Haven't tried posting in a while, so here's my brickwall. Literally the only thing I know about James M. Brooks is that he married Jane Richardson in 1849 in Irasburg, VT and fathered at least two children. Any leads or clues would be most apprecisted. Descendants of James M. Brooks - 9 Feb 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST GENERATION 1. James M. Brooks. He was married to Jane Richardson (daughter of Elias Richardson and Sally Emerson?) on October 30, 1849 in Irasburg, VT.[1] Jane Richardson was born about 1828 in ? Canada.[2] She died on April 2, 1860 in Irasburg, VT.[3] James M. Brooks and Jane Richardson had the following children: +2 i. Edwin D. Brooks (born on June 16, 1851). +3 ii. Charles Washington Brooks (born on February 14, 1854). 4 iii. Martha? Brooks was born about 1855. 5 iv. Ellen? Brooks was born about 1858. SECOND GENERATION 2. Edwin D. Brooks (James M.-1) was born on June 16, 1851 in Irasburg, VT.[4] Some old handwritten notes say his birthdate was June 17th, and his marriage record says his birthplace was West Albany, VT. He died on December 26, 1918 in Brattleboro, VT.4 His obituary reads in part: "Edwin D. Brooks, 67, died in the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital this morning about 1:30 o'clock of internal cancer. Mr. Brooks, who had been an invalid six years, had been in the hospital two weeks. Mrs. Brooks died Oct. 6 of influenza. He was born in Irasburg June 16, 1851, a son of James and Jane Brooks. He lived all his life in Vermont and New Hampshire and nine years ago moved here from Bellows Falls. He was a stationary engineer and worked at one time for Felch & Pier at their chair factory on Williams Street. He was obliged to give up this position on account of ill health........." He was buried in Morningside Cemetery, Brattleboro. He was a Stationary Engineer. Edwin Brooks was been born in Irasburg or Albany, VT in June of 1851 to James and Jane (Richardson) Brooks. Little is known of his family, and by the 1860 census he was living in the household of Erastus and Lucia Fletcher of Lowelll, VT.. A known brother, Charles, was living in the Albany household of Proctor and Fanny Smith as was a Martha Brooks, age 5 . An Ellen Brooks, age 2, was living with Hiram and Mary Burrows of Lowell. It is not known if the little girls were his sisters. Charles married in Putney, lived there for some years, then moved to Brattleboro as well. Charles and his family are buried in the same lot at Morningside Cemetary as Edwin, Mary and their sons. When Edwin married the eighteen year old Mary Adams in Charlestown in 1884, he gave his age as twenty eight although he was actually thirty three. He was married to Mary Elvira Adams (daughter of John Loren Adams and Ellen Wilson Prouty) on October 4, 1884 in Charlestown, NH. Mary Elvira Adams was born on December 15, 1866 in Langdon, NH. She died on October 6, 1918 in Brattleboro, VT. She was buried in Brattleboro, VT. She was a Housewife. Edwin D. Brooks and Mary Elvira Adams had the following children: +6 i. George Kneeland Brooks (born on December 16, 1888). +7 ii. Fannie May Brooks (born on July 19, 1891). +8 iii. Clarence Edwin Brooks (born on May 6, 1893). 9 iv. Willie Eugene Brooks was born on May 26, 1894 in Charlestown, NH. He died on July 1, 1968 in Erving, MA. He was buried in Morningside Cemetery, Brattleboro. Bill lived for most of his adult life with Leonard and Fannie, and after their deaths, with niece Mildred. He worked for the state DPW for several years. He never married. One family story says he was jilted in his youth by the only girl he ever cared for. Although many records show him as William, his Charlestown birth record says Willie, as does his gravestone. 3. Charles Washington Brooks (James M.-1) was born on February 14, 1854 in Irasburg, VT.[5] He died on June 21, 1923 in Brattleboro, VT.[6] He was buried in Morningside Cemetery, Brattleboro. He was married to Idell May Smith (daughter of Ira Smith and Orissa Daggett) on November 6, 1880 in Putney, VT. Idell May Smith was born on July 6, 1858 in Westminster, Vt. She died on December 12, 1922 in Brattleboro, VT.[4] Charles Washington Brooks and Idell May Smith had the following children: +10 i. May Idell Brooks (born on August 12, 1881). SOURCES 1. Irasburg, VT - Miscellaneous Records in Town Clerk's Office. Vermont Bureau of Vital Records, Middlesex, VT. Book 2, page 134. 2. The 1850 census of Orleans County, VT - Irasburgh. 3. E-mail from Janice Boyko <[email protected]> to Carol Mero 02/18/2001. 4. Obituary - The Brattleboro Reformer. 5. Town Clerk's Records, Brattleboro, VT. 6. Ibid. died of diabetes. Carol A. Mero [email protected] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Mero-Smart Ancestors and Related Families in New York, Canada, and New England http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~casmero/ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*