I have been unable to make a connection to the parents of Roswell Russell Brooks, and his older brother Loomis. They were born in Ira, Vermont in 1813 and 1814 respectfully, and I can only assume that they are descendants of a Joseph Brooks listed in the 1790 Census for Rutland CO. or possibly related to one of the Brooks lines from Connecticut. Apparently many town records in Ira, Vermont were lost in a fire. Also, I believe that the Great Storm of 1817 may have played a critical roll in the westward migration of my Brooks. I have indeed exhausted all searches for any possible other Brooks relations in New York State. Roswell Brooks was my mother's gr-grandfather (Jean Kilgo Brooks Williams). Both Roswell and Loomis both joined the U.S. Army in 1839, at Buffalo, NY and were discharged together in April of 1844 at Fort Columbus (Governors Island), NY. Roswell's life story is very interesting. He used his military pension to establish a successful woodworking/blacksmith shop in Weedsport, NY located right along-side the original Erie Canal. If any members of the BROOKS-NE-List can help me make a positive determination of Roswell and Loomis' parents, I would be eternally grateful. If anyone is interested, please feel free to visit my web site where you can find more information about my Brooks ancestry and also the intriguing history of early The Buffalo Barracks as well as life along the towpath. The Buffalo Barracks Historical Web Site http://www.buffalonet.org/army Click on the bison to enter the site and find the link to my Brooks genealogy. Thank you very much for this opportunity to be part of the BROOKS-NE List. Best wishes, Clifford R. Williams

Clifford Williams wrote: >I have been unable to make a connection to the parents of >Roswell Russell Brooks, and his older brother Loomis. Cliff, My experience is that given name patterns are very traditional in many of the B-NE lines, particularly those of CT, well into the 19th century. Where there's one Beriah or Roswell or Loomis, there's often another to confirm that the researcher has the right line. However, I've only seen one Roswell so far, in the undated burial of Elizabeth Brooks, wife of Roswell, at Dover, MA. Her gravestone gives a DOB of 1818. Nothing further on either spouse. I haven't got a single instance of a Loomis Brooks. Assuming that Loomis as a given name commemorates a surname farther back in the soldier's pedigree, I note a Philip Loomis born in 1676 at Westfield, MA, just outside Springfield, who married Hannah Dewey, and died at Simsbury, CT, 1746. Most of the early Springfield families seem to have freely "commuted" up and down the Connecticut River between the immediate Springfield region and CT. I haven't a clue whether Philip Loomis was a transient, or a permanent scion of a large brood, or something in between. Pretty thin, but perhaps a faint hint that the origin of the brothers was either in CT or in the Springfield line of William Brooks. CT lines, followed by the Springfield gang, seem to account for most of the rare given names in my data, which contains about 9,000 individuals surnamed Brooks and something over 30,000 when collateral families are added in. I do have census index CDs here, 1790-1860, which can provide a pool of parental candidates for incremental elimination. Let me know if you've already tried the census/parent search route, and, if so, for what towns/counties/regions/states. Have you tried the US GenWeb for whichever county (Rutland?) Ira, VT falls in? I have the LDS holdings catalog CD here, and can search for availability of sources such as published histories of Ira, microfilmed local and vital records, cemetery inscriptions, etc. Have you tried this route already? Have you looked for NARA military records for these men? Finally, have you researched the other two Brooks men listed on your Buffalo Barracks page? Are they known to be unrelated to Roswell and Loomis? Let us know what ground you've covered, and I'll follow up as appropriate. Chris

Hi Chris and Listers, I never thought I would find another "Roswell Brooks", but you just stated this name! My Roswell Brooks is listed as following: Joseph B Brooks b Aug 4 1762 Danbury, Fairfield, CN d 1849 Lexington Twp, Greene, NY +Rachel? Rollins b 1763 in Danbury, Fairfield, CN d 1850 Lexington Twp, Greene, NY 1-Uriah b 1780 2-Merchant b 1792 +Mary Every 3-John b 1795 d 1858 +Sylvia Chariton 4-Roswell b 1795 d 1881 5-Martin (mine)b 1800 Greene Co, NY d 1872 Vermillion Twp, LaSalle Co, IL +Hannah Appleby b 1807 NY m 1826 Greene Co, NY de 1869 LaSalle Co, IL Ch: Lawrence M, Nathan Brooks, Harriet Hannah, Burgess(mine), Salley Ann, Mary A, Lyda , Oldine, Mariah, Josephine, Edward, Andrew Jackson. It appears my Martin line migrated to an isolated area to the scenic mountains in Greene Co. Still waiting for information regarding grandparents who managed a tourist destination. I do have proof that Joseph B Brooks fought in the REV WAR and bur in a federal cemetery. Sharon Carter Lengfellner ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christopher Brooks" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2001 11:52 AM Subject: Re: [B-NE] Brookses of Ira, Vermont > Clifford Williams wrote: > > >I have been unable to make a connection to the parents of > >Roswell Russell Brooks, and his older brother Loomis. > > > Cliff, > > My experience is that given name patterns are very traditional in many of > the B-NE lines, particularly those of CT, well into the 19th century. Where > there's one Beriah or Roswell or Loomis, there's often another to confirm > that the researcher has the right line. However, I've only seen one Roswell > so far, in the undated burial of Elizabeth Brooks, wife of Roswell, at > Dover, MA. Her gravestone gives a DOB of 1818. Nothing further on either > spouse. > > I haven't got a single instance of a Loomis Brooks. Assuming that Loomis as > a given name commemorates a surname farther back in the soldier's pedigree, > I note a Philip Loomis born in 1676 at Westfield, MA,