#Ancestor Challenge 2019 – Week 14, Brooks Brick Wall
BROOKS BRICK WALL
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde
James Brooks, who was your daddy? A baffling, bewildering brick wall hid the mystery of my fourth great grandfather’s ancestry. The wall was ultimately broken down, but I did not break through the Brooks brick wall myself. The wall had been impenetrable for generations to several Brooks historians researching our ancestor. The Brooks historians included the Troy, Alabama librarian and genealogist, Karen Bullard. Karen, who furnished many remarkable records showing strong circumstantial evidence that the several Brooks men living in close proximity were probable brothers of Jacob Rutledge Brooks, Karen’s and my ancestor. One of those Brooks men was Joseph C. Brooks. A Bible record of Joseph C. Brooks provided the name of his father, James Brooks, and mother, Falby Brooks, in Pike County, Alabama. But who was James Brooks father? What was Falby’s maiden name?
With the remarkable information from Karen Bullard, I began online research in the late 1990s, through the Family Tree website. I created an email group of like-minded Brooks researchers with a common interest in Wilkes and Warren Counties in Georgia. We shared our discoveries for a few years, where I was forever batting at that brick wall hiding the ancestry of my James Brooks.
The trail always led to four or five Brooks families in NE Georgia who hailed from North Carolina, and to the book, Brooks and Kindred Folks, by Ida Brooks Kellam. The book, published in 1950, was a compilation of information Ms. Kellam gathered about John Brooks, Esq. and his wife Susan/Susannah Narsin of North Carolina. It became a sort of Brooks Bible! Now, the book has proven to be a lot of misinformation. The Brooks were prominent in Chatham County, North Carolina. John Brooks had a son, John Brooks, Jr. who married Jane May; my James Brooks seemed to fit right in there. But that family already had a James Brooks just the right age, which kept me batting at the brick wall.
One thing about brick walls, if you can’t go over them, or go under them or go around them, your only choice is to keep batting away at the brick. After much frustration, I located a professional genealogist, Raquel Lindaas, with Heritage Research in Salt Lake City, Utah who broke the brick wall down with the amazing discovery that my James Brooks was indeed the son of John Brooks, Jr. and Jane May. Ida Brooks Kellam had the wrong James Brooks attached to John Brooks, Jr. and Jane (Jaene) May.
Heritage Research Reports I-IV
16 March-16 September 2004
It is this researcher's opinion that John Brooks and Jane May may have had a son named James, but that the wrong James has been linked to this couple. The salient points that have come out of these research sessions are:
* There were two James Brooks in early Wilkes County, one in the area that became Oglethorpe County, he being the same who married Elizabeth Traylor in Caswell County, North Carolina in 1782, and who was associated with Middleton Brooks. Middleton came from Caroline and Halifax Counties, Virginia. Caswell County is on the northern border of North Carolina, adjacent to Halifax County, Virginia. The other James lived near Jane, John, Joab and Micajah, the ancestral Brooks, who came from Chatham County, in central North Carolina.
* This second James Brooks lived in the part of Wilkes County that became Warren County and was most certainly the same who married Falby Cobb.
*Jane Brooks, believed to be the same as Jane May, widow of John Brooks, Jr. was granted land in Wilkes County in her name in 1795. She sold this land in 1808, with James Brooks and Joseph Cobb as witnesses.
*The marks of the ancestor, James Brooks, were compared with one another showing a bold ‘B’ as James' mark. There are obvious similarities between the marks in the deeds ascribed to James of Briar Creek.
*Joseph Cobb and other Cobbs came from Chatham County, the same county from which the family of John Brooks, Jr. and Jane May came.
*The known children of John and Jane are believed to have been born in the 1750s and 1760s. James was probably born about 1769, according to his appearance on the 1791 tax list. This birth year would be within the realm of possibility to fit in that family.
*Research has established that James Brooks, who married Falby Cobb was most likely the son of John Brooks and Jane May, according to strong circumstantial evidence. (Research Report - August 16, 2004 p. 1).
* Re: Brooks and Kindred Families, by Ida Brooks Kellam. While some mistakes are known to be contained in this source, such as Rev. James Brooks as the son of John Brooks and Jane May, there are also many helpful clues. Some intriguing hints of connections to James Brooks, the ancestor, can be gleaned from Ms. Kellam's book. In listing the children of John Brooks and Jane May, she would add the names of Isaac and Balaam, without proof. This is ironic since there is not much more than circumstantial evidence for the other purported sons of John.
The names of Isaac and Balaam were noted in previous research, when in 1822, Joseph Brooks of Walton County sold to Isaac and Jacob Brooks, with Joel and Balaam Brooks witnessing. If Isaac and Balaam were sons of John and were closely associated with Jacob, son of James, then that adds strength to James also being a son of John. It is possible that these men were not the same as the Isaac and Balaam found in earlier records, but their unique names tie them to the ancestral family.
* The fact that Micajah paid James' taxes 1801 strongly suggests that Micajah was his older brother. Taxes paid on 100 acres on Rocky Comfort Creek, originally granted to Bankston Jordan (Daniel N. Crumpton, Warren County, Georgia Land Records, Volume One (Warrenton, GA: p. p. 2002).
* The significance of these records is that Jane Brooks lived very near to the other Brooks, who is known to have come from Chatham County, North Carolina, such as Joab and Micajah (who paid her tax in 1794). She lived near her brother, John May. She is named in the will of John May, Sr. of Columbia County, Georgia, with the spelling ‘Jaene’. Jane also lived near members of the Cobb family, who are known to have come from Chatham County and married in Columbia County, Georgia... (DNA testing confirms the relationship of John May, Sr., John May.)
* There were two James Brooks in early Wilkes County, one in the area that became Oglethorpe County, he being the same who married Elizabeth Traylor in Caswell County, North Carolina in 1782, and who was associated with Middleton Brooks. Middleton came from Caroline and Halifax Counties, Virginia. Caswell County is on the northern border of North Carolina, adjacent to Halifax County, Virginia. The other James lived near Jane, John, Joab and Micajah, the ancestral Brooks, who came from Chatham County, in central North Carolina.
* This second James Brooks lived in the part of Wilkes County that became Warren County and was most certainly the same who married Falby Cobb.
*Jane Brooks, believed to be the same as Jane May, widow of John Brooks, Jr. was granted land in Wilkes County in her name in 1795. She sold this land in 1808, with James Brooks and Joseph Cobb as witnesses.
*The marks of the ancestor, James Brooks, were compared with one another showing a bold ‘B’ as James' mark. There are obvious similarities between the marks in the deeds ascribed to James of Briar Creek.
*Joseph Cobb and other Cobbs came from Chatham County, the same county from which the family of John Brooks, Jr. and Jane May came.
*The known children of John and Jane are believed to have been born in the 1750s and 1760s. James was probably born about 1769, according to his appearance on the 1791 tax list. This birth year would be within the realm of possibility to fit in that family.
*Research has established that James Brooks, who married Falby Cobb was most likely the son of John Brooks and Jane May, according to strong circumstantial evidence. (Research Report - August 16, 2004 p. 1).
* Re: Brooks and Kindred Families, by Ida Brooks Kellam. While some mistakes are known to be contained in this source, such as Rev. James Brooks as the son of John Brooks and Jane May, there are also many helpful clues. Some intriguing hints of connections to James Brooks, the ancestor, can be gleaned from Ms. Kellam's book. In listing the children of John Brooks and Jane May, she would add the names of Isaac and Balaam, without proof. This is ironic since there is not much more than circumstantial evidence for the other purported sons of John.
The names of Isaac and Balaam were noted in previous research, when in 1822, Joseph Brooks of Walton County sold to Isaac and Jacob Brooks, with Joel and Balaam Brooks witnessing. If Isaac and Balaam were sons of John and were closely associated with Jacob, son of James, then that adds strength to James also being a son of John. It is possible that these men were not the same as the Isaac and Balaam found in earlier records, but their unique names tie them to the ancestral family.
* The fact that Micajah paid James' taxes 1801 strongly suggests that Micajah was his older brother. Taxes paid on 100 acres on Rocky Comfort Creek, originally granted to Bankston Jordan (Daniel N. Crumpton, Warren County, Georgia Land Records, Volume One (Warrenton, GA: p. p. 2002).
* The significance of these records is that Jane Brooks lived very near to the other Brooks, who is known to have come from Chatham County, North Carolina, such as Joab and Micajah (who paid her tax in 1794). She lived near her brother, John May. She is named in the will of John May, Sr. of Columbia County, Georgia, with the spelling ‘Jaene’. Jane also lived near members of the Cobb family, who are known to have come from Chatham County and married in Columbia County, Georgia... (DNA testing confirms the relationship of John May, Sr., John May.)
Timeline James Brooks
1769-1770: Birth: James Brooks, approximate year of birth, based on his first appearance in Wilkes County tax lists.
1790: Approximate year of marriage to Falby, probably the daughter of Joseph Cobb and Rachel LNU, Wilkes County, Georgia (Source: Bible Record of Joseph Cobb Brooks and Heritage Research Reports V and VI in the possession of Cynthia Forde).
1790: Tax List District PP - Wilkes area that became Warren: James, Jacob, Jane, Jesse, Joab, John and Micajah Brooks, Zeikall’ Cobb, Rachel Cobb McCullars (notation indicates that James name did appear in 1791).
1791 March 5 - Needham Smith and Margaret his wife, to Richard Story, both planters of Wilkes County for twenty pounds, 200 acres on Briar Creek, adj. east by Richard Smith, vacant on all other sides, surveyed 19 October 1784
1791: Tax list, Wilkes Georgia, Capt. Neal's District, a James Brooks was taxed along with Jane, Jacob, Micajah, John Joab, Jesse Brooks, Balaam May, & Ezekiel Cobb. This area became Warren Co., 1793.
27 Aug 1792: Birth - Joseph Cobb Brooks probably Wilkes Georgia (Source: Bible Record, "son of James and Falby Brooks").
1794: Tax list, Warren Georgia, Capt. Trant's District, Little Briar and Rocky Comfort Creek.
James Brooks - 200 acres
Joab Brooks - 200 acres
John Brooks - Capt. Neal's District
Isaac Brooks - Capt. Neal's District
Micajah Brooks - Capt. Neal's District
Jane or Jean Brooks, Warren, adjacent to Balaam May and James May, Hannah Mays, near Big Briar Creek. (Tax indexes contain maps showing changing county boundaries).
1801: James Brooks taxes paid by Micajah Brooks. Tax list, Warren Georgia, Capt. Newsom's District, the same district as Joab and Micajah - listed in consecutive order in the original list. This is significant since tax lists are not alphabetized, and the assessments were taking in a house-to-house manner, such as the census. (Heritage Consulting Report I - p. 7 - Document 21 Tax Digests, Warren GA, 1801, p. 14.) (An Index to Georgia Tax Digests, Volume V, 1814-1817 (Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1986.)
6 Dec 1806: Birth: Jacob R. Brooks, probably Warren Georgia (Source: a. Obituary, Jacob R. Brooks, Pike County, Alabama, The Standard, Troy, Pike County, Alabama - March 1900; b. Probate, Walton County, GA, Jacob R. Brooks, administrator of the estate of Falby C Brooks Davis).
1769-1770: Birth: James Brooks, approximate year of birth, based on his first appearance in Wilkes County tax lists.
1790: Approximate year of marriage to Falby, probably the daughter of Joseph Cobb and Rachel LNU, Wilkes County, Georgia (Source: Bible Record of Joseph Cobb Brooks and Heritage Research Reports V and VI in the possession of Cynthia Forde).
1790: Tax List District PP - Wilkes area that became Warren: James, Jacob, Jane, Jesse, Joab, John and Micajah Brooks, Zeikall’ Cobb, Rachel Cobb McCullars (notation indicates that James name did appear in 1791).
1791 March 5 - Needham Smith and Margaret his wife, to Richard Story, both planters of Wilkes County for twenty pounds, 200 acres on Briar Creek, adj. east by Richard Smith, vacant on all other sides, surveyed 19 October 1784
1791: Tax list, Wilkes Georgia, Capt. Neal's District, a James Brooks was taxed along with Jane, Jacob, Micajah, John Joab, Jesse Brooks, Balaam May, & Ezekiel Cobb. This area became Warren Co., 1793.
27 Aug 1792: Birth - Joseph Cobb Brooks probably Wilkes Georgia (Source: Bible Record, "son of James and Falby Brooks").
1794: Tax list, Warren Georgia, Capt. Trant's District, Little Briar and Rocky Comfort Creek.
James Brooks - 200 acres
Joab Brooks - 200 acres
John Brooks - Capt. Neal's District
Isaac Brooks - Capt. Neal's District
Micajah Brooks - Capt. Neal's District
Jane or Jean Brooks, Warren, adjacent to Balaam May and James May, Hannah Mays, near Big Briar Creek. (Tax indexes contain maps showing changing county boundaries).
1801: James Brooks taxes paid by Micajah Brooks. Tax list, Warren Georgia, Capt. Newsom's District, the same district as Joab and Micajah - listed in consecutive order in the original list. This is significant since tax lists are not alphabetized, and the assessments were taking in a house-to-house manner, such as the census. (Heritage Consulting Report I - p. 7 - Document 21 Tax Digests, Warren GA, 1801, p. 14.) (An Index to Georgia Tax Digests, Volume V, 1814-1817 (Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1986.)
6 Dec 1806: Birth: Jacob R. Brooks, probably Warren Georgia (Source: a. Obituary, Jacob R. Brooks, Pike County, Alabama, The Standard, Troy, Pike County, Alabama - March 1900; b. Probate, Walton County, GA, Jacob R. Brooks, administrator of the estate of Falby C Brooks Davis).
1807: Land lottery--James Brooks of Newsom's District, Warren County, drew land in Wilkinson County, District 16, Lot # 167 (Heritage Report I, Document 27, The Second or 1807Land Lottery of Georgia, Compiled by The Rev. Silas Emmet Lucas, Jr.). Note: Joab Brooks of Neal’s District - Warren got Lot 293/12 Wilkinson; John Jr. of Newsom Warren Lot 4 7/13 Wilkinson. Balaam of Newsom's District - Warren got Lot 222/14 Wilkinson. Charles of Flournoy's District, Warren got two lots in Wilkinson.
10 Feb 1808: James Brooks witnessed deed of sale with Joseph Cobb from Jean (written as Jean 2x) Brooks to Jesse Story, 200 acres for $320.00 originally granted to Jane Brooks (the name Jane written 4x) July 22, 1795, being p/o 200 ac a tract on waters of Brier Creek. Signed Jane (her mark was a scroll) Brooks (2x). Witness: James "B" (‘B’ mark written upside down) Brooks, Joseph Cobb, test. Wm. Cason. (Warren GA, Will Book ‘D’ p. 323 - Heritage Report I - p. 8). Note: The reason for the spelling of Jane and Jean on the same documents is because her name is really Jaene. (Cynthia Forde Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, courthouse, the will of John May, Planter)
1808: Land Sale: Jasper County, Georgia. James Brooks's grantee to William Kitchens. Brooks, Jas. to Wm. Kitchens deed Jul 27, 1808, Bk.1, p. 187, 1808: Brooks, Jas. Phillip Thurmond Deed on same property. This appears to be an investment (source: Monroe Jones).
***Page 188 - 27 Jul 1808 - State of Georgia (no county) - William Kitchens conveys to James Brooks, both of county and state aforesaid (for $500) tract containing 22 acres, 13th District of Baldwin, Lot 89. Signed William Kitchens. Wit: John Mathews and Jonah (his ‘P’ mark) Cason.
***Page 189 - Warren County, GA - 27 Jul 1808 - James Brooks of Warren County deeds to Phillips Thurmond of Edgefield, SC (for $800) tract containing 202 acres lying in the 13th District of Baldwin Co., Lot 89. Signed James (his ‘B’ mark) Brooks. Wit: John Matheny and Jonah (his ‘B’ mark) Cason. Rec. Jan. 23, 1809
24 Oct 1815: James Brooks, planter, of Warren, to Henry Adams, 100 acres for $200.00 land originally granted to Ezekiel Cobb, 13 Oct 1793, located on Little Briar Creek next to Davis. Joseph Brooks, Wm. Cason, Jeannet Cason witnessed. James ‘B’ Brooks. (Deeds Warren GA Book D p. 206. - Heritage Report I, p. 8.)
24 Nov 1815: Sold one hundred acres to Samuel Story, land originally granted
To Ezekiel Cobb, 13 Oct 1793, located on Little Briar Creek. Josiah Brooks witnessed. James "B" (backward ‘B’) Brooks. (Deeds, Warren GA, Book D, p. 277 - Heritage Report I, p. 8.
7 August 1816: Witnessed Deed - Joseph Brooks to Balaam Brooks - $300.00 consideration for 300 acres between Richmond and Wilkes-103/27 Warren County, GA Superior Court Book X 1844-1849, pp. 127-128. 20 July 1989 (Lindy Hard) James ‘B’ Brooks.
1820: U. S. Federal Census 1820, Columbia Georgia, p. 44., 212210/00110 James Brooks, between 26-45 years old, as was his wife. He was the head of a large and growing family and not an old man.
23 Oct 1821: James Brooks of Columbia County to Henry Burnley, 306 acres for $620.00 on the north side of Big Briar Creek in Columbia Co. This area is in present-day McDuffie Co. James ‘B’ Brooks. Registered September 16, 1822. John Adkins and L.W. Burnley, J. P. witnesses. (Deeds, Columbia GA, Book X, p. 129, Heritage Report I, p. 8 - Document 26.).
1821, Columbia County, Georgia Courthouse, - Probate Record, Brooks, James Grantor Grantee Index From 1791, James Brooks, Grantee to Henry Burnley, dated 23 October 1821 and recorded 16 September 1822 Book ‘X’ page 129
This is the proof that it is the ancestor James Brooks who is listed on the 1820 U.S. Federal Census Columbia County, GA. The ‘B’ mark is the same. Ages in 1820 census correspond to family ages.
1822-1827 - Death, James Brooks (Source: Marriage of Falby Brooks to Arthur Davis. Walton County Marriages1828)
1827: Land lottery--James Brooks’ orphans of Davis' District, Walton Co., drew land in Lee County, Section 1, District 16, Lot #174. (James A. Brooks, son of James Brooks appears in Lee County 1840)
4 Oct 1828: Marriage - Phalbia Brooks to Arthur Davis (Source: Walton County, Georgia Marriages).
1830 U.S. Federal Census - Walton Georgia; ‘Arter’ Davis household: one female 50-60 years old - indicates a birth age of 1770-1780 and one male 60-70 years old. Name: Davis, Arter
Township: Not Stated
County: Walton
State: Georgia
Year: 1830
Roll: 21
Page: 156
23 June 1831: Death, Phalbia ‘Falby’ Brooks Davis. Legal Notice: “Whereas Jacob Brooks applies to me for letters of administration on the estate of Phelby Davis, late of said county deceased. Given under my hand, this 13th day of June 1831. Jesse Mitchell. June 23. [The Federal Union, 10 July 1830-July 1833] newspaper published Milledgeville, Georgia. Legal notice: Walton County, Georgia.
15 Sept 1831: Legal Notice: Four months after date application will be made to Inferior Court for leave to sell the real estate lying in Walton County, of Phalbey Davis, late of said county, deceased; also at same time like application will be made to sell a Negro woman named Phillis, belonging to said estate. Jacob Brooks, Adm'r Sept 15. [The Federal Union]
7 March 1832 Deed - Jacob Brooks sold 100 acres of Lot number 30 to Caleb Sappington for $300.00, it was bordered by Lot Twenty-nine, by the part belonging to the estate of Phalby Brooks, deceased. (Land Records, Walton GA, Book K, p. 429).
1832: Deed - Jacob R. Brooks sold to William G. Bullock 100 acres, part of Lot Number twenty-nine - 1st district - originally granted to Joseph Brooks and one hundred acres more or less of lot # 30 belonging to said Jacob R. Brooks for the consideration (sum) of $400.00. Caleb Sappington served as one of the witnesses. (Land Records, Walton GA, Book L, p. 238) Recorded 28 March 1836.
1833: Estate Settlement of ‘Phelby’ Davis, Jacob R. Brooks, administrator (Probate Records, Walton, GA, Book D, p. 108, 217, 349, & 403).
1833: Probate Phalbia Cobb Brooks Davis, estate administered by Jacob
Rutledge Brooks, Walton County. (Probate Records, Walton Georgia, Book ‘D’ 1834-1838, p. 108.) The land was purchased by Jacob R. Brooks from his brother, Joseph C. Brooks, Witnesses, Joel N. Brooks. Isaac Brooks, Balaam Brooks.
This is the proof that it is the ancestor James Brooks who is listed on the 1820 U.S. Federal Census Columbia County, GA. The ‘B’ mark is the same. Ages in 1820 census correspond to family ages.
1822-1827 - Death, James Brooks (Source: Marriage of Falby Brooks to Arthur Davis. Walton County Marriages1828)
1827: Land lottery--James Brooks’ orphans of Davis' District, Walton Co., drew land in Lee County, Section 1, District 16, Lot #174. (James A. Brooks, son of James Brooks appears in Lee County 1840)
4 Oct 1828: Marriage - Phalbia Brooks to Arthur Davis (Source: Walton County, Georgia Marriages).
1830 U.S. Federal Census - Walton Georgia; ‘Arter’ Davis household: one female 50-60 years old - indicates a birth age of 1770-1780 and one male 60-70 years old. Name: Davis, Arter
Township: Not Stated
County: Walton
State: Georgia
Year: 1830
Roll: 21
Page: 156
23 June 1831: Death, Phalbia ‘Falby’ Brooks Davis. Legal Notice: “Whereas Jacob Brooks applies to me for letters of administration on the estate of Phelby Davis, late of said county deceased. Given under my hand, this 13th day of June 1831. Jesse Mitchell. June 23. [The Federal Union, 10 July 1830-July 1833] newspaper published Milledgeville, Georgia. Legal notice: Walton County, Georgia.
15 Sept 1831: Legal Notice: Four months after date application will be made to Inferior Court for leave to sell the real estate lying in Walton County, of Phalbey Davis, late of said county, deceased; also at same time like application will be made to sell a Negro woman named Phillis, belonging to said estate. Jacob Brooks, Adm'r Sept 15. [The Federal Union]
7 March 1832 Deed - Jacob Brooks sold 100 acres of Lot number 30 to Caleb Sappington for $300.00, it was bordered by Lot Twenty-nine, by the part belonging to the estate of Phalby Brooks, deceased. (Land Records, Walton GA, Book K, p. 429).
1832: Deed - Jacob R. Brooks sold to William G. Bullock 100 acres, part of Lot Number twenty-nine - 1st district - originally granted to Joseph Brooks and one hundred acres more or less of lot # 30 belonging to said Jacob R. Brooks for the consideration (sum) of $400.00. Caleb Sappington served as one of the witnesses. (Land Records, Walton GA, Book L, p. 238) Recorded 28 March 1836.
1833: Estate Settlement of ‘Phelby’ Davis, Jacob R. Brooks, administrator (Probate Records, Walton, GA, Book D, p. 108, 217, 349, & 403).
1833: Probate Phalbia Cobb Brooks Davis, estate administered by Jacob
Rutledge Brooks, Walton County. (Probate Records, Walton Georgia, Book ‘D’ 1834-1838, p. 108.) The land was purchased by Jacob R. Brooks from his brother, Joseph C. Brooks, Witnesses, Joel N. Brooks. Isaac Brooks, Balaam Brooks.
Summary:
YDNA was the final blow to the Brooks Kellam brick wall/mystery. Two male descendants of James Brooks who married Falby have proven their match to John Brooks Jr. and Jaene May via other descendants. In addition, descendants of the other James Brooks, wrongly identified as the son of that couple do not match YDNA.
Autosomal DNA matches to descendants of Ezekiel Cobb have proven Falby’s relationship to the Rachel and Joseph Cobb family.
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