Capt. John Brooks (5f), John (4f), John (3f), Benjamin (2f), John (1f) Well, I also visited the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport on Wednesday. I have good news and bad news. First the bad news: Capt. John Brooks' house which was willed to and moved to the museum grounds from Pembroke St., East Bridgeport is not at all an exhibit attached to the museum, in fact it is found in the woods behind the museum. It doesn't look too bad from the outside, although a bit overgrown, but the inside is in very bad shape. There are a few pieces of his furniture inside but everything is dirty and only partially covered with sheets, etc. I was very disappointed as I expected to see something quite different. The good news is the children's museum, which at one time was an art, science and industry museum, has a wealth of Brooks' genealogical information and antiques. Although all of Capt. John Brooks' personal effects are packed away in boxes in a closet, it doesn't seem like they will be exhibited any time soon. I was not able to get copies of any of the documents as the staff member assisting me was afraid light would further deteriorate the already fragile documents I was interested in. However, he did give me a copy of all the inventory sheets regarding the John Brooks Collection. Some of the more interesting items are: Two Family Bibles, one of which includes a certificate of Thaddeus Beecher's donation to the Lincoln Monument in Illinois and an engraving of the minister who performed the marriage of Capt. John Brooks to Mary (Polly) Coe, numerous photographs of Capt. John Brooks and other Brooks family members, Capt. T. Beecher and other Beecher and Wilder family mem! bers, Sea Journals, numerous letters, several pieces of China Trade Porcelain, copper Lustreware Pitcher, Liverpool ware water pitcher, the giant key to his house, a document signed by President James Madison and Secretary of State James Monroe appointing Josiah Burr as Principal Assessor, and lastly, a record of the Birdsey family written in pencil on composition book paper. I did manage to convince the staff member to give me a copy of the Birdsey family record because it appeared rather stable. However, when he went to copy it, the book began to fall apart so although I didn't get all of the pages, I did get most of it. Anyway, he agreed to either let me come back to take photographs of the documents I want or perhaps they could do it for me. But first he wants to consult with someone who is familiar with the preservation of documents before that can be done. I left there feeling sad that all these wonderful pieces of history were packed away in a closet. Although most, if not all, of the articles were gifted to this museum, in my opinion, they should be properly displayed or perhaps given to another museum for safekeeping. Fondly, Jeanne Jain