Thanks for your comments. . . you know why I’m stuck! This William knew some measure of affluence – in 1820 there were 24 in his household, including 14 slaves. I have nothing on the other members of the 1820 household. An 1848 Nashville newspaper reported that William died in the home of his son Capt. Brooks. Capt. Brooks probably referred to my gg-grandfather, alternately listed as MDFH and MLFH Brooks. (Marriage records show his name to be Marcus LaFayette Brooks.) Marcus lost his oldest son John to the Civil War. He had 2 other sons, James & William, daughters Elizabeth, Emma, Alice. Marcus was a lifelong Episcopalian – so is the remainder of the line to me. He died July 6, 1876 in New Orleans. I’m not ready to discount the family lore because other stories have checked out. For example, according to family lore, William was acquainted with & a neighbor of Andrew Jackson. I haven’t been able to check deeds, but their names are listed side by side on some tax rolls. It’s said William was prosperous from business as a merchant and shipper. And its said that William descended from a family of merchants and shippers between Boston and England. In the mid 1940’s my grandfather Howard Brooks (and his brother another William Brooks) received an attorney’s letter regarding an inheritance share of Brooks property in Quincy, MA. I have materials from trying to research backwards from the Phillips Brooks and Abigail Brown Brooks lines, but I would welcome yours so that I can compare. -------------- Original message from Christopher Brooks <trib@tributaries.org>: -------------- > 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-NE Mailing List ==== > To unsub, send ONLY the word UNSUBSCRIBE to > BROOKS-NE-L-request@rootsweb.com > or BROOKS-NE-D-request@rootsweb.com >