This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: lynnfisher3149 Surnames: Brooks, Whiting Classification: death Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.tompkins/5099.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: To: RHughes4452 Re: your request for an article in Ithaca Journal on the murder of James Brooks, June 25, 1828, near Belmont. I found an article on the murder in the 7 Jul 1828 issue of the Watch-Tower from Cooperstown, NY. It says that Capt. Jonathan Brooks of Washingtonville, Orange County, NY, was found dead June 24 close to Mt. Pleasant, Penn. He was traveling west in a one-horse wagon to purchase cattle and picked up a young man (Whiting) on the road seven miles from Belmont. They had stopped together at a tavern, left, and then 20 min. later Whiting returned to the tavern alone with the horse and wagon. He then went to another tavern two miles away, and people there became suspicious because he had a gold watch that he said Brooks had loaned him to keep track of the time and meet up with him later. Whiting was then pursued and arrested. Brooks was found in the woods beaten to death. Whiting was believed to have deserted from West Point the previous week. The headline is "Murder and Robbery." The above is a summary in my own words because I go the article from a copyrighted source -- GenealogyBank.com. If you want to get the actual article, you can sign up for a one-month subscription, which I think is about $20, and pull it. What a sad tale of how Jonathan Brooks paid for his mercy to someone else with his life. Was Jonathan Brooks your ancestor? Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.