Home of the Brooks Genealogy Historical Archive

and Reference Library

Last update:

Q: How do I get started with researching my genealogy?

A: Genealogy research starts with you! After you have your personal record put together, branch out like the branches of a tree to the members of your family... and so on and so on...

Here is a good starter page to help you get started...

http://www.usgenweb.com/research/starting.shtml

You can use Ancestry's Family Group sheet as a method to collect your data...

http://www.ancestry.com/trees/charts/familysheet.aspx?

Q: How do i post a query on your site?

A: The forum page is located at the link below.

http://brookshistorian.org/forum/phpBB2/index.php

1) Choose a forum under Queries with the correct spelling of the last name, in your case it would be BROOKS.

2) Click on the name it takes you to the forum.

3) If you have a new query click on NewTopic

This will prompt you to log in. (If you are not a registered member… you will need to register first before that step. There is no charge for registering… its just a way that I can keep out spammers who ruin the usefulness of the forum. If they post spam they will be deleted.)

4) Once you log in,  it will take you to a message creation screen where you can post a new ‘topic’ or query.

5) Type in your query or cut and paste it from your text editor and then post it or you can preview it  and edit it before posting and then post it.

The system will return you back to view your post or back to the forum if you select that option.

The forum is a very common program and they all work pretty much the same way…

There is a FAQ or ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ area that has a help guide on using the forum. Look for that at the top of the page under the main page heading that says THE BROOKS HISTORIAN.

To reply to a query you need to view the query first and then click the Post Reply button. This puts your reply in the same section as the original query so that others who browse the messages can find it under a related post..

Q: Where does the surname 'Brooks' come from? What nationality is it?

A: There are many variations of the Brooks name. Most are from Europe. Some are African in decent and received their surname from the Europeans that had them as slaves...

According to the House of Names website, "Brookes is one of the names that was brought to England in the wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Brookes family lived in Essex. The name, however, derives from the family's former residence in Broc, in the area of Anjou, France. Spelling variations include: Brook, Brooke, Brookes, Brooks, Brecks, Broocks and others.First found in Essex where they were granted lands by William the Conqueror for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Henry Brooks of Boston, Massachusetts, who settled in 1630; John Brooke of Montgomery, Pennsylvania, and William Brooks of Virginia settled in 1635." "Motto Translated: By persevering"

Don't believe everything you read... Some companies make this stuff up to sell products to you... 'take it with a grain of salt'...

Another definition: Derivation of "brook," or a small stream. Also a name given to those who came from Brooksbank, the name of several places in England derived from Middle English "brokes" for brook and "bank" for bank.
Surname Origin: English  - Most of the records I have seen are of English origin... however there were Scots and Irish of this name as well. I have been told that the Rousseau name derives from Brooks, however I have not verified this.

Alternate Surname Spellings: BROOK, BROOKE, BROOKES, BROKE, BROOKING, BROOKINGS, BROOKSBANK, BRUX, ESTERBROOK, BROOX.
 

In the Scottish tongue to 'Brook' something (verb) is to bridge it... or make a connection across it or join things or ideas.

There are some famous Brooks in history and they are well documented. One well known Brooks in US history was the Hon. Preston S. Brooks for whom Brooks County was named in Georgia. He was widely renowned in the Southern states for his vigorous defense of 'Southern rights' before the congress of the United States of America. He was in the national spotlight on May of 1856 for hitting Senator Charles Sumner with his cane  in the capitol in Washington, D.C. Preston Brooks was born in Edgefield, South Carolina on August 6, 1819 and died suddenly in Washington D.C. on June 27th, 1857, at the age of 38 years. - "The History of Brooks County, Georgia" Huxford, 1858-1948.

There is also a great line of succession for the 'Baron of Cobham' in which there are named numerous Brooke descendants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Cobham

There are several coats of arms for Brooks that have been well documented. I will have to look them up again and post them here...

If you have any comments or more to add to this please e-mail me - webmaster@brookshistorian.org

Bill Brooks, Webmaster