Debbye Lansing dug up this scholarly article, which treats the development of rural furniture styles. Donna K. Baron "Definition and Diaspora of Regional Style: The Worcester County Model." http://www.chipstone.org/publications/1995AF/1995barontext.html The Brooks excerpt: "John Loring Brooks (b. 1793), the son of Sterling chairmaker Ammi Brooks (1765-1815), worked as a chairmaker in Portland, Maine, by 1815. Before 1823 he worked in partnership with another Massachusetts born chairmaker, John Bradley Hudson (fig. 23). Sterling, Massachusetts, native Samuel Kilburn White (1798-1849) worked in Maine by 1820 (fig. 24). Both he and Brooks moved when in their early twenties, presumably after completing their apprenticeships. Maine probably afforded greater opportunities and less competition for chairmakers than Worcester County." Note that both the Woburn and Concord lines were chairmakers in Worcester County. The John Loring identified was a 7th-generation descendant of the Woburn line. Chris