Tombstone Tuesday - Joseph Hill - Newberry Co., South Carolina

Headstone of Joseph Hill in Lower Duncan Creek Cemetery in Whitmore, Newberry Co., SC. [1]

Transcription:

HERE

Lies the Body of

JOSEPH HILL

Husband of Ruth Hill

who died 

Oct 5th 1839

in the 68th year

of his age.

According to his headstone, Joseph Hill would have been born about 1771. He was my 5th great-grandfather. He was married to Ruth Fowler, daughter of Richard and Ruth Fowler. Ruth is also buried in this cemetery. 

• His son Elijah Hill [2] married Rachel Watson, daughter of Nancy Jeans and John Watson. 
• Their son Joseph Watson Hill married Josephine F Cox [3], daughter of Robert Cox and Basheba McCoy [4].
• Their son Nathaniel "Gus" Hill [5] married Jessie Inez Barton, daughter of James Silas Barton and Sarah Alice Tinsley. 
• Their daughter Blanche Kathryne Hill was my great-grandmother. She married John Brooks Binns, son of John Milton Binns and Perthinia Eula Brooks. I was fortunate to have grown up with most of my great-grandparents. 
• Their daughter Barbara Binns is my grandmother. She has taken the Family Finder autosomal DNA test. 

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SOURCES: 

   [1] Photograph taken by Donna Brummett and added to Joseph Hill's Find-A-Grave memorial on 4 December 2008. Photo used with permission by owner. 

   [2] Newberry County, South Carolina, Wills Book, 1825-1840, Vol N, p. 170-171, Joseph Hill, 9 October 1939 (probated); Office of Probate Judge, Newberry; digital images, "South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes 1671-1977," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 3 December 2013).  Mentioned as Elijah Hill in his father Joseph Hill's will (w. 30 Sept 1839, Newberry District, SC); and also named as Executor and granted letters testamentary.

   [3] Sharon J Doliante, Maryland and Virginia Colonials: Genealogies of Some Colonial Families, Volume I (1991; reprint, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1998), p. 560, Odell Family; digial images, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=48206 : downloaded 26 November 2013).

   [4] Greenville County, South Carolina, Wills Book, 1840-1852, Vol. C, p. 429-430, Bersheba Cox, 15 July 1852 (proved);  digital images, "South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes 1671-1977," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 July 2011).

   [5] I have not found the will of Gus' father, John Watson Hill. I do intend to order the death certificate of Gus Hill, though, which should have the name of his parents listed. 

Keeping Track of My 2nd Great-Grandparents

I have 8 sets of 2^nd great-grandparents with a total of 16 individuals.

Paternal Line:

Set # 1: Claude Rual Smith (1896 - 1975) and Willie Harriet Riddle (1899 – 1985)

Set # 2: Fred Fox (1884 – 1974) and Melvina West (1882 – 1978)

Set # 3: John Milton Binns (1868 – 1961) and Perthinia “Pert” Eula Brooks (1873 – 1942)

Set # 4: Nathaniel Gustaves Hill (1873 – 1944) and Jessie Inez Barton (1875 – 1950)

Maternal Line:

Set # 1: Alvin Theodore Godwin (1879 – 1950) and Louella Davis (1882 – 1947)

Set # 2: William Edward Peters (1874 – 1948) and Dora King (1875 – 1912)

Set # 3: James Franklin Lasiter (1876 – 1968) and Rosalie Putman (1875 – 1961)

Set # 4: Barney Sheron Benson (1884 – 1952) and Eva Mae Dennis (1889 – 1983)

I was born in 1976. As you can see, two of my paternal 2^nd great-grandfathers died 1 or 2 years before I was born and 2 of my paternal 2^nd great-grandmothers lived to hold me in their arms (The obituary of one of my 2^nd great-grandmothers, Willie Harriet Riddle Smith, mentioned that she had 18 2^nd great-grandchildren!)

One of my maternal 2^nd great-grandmothers lived to hold me. I wasn’t the only one though. She had several other 2^nd great-grandchildren that she travelled around to visit with. Check out my 5-generation photos:

 Back Row: Sue Lasiter (my grandmother), Marilyn Godwin (my mother), Louise Benson Lasiter (my great-grandmother); Front: Eva Dennis Benson (my 2nd great-grandmother), Ginger R. Smith (me!). Taken March 1976, Fort Smith, Arkansas. From personal collection of Ginger R. Smith, inherited from Louise Lasiter. Copyright 2012. 

Back Row: Claude Rual Smith, Jr (my great-grandfather) and Willie Harriet Riddle Smith (my 2nd great-grandmother); Front: Tim D. Smith (my father), Ginger R. Smith (me), Darrel E. Smith (my grandfather). Taken 1976, Fort Smith, Arkansas. From personal collection of Ginger R. Smith, scanned from photo album of Barbara J. Smith, Copyright 2012. 

L to R: Reba Fox Smith (my great-grandmother), Ginger R. Smith (me),  Melvina West Fox (my 2nd great-grandmother), Tim D. Smith (my father), Darrel E. Smith. Taken March 1976, Fort Smith, Arkansas. From personal collection of Ginger R. Smith, scanned from photo album of Barbara J. Smith, Copyright 2012. 

Most all of my sets of 2^nd great-grandparents lived in Arkansas with the exception of the Bensons. I’m pretty lucky because the Arkansas death certificates started about 1914. I can actually probably take my ancestry back another generation to 3^rd or even 4^th great-grandparents just by using death certificate research!

As I said in my last post about requesting death certificates from the Arkansas Department of Health, it can become quite addicting and difficult to keep up with all of the requests and processing of incoming certificates. I try to space them out. I have employed the following two tables to help me with my research. They track my progress in securing and processing death certificates and obituaries. From looking at these tables I can see from a glance what I am missing.

From the tables I have filled out below, I can see that I have the obituaries and death certificates of 8 of my 16 great-grandparents. I am half way there! The obituaries I obtained either from family members or from various newspapers. My cousin, Doris Hamblin Smith, sent me copies of a bunch of Smith family obituaries in 2010 before she passed away.

In order to understand what the headers Scanned?, Transcribed?, FTF Notes?, and FTF Source? refer to, you must first know my genealogy work flow:

1.       Scan and save obituary and death certificate as a PDF, TIF, and JPG file

2.       Transcribe and save to Word document or Notepad File

3.       Copy the Transcript to the notes file for that person in my genealogy software

4.       Enter the Birth, Death, Burial, Occupation, Marital, etc facts into my genealogy software, including the parents' names

5.       Create a source and attach to the Facts (some call these "Events")

Nos. 3 and 4 are included under the FTF Notes heading in the table. FTF stands for “Family Tree File.”

As I collect more obituaries and death certificates, I can  update this table. I already know which death certificate I plan to order next – that of Rosalie Putman. However, since 6 of the remaining 8 died in Arkansas, I can go ahead and order them all at once.

Dora King died in 1912 in Missouri. I have not found a death record for her yet, probably because she died before deaths were required to be recorded. Family stories say she died of a snake bite. I might be able to find a death notice for her in a local newspaper. But I've found this to be difficult; or at least time consuming when you don't know the month and day. 

Barney Benson died while visiting his son in California. I have not yet ordered a death certificate from California, so this will be my first experience.

Obituary Resources
Name	Scanned?	Transcribed?	FTF Notes?	FTF Source?
Claude Smith Sr	yes	yes	yes	yes
Willie Riddle	yes	yes	yes	yes
Fred Fox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Melvina West	No	No	No	No
John M Binns	No	No	No	No
Eula Brooks	No	No	No	No
Gus Hill	No	No	No	No
Jessie Barton	No	No	No	No
Alvin Godwin	No	No	No	No
Louella Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
William E Peters	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dora King	No	No	No	No
James F Lasiter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rosalie Putman	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Barney Benson	No	No	No	No
Eva Dennis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Death Certificates
Name	Scanned?	Transcribed?	FTF Notes?	FTF Source?
Claude Smith Sr	yes	yes	yes	yes
Willie Riddle	No	No	No	No
Fred Fox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Melvina West	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
John M Binns	No	No	No	No
Eula Brooks	No	No	No	No
Gus Hill	No	No	No	No
Jessie Barton	No	No	No	No
Alvin Godwin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Louella Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
William E Peters	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dora King	No	No	No	No
James F Lasiter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rosalie Putman	No	No	No	No
Barney Benson	No	No	No	No
Eva Dennis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

How do you stay organized? Does your genealogy work flow look like mine? If not, how does it differ? How is it similar? I’m looking forward to hearing how other people process the obituaries and death certificates they receive. 

My Great-Grandparents

I have 4 sets of great-grandparents with 8 total individuals.

Set # 1 were my mom's mom's parents: Thelma Louise Lasiter (1912-1996) and James Putman Lasiter (1908-1974)
Set # 2 were my mom's dad's parents: Nova Lee Peters (1908-2000) and Orville Godwin (1905-1956)
Set # 3 were my dad's mom's parents: Kathryne Blanche Hill (1912-1992) and John Brooks Binns (1910-1989)
Set # 4 were my dad's dad's parents: Reba Fox (1920-2003) and Claude Rual Smith, Jr (1919-1996)

I knew and interacted with 6 of my 8 great-grandparents throughout most of my childhood - Louise "Mamaw" Lasiter, Novi Martin, Blanche Binns, Johnnie Binns, Reba Smith and "Big Daddy" Smith. James Lasiter and Orville Godwin both died before I was born. Orville Godwin and Novi Peters were my only set of divorced great-grandparents. Orville Godwin was murdered in his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the young age of 51.

The 6 great-grandparents I knew all lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, with the exception of the Smiths who lived out in the country in Kibler, Arkansas (near Clear Creek State Park).

Obituaries and Death Certificates
I have the obituaries of 7 of the 8 of my great-grandparents that I obtained either from family members or from the Fort Smith Library's microfilm collection of newspapers, including the Southwest Times Record, and associated online archives. I do not have a copy of the obituary of my Mother's Father's Father, Orville Godwin, who died in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I do, however, have a copy of the news article that was published about his murder.

I have four death certificates - Blanche Hill Binns, for Nova Martin, Louise Lasiter, and James F Lasiter Sr.

I created a checklist to see if I had obtained copies of all of the obituaries of my great-grandparents, and also to see if I had scanned and transcribed them, and saved them to the notes section of my Family Tree Maker software and created source entries for them. Here are my results:

Obituary Resources

Name	FTF Notes?	FTF Source?	Scanned?	Transcribed?
Nova Peters	yes	yes	yes	yes
Orville Godwin	no	no	no	no
James Lasiter	yes	yes	yes	yes
Louise Benson	yes	yes	yes	yes
John Binns	yes	yes	yes	yes
Blanche Hill	yes	yes	yes	yes
Reba Fox	yes	yes	yes	yes
Claude Smith Jr	yes	yes	yes	yes

Death Certificates

Name	FTF Notes?	FTF Source?	Scanned?	Transcribed?
Nova Peters	yes	yes	yes	yes
Orville Godwin	no	no	no	no
James Lasiter	yes	yes	yes	yes
Louise Benson	yes	yes	yes	yes
John Binns	no	no	no	no
Blanche Hill	yes	yes	yes	yes
Reba Fox	yes	yes	yes	yes
Claude Smith Jr	yes	yes	yes	yes

Results:
I have copies of 7 of the 8 great grandparents' obituaries which were scanned and saved to my harddrive. I have transcribed them, pasted them into the notes section of my genealogy software, and entered them as sources in my database and attached them to the basic facts (birth, death, marriage) of my great-grandparents and added them as sources to any relatives' names that are mentioned.

I only have copies of 4 death certificates - one of them is the original copy of my great-grandmother, Nova Martin's death that my grandfather gave to me. I scanned the copy and saved to my hard drive. I then transcribed it and added it to the notes in my genealogy software and added as a source. I obtained a copy of my great grandmother Blanche Binns' death certificate from my grandmother who had a copy of it in her scrapbook. I scanned it right from the scrapbook and saved it to my hard drive. I transcribed it, added it to the notes section of my genealogy software and added it as a new source.

Since I originally published this post, I ordered two additional death certificates - those of my great grandparents on my Mother's side - Louise (Benson) Lasiter and her husband James P Lasiter. I had put them off because I already have all of the vital information that is provided on the death certificate from the obituary and from my grandparents' tales. However, these certificates are available and should be included in my great-grandparents' files. They cost $10.00 each and took 4 weeks to arrive. I ordered them from the Arkansas Department of Health via an online form that I printed and mailed in to them, along with a check for $20. Update 7/27/09 & 2011: Copies of these two death certificates were received and scanned, transcribed, added to the notes section and source section of my family tree file.

Goal: To obtain copies of the rest of my 4 great-grandparents' death certificates!!

Two George Brooks Men of Caswell County

Tonight I consolidated 3 separate documents I have relating the story of two young George Brooks men - the individual family tree maker database files for both men; the Brooks Family Will Books.doc, and the George Brooks.doc files.

Information on the older George Brooks who was possibly the man who willed his Revolutionary War land in TN to my Christopher Williams Brooks was also consolidated in the two word files.

I have information stored in multiple locations for two reasons: 1. if I lose one file, that information is stored in a second location; 2. One of the files is simply all about any men named George, with some explanation of the different men. The other file is all about ALL men named Brooks. I use this one so I can see relationships between the individuals and their family members.

I have included an introduction below to the two different George Brooks men of Caswell County. I hope to post my completed files to this blog some day. However, most of my preliminary information was taken from Will and Deed book abstracts by Katherine Kerr Kendall and need to be verified with original documents obtained at the State Archives.
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There were two George Brooks men living in Caswell co., NC in the early 1800s. They were first cousins: George son of Jonathan, born abt 1790 (according to the 1830 Caswell Co census report), and George son of Charles, born 1787. The older George moved to Stokes Co., NC in 1820 after marrying Elizabeth Courts, also from Caswell Co., NC (1820 Stokes Co census report). George and his wife Elizabeth Brooks of Stokes Co. sold 206 acres of land on waters of Hogan’s creek in Caswell Co., NC to Obadiah Nunally on 25 June 1820. This George administered his father's estate in Caswell Co., NC in 1816 before removing to Stokes Co., NC. I believe his mother Sarah remained in Caswell Co., NC. There was an estate record for a Sarah Brooks in Jan 1841, Caswell Co., NC. I believe this to be the widow of Charles and mother of George who removed to Stokes County. George administered her account in 1841-1843. It was a significant account, therefore I believe Sarah to have been a widow. It is possible this Sarah was the wife of George, son of Jonathan; but I don't believe it plausible because this deceased had such a considerable estate. Additionally, there was an elder Sarah Brooks who was tracked on the Caswell County census reports prior to this estate record who fit in as the deceased in these estate records. I have included below all deed and will book entries for both George Brooks and have noted to which George they refer if known. All entries have been included in both George Brooks' family tree files.

An Elder George Brooks - Caswell Co., NC

An Account of an original Caswell County, NC settler, George Brooks and his possible relation to my ancestor, Christopher Williams Brooks:

1777Caswell County, NC Tax Records, 1777:
Glouster District, George Brooks, 650 Acres, 7 wp, 0 bp
- Where did this 650 acres come from? I did not see a land grant in Caswell, Orange, or Granville County, NC Land Grants. Maybe he bought it from someone in Orange County? Or it came from Lord or Earl Granville? (Caswell Co was formed from Orange Co in 1777)
1779

North Carolina Land Grant, 1779, File no. 444: 300 acres, Entry no. 622 entered 11 Jan 1779; Grant no. 605, issued 13 Oct 1783; Book 53, p. 25; Located on the Middle fork of the South Fork of Country Line Creek

Deed book A, page 144, 1779: State of NC – No. 57, to Elisha Parks, 300 acres on both sides of middle fork of south fork of Country Line Cr adjacent claims of Samuel Kelly, William Gooch, George Brooks, John Anthony, Elijah Mason. 3 May 1779. chain carriers John Anthony, Ransom Atkinson. (Abstracts, p. 9) This 300 acres of land was then sold by Elisha Parks to Thomas Johnston of Culpepper Co (see below). [Note: this was probably taken in March; The date of May was probably a mistake by the abstractor. Subsequent deed information continues to be dated in March.] Source: Caswell Co., NC Deed Books, 1777-1817, Abstracts, Katherine Kerr Kendall, p.9

Deed book A, page 175, 1779: State of NC No. 66 to Henry Williams, 216 acres on branches Shaws, Toms and Stoney Creeks adj William Brown, claims of Arthur Lovings, John Brothers. 3 Mar 1779. chain carriers Wm. Brown and Geo Brooks Jun. (Abstracts, p. 11)

Deed book A, page 296, 1779: Elisha Parks of Caswell Co., NC to Thomas Johnston of Culpepper Co., VA for 1000 lbs, 300 acres on middle fork of Country line Creek adj claims of Samuel Kelly and William Gooch, John Anthony, George Brooks, claim of Elijah Mason, said land granted by NC to Parks 3 Mar 1779 adknowledged. (Abstracts, p. 18)

These deeds provide evidence that there was another older George Brooks who lived in Caswell Co in 1779; since he owned land, he was born at least before 1758 (had to be 21 to own land). Could this be the George Brooks who heired land that he received as a Revolutionary soldier in TN to Christopher Williams Brooks? There was no George Brooks on the 1790 or 1800 Caswell Co., NC census report, so either he died or he moved. (Probably he died because he heired the land to Christopher). The next George is not enumerated until 1830 in Caswell co., NC. He was the son of Jonathan and Ann Lewis Brooks (According to Kay Haden...Charles and Sally Brooks' son George moved to Stokes/Forsynth Co., NC). There are no George Brooks men in the Person Co deed book (1792-1825) or census reports.

TO DO:
Look for references to this George Brooks as a soldier in the American Revolution. Did not have a pension because he probably died prior to the law passed by Congress.

Flippin - Brooks NC Connections

In an earlier post, I noted that a Dorothy Brookes married Thomas Flippin, 1769, Gloucester Co., VA. They had 3 known children, - Armistead (b. 1770), Jenny (b. 1775), and Thomas Flippin (b. 1773) - who were born in Gloucester Co., VA. and recorded in the Kingston Parish Registry.

Although Dorothy Brooks' parents are not known by me at this time, I believe she is connected to one of the Thomas Brooks families of Gloucester Co., VA and Caswell Co., NC.

The following are Brooks - Flippin references from Caswell Co., NC:

April court 1790 - Henry Flippin, orphan of Thomas Flippin, late of Gloucester Co., VA, chose Thomas Brooks Sen. to be his guardian. Thomas Brooks Jun, attorney, was appointed power of attorney to demand and receive all negroes, money, etc. due said orphan from the estate.

January Court, 1794 - Armistead Flippin reported the inventory of the estate of Thomas Brooks, dec'd.

April Court 1795 - Armistead Flippin purchased items and reported on the sale of items from Thomas Brooks' estate (co-admin. Jane Brooks)

[Note: I am not sure if the Thomas Brooks estates in 1794 and 1795 are for the same person because Jane is only mentioned as co-admin on the later one - To Do: Copy and review estate file of Thomas Brooks, 1794, Caswell Co., NC]

April Court 1798 - Jane Brooks and Armistead Flippin produced an account settlement for the estate of Thomas Brooks, Jun. (listed payments to persons)

Note GS 5/18/07: It is possible that Jane Brooks was the wife of Thomas Brooks and she administered his estate along with Armistead Flippin. Jane was probaby "Jenny" Flippin from the Gloucester Co., VA Kingston Parish Registry, daughter of Thomas Flippin and Dorothy Brookes, born Feb 10, 1775. Kay Haden (khaden at comcast dot net) included this information in the pdf file she sent to me on 5/17/07 on Jonathan Brooks. In her file, she listed Thomas Brooks Jr married Jane "Jenny" Flippin 16 Feb 1791 in Caswell Co., NC. She cited W. Leigh Brooks and IGI as her sources for this information.

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Additional Flippin family references in Caswell Co., are:

Janurary court 1804 - Armistead Flippin is allowed to keep 1 negro named John from the estate of Henry Dixon Jr; The legatees "agreed he shall keep for his share of estate."

Note: Armistead Flippin must be connected to the Dixon family somehow to receive items from his estate.

In 1808, Samuel Flippin purchased items from the estate of Phillip Cox.

Thomas Flippin & Dorothy Brookes, 1769, Gloucester Co., VA

According to the Kingston Parish Registry of Gloucester Co., VA (later Matthews County):

Dorothy Brookes married Thomas Flippin, Feb. 23, 1769. License. p. 227

• Armistead Flippen, son of Thomas and Dorothy. Born December 12, 1770 and Baptized February 6, 1771. p. 38
• Jenny Flippen, daughter of Thomas and Dorothy. Born February 10 and Baptized April 1, 1775. p. 159
• Thomas Flippin, son of Thomas and Dorothy. Born May 29 and Baptized July 27, 1773. p. 154

Humphry Flippin md Sarah Davis, Nov. 18, 1766. p. 226

• Thomas Flippen, son of Humphry and Sarah. Born August 24 and Baptized September 20, 1767. p. 32
• Sarah Flippin died May 18, 1772. p. 110

Humphry Flippin md. Mary Keys, Sept. 24, 1775. Banns. p. 232

• Nancy Davis Flippin, duaghter of Humphry and Mary. Born June 19 and Baptized July 3, 1776. p. 162
  

Flippin, Machen, son of John and ________. Baptized January 8, 1775. p. 158

Source: Matheny, Emma R., comp. Kingston Parish Register. Richmond, VA: 1963; A copy of the compilation can be found online at ancestry.com.

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Kingston Parish, Gloucester / Matthews Co., VA

Yesterday I emailed Kay Haden who posted a rootwebs family tree file that included information on the Brooks, Williams, and Holderness families. In her file, she lists Thomas and Mary Blacknall Brooks as the parents of Elizabeth (md. Holderness), George, Charles, and Christopher Brooks (md. Susannah Williams). In her email, she listed the Kingston Parish Registry of Gloucester (later Matthews Co.), VA as her source for the information on George and Christopher Brooks. I found copies of the registry online on ancestry.com. I was able to pull all of the references to the Brook(e)s families, as well I found the connection to the Flippin family.

There were 17 entries for Brook(e)s family members in the Kingston Parish Registry of Gloucester Co., VA (Kingston Parish became Mathews County, VA in 1791). Some of the entries indicate time of birth, marriage, death, and familial relationships. There are two page numbers listed at the end of each entry, the first is the page in Matheny's book; the second page number is the page of the original vestry register.

Thomas Brooks & Mary Blacknall Family:
Thomas Brooks married Mrs. Mary Blacknall, Dec. 16, 1749, by Rev. Richard Locke. License. (3/217)

1. George Brookes, son of Thomas and Mary. Born May 8 and Baptized June 12, 1757. (32/14)

2. _______her Brookes, son of Thomas and Mary. Baptized February 1_, 1755. No page listed.

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George Brooks & Susannah Davis Family:

George Brooks married Susannah Davis, May 18, 1756. (3/221)

1. John Brooks, son of George and Susanna. Born May 8 and Baptized November 15, 1767. (32)

2. Joyce Keeble Brookes, daughter of George and Susanna. Born May 30 and Baptized June 30, 1762. (32/23)

3. Nancy Brookes, daughter of George and Susanna. Born January 20 and Baptized March 13, 1774. (32/156)

4. Susanna(h) Brookes, daughter of George and Susannah. Born April 21 and Baptized June 16, 1765. (32/28)

5. Thomas Brookes, son of George and Susanna. Born February 26, 1757. (32/14)

6. William Brookes, son of George and Susanna. Born October 12 and Baptized December 9, 1770. (32/38)

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Dorothy Brookes & Thomas Flippin Family
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Other miscellaneous Brook(e)s family entries:

Johannah Brookes married Henry Robinson, Nov. 7, 1765. License. (19/225)

Mary Brookes married Thomas Jones, May 12, 1763. License. (224)

Ann Brooks married Christopher Dawson, June 25, 1758. (6/222)

Ann Smith Brooks, daughter of Richard and ______. Born April __, 1770 and Baptized April 11, 1770. (32/37)
Joseph Brooks married Frances Murry Killigrew, Dec. 29, 1754. (3/220)

Source information: Kingston Parish, Virginia Register, 1749-1827 by Matheny, Emma R., comp. Richmond, VA: 1963. Source Location: Ancestry.com & Olivia Raney History Library, Wake Co., NC

Caswell Co., NC 1784 Tax List - BROOKS

BROOKS Family
Caswell County, NC

Source: Caswell County NC Will Books 1777 – 1814, and 1814-1843 (Abstracts) by Katherine Kerr Kendall

1784 Tax List

NC State Archives, Book C.R. 020.701.1, Compiled by Henry E. Kendall

St. David’s District:

Thomas Brooks - 810 ac. on Moons Creek, 1wp, 2 bp. (p. 140)

Charles Brooks – 0 ac, 1wp, 0 bp

Nash District:
Artha Brooks – 450 ac. On Bowl’s Branch, 2 wp, 1 bp

John Brooks – 415 ac. On Bols Branch, 1 wp, 0 bp

Tabitha Brooks – 0 ac., 1 wp, 0 bp

(Became Person Co in 1792)

Caswell County, NC Land Grants - BROOKS

Caswell Co., NC Land grants from the State of NC, card catalog:

George Brooks:
File no. 444, 300 acres, Entry no. 622 entered 11 Jan 1779; Grant no. 605, issued 13 Oct 1783; Book 53, p. 25; Located on the Middle fork of the South Fork of Country Line Creek

Arthur Brooks:
File no. 1062, 149 acres, Entry no. 149, entered 1 Jan 1780; Grant no. 973, issued 18 May 1789; Book 72, p. 63; Located on the waters of Mayo Creek

File no. 8, 640 acres, Entry no. 50, entered 10 June 1778; Grant no. 8, issued 3 Mar 1779; Book 35, p. 8; Located beginning at a post oak on VA line.

File no. 1044, 156 acres, Entry no. 114, entered 1 Jan 1780; Grant no. 1006, issued 18 May 1789; Book 71, p. 239; Located on the Waters of Mayo Creek.

Caswell Co., NC Land Grants for WILLIAMS family

The Parentage of Christopher William(s) Brooks, Part 3

This weekend I visited the NC State Archives and searched for Christopher William(s) Brooks' Father, Christopher Brooks (Sr.) who supposedly married Susannah Williams. I searched the following records for Christopher Brooks Sr:

• Caswell Co., NC List of Taxables for 1777, 1780, & 1784 , microfilm, Call No. 020.70001

• Caswell Co., NC Index of Recorded Wills, 1777-1926, Volume 1, microfilm, Call No. 020.81001

• Caswell Co., NC Record of Wills, Volumes A, B, C, microfilm, Call No. 020.80001. These records were also abstracted by Katherine Kerr Kendall's "Caswell County, NC Will Books, 1777 – 1814 & 1814 - 1843" which can be searched on ancestry.com

• Caswell Co., NC Loose Papers of Estate Files, Call No. 020.508.080 - On 3/18/2006 I noted that there was a folder for Christopher Brooks, 1782 with Henry Williams as administrator; I can not find copies of these papers; Should be with my Christopher W. Brooks papers from 1840 and 1851. To Do: Locate and copy Christopher Brooks' estate papers from 1782

• Land grants from the State of NC, card catalog: Granville, Caswell, Orange, Edgecombe Counties

• Caswell Co., NC Index to Real Estate Conveyances, Grantors and Grantees, microfilm

Unfortunately Christopher Brooks was not listed in any of these records. I did, however, find references to other families of interest and will post those results separately.
As a side, I also searched these records for George Brooks, who most researchers believe is the father of this Christopher William(s) Brooks. I did find some references to him here.

The Parentage of Christopher William(s) Brooks, Part 2

With all the confusion about who Christopher William(s) Brooks' father was, I started wondering what event occurred that first pointed me in the direction of Christopher Brooks Sr and Susannah Williams as Christopher William(s) Brooks' parents. Here are some details:

Henry WILLIAMS mentioned daughter Susannah RICE in his will written 1785. By that time, Susannah was already remarried to William Higgason RICE. Their Caswell Co., NC marriage bond listed Wm H. Rice and Susannah BROOKS, married 20 Dec 1784. According to the Caswell Co., NC Guardian Accounts, William H. RICE was legal guardian of Christopher Williams BROOKS in 1797; Caswell Co., NC Record Book C, p. 262, October Court 1797: Christopher Williams Brooks orphan in acct. with William H. Rice guardian. Cash paid to George Somers, William Holderness; tax paid for 1795 and 96. (Katherine Kerr Kendall's abstracts of Will Books, 1777-1814, p. 57).

Additionally, when Christopher Brooks Sr died in 1781, there were several court record entries for the administration of his estate:

• December court 1781 Susannah Brooks resigned her adminisration of estate of her husband (Christopher Brooks) to her father, Colonel Henry Williams. (Source: Historical Abstracts of the Court of pleas and Quarter Sessions Minutes of Caswell County, Kendall: p.7, Dec 1781)

• Adminstrators Bond in the amount of 500 pounds, dated 4 Dec 1781 signed by Henry Williams and Nath'l. Williams in presence of A. Murphey to bind Henry Williams as Administrator of Christopher Brooks, Deceased. Caswell County March Court 1782 - Inventory of estate of Christopher Brooks returned by Henry Williams, Administrator, and ordered to be recorded. Sold by David Shelton, Sheriff 24 Jan 1782. Buyers included Susannah Brookes, Henry Williams, William Holderness, Nath'l Williams, John Pane, Thos. Brookes.