 those who Refuse to sign the Declaration=85Capt. Benjamin Brooks=85Barnabas= =20 Brooks=85Benjamin Brooks jun." were recorded in May 1776. Brother Cornelius= =20 "made no association" (declined to respond?). As for the apparent turnaround in political sentiments, that may well be=20 misleading. First, there are many cases of those who doubted the cause of=20 independence initially, but subsequently served or supported it. Barbara=20 Elliott and Jane Patrick have researched a Samuel at Worcester, MA who with= =20 others signed a loyalty petition which enraged the local, pro-patriot=20 citizenry. A mob marched into the town clerk and forced him to empty his=20 inkwell over the page in the town records where the petition had been=20 copied, in order to obliterate the record. The page, complete with huge ink= =20 splat, still exists and I have a scan of it. Samuel, however,=20 recanted/repented/rethought, and subsequently served the Revolutionary=20 cause in several capacities. Secondly, gravestone claims should always be taken cum grano (with a grain= =20 of salt), just like the claims that "George Washington slept here." 50=20 years after the war, the family member who commissioned the stone may not=20 have had a clue about the decedent's true situation, or may have known but= =20 elected to record the facts for posterity in their most favorable light.=20 There are no gravestone police -- so the most heartless s.o.b. in life can= =20 become a loving father and respected citizen in death, if the stone's=20 purchaser is so inclined. My guess is candidate #1, based on rank and the Cheshire connection. You'd= =20 need to get into primary (town and militia) records for a conclusive=20 identification. If the Calhoon book provides a proper citation, you ought=20 to be able to follow the author's trail back. Sorry to be so poky in responding. Chris --=======499238E======= Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-66AE7375 Content-Disposition: inline --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.311 / Virus Database: 172 - Release Date: 12/27/2001 --=======499238E=======--
Hi Chris, Thanks for the great response!! Yes, citations were listed in the back of the book; however, I've since returned the book to the library. Next time I go over there, I'll check out the citations and get back to you. I can't do a "cut and paste" with this old DOS-based email program, so can't include the section regarding the citation you requested. Sorry about that. (Good news! My new computer, currently under construction, should be here in a couple of weeks!!) Peace and Gentle Sunsets, --Pam http://www.geocities/orcawind