Dear Kathy and All, Yes, Kathy, there is a descendant of Capt. John Brooks on this list, however a rather distant relative! My ggggg grandfather (Lemuel/5f) and Capt. John were first cousins. I searched the archives for anything on Capt. John Brooks because I knew my ancestors were seafaring men and I kinda figured he was related somehow. Anyway, I found Kathy's message, (posted below) got a copy of the book dirt cheap on ebay and subsequently contacted the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport. I have left a message for the director but she hasn't as yet returned my call regarding any genealogical information that may have been preserved at the museum. However, the receptionist told me Capt. John Brooks' house remains standing. The first floor is used as a museum exhibit of a typical house of that era and the second floor is occupied by the caretaker of the museum! To say the least, I will be making a trip to Bridgeport to see it for myself in the near future. Anyone out there working on this! line??? Fondly, Jeanne ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 09:33:57 -0500 From: Kathy Chiappetta <kathygc@ntplx.net> To: BROOKS-NE-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <5.2.0.9.2.20031110091139.0258c710@mail.ntplx.net> Subject: [BNE] Capt John Brooks, Sr (circa 1788, CT) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Hi, Chris and List, Hope there's a descendant of Capt John on the list. Kathy Caption under picture of John Brooks House (page 21) In 1788, Capt. John Brooks Sr. build this house in Pembroke Street in an area in East Bridgeport (CT) called New Pasture Point. The house was built for Brooks after he got married to Mary Coe in 1787. Descendants of the Brooks family lived in the house until it was finally willed to the Discovery Museum <http://www.discoverymuseum.org/>. The house was moved to the museum grounds near Ninety Acres Park, where it remains today. Page 22 Capt. John Brooks, Jr. was born in East Bridgeport in the area known as New Pasture Point. Following in the footsteps of his father, Brooks captained a sloop at the age of 18 and later commanded steamboats most of his life. It was through the efforts of John Brooks Jr., who served as city alderman and twice as mayor of Bridgeport, that the harbor of Bridgeport was finally deepened. Brooks also worked to obtain a lighthouse for the city. Source: "Images of America: Bridgeport on the Sound" by Mark K. Witkowski and Bruce Williams, Chapter two; "Living on the Sound", Published by Arcadia Publishing in 2001.