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.

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.

George Brooks, Supposed Father of Christopher Williams Brooks - Records Search Results

Many researchers believe George Brooks to be the father of Christopher William Brooks, b. 1781. A land grant was issued to George Brooks, Sgt by the state of NC for 1000 acres in Maury Co., TN for Revolutionary War Service. The land grant stated that the land was to be transferred to Christopher Brooks, "heir of George Brooks." Because Christopher Brooks was still a minor, the land grant was then transferred to Henry Williams, whom I believe to be Christopher's grandfather (assuming Christopher is son of Christopher Brooks Sr and Susannah Williams). After Henry Williams died, Elizabeth Williams, his wife and executrix of his estate, sold his interest in this land to Nathan Williams (probably son of Elizabeth and Henry Williams) in 1813.

Today, I searched for George Brooks in the these records at the NC State Archives, 109 E. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC. My goal was to find some hint of relationship to other Brooks family members. Although I did not see mention of any family members, I did find the following records:

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

• 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.

• 1780: I only looked for Christopher Brooks. I don't believe George Brooks was listed.
• To Do: Look up George Brooks in 1780 tax list
• 1784: No George Brooks

2. 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

• I don't think I looked specifically for George Brooks here; if so, it was a younger George Brooks who is the son of Charles & Sally (Williams) Brooks
• I did not find an older George Brooks in the Will Book abstracts using Ancestry.com's search function either

3. Caswell Co., NC Loose Papers of Estate Files, Call No. 020.508.xxx

• Although I did not review the specific folder on this trip, I am fairly certain there were no BROOKS estate folders at the Archives (I inquired in June 2005)

4. 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

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

• These records need to be searched again. The Grantors index was indecipherable because the pages copied were too light. To Do: Review Kendall's Deed Abstracts 1777-1817 at the Olivia Raney History Library

The Parentage of Christopher Williams BROOKS

There are Revolutionary Land records that give 1,000 acres to Christopher Williams Brooks, "heir of Sgt. George Brooks"; This has led researchers to believe that Christopher Williams Brooks was the son of this George Brooks. However, I am trying to prove that this is not the case, that Christopher Williams Brooks is the son of Christopher Brooks and Susannah Williams (dau of Colonel Henry Williams). It is possible that C. W. Brooks was a nephew, and George and Christopher Brooks Sr were brothers. My goal is to find the original land grants to see 1) if it really says "George" and 2) if it indicates a better relationship between George and Christopher Williams Brooks.The TN archives charges $20 to photocopy and mail the land grants. I pinged the TN mailing lists and got some responses - one poster said that the records are microfilmed and are very hard to read. I would hate to pay $20 for something that I could not even read.