John
Brooks I "of Va"
John Brooks of Virginia is probably the
father of
John Brooks II of Montgomery Co, NC and William
Brooks I of Montgomery Co, NC (later known
as William Brooks I of Stanly Co, NC).
He was born before 1720. (BCBNOTE: Where are we from?) This family
arrived in NC sometime before 1758 and were granted deeds to land in Anson Co,
NC on the Rocky River in what is now Stanly Co, NC (north of the river) and
Anson Co, NC (south of the river). John Brooks I received 500
acres and William Brooks I, 100 acres.
Other grants were issued throughout the
next several years and the area around where
It has been extremely difficult to understand
the order of John Brooks’s in this family. We have John Brooks “of Va”,
John Brooks II, John Brooks III and John Brooks, son of William Brooks I who
could very well have been alive at the same time. Their birthdates respectively are circa 1715,
1735, 1775 and 1758. The period around
1775-1785 must have been a confusing time for the Brooks with four John’s at
the Sunday after-meeting supper!
The land that Lee Yarbrough sold to George Carriker in 1804 was given to his wife by John Brooks
(probably John Brooks II, the son of John “of Va”). It consisted
of 275 acres and may have been part of the original 500 acre land grant to John
Brooks "of Va" or purchased later. This land was known to be on both sides of
the Rocky River, just west and close to (actually within rock-throwing distance
of), but not touching the lands of John Brooks “of Va”. We still don't know the daughter’s name!
Also, the survey for the 220 acres to
John Brooks in 1767 makes mention of William Brooks' plantation being above
where John Brooks most recent acquistion would begin
at the mouth of Cooper's Creek. Whether
this implies William's home "at" Cooper's Creek or just where the
deed courses begin is not certain. It is
believed that whichever place it turns out to be is the location of William's
first home. The deeds also mention the homeplace of John Brooks as well… it seems to be somewhere
either on the "island" formed by the creeks running into the Rocky
river or somewhere near that "island." So, John and William didn't live very far from
each other at first. The “island” in
question can be seen in the map shown above in the orange-colored plat.
We first find John Brooks I in the 1763
Anson Co, NC Tax List, listed as "John Brooks Sr." with "John
Brooks Jr." and "William Brooks." As far as I can tell, there are only three
John Brooks’s in 1763 and one of them should be only
five years old. This youngest John is
the one I believe to be William’s oldest son who later moves to Henry Co, TN
with most of his family. That leaves
only two known… one has to be John “of Va” and the
other his son.
Almost twenty years later, “John Brooks
of VA” shows in the 1782 Montgomery
Co, NC tax records, listed as “invalid” with 3 slaves. He was obviously upwards in years and would
probably die soon. He does not appear as
head of household in 1790… chances are he's probably passed on by this
time. His son, John Brooks II does,
however appear in 1790 along with his brother, William. My thinking is that William’s son, John (32
yrs old in 1790) doesn’t appear on these tax records either because he was
missed or he was living on the south side of Rocky River, thus in Anson Co, NC
at the time.
John Brooks “of Va”’s
son, John should have a son named John in 1790 also. But, he is believed to be too young to appear
in the census. Thanks to Jim Brooks of
This John Brooks, Senr. was
the oldest living John Brooks at the time, thus he is called “Senr.” He is John
Brooks II, son of John Brooks “of VA”.
VERY Probable Children of John Brooks of Va:
William Brooks I b. 1736 Va
d.
John Brooks II. b. c1735 , d. 1790-98 Montgomery Co, NC
Probable Children of John Brooks of
Va:
Ephraim Brooks b.<1765
Ezekiel B. Brooks (Ezekiel Gould Benbrook) b.<1755 d. >1820
This man is actually a “Benbrook.”
The Benbrook
family has been
traced briefly by Jim Brooks of
James Brooks b.<1765
Joseph Brooks b.<1765
Jesse Brooks b.<1765
See Possible Brooks -
Bradford Connection for John Brooks
of VA…
See also John Brooks of Connecticut for
a possible connection to John Brooks of VA
Records for John Brooks I of Va:
Early Land Grants in Anson Co, NC:
No date – Brooks, James #2790, Leverett’s Creek
BCB NOTE: It would seem
that John and William listed here obtained their grants at the same time and in
the same location (very likely bordering each other on the Rocky River)… in
1763, John Brooks sold land on Rocky River (near Richardson’s Creek) to John Culpeper. So, it
seems to fit.
1763 NC Tax List - Anson Co. - listed as "John Sr." with
"John Jr."
BCB NOTE: Tax List also shows
William Brooks as taxpayer with the following slaves: Sharper, Cesor, Quuan, Mol & David Snead (total of 6 taxables)
(further BCB NOTE: may indicate that he was still unmarried)
BCBNOTE: the following records for 1763 to 1789 may apply to either John
Brooks I "of VA" or John Brooks II:
1767 - George A. Selwyn to John
Brooks, 220 acres, below and joining William Brooks' plantation. (Book H, page 144,
2720 pg. 615: John Brooks
Dec 1770 - NC Milita - Rocky
River Company - (William Brooks, Ens.; John Brooks,
Lieut.; John Culpeper, Capt.)
BCBNOTE FOR ROCKY RIVER COMPANY:
from the service record of James Arnett b. 20 Jun 1760, While resident
of Anson Co, NC he enlisted July 1776 or 1777 serving 3 monthes
in Capt. John Culpepper's Co. in Colonel David Love's NC Reg....
stated in 1833 that he was drafted in Anson Co. under Capt. Culpepper, was
marched against the Cherokee Indians, served 3 mos. and dis. at Pleasant
Gardens, NC..... Tour of Duty: thru NC
to Cherokee Nation, crossed Catawba R. at Beaty's
Ford, Crossed
4905 pg. 321: John Brooks
Feb 1779 - signed petition to form Mont. Co. w/ Joseph
(Joshua?) Brooks
1782 Mont. Co Tax List - listed as "invalid" w/ 3 slaves
Montgomery Co, NC
The Earliest Extant Deeds
1774-1842
Deed (B2-344, Anson NC)
p. 319 -