Genealogy Report: Descendants of Henry Brooks
Descendants of Henry Brooks
1.HENRY1 BROOKS was born Abt. 1639 in Cheshire, England, and died 1713 in New Haven, Connecticut.He married HANNAH POTTER December 21, 1676 in New Haven, CT, daughter of JOHN POTTER and ELIZABETH WOODS.She was born 1631 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, and died November 07, 1723 in New Haven, Connecticut.
Notes for HENRY BROOKS:
The Genealogy of the families of Henry and John Brooks, who emigrated
from Cheshire, England, about A.D. 1660,
and from whom the present town of Cheshire, CT, received its name. It
originally belonged to the town of Wallingford.
The following record of births, marriages and deaths was copied from the
Town Records of Wallingford: Hannah,daughter of John Brooks, born 9th
Feb. 1663; Ruth, born 7th Feb. 1665; Sophia Elizabeth, born 6th Dec.
1663,Matthew Ford, and Mary Brooks were married by me, William Jones,
Justice of the Peace, 12th July 1674. Henry Brooks and Hannah Blakely
were married by me, Wm. Jones, Justice of the Peace, 21st Dec
From: Christopher Brooks <[email protected]>
Subject: [BROOKS-NE] CT Founder: Henry Brooks of Wallingford/Cheshire, CT
Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 12:36:32 -0500
HENRY BROOKS and his brother John are said to have emigrated
from Cheshire, England ca 1660 to CT, eventually settlling at
Wallingford, which they renamed Cheshire for their ancestral home.
Holmes, who should be considered no more than a tertiary source,
says he was of New Haven, 1670, and that he "removed
to Wallingford with his brother in 1685."
Married, 21 Dec 1676 Wallingford, HANNAH POTTER, widow of
Samuel Blakely or Blakesley.
Recorded as a proprietor at Wallingford as late as 1713.
One known child:
THOMAS (2), b. 27 Mar 1679 Wallingford; there married, 25
Mar 1702, MARTHA HOTCHKISS. 10 children b. Wallingford:
1.Stephen, 28 May 1702, m. Hannah ____
2.Mary, 14 May 1704, m. Nathaniel Bunnell
3.Thomas, 14 Feb 1706, m. Desire ____
4.Enos, 15 Feb 1708, m. Tamar Wooster
5.Cornelius, 10 Sep 1711
6.Martha, 21 Feb 1714, m. Samuel Coles
7.Mehitabel, 23 Apr 1716, m. Edward Gaylord
8.Benjamin, 23 Apr 1720
9.Henry, 2 Mar 1723, m. Mary Cooper
10.Thankful, 19 Dec 1725, m. Nathan Gaylord
Basic References:
New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, vol. 5,
Jul 1851, pp. 355-57, "Brooks of Cheshire, CT" by Elihu Yale
Clarence Almon Torrey, "New England Marriages Before 1700,"
p. 102
Frank R. Holmes, "Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New
England Families 1620--1700, New York, 1923, repr. Genealogical
Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1989
The Names Of The Proprietors Of New Haven, CT,.
In The Year 1685;
Charles William Bradley, Esq..;
New England Historical & Genealogical Register
Volume 1, April 1847, p 157-158
James BISHOP, Esq.Henry BRISTOLLHenry GLOVER
William JONES, Esq.John BROCKETTMr. John GOODYEAR
Major John NASHJohn BROCKETT, Junr.John HANCOCK
Mr. James PIERPONTJohn BROOKSMr. John HARRIMAN
Serjt. John ALLINGHenry BROOKSJames HEATON
Mr. James ALLINGEleazer BROWNNathanael HEATON
Phillip ALCOCKSamuel BROWN
(partial list)
Henry/1c Brooks was born, according to family tradition, about 1639 in County Cheshire, England, and served as a farrier with Oliver Cromwell's army.1,2 But if the legend of service under Cromwell be true, Henry must have been born earlier. Oliver Cromwell's military years in the field may be roundly dated from 1643 to 1653. A boy of say 12 or 13 years would be underaged and undersized for the role of farrier in the horseshod cavalry. Alternatively, the Cromwell in question might be Robert, Oliver's son and successor as Lord Protector. Service under Robert in the late years of the Commonwealth (Henry's late teens) could place Henry in England as late as 1659, the year the younger Cromwell resigned his office.
Henry Brooks removed to present-day Connecticut, date unascertained, perhaps with his brother John. Yale dates the emigration of both men at "about 1660," while Holmes places Henry at Wallingford, 1650, and New Haven, 1670. Holbrook's reconstructed CT census of 1670 does not include Henry at all. Jacobus says only, "of NH."3,4,5,6 Henry married, as her 2d husband, 21 Dec 1676, probably at New Haven (also rec. Wallingford), Hannah Potter, widow of Samuel Blakeslee.7,8,9
In the 3d division of lands at New Haven, 1680, Henry Brooks was enumerated with 5 heads, 23¾ acres, and taxes of £19.10 A list compiled at New Haven 22 Dec 1712 records both John and Henry Brooks as New Haven proprietors in 1685.11 At a New Haven town meeting, 27 Dec 1686, a highway in the Governor's quarter was "to be continued begining near the house or shop of Henry Brookes and runneth through the quarter into the plains…."12 8 Mar 1685/86, Henry Brooks requested the town grant him 2 acres of boggy meadow near the fresh meadows in the plains.13 A list of New Haven freemen dated 18 Jan 1702/3 contains an x by his name, designating that he had died or removed from the town.14
Says Yale, "From 1685 down to 1704, John and Henry Brooks were on the list of the proprietors of Wallingford," just north of New Haven.2 He did not yet remove there, however. 3 Apr 1704, Henry Brooks was still on the New Haven tax list with 4 persons, 18 acres in the sequestered land, and 9 acres in the half division. His rates (taxes) had been "35" in 1683 and "65" in 1702.15
23 Apr 1705, Henry's only son Thomas purchased land in the West Farms section of Wallingford. 9 Jan 1706/7, the town admeated Thomas Broox an inhabetant upon thatt land he purchest, and Henry joined his son in West Farms.16 Thomas and two other residents subsequently petitioned the General Assembly to separate from Wallingford, and Thomas named the new town Cheshire in honor of his father.17
Jacobus says Henry died in 1713. A footnote in the published New Haven Town Records says, "Henry Brooks died in 1713, exact date not ascertained, but apparently between April and November."8,14 9 Nov 1713, Henry Brook was (posthumously?) granted a 6-acre lot in the 2d division of sequestered land at New Haven.18
Source Citations:
Holmes, New England Families, 32-33.
Yale, 355.
Holmes, New England Families, 32-33: 1649.
Yale, 355: ca 1660.
Jacobus, Ancient New Haven, 2:336, Fam. 1, John: "of NH".
Carol Reynolds, citing Holbrook, CT 1670 census.
Torrey, New England Marriages, 102, Henry Brooks: "widow of Samuel Blakely or Blakesley": 1723.
Jacobus, Ancient New Haven, 2:336, Fam. 2, Henry.
New Haven VR, 43, Henry Brooke/Hannah Blackly m.
Atwater, Hist. New Haven, 26–27.
Powers, New Haven Town Records, 3:319.
Powers, New Haven Town Records, 3:41.
Powers, New Haven Town Records, 3:27.
Powers, New Haven Town Records, 3:194.
Powers, New Haven Town Records, 3:212.
Beach, Hist. Cheshire, 47-48.
Jean McKee, BROOKS-NE-L posting of 7 Dec 2002.
Powers, New Haven Town Records, 3:342.
Marriage Notes for HENRY BROOKS and HANNAH POTTER:
American Marriages Before 1699
NameSpouceMarriage DateMarriage Place
BLAKESLEY, Hannah (widow)Brooks, Henry21 December 1676New Haven, Conn.
More About HENRY BROOKS and HANNAH POTTER:
Marriage: December 21, 1676, New Haven, CT
Child of HENRY BROOKS and HANNAH POTTER is:
2. | i. | LT. THOMAS2 BROOKS, b. March 27, 1679, New Haven, New Haven, CT; d. July 20, 1732, Cheshire,Ctae53. |