Dear Bob and Kathy, my name is Wesley Mercer and I am very interested in your below quoted exchange of information about Martha BROOKS and the BROOKS Family of Wilkinson, CO., GA. Martha BROOKS's parents, as I am sure you know, were Rev. Hymen MERCER and Elizabeth BREWER. Rev. Hymen MERCER is an older brother of my Great, Great Grandfather Dixon MERCER. Martha died DEC 10, 1871 and is buried in the Ashbury Methodist Church Cemetery, Wilkinson, CO., GA. We show John BROOKS to have been born 22 April 1830 in Georgia. The remnants of Martha MERCER BROOKS's home was still standing the last time we visited Wilkinson CO., GA. several years ago. The remains of the structure is located facing the highway that connects Jeffersonville and Gordon, GA. a short distance towards Gordon, GA from the intersection of the road leading from Myrick's Mill to the Jeffersonville/Gordon Highway. We have pictures. Martha and John BROOKS had the following children: James Wesley, John Pinkney, Margie Ann, Joel Daniel, Alice Ann, Charles Dennis, Hymen Augustus, William Thomas Freeman, and, yes, Martha had a son born after the death of John. Our experience with the fact of Martha's last born son is that the BROOKS families living in Gordon and Wilkinson, CO., with whom we have had contact, including descendants of Martha's last born son, openly and freely accepted this fact without any spoken recrimination or remorse, and, as we understood their position on this matter for purposes of family relations, consider the last born son to be the son of John and Martha BROOKS and this son's descendants are said to be so regarded. The former Post Mistress of Gordon, GA., for a long number of years, whose name escapes me for the moment, has a book put together by a family member who lives in the Carolinas that contains a comprehensive listing of the descendants of John and Martha BROOKS. We understand that there is a large descendancy still living in Gordon and Wilkinson CO's GA. It is strangely coincidental that as I write this message in the early AM of October 5th, I do not have immediate access to my BROOKS Family information as most of our genealogy history was disturbed and/or destroyed in the early AM of October 5th, 1995 by the awful 85 MPH remnants of Hurricane Opal that dumped trees on our home doing extensive damage to our home and especially our computer and genealogy room and all of its digital and hard copy contents. However. we will be most happy to share what we have salvaged. -- Jimmie, who is handicapped from other injuries sustained in 1982, was seriously injured by being knocked to the floor when the trees struck our home. Fortunately she did not require hospitalization; but, it took months for her to somewhat recover. -- She is a resilient lady most likely developed during her youth working on the family farm and playing basketball in both high school and college. She has had to be resilient for she has put up with me during our courtship plus fifty years of marriage this month!!! This is our first entry into the RootsWeb GAWILKIN-LIST. I have lots of family connections in most all the counties of Middle Georgia especially, Bibb, Gordon, Wilkinson, Houston, Peach, and Greene Counties. I am from Georgia and Jimmie is from Mississippi. We are both retired and in our seventies. We have lived the last thirty years in the Crabapple Community located near Alpharetta, GA in the North Metropolitan Atlanta Suburbs. The Surnames we are researching are primarily in the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi and may be viewed by visiting our Surnames Index Web Site at: <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8391/index.html> Love, Jimmie and Wesley Mercer <wmercer@myfamily.org> >On Mon, 04 Oct 1999 08:38:26 -0400 Robert Fisher <fishonline@mindspring.com> >writes: The info I have slightly conflicts with what you have in regards to > Jonathan Brooks. I have his wife as Jane Terrell with both of them > being born in North Carolina. The line does evolve from England > through his father, also John, who may have come to North Carolina by way > Virginia. This information comes from the book "Brooks and Kindred > Families" by Ida Brooks Kellam. I trust the Brooks book more than I > do the Wilkinson County book, only because I have caught numerous > errors in the Wilkinson County book. > Note that the Brooks family came south to Wilkinson County from the > Jones County area about the time of 1840 to 1850. In fact you will > find that John and Martha Mercer Brooks lived in Wilkinson County in > 1850. I have not been able to find them in the 1860 Census as of yet. This > may be due to the fact that John had taken his family to Alabama to stay > with relations before the war and only brought them back at the > start of the war. I have not looked for him in Alabama yet. > John Brooks was mortally wounded in the hip as a color bearer in the > Battle of Baker's Creek or some call it the Battle of Champions > Hill. All indications is that he went down in a charge across a road there > early in the battle. I say early because the wounded later in the > battle were left behind as the Union pushed back the Confederate > line. He later died in Vicksburg during the siege and is buried in > Hollywood Cemetery. A marker was placed there during the 1980's and another > was placed at Asbury Methodist Church in Wilkinson County next to his > wife. > I have two unsolved mysteries with the Brooks family. One of the > biggest mysteries of this family is where they went after the war. I cannot > find them in the 1870 Census in Wilkinson County. She may have gone > back to Jones County or maybe even to Alabama. I find this strange > because there is a picture of the Brooks home near Asbury that is in > the Brooks History. The second is who is the father of Robert Lee > Brooks. Victor Myrick states in his book, "The Myrick Family" that he was > the son of John and Martha Brooks. Well this would not be possible > unless Martha was with child for several years. John died in 1863 and > Robert was born in 1867. > > The Brooks family does go on to be very prosperous in Wilkinson > County. Running Sawmills and Mercantile businesses about the Gordon area. > Most of the family is buried in Ramah Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery > or Clear Creek Baptist Church Cemetery. They are within a mile of each > other. The decendents are scattered across Georgia now and I have > been trying to get together a reunion. Bob Fisher > >On 04 Oct 99 20:20:10 -0500 katstap@accucomm.net writes a reply: > Thank you, Bob, for the information that you posted on the Brooks > family. I will be sure to update my files with your information. One minor correction for >you though, Ramah and Clear Creek cemeteries are about 5-6 miles apart not 1. I >know this because I live about 3 miles from Ramah. As soon as I get a chance I will be >sure to check with the library in Gordon for the books that you mentioned as well as >see if they have any others that might be helpful. Kathy Stapleton < kathys2@hotmail.com> > > Kathy Our experience with the fact of Martha's last born son is that the BROOKS families living in Gordon and Wilkinson, CO., with whom we have had contact, including descendants of Martha's last born son, openly and freely accepted this fact without any spoken recrimination or remorse, and, as we understood their position on this matter for purposes of family relations, consider the last born son to be the son of John and Martha BROOKS and this son's descendants are said to be so regarded.