# 52 Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 25 Earliest Brooks

# 52 Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 25

The Earliest Brooks Generation

The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde

Once upon a time, the descendants of John Brooks, Esq., and his wife Susan Narsin, of Chatham County, North Carolina, believed the family emigrated from England after John Brooks, Sr. was born c. 1690.  A granddaughter reported seeing a sea chest with Susan’s name on it.  The sea chest with the name Narsin was one of many stories of Brooks families gathered by Ida Brooks Kellam (1895-1981) when she wrote the fantastic book, Brooks and Kindred Families, in 1950.  Ms. Kellam chronicled the stories of Brooks families she believed to be sons and daughters of John and Susan Brooks.  The book sold well to thousands of descendants; it was a herculean effort for the time.  

For many decades Brooks descendants have gathered in Chatham County for a Brooks Reunion, celebrating their kinship discovered in the Kellam book.  In 2005, I attended one of the reunions in Siler City, Chatham County, North Carolina, at the hunting lodge of Dr. Brooks Gilmer.  I was really nervous because I brought several notebooks of my own research, disputing the Brooks and Kindred Folks records.  It felt like informing fundamentalists the King James Bible was a translation of the Latin Vulgate; it isn’t the only correct translation.  

My notebooks of research revealed two significant findings: 1.) Ida Brooks Kellam had the wrong James Brooks listed as a son of John Brooks, Jr.   2.) I found the parents of John Brooks, Sr. who was likely born about 1710 in Virginia to Robert and Martha Brooks.  To my astonishment the gathered Brooks descendants accepted the research reports.  

At the same time, I was disputing the Kellam book, Linda Starr, a Brooks historian, and descendant of the James Brooks erroneously cited as the son of John Brooks, Jr. reached the same conclusion: the Kellam book had the wrong James Brooks.  Robert Casey researchers have disputed and discovered other errors through DNA testing. 

Unfortunately for historians and Brooks researchers, the Kellam book continues to sell and create confusion.  Brooks trees on Ancestry.com are proof the book is believed without question.   

Brooks Research for Cynthia Forde

By Raquel Lindaas

September 2004

Now comes the evidence, John Brooks, Sr. of Siler City, North Carolina, sent two sons to Virginia to obtain property, “that belonged to my father.”  The description of the property he sent with his sons is identical to the property described in the will of Martha Brooks, wife of Robert in Charles City County, Virginia.  John Brooks was the administrator of her will.  

According to the Printed, abstracted records of Charles City County contain a very intriguing entry among the deeds.  On November 2, 1767, John Brooks of Orange County, North Carolina sold one hundred acres to John Brooks of Northampton County, North Carolina.  No description of the land was given, but only that it was "land bounded as in my father's will." Witnesses were James Hockaday, Warwick Hockaday, and Jacob Brooks. This may very well be the ancestor, as his place of residence, Orange County, North Carolina, fits with what is known about John Brooks, Sr.  John Brooks of Northampton County is a mystery, but maybe his cousin. This volume includes some wills and deeds, which are unfortunately fragmented, due to substantial loss of records during the Civil War.  No Brooks wills have survived in Charles City County.  Other acts from this same source were searched, for any mention of an earlier Brooks, who might be the father of this John.  This volume also includes court records, which consist of the proving of wills and deeds.

In 1692, John Baxter of Charles City County sold eight hundred acres in Westover Parish.  This land was part of a tract patented by Thomas Spencer, Thomas Brooks and William Hickman in 1664, and bounded by Col. Edward Hill.  The geographical location is given as "the main run of Chickahominy Swamp, the Long Island, and Possum Run." Some researchers believe that the father of John Brooks, Sr., was Thomas Brooks, but no documentation has been located for this assertion in online searches.  This Thomas Brooks, who patented land in 1664, would have been too old to be John's father but could represent an earlier ancestral generation. John is believed to have named one of his sons Thomas.

Continuing with entries from the same source, John Brooks was mentioned as a neighboring landowner in a 1769 deed from Warwick Hockaday and Samuel Hockaday to John Minge.  Warwick and Samuel were sons of Warwick Hockaday, deceased, who gave the land to his wife, Mary, by his will dated September 10, 1757.  Mary married again, which caused the property to revert to her children.  Unfortunately, the tract of land was not described in terms of geographical features. This would have provided clues for the geographic location of John Brooks, as well.  This John Brooks, who was a neighbor to Warwick Hockaday in 1769, was most likely the John of Northampton County, North Carolina.  The land he owned near the Hockadays may have been the same land he purchased two years earlier from John Brooks of Orange County.

The will of Warwick Hockaday was presented into court in May 1758.  John Brooks and William Riddlehurst proved the will, further demonstrating a close relationship between the Brooks and Hockaday families.  (Research conducted by Lt. Col. James Doyle mentions the Hockaday family in conjunction with John "Broach" of York County, in the 1630's.)  Finally, a description of the land inherited by John is provided in 1770, when the other John Brooks, of Northampton County, North Carolina, sold the property to John Riddlehurst.  The parcel was bounded by Old Tree Run, John Minge, Edward Cocke, Moises Run, Hunt's line, and Tar Kiln Branch.  A detailed gazetteer of Virginia does not show Old Tree Run, Moises Run, or Tar Kiln Branch in Charles City County.  Small streams may have been obliterated with development over time, or names may have changed.  These place names would be valuable in matching with a land description of the potential father of John, Sr. if such a deed could be located.

The original deed of sale from John Brooks of Orange County, North Carolina to John Brooks of Northampton County, North Carolina, was located and copied for verification.  It was hoped that more information would be included in John's father. The only description of the land is "all that Tract parcel or Dividend of Land Together with all The houses & Orchards thereunto Belonging Bounded as my father's will mentions Containing one hundred Acres Be the Same more or less Situate Lying & Being In Charles City County In Virginia." The witnesses included Joab Brooks, rather than Jacob Brooks, and John Brooks, Jr., who was not included in the printed abstract.14  The presence of the name of Joab further confirms that John Brooks was indeed the ancestor.  John, Jr., is most likely the same who married Jane May.  An interesting sidelight is provided by a notation inside the front cover of this deed book.  It reads, "This book was taken by a Union soldier from a lot that was about to be burned by northern troops in Virginia." The first eighteen pages of the book are missing, and Page 42 is followed by Page 63.  Whatever inspired this Union soldier to salvage this book is a mystery, but a welcome one.

The land patents of Virginia have survived, and these were searched for any Brooks who patented land in Charles City County.  The description of the land patented would be matched up with the description of John's inherited land.  The features that would distinguish the correct land patent would be Old Tree Run, Moises Run, and Tar Kiln Branch.  Two new entries were located from Patent Book No. 9.  On November 2, 1705, Robert Brookes patented two parcels of land in Charles City County, one consisting of nine hundred and eight acres, the other of one hundred and thirty-one acres.

The larger tract is described as "beginning at the head of the north branch of Moses Run, to head of Peasehill Swamp, dividing this and land of Thomas Cole; to Queen's Creek Run, otherwise called Old Tree Run; to land of William Hunt.  The land was granted for the importation of nineteen persons, who are listed.  The other parcel of land is described as "beginning on Old Tree Run, corner of John Parish." 15 It appears very likely that part of this land could be the same sold by John, which property was described in his father's will.  One of the persons transported to Virginia Colony was Robin Brooks, his identity presently unknown.  It seems likely that Robert Brooks was the father of John Brooks. Sixty-two years had passed, between Robert's patent in 1705, and John's sale in 1767.  As for naming patterns, records do not show a son of John named Robert, nor among his descendants, which is peculiar.  John may have had a son named Robert, who died young.

The scant surviving records of Charles City County were searched for the Brooks name in the time appropriate for the father of John. The wills and deeds for the years 1725 to 1731 have survived, a small fragment of those that once existed.  On December 29, 1724, a mariner named Thomas Brooks, resident of London, appointed William Cox and Henry Holdcroft to act as his attorneys, to conduct all business for him in Virginia.  16 This is the only mention of any Brooks in this volume.

Land patents of Prince George County for the years 1666 to 1719 have been compiled into a single volume.  These include patents for Charles City County, parent county of Prince George.  A Walter Brooks was mentioned in 1668 and 1670, as a neighboring property owner to Capt. Francis Epps and Mr. Michael Hill, on the south side of the Appomattox River.  Walter Brooks patented land in Bristol Parish as early as 1654.  A Thomas "Brockes" was among a list of immigrants transported in 1701 by John Butler.17 Robert Brooks' name did not appear in this volume.

The abstracted court records of Charles City County were revisited, for any information on Robert Brooks.  In the December 1740 session of court, Robert Brooks was granted administration of the estate of Walter Vernon.  Appraisers selected included Capt. Samuel Harwood and Mr. John Minge. Robert's 1705 land patent mentioned "Harwood" as one of the neighboring landowners.  John Minge's name was found associated with John Brooks and the Hockaday family in later records of Charles City County.  In November 1741, three couples sold a parcel of land to Joseph Collier. These couples included Robert and Martha Brooks, Benjamin and Sarah Heath, and Thomas and Elizabeth Russell. Martha, Elizabeth, and Sarah were likely sisters who inherited the land sold.  Various internet sources were searched to determine the maiden name of any of these women.  These sources included the International Genealogical Index, Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com's GenForum, and general Google searches.  No information on any of these couples could be located.

Continuing with the court records of Charles City County, Robert Brooks was appointed one of the appraisers of the estate of William Parrish in January 1745.  He was appointed to appraise the estate of Richard Cocke in March 1750, along with Warwick Hockaday and Edward Minge.  These names are familiar for their association with John Brooks in later years. Robert must have died before 1760, although no will or administration of his state has survived.  The will and intention of Martha Brooks were presented into court by John Brooks, the executor.  Joseph Parrish was one of those who proved her will in court. (Robert Brooks had previously appraised the estate of William Parrish.) Thomas Russell was appointed one of the appraisers of Martha's estate.  He was one of those selling land with Robert Brooks and their wives in November 1741.

In October 1760, a deed was proven in court from John Brooks and Martha, his wife, to William Tyree.18 This may have been the other John Brooks, who later lived in Northampton County, North Carolina.  No mention could be found of Susan, wife of John.  No Narsin name could be found in the records of Charles City County.  In fact, several statewide indexes to land, probate, tax, marriage, and other types of documents were searched, and the Narsin name did not appear in any of them.

Some Colonial Virginia records were recorded in England as well.  Among these is the 1704 rent rolls.  Robert Brooks' name appears in the list for Charles City County.19 He was the only Brooks found in the county then.  Caution must be observed in further research, as there were other Robert Brooks in nearby counties.  The 1704 rent rolls of Essex County show two Robert Brooks there, as well as a James Brooks. In New Kent County, a Robert Brooks and Richard Brooks were listed there.  The common name will be a challenge in further research.  To demonstrate the abundance of men by the name of Robert Brooks in Colonial Virginia, some data has been collected about each one.  Also from the compilation of lost Virginia records, it was noted that Essex County showed a Robert Brooks as a county officer in 1699.  He patented land there in 1704 and was listed in the 1704 rent rolls of the county.  Other Roberts were noted as well, and they are charted below.  Data from the Virginia land patents are also included.

Name Date Place Description

Robert Brooks1690Charles City VA Transported to VA by James Tuthill

Robert Brooks1704 "Rent roll

"November 2, 1705 "Patented 908 a., Winoak Parish

""" Patented 131 a., Old Tree Run

"1714 "Neighbor to Robert Loyde, 1714 patent

"1699Essex VA County officer

"1702 "Neighbor to George Loyd, 1702 patent

"Apr 1704 "Patented 650 a.

Robert Brook1704 "Rent roll, 150 a.

Robert Brooks  "(also James & Peter Brooks

"1704 "Transported to VA by James Boughan

"1705 "Neighbor to George Loyd, 1705 patent

"1723 "Surveyor

Robert Brooke1726 "Justice of the Peace and Surveyor

Robert Brooke, Jr. 1729 "Justice of the Peace

Robert Brooke "" Surveyor

Robert Brooks 1704 New Kent VA Rent roll, also Rich'd Brooks

Robert Brook, Jr. 1723 Spotsylvania VA Patented 8000 a. William & Humfrey Brook

Robert Brooks 1675 Lower Norfolk VA Transported to VA by William Langley

Robert Brooks 1688 Lower Norfolk VA Transported to VA by Col. Lem. Mason

"1694Nansemond  VA Transported to VA by John Wright

Robert Brooks1701 King & Queen VA Transported to VA by John Burrows

"1718Henrico VA Transported to VA by Charles Fleming

It appears that there were as many as eleven Robert Brooks in Colonial Virginia between 1674 and 1729, just in the Tidewater area.  At least five of these arrived before 1700. Trying to locate the Robert of Charles City County, before his arrival there, will be very complicated.  He could easily be confused with one of these other men by the same name.  Robert may be the immigrant ancestor, or he may have come from another part of the English Colonies.  Identifying him in his previous place of residence will be very difficult.

This same caution should be applied to researching John Brooks.  Several early North Carolina land grants to men named John Brooks are recorded. There were probably several men by that name in the Colony, and some may have been confused.  It is possible that John Brooks, who went to Bladen County about 1735 is not the same John Brooks, who lived in Orange County in the 1760s. From various compiled sources, the ancestral John has been connected to land grants in Bertie Precinct in 1725, Cumberland County in 1735, Bladen County in 1735, Craven County in 1746, and Orange County in 1755.  This is highly unlikely.  The last one, Orange County in 1755, is the only land grant that convincingly pertains to the ancestral John Brooks, Sr.  He owned land in Charles City County, Virginia as late as 1767.

So far, there has not surfaced any documentary evidence that John's wife was Susan Narsin or even Susan.  The only "source" that can be cited for this information is Ida Brooks Kellam's book. John's birthplace of England is also questionable. It is clear that his family was living in Charles City County, Virginia at least as early as 1704.

It appears that John was the son of Robert and Martha Brooks of Charles City County.  Robert died sometime in the 1750s and left a will, which has not survived.  By his will, he bequeathed some of the lands he patented in 1705 to John.  This land was located on Old Tree Run and Moses Run, near the Hunt and Parrish families. Martha died about 1760, and John was the executor of her will.  Robert and Martha were probably born in the 1670s or 1680s.  No marriage could be found for them in the IGI, either in England or Virginia Colony.  John was likely born in Virginia Colony, perhaps around 1710 or later.

Ms. Kellam's approximate birth years for the children of John Brooks seem much too early and are not documented.  She asserts that John Brooks, Jr., was born about 1715. He married Jane May, who was still selling land in 1808.  Jane is believed to have died in 1833.  Son Isaac lived to be ninety-eight, and Thomas died at age eighty-six.  Son Mark lived to be about ninety-nine, according to Ms. Kellam.  These life spans are not realistic for that day and age, although they might occur in rare incidences.  The estimated birth years need to be adjusted.  This would be determined by when these men first appeared in the records, which usually occurred about age twenty-one.

Source: Heritage Consulting Co. - Raquel Lindaas, Reg. Genealogist – September 2004