William H. Brooks

of Pope County, Arkansas

William H. Brooks was born 19 Nov 1823 in Montgomery Co, NC to James and Temperance Jane Tucker Brooks.. After the death of his father in 1828, his mother "Tempy" Tucker Brooks must have struggled to feed her three children and keep up the farm. Not long after, circa 1830, she married Alfred Ledbetter and William, his brother James and sister Hester would live in the Ledbetter home until the westward fever caught on. A great many families had planned to go to Arkansas (Reeds, Teeters, Shinns, Harkeys, etc.) and organized a wagon train to Pope Co, Arkansas. Sometime around 1841-3, William and James Brooks left NC for AR. A Diary of a Wagon Train from Lincoln Co, NC in 1858 describes a similar journey. Their sister, Hester Leah Brooks Shinn, wife of Nathaniel Duncan Shinn also moved to Pope Co, AR along with most of her inlaws.

Along the way, William and James stopped in Tennessee. They spent at least a few months there, maybe a year or two, before moving on to Pope Co, AR.

While in Pope Co, AR, William met and married Sarah Jane Graham:

Pope Co, AR marriages, page 74: I do hereby certify that I solemnized a marriage at the Russells in Elenoy (Illinois) Township on the 1 day of February 1844 between William Brooks and Sarah Jane Graham.

Thomas J. Barnes J. P.

William's wife, Sarah Jane gave him two sons and four daughters before passing

away in 1860.

Children of William H. and Sarah Jane Graham Brooks:

Mary Jane Brooks

b. 10 Oct 1845 AR d. 25 Oct 1867 Pope Co, AR

married Richard C. Loflin m. 9 Jan 1863 Pope Co, AR b. 1842 NC

POPE CO, AR LAND ENTRIES:

LOFLIN RICHARD C 3 8N 21W 80 1885/05/25

LOFLIN RICHARD C 11 8N 21W 40 1882/11/10

LOFLIN RICHARD C 11 8N 21W 40 1905/10/19

Catherine Elizabeth Brooks

b. c1847 Pope Co, AR

James Henry Brooks

b. 1849 d. 10 Mar 1894 near New Hope, Pope Co, AR

married Sarah S. ____ m. c1874 Pope Co, AR b. 1858 d. < 8 Mar 1883 Russellville, Pope Co, AR

died from effects of erysipelas 1880 Pope Co, AR - Illinois T.S. - city of Russellville

Martha Ann Brooks

b. 13 May 1851 Pope Co, AR d. 6 Apr 1864 Pope Co, AR

Sarah Ellen Brooks

b. 3 Feb 1853 Pope Co, AR d. 8 Aug 1934 Pope Co, AR

married James Lawson Teeter m. 7 Jul 1870 Pope Co, AR b. 1850

Picture of James and Sarah Brooks Teeter.

John Calvin Brooks

b. 1854 Russellville, Pope Co, AR

William remarried to Rebecca Melinda Cooper, daughter of

Caswell and Rebecca Christina Shoffner Cooper, also of Anson Co, NC. Rebecca gave William seven more children before he passed away in 1883:

Children of William H. and Rebecca Melinda Cooper Brooks:

Joanna Clementine Brooks

b. 6 May 1863 Russellville, Pope Co, AR d. 7 Oct 1934 Pope Co, AR

married John Edward Hamblen m. 15 Dec 1881 Russellville, Pope Co, AR b. 14 Aug 1860 Russellville, Pope Co, AR d. 6 Dec 1936 Russellville, Pope Co, AR

William Brooks

b. 13 Sep 1867 Russellville, Pope Co, AR d. 17 Feb 1950

married Fanny Perry

Jenetta Isabella Brooks

b. 18 Apr 1869 Russellville, Pope Co, AR d. 21 Aug 1870 Russellville, Pope Co, AR

Dora Alta Brooks

b. 31 Jul 1871 Russellville, Pope Co, AR d. 12 Feb 1959 Russellville, Pope Co, AR. Wrote Diary of a trip "Back Home" to Stanly Co. , SCGS Journal V, 2, p.213-5

Walter Caswell Brooks

b. 15 Feb 1874 near Russellville, Pope Co, AR d. 30 May 1941 Russellville, Pope Co, AR. Married Ruth Autry m. 2 Dec 1922 Little Rock, AR b. 8 Feb 1892 Booneville, Logan Co, AR d. 25 Dec 1975 Quanah, Hardeman Co, TX

Lucy Etta Brooks

b. 11 Feb 1877 near Russellville, Pope Co, AR d. 12 Nov 1955 Pope Co, AR

Tempy Selma Brooks

b. 15 Jul 1879 near Russellville, Pope Co, AR d. 3 May 1968 Russellville, Pope Co, AR. Married James H. A. Baker m. 26 Dec 1913 AR? b. 1875 Pope Co, AR

MR. WILLIAM BROOKS (from Obituaries & Death Notices of Pope Co, AR)

Mr. William Brooks, died at his home, four miles from town, on Friday, March 24, 1883 Mr. Brooks was a bout sixty years of age, and had been a citizen of this county and community about forty years. He was born and reared in North Carolina, and came from that state to this county about forty years ago. He had been a member in good standing of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church about forty years. He had been married twice and was the father of eleven children, three of whom are dead. He leaves a wife and eight children to mourn his absence. Mr. Brooks was an industrious man, a good citizen, and a leading man in his community. He was a devoted husband and a kind father. He died in the triumphs of a living faith and is gone to his reward. To the bereaved we tender our heartfelt sympathies and urge them to trust the same God that he trusted.

William's daughter, Alta Brooks would, in 1901 return to Stanly Co, NC (formerly Montgomery Co, NC when William and James left) for a last visit with the family. Alta kept a diary of the trip. It can be found recorded in the Stanly County Genealogical Society Journal Vol.2, pages 213-215. In it, she mentions her Uncle John Brooks, brother to William, James and Hester Brooks. Also mentioned are the half-brothers and half-sisters, her mother's parents, including her maternal grandmother's grave and tombstone inscription.

Rebecca Melinda Cooper Brooks would live another 27 years following the "Trip Back Home," as it was titled in the SCGS Journal. She died 26 May 1928 in Russellville, Pope Co, AR.

LAND PATENT RECORDS FOR WILLIAM H. BROOKS IN POPE CO, AR:

Cancelled: NDocument Nr. : 3350Misc. Document Nr. : Patentee Name:

BROOKS, WILLIAM H

Warrantee Name: Authority: April 24, 1820: Cash Entry Sale (3 Stat. 566)

Signature Present: Y

Signature Date: 3/1/1860 Metes/Bounds: N

Survey Date: Subsurface Reserved: NLand Office: CLARKSVILLE

Comments:

Legal Land Descriptions

Nr.Aliquot PartsSec/BlkTownshipRangeFract. Sect.MeridianAcresCounties

1NENW10/ 9-N 20-W N 5TH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN 40 POPE