The Brooks Men

Wow, I can't believe that I haven't posted on here since April!! But, I got busy with selling my Ohio home, having an auction to get rid of stuff, moving permanently to Sanibel, Florida and settling in here, spending time with my other blog, Sand Between My Toes, and getting hooked on Facebook. Ok, so much for the excuses.

I went back over my genealogy posts and thought about what I could post on today. I had posted some old pictures on Facebook of my dad. He was one good looking man! My nieces and daughter felt the same way. One of them mentioned that many of the Brooks men were good looking. OK, so some were and some weren't! My dad was the youngest of 10 children, 8 of which were boys. I guess my dad's mom was saving up all the good looking genes for the last kid. What do you think?

Anyway, here are a few more of him over the years.

OK, so I suppose I should show you some more of the Brooks men. Each pretty good looking in their own way.

This picture was taken at my dad's funeral of his 4 remaining brothers-Knols, Charlie, Earl and Hobert.

My dad and his brother Knols in their younger days.

My Uncle Hobert

My Uncle Harry

My Uncle Earl

This handsome dude was my Uncle Delbert. Would you believe that he was a Lieutenant in Panco Villa's army?

My grandfather, Edwin Amos Brooks
And this handsome devil was my great grandfather, Nicholas Brooks Jr.

OK, so he wasn't quite so much the handsome devil when he got older!

And then there was Nicholas' brother, Benjamin Franklin Brooks.

Oh yeah, there is one other Brooks man I should mention. My big brother Bill. OK, so this was taken a few years ago--actually quite a few years ago--but I have always loved this picture.

And there you have The Brooks Men

Posting on Ancestry.com

I know that it has been quite a while since I have posted here. I have been busy--all day, every day--putting all of my lines, pictures etc on Ancestry.com. I have added several different lines.

I have three different lines for my husband. He is adopted but thanks to a very comprehensive adoption history, I was able to find both his birth maternal and paternal lines. And, we have been able to meet a sister from his maternal line and cousins and an aunt from his paternal line. I have put the information from his birth paternal line in a tree called Ritten/Ryten Gershtenman/Gorman Family Tree. This line goes back to Russia and Poland. Both of these families immigrated to America and settled in Detroit. His birth maternal line information is in a tree called Thomas and Walker family tree. The Thomas' came from Wales. Edward Thomas worked in the coal mines in Boulder County, Colorado but moved to Detroit where he died. His wife took the Merrill name from her stepfather but her mother was a Walker from Indiana and her father was a Grehear from Germany.His adoptive line is in a tree entitled Runta and O'Malley Family Tree. The Runtus family immigrated from Lithuania to Pennsylvania where Anthony worked in the coal mines. The O'Malleys and Worns families were from Graves End, England and immigrated in the early part of the 1900's to NYC and on to Detroit.

As for my lines I did my dad's side first. This one is called Brooks, Dye, Ice Family Tree. The Brooks' went from Pennsylvania to Delaware to Virginia to Harrison County, West Virginia to Washington County, Ohio. It was in West Virginia and Washington County, Ohio that they intermarried with the Dye and Ice family--both very prolific families in the area. Other names in this line are Bogard from New York to West Virginia; Sayers from Ireland to Pennsylvania to West Virginia; Taylor from New York to Washington County, Ohio and Pearce from Delaware to Monroe County, Ohio.

I am still working on putting my mother's tree online. I have a LOT of names to put on line. I know that I could just download a gedcom file but I wanted to put each name on individually so I could check them against what is already online. When I eventually get it all up to date, this line will include Clarks from Richland County, Illinois back to Virginia and Barbados; Richards and McCoy from Richland County, Illinois back to Wilson County, Tennessee; Morgan and Gupton from Wabash County, Illinois back to Carter County, Tennessee and North Carolina; Roberts from Wayne and Wabash Counties, Illinois back to Virginia; Gaddy and Montgomery from Wabash County, Illinois back to North Carolina and Virginia; and Preston and Finney from Wabash County, Illinois back to Hamilton County, Ohio and points east.

I had posted much of this information years ago but Ancestry.com has updated it's site and method of adding family trees--so to stay up with the times, this is why I am doing it again. Plus it is a great way to share pictures and other information with others.

So, forgive me for not posting here for awhile.

My Mom & Amelia Earhart

I have always thought that my mom and Amelia Earhart could have been sisters. I was reminded of that again last week when we were at the Air and Space Museum in San Diego. I took a picture of a picture of Amelia and have been comparing them to pictures of my mom. Of course they both had the same hairdo but even their facial features are the same. What do you think?













That's Amelia Earhart on the left and my mom on the right.

My Dad's Mom-Amanda Jane Sayers

Boy, I didn't realize how hard it would be to keep up with two blogs. It's been awhile since I posted (except for Wordless Wednesday) about some genealogy stuff. So, back to my family.

My dad's mom was Amanda Jane Sayers. She was born December 16, 1856 in Marshall County, West Virginia (actually Virginia at the time.) She married my grandfather, Edwin Amos Brooks on April 12, 1877 in Ritchie County, West Virginia. She died November 21, 1919 in Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia. Her death certificate states that she died from TB. I had heard that she was in and out of mental institutions much of her married life and did in fact find her listed as a patient at the W.Va. Hospital for the Insane in Lewis County, W.Va. in the 1910 census. It was my understanding that she would come home long enough to get pregnant and have a child then would head back to the institution. Now, I'm not sure if this is right or not but she did have 10 children in 22 years.

Amanda Jane was the daughter of William Sayers, Sr. and Elizabeth D. Pearce. William was born about 1814 in Pennsylvania and died between 1880 and 1890 probably in Wirt County, West Virginia. He supposedly was killed by a falling tree. I have never been able to find a death certificate or tombstone for him. According to the 1880 census, both of his parents were born in Ireland. This is where I hit a brick wall as far as tracing this family. I have found various spellings of the name-Sires, Syers, Sayer, etc. I would LOVE to be able to find any of his siblings or his parents.

William married Elizabeth D. Pearce about 1854 in West Virginia. I have found no marriage certificate for them. Elizabeth D. was the daughter of Isaac and Mary (unknown last name) Pearce. Elizabeth was born December 1831 probably in Monroe County, Ohio and died April 1903 in Ritchie County, West Virginia. Elizabeth had 3 siblings-Rachel J. born about 1823 married and divorced Presley J. Martin, John F. Pearce born about 1825 married Louisa Moffitt, and Isaac born about 1825 married Nancy (last name unknown). They all lived in Monroe County, Ohio.

Isaac Pearce, Sr. was born about 1790 in Delaware and died April 29, 1861 in Monroe County, Ohio. His wife, Mary, was born about 1796 in Pennsylvania and died January 15, 1846 in Monroe County. Isaac married #2 Lydia Agin in Monroe County.

Back to Amanda Jane and her sibs.
#1. She had a sister, Mary, born April 14, 1855 and died December 28, 1855 in Marshall County, West Virginia.
#2. Amanda Jane
#3. William Winfield born August 14, 1859 in Marshall County and died January 20, 1928 in Ritchie County, W.Va. He married Ursula Haney and had 6 children, Cora D., Mary Elizabeth, Rosa, William Arthur, Bessie and James F.
#4. Isaac Newton (Pearce?) Sayers born January 1861 in W.Va and died January 3, 1930 in Wood County, W.Va. He was unmarried.
#5. Charles H. Sayers born July 1864 in West Virginia and died after 1930. Probably unmarried.
#6. Child. In 1900 Elizabeth stated that 4 of 6 children were living. This means that there was a 6th child somewhere along the line.

This is all I have on the Sayers and Pearces. No pictures, not much information. It is making me crazy!! I sure would appreciate ANY help on this family.

My Brooks Great Grandparents-Brooks Genealogy

Nicholas Brooks, Jr. 1832-1918

Ok, lets go back a generation. My great grandparents were Nicholas Brooks, Jr. and Eliza Rebecca Dye. Family tradition says that Nicholas left home at an early age "to fend for himself" and went to live with Samuel Dye, an uncle of his future wife. Considering the fact that his father was 80 years old when Nicholas was born might have had something to do with it!! (But more about Nick Sr. in another post). Nicholas was the son of Nicholas Brooks, Sr. and Sarah Ice. He was one of 9 children. He did have some half brothers and sisters but I'm not sure how many. Apparently Nicholas Jr. served in the Civil War when he lived in Wheeling, West Virginia for several years.

Eliza Rebecca Dye was the daughter of Amos Dye and Maria Taylor. She was one of 11 children. The Dye line was one of my favorite lines to research early on. I collected tons and tons of material on them. Eliza Rebecca played the organ at the Moss Run Church in Washington County, Ohio. I inherited the little brass lamp that she used to carry to church and place on the organ. I also inherited some monogrammed silverware and a stoneware pitcher belonging to Nicholas and Eliza Rebecca.

Nicholas Brooks Jr. Born January 15, 1832 Washington County, Ohio Died May 19, 1918 Washington County, Ohio. You would hardly recognize this good looking gent as the same one with the long white beard at the top of this page, would you?

Eliza Rebecca Dye born December 28, 1835 Washington County, Ohio Died June 21, 1904 Washington County, Ohio. Notice that she is pregnant in this picture. I like to think she is pregnant with my Grandpa.

Nicholas and Eliza Rebecca are buried in Eddy Cemetery in Washington County, Ohio

Nicholas and Eliza Rebecca were married in Washington County, Ohio November 9, 1854 and they had 8 children.

#1 My grandfather, Edwin Amos Brooks, was born July 23, 1855 in Washington County, Ohio and died January 24, 1940 in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. He married Amanda Jane Sayers April 12, 1877 in Ritchie County, West Virginia. She was born December 16, 1856 in Marshall County, West Virginia and died November 21, 1919 in Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia.

#2. Their second born was John Henry Brooks born January 24, 1859 in Washington County, Ohio and died May 19, 1918 in Washington County, Ohio. John Henry never married. He apparently died of Epilepsy.

#3. Anna M. Brooks was born April 3, 1862 when the family lived in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia. She died August 12 of that year in Wheeling.

#4. Dudley William Brooks was born August 14, 1864 in Wheeling, West Virginia and died March 23, 1932 in Washington County, Ohio. He married Lucinda Jane Hood September 5, 1904 in Washington County. They had 4 sons-Nicholas James, Gerald Walter, Clarence Elmer, and Delbert Ira.

#5. Charlotte Brooks was born about 1866. It is not clear when she died. Family tradition said that she was engaged to be married and died before her wedding. However, I never found her in the 1870 census.

#6. Elmer Nicholas Brooks was born February 3, 1868 in Washington County, Ohio and died May 22, 1937 on Cow Run, Washington County, Ohio. He married April 1, 1899 to Lillie Fredonia Knutty. They had 3 children-Eliza, Merl, and Lulu.

#7. Maria Brooks was born and died in 1869 in Washington County, Ohio

#8. Era (a boy) was born February 2, 1872 on Cow Run and died February 8, 1872.

This was the Brooks homestead where all 8 children were born. I took this picture in the 1960's sometime. It has since been torn down.

In my next post I will talk about Nicholas Brooks, Sr. or "Old Nick" as we lovingly call him. He has to be one of my all time favorite ancestors. He lived to be 108 years old, was apparently married 4 times, fathered I don't know how many children, and had his last kid when he was 99 years old!!! I've always wished that I could go back in time and meet him and find out so much more about him.

Let Me Introduce You to My Brooks Family-Part 1-Brooks Genealogy

My grandfather, Edwin Amos Brooks. There are no pictures of my grandmother, Amanda Jane Sayers.

I was born--many, many years ago--actually in 1938--to George Edwin Brooks and Opal Clark. George was the youngest of 10 children born to Edwin Amos Brooks and Amanda Jane Sayers-- 8 boys and 2 girls. All but Daisy Elizabeth lived to adulthood. All of the children were born in Finch, Ritchie County, West (By God) Virginia. As my dad always said, he was born on Whiskey Run and Dog Trot. You gotta love those names. John Henry, the first born, was born in 1878. Lillie Elizabeth was born in 1879. Following were: Charlie William in 1881, Delbert Nicholas in 1884, Daisy Elizabeth in 1888, Harry Arthur in 1890, Hobert Clarence in 1893, Knols Curtis in 1895, Earl (no middle name poor guy) in 1898 and my dad, George Edwin, in 1900. It seems, according to family history, that my poor grandmother had a history of mental problems. (And with 10 kids, who can blame her!!). She would go into an institution, get better, come home, get pregnant, have another kid, go back to the institution and start the whole cycle over again. My poor aunt Lillie, being the only girl, ended up raising her brothers.

This was taken at my dad's funeral of the remaining Brooks boys. From left to right are Knols, Charlie, Earl and Hobert.

My dad only went as far as 4th grade in school. He started driving a wagon in the oil fields at the age of about 10 and continued working in the oil fields for most of the remainder of his live. He also had several brothers who worked in the oilfields also. Earl settled in Texas and Charlie settled in Crawford County, Illinois. John, Harry, Hobert and Knols all remained in Ritchie County, Wood County, and Harrison County, West Virginia. Aunt Lillie ended up marrying and settling in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. Ok, I say married. My Uncle Knols always contended that she never actually married Pawdaw (our name for her husband Charles Murray) but lived common law with him. Whatever, they were together for many, many years.

My dad and his brother Hobert Clarence Brooks. My dad is on the right. Boy was he a good looking dude or what?

My dad moved from oil field to oil field. He met my mother in Wabash County, Illinois where they were married. They moved to Texas and actually lived in a tent there, then back to Illinois where my brother was born. They then moved to Kentucky and finally to Michigan where I was born. My brother was in something like 10 different schools before he was 10 I think. Luckily, they stopped the moving when I came along.

I love this picture of my dad. He had the greatest smile.

You notice, I haven't mentioned my Uncle Delbert. There has to be a black sheep in every family and apparently Uncle Delbert was our black sheep. The family lost track of him for many years and thought he was somewhere in Utah but weren't sure. One of my cousins was a career man in the Navy. He had to have a background check for security clearance and thanks to the US Government, we learned a whole lot more about Uncle Del.

Uncle Del apparently found his way to Mexico and joined Panco Villa sometime after 1918 where I found his World War I draft registration. (Maybe he was a draft dodger.) Anyway, he apparently was made Lieutenant Governor of Sonora Province by Villa. When Villa was assassinated, Uncle Del left Mexico just one jump ahead of the revolutionaries. According to his ramblings late in his life, he fathered an illegitimate daughter with a Hispanic woman while living in Mexico. Uncle Delbert either did not know or could not remember her name. He just knew he had a daughter and he never married the mother. He bummed around Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona for a couple of years, then took a job as an Armed Guard in the mail cars of the Union Pacific Railroad. He kept this job (and his gun!) for several years, at least through the late 1930's. His record shows he was still employed by Union Pacific in 1935 when the Social Security System was started. He later left that job and moved to Utah to pan for gold. He thought he would make a fortune! He lived the rest of his life in Utah. After he retired, Uncle Delbert has the dubious distinction of being the first man to shoot up a Post Office. He claimed that the postmaster had taken his government check. What actually happened was, there was a holiday and the mail wasn't delivered. Uncle Delbert didn't believe the postmaster, so he pulled his gun and started shooting. Luckily, the postmaster wasn't killed. Uncle Delbert finished out his life in a Nursing Home mumbling about his "good ole days" when he was much younger and could "whip anyone who looked cross-eyed at him." Uncle Delbert died on August 30, 1966, and is buried in the Washington City Cemetery in Washington County, Utah. He has a small headstone with his full name, birth and death dates on it.

Delbert Nicholas Brooks 1884-1966. Now, doesn't this look like someone who would ride with Pancho Villa?

I never met Uncle Del but I know I would have loved him! I met all of the rest of my dad's siblings but my favorite was Uncle Earl. After my dad died, I always kind of looked to him as my second dad. He and Aunt Geneva never had kids of their own but really loved kids. We visited them several times in Texas and they came to Ohio to visit us several times. It was Aunt Geneva who got me started on genealogy.

Earl and Geneva (Neva Underwood) Brooks. Taken in 1978.

My mom died in 1953 in an accident caused by a drunk driver. My dad remarried in 1955 to Olive Biehl, a girlhood friend of my mom's, and lived out the rest of his life in Allendale, Wabash County, Illinois. He died in 1967. My parents are buried in Standish, Arenac County, Michigan where I grew up.

My parent's gravestone in Woodmere Cemetery in Standish.

In my next post, I will continue with the Brooks Family Part 2. Stay tuned.

The Starts of My Very Long Line of Ancestors-Brooks Genealogy

Yup, that's me.

I guess when you start down a road, you need to start at the beginning. And I guess when you start on a path to find your ancestors, you start with yourself. So here we go!

My mom and dad met, fell in love, and married in Allendale, Wabash County, Illinois. My dad was George Edwin Brooks born July 10, 1900 in Finch, Ritchie County, West Virginia. My mom was Opal Clark. (No middle name so she later chose Imogene as her middle name. I think I could have thought of a better name but oh well.) She was born August 30, 1907 in Allendale, Wabash County, Illinois. They were married May 27th 1926. She actually was married one day and graduated from high school the next day.

George and Opal on their wedding day.

My brother, Bill, was born in Allendale in 1928 and I followed 10 years later. I was born in the huge metropolis of Omer in Arenac County, Michigan. You've never heard of this huge metropolis? Could be because if you blink you will miss it as you drive through. Of course, Allendale isn't a whole lot bigger.

My brother and me in 1938.

I grew up in Standish, Arenac County, Michigan. My dad worked in the oil fields and my mom held several jobs including working in the Post Office, in a Heinz Pickle Plant, and at the local newspaper.

My parents, my brother, and me in 1946. Why are my parents looking one direction and my brother and I another? Weird.

My mom died June 7, 1953. We were coming home from visiting a friend and a drunk driver hit us head on. My dad was severely injured and took many months to heal physically and mentally. In 1955 he and I took a trip to visit his family in West Virginia and my mom's family in Illinois. While there, he met (or should I say re-met) my mother's girlhood friend, Olive Biehl. My dad had been very lonely after the death of my mom and Olive after a divorce. So they were married in Allendale September 30, 1955.

George Brooks and Olive Biehl Brooks.

I returned to Standish to finish my senior year of high school and Dad and Olive remained in Allendale, living in her home where she had grown up. A side note here--the house they lived in was actually built by my mom's uncle in the early 1900's.

My dad died in 1967 and my stepmother continued to live in Allendale until her death in 1987. On January 7, 1989, an F4 tornado wiped out much of the town of Allendale including my stepmother's house. It is indeed sad to go back to Allendale now and see very little of the town I remember from my childhood.

I was married March 31, 1962 in Trenton, Wayne County, Michigan to Charles Alvin Runta.

On our wedding day.

We have two children, Dave and Karen and 5 beautiful grandchildren.

David and Karen in 1997

So, there you have it. This was about me and my beginnings. My next post will be about my dad's family, the Brooks clan.