Hi! Looking for any info/connection with this Brooks line. Helen married William A Mapes on Aug 28,1860 in New York City and had Carrie Ceclia Mapes Dec 8, 1864 also in NYC. William Mapes must have died, because Helen then married Henry Edward Hildebrand (date unknown) and had Henry Edward Hildebrand Jr, in NYC on May 17, 1874. Helen's mother was Cecelia Mathilda Platt, birthdate unknown, d. 1877. Helen's father was David Brooks birth date unknown. All the above info comes from a Hildebrand family bible. I have been told that David Brooks was born in Stratford, Ct, but have no proof. There is a David Louis Brooks, Jr. d. 1899, buried in the Hildebrand family plot in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY, who could be Helen's father. There is also an Edward Brooks, d. 1879, but I don't know what the relationship to Helen is (brother?). I have just begun researching this branch of the family, and any help with this Brooks line will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks. Gail Budd--Minnesota

Gail Budd wrote: > Hi! Looking for any info/connection with this Brooks > line. Helen married William A Mapes on Aug 28,1860 in > New York City and had Carrie Ceclia Mapes Dec 8, 1864 > also in NYC. William Mapes must have died, because > Helen then married Henry Edward Hildebrand (date unknown) > and had Henry Edward Hildebrand Jr, in NYC on May 17, > 1874. Helen's mother was Cecelia Mathilda Platt, > birthdate unknown, d. 1877. Helen's father was David > Brooks birth date unknown. All the above info comes from > a Hildebrand family bible. I have been told that David > Brooks was born in Stratford, Ct, but have no proof. > There is a David Louis Brooks, Jr. d. 1899, buried in > the Hildebrand family plot in Greenwood Cemetery in > Brooklyn, NY, who could be Helen's father. There is > also an Edward Brooks, d. 1879, but I don't know what > the relationship to Helen is (brother?). I have just > begun researching this branch of the family, and any help > with this Brooks line will be greatly appreciated!! I believe that in your initial message board posting, you estimated David Brooks's DOB as 1820. Let's assume for the moement that he was born at Stratford, CT, and that he belongs to the Fairfield County Brooks line. (New York City's proximity to Fairfield County is also suggestive, and Platt is a common CT surname as well.) The latest David I have in this line is David/6, born at Stratford 19 Oct 1797, so I seem to be a generation short of being able to help. How much have you been able to find in the census from 1850 on? Have you contacted the state of Connecticut to see if they have vital records for David? (David/6's birth is the only event I've found for him in the Barbour Collection of CT vital records.) In 10 years of internet connection I've only run into a couple of descendants in this line, so there's a real shortage of information. I've uploaded to the Tributaries website every scrap I have for the first four generations. If you succeed in finding more, I hope you'll share it with us. Chris |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Christopher Brooks BROOKS Families of New England http://www.tributaries.org ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||