Born ca 19 Aug 1760 (g.s.), probably at Glastonbury, Hartford, CT, probably son of Thomas/Susanna Brooks. Connecticut state records show that he and his brother Levi served as privates in Capt. Hale's company of state troops in 1776. He married, by 1778, his 1st cousin Lucy Brooks. "He was a soldier of the Revolution and was at the battle of Bunker Hill", says an 1869/70 gazetteer of Norwich, NY. The baptismal record of his son John, 4 Jul 1778 at Glastonbury, notes that the child was sponsored by his mother alone, "the father being in the Army." Smith's Hist. Chenango and Madison Counties identifies him as a major of militia who played a critical role in the Mohawk Valley campaign of 1777. That this T.B. cannot be the same teenaged youth who served as a private the preceding year is manifest.
About 1783 Thomas Brooks removed north to Franklin County, MA, where he is reported at Leyden in 1783. In 1788 he was at Deerfield, MA, "with wife Lucy and ch. Thomas, John, Elijah, Suretis, Thetis and Clarissa, but they soon disappear." The 1790 census at Deerfield reported a Thomas Brooks household with one adult male, six males under 16 (who would be sons John, Elijah, Thomas, Theseus, Socrates and Clitus), and two females (wife Lucy and daughter Clarissa).
Smith's Hist. Chenango & Madison Counties reports that Thomas Brooks settled about 1790/91 on the west green of what became Norwich, NY, on which he built "a log cabin without using either hammer or nails." Thomas Brooks taught the first school at Plasterville or Sherburne Four Corners (North Norwich, first settled in 1794). They subsequently removed "to the south-east corner of South Plymouth, to the farm now [1880] occupied by Ambrose Bryant." In 1800 he sold his Smyrna farm to Stephen Parker. At Plymouth's first town meeting, held 3 Mar 1807 at the house of Walter Bement, Thomas Brooks was chosen one of three tax assessors. Elected a trustee at the organizing meeting of The Friends to Theological and Civil Society, 9 Sep 1807.
Thomas died on his homestead 30 Aug 1822 (g.s.), "age 62 years and 11 days." His obituary, published in the Norwich Journal, 4 Sep 1822, relates: "On the afternoon of Friday last, Major Thomas Brooks of Plymouth, in this county, was killed by the fall of a tree. … He, one of his sons, and several others were felling trees for the purpose of clearing a piece of land. Two men were engaged in chopping a tree which was hollow. They gave notice of the fact, and cautioned the others to keep out of the way; but they did not move until the tree was about to fall. When the tree started, it appeared to be falling in the direction in which Major Brooks stood; he ran towards the south, and unfortunately the tree fell in the direction which he ran. For some reason unknown, when he had nearly cleared himself from the tree, having but about eight feet further to go to be beyond its reach, he stopped, turned and looked at it, and remained motionless, until the top struck him. The flesh was stripped from one side of his head, but the bone was not fractured. His shoulder and breast were very badly injured. He was taken up and carried into the nearest house, where he lived in great agony for about an hour and a half, and then yielded up his spirit to that God who gave it; and whose inscrutable, but righteous Providence, has called him from his friends and weeping family to an untimely grave. His funeral was attended by a large concourse of people. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Stacy of Hamilton. Major Brooks was one of the few surviving patriots of the Revolution; and has always been respected by his fellow citizens as an industrious and worthy man."
Thomas Brooks died intestate. Probate documents dated 12 Sep 1822 mention (brother) Levi and (son) Cassius C. Brooks. 24 Sep 1822, wife Lucy was appointed administratrix of his estate, which was appraised by sons Clitus and Socrates. Lucy died at Plymouth 31 Dec 1827. They are buried in Stewart's Corner Cemetery, Plymouth, with several of their children. His epitaph reads, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord | In | Memory | of | THOMAS BROOKS | Who died August 30th | 1822: | aged 62 years | and 11 | days. | Husband to Lucy: & Father to John, | Clarisa, Elijah, Thomas, Roswell, | Electra, Socrates, Theseus, Clitus, | and Caius C. The best of Fathers, | how shall we discharge the grat- | itude and duty we owe to him. | For die to live is Christ & to die is gain.
Smith also relates that Thomas Brooks participated in Shays' Rebellion, "a fact which he always admitted and justified."
"Mr. Brooks specially prided himself on the classical nomenclature of his large family of sons — Cassius, Caius, Brutus, Marcus, Antony, Socrates, etc."
About 1783 Thomas Brooks removed north to Franklin County, MA, where he is reported at Leyden in 1783. In 1788 he was at Deerfield, MA, "with wife Lucy and ch. Thomas, John, Elijah, Suretis, Thetis and Clarissa, but they soon disappear." The 1790 census at Deerfield reported a Thomas Brooks household with one adult male, six males under 16 (who would be sons John, Elijah, Thomas, Theseus, Socrates and Clitus), and two females (wife Lucy and daughter Clarissa).
Smith's Hist. Chenango & Madison Counties reports that Thomas Brooks settled about 1790/91 on the west green of what became Norwich, NY, on which he built "a log cabin without using either hammer or nails." Thomas Brooks taught the first school at Plasterville or Sherburne Four Corners (North Norwich, first settled in 1794). They subsequently removed "to the south-east corner of South Plymouth, to the farm now [1880] occupied by Ambrose Bryant." In 1800 he sold his Smyrna farm to Stephen Parker. At Plymouth's first town meeting, held 3 Mar 1807 at the house of Walter Bement, Thomas Brooks was chosen one of three tax assessors. Elected a trustee at the organizing meeting of The Friends to Theological and Civil Society, 9 Sep 1807.
Thomas died on his homestead 30 Aug 1822 (g.s.), "age 62 years and 11 days." His obituary, published in the Norwich Journal, 4 Sep 1822, relates: "On the afternoon of Friday last, Major Thomas Brooks of Plymouth, in this county, was killed by the fall of a tree. … He, one of his sons, and several others were felling trees for the purpose of clearing a piece of land. Two men were engaged in chopping a tree which was hollow. They gave notice of the fact, and cautioned the others to keep out of the way; but they did not move until the tree was about to fall. When the tree started, it appeared to be falling in the direction in which Major Brooks stood; he ran towards the south, and unfortunately the tree fell in the direction which he ran. For some reason unknown, when he had nearly cleared himself from the tree, having but about eight feet further to go to be beyond its reach, he stopped, turned and looked at it, and remained motionless, until the top struck him. The flesh was stripped from one side of his head, but the bone was not fractured. His shoulder and breast were very badly injured. He was taken up and carried into the nearest house, where he lived in great agony for about an hour and a half, and then yielded up his spirit to that God who gave it; and whose inscrutable, but righteous Providence, has called him from his friends and weeping family to an untimely grave. His funeral was attended by a large concourse of people. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Stacy of Hamilton. Major Brooks was one of the few surviving patriots of the Revolution; and has always been respected by his fellow citizens as an industrious and worthy man."
Thomas Brooks died intestate. Probate documents dated 12 Sep 1822 mention (brother) Levi and (son) Cassius C. Brooks. 24 Sep 1822, wife Lucy was appointed administratrix of his estate, which was appraised by sons Clitus and Socrates. Lucy died at Plymouth 31 Dec 1827. They are buried in Stewart's Corner Cemetery, Plymouth, with several of their children. His epitaph reads, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord | In | Memory | of | THOMAS BROOKS | Who died August 30th | 1822: | aged 62 years | and 11 | days. | Husband to Lucy: & Father to John, | Clarisa, Elijah, Thomas, Roswell, | Electra, Socrates, Theseus, Clitus, | and Caius C. The best of Fathers, | how shall we discharge the grat- | itude and duty we owe to him. | For die to live is Christ & to die is gain.
Smith also relates that Thomas Brooks participated in Shays' Rebellion, "a fact which he always admitted and justified."
"Mr. Brooks specially prided himself on the classical nomenclature of his large family of sons — Cassius, Caius, Brutus, Marcus, Antony, Socrates, etc."
Born ca 19 Aug 1760 (g.s.), probably at Glastonbury, Hartford, CT, probably son of Thomas/Susanna Brooks. Connecticut state records show that he and his brother Levi served as privates in Capt. Hale's company of state troops in 1776. He married, by 1778, his 1st cousin Lucy Brooks. "He was a soldier of the Revolution and was at the battle of Bunker Hill", says an 1869/70 gazetteer of Norwich, NY. The baptismal record of his son John, 4 Jul 1778 at Glastonbury, notes that the child was sponsored by his mother alone, "the father being in the Army." Smith's Hist. Chenango and Madison Counties identifies him as a major of militia who played a critical role in the Mohawk Valley campaign of 1777. That this T.B. cannot be the same teenaged youth who served as a private the preceding year is manifest.
About 1783 Thomas Brooks removed north to Franklin County, MA, where he is reported at Leyden in 1783. In 1788 he was at Deerfield, MA, "with wife Lucy and ch. Thomas, John, Elijah, Suretis, Thetis and Clarissa, but they soon disappear." The 1790 census at Deerfield reported a Thomas Brooks household with one adult male, six males under 16 (who would be sons John, Elijah, Thomas, Theseus, Socrates and Clitus), and two females (wife Lucy and daughter Clarissa).
Smith's Hist. Chenango & Madison Counties reports that Thomas Brooks settled about 1790/91 on the west green of what became Norwich, NY, on which he built "a log cabin without using either hammer or nails." Thomas Brooks taught the first school at Plasterville or Sherburne Four Corners (North Norwich, first settled in 1794). They subsequently removed "to the south-east corner of South Plymouth, to the farm now [1880] occupied by Ambrose Bryant." In 1800 he sold his Smyrna farm to Stephen Parker. At Plymouth's first town meeting, held 3 Mar 1807 at the house of Walter Bement, Thomas Brooks was chosen one of three tax assessors. Elected a trustee at the organizing meeting of The Friends to Theological and Civil Society, 9 Sep 1807.
Thomas died on his homestead 30 Aug 1822 (g.s.), "age 62 years and 11 days." His obituary, published in the Norwich Journal, 4 Sep 1822, relates: "On the afternoon of Friday last, Major Thomas Brooks of Plymouth, in this county, was killed by the fall of a tree. … He, one of his sons, and several others were felling trees for the purpose of clearing a piece of land. Two men were engaged in chopping a tree which was hollow. They gave notice of the fact, and cautioned the others to keep out of the way; but they did not move until the tree was about to fall. When the tree started, it appeared to be falling in the direction in which Major Brooks stood; he ran towards the south, and unfortunately the tree fell in the direction which he ran. For some reason unknown, when he had nearly cleared himself from the tree, having but about eight feet further to go to be beyond its reach, he stopped, turned and looked at it, and remained motionless, until the top struck him. The flesh was stripped from one side of his head, but the bone was not fractured. His shoulder and breast were very badly injured. He was taken up and carried into the nearest house, where he lived in great agony for about an hour and a half, and then yielded up his spirit to that God who gave it; and whose inscrutable, but righteous Providence, has called him from his friends and weeping family to an untimely grave. His funeral was attended by a large concourse of people. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Stacy of Hamilton. Major Brooks was one of the few surviving patriots of the Revolution; and has always been respected by his fellow citizens as an industrious and worthy man."
Thomas Brooks died intestate. Probate documents dated 12 Sep 1822 mention (brother) Levi and (son) Cassius C. Brooks. 24 Sep 1822, wife Lucy was appointed administratrix of his estate, which was appraised by sons Clitus and Socrates. Lucy died at Plymouth 31 Dec 1827. They are buried in Stewart's Corner Cemetery, Plymouth, with several of their children. His epitaph reads, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord | In | Memory | of | THOMAS BROOKS | Who died August 30th | 1822: | aged 62 years | and 11 | days. | Husband to Lucy: & Father to John, | Clarisa, Elijah, Thomas, Roswell, | Electra, Socrates, Theseus, Clitus, | and Caius C. The best of Fathers, | how shall we discharge the grat- | itude and duty we owe to him. | For die to live is Christ & to die is gain.
Smith also relates that Thomas Brooks participated in Shays' Rebellion, "a fact which he always admitted and justified."
"Mr. Brooks specially prided himself on the classical nomenclature of his large family of sons — Cassius, Caius, Brutus, Marcus, Antony, Socrates, etc."
About 1783 Thomas Brooks removed north to Franklin County, MA, where he is reported at Leyden in 1783. In 1788 he was at Deerfield, MA, "with wife Lucy and ch. Thomas, John, Elijah, Suretis, Thetis and Clarissa, but they soon disappear." The 1790 census at Deerfield reported a Thomas Brooks household with one adult male, six males under 16 (who would be sons John, Elijah, Thomas, Theseus, Socrates and Clitus), and two females (wife Lucy and daughter Clarissa).
Smith's Hist. Chenango & Madison Counties reports that Thomas Brooks settled about 1790/91 on the west green of what became Norwich, NY, on which he built "a log cabin without using either hammer or nails." Thomas Brooks taught the first school at Plasterville or Sherburne Four Corners (North Norwich, first settled in 1794). They subsequently removed "to the south-east corner of South Plymouth, to the farm now [1880] occupied by Ambrose Bryant." In 1800 he sold his Smyrna farm to Stephen Parker. At Plymouth's first town meeting, held 3 Mar 1807 at the house of Walter Bement, Thomas Brooks was chosen one of three tax assessors. Elected a trustee at the organizing meeting of The Friends to Theological and Civil Society, 9 Sep 1807.
Thomas died on his homestead 30 Aug 1822 (g.s.), "age 62 years and 11 days." His obituary, published in the Norwich Journal, 4 Sep 1822, relates: "On the afternoon of Friday last, Major Thomas Brooks of Plymouth, in this county, was killed by the fall of a tree. … He, one of his sons, and several others were felling trees for the purpose of clearing a piece of land. Two men were engaged in chopping a tree which was hollow. They gave notice of the fact, and cautioned the others to keep out of the way; but they did not move until the tree was about to fall. When the tree started, it appeared to be falling in the direction in which Major Brooks stood; he ran towards the south, and unfortunately the tree fell in the direction which he ran. For some reason unknown, when he had nearly cleared himself from the tree, having but about eight feet further to go to be beyond its reach, he stopped, turned and looked at it, and remained motionless, until the top struck him. The flesh was stripped from one side of his head, but the bone was not fractured. His shoulder and breast were very badly injured. He was taken up and carried into the nearest house, where he lived in great agony for about an hour and a half, and then yielded up his spirit to that God who gave it; and whose inscrutable, but righteous Providence, has called him from his friends and weeping family to an untimely grave. His funeral was attended by a large concourse of people. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Stacy of Hamilton. Major Brooks was one of the few surviving patriots of the Revolution; and has always been respected by his fellow citizens as an industrious and worthy man."
Thomas Brooks died intestate. Probate documents dated 12 Sep 1822 mention (brother) Levi and (son) Cassius C. Brooks. 24 Sep 1822, wife Lucy was appointed administratrix of his estate, which was appraised by sons Clitus and Socrates. Lucy died at Plymouth 31 Dec 1827. They are buried in Stewart's Corner Cemetery, Plymouth, with several of their children. His epitaph reads, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord | In | Memory | of | THOMAS BROOKS | Who died August 30th | 1822: | aged 62 years | and 11 | days. | Husband to Lucy: & Father to John, | Clarisa, Elijah, Thomas, Roswell, | Electra, Socrates, Theseus, Clitus, | and Caius C. The best of Fathers, | how shall we discharge the grat- | itude and duty we owe to him. | For die to live is Christ & to die is gain.
Smith also relates that Thomas Brooks participated in Shays' Rebellion, "a fact which he always admitted and justified."
"Mr. Brooks specially prided himself on the classical nomenclature of his large family of sons — Cassius, Caius, Brutus, Marcus, Antony, Socrates, etc."
Inscription
Husband to Lucy:& Father to John, Clarisa, Elijah, Thomas, Roswell, Electra, Socrates, Thesius, Clitus, & Caius C. The best of Father's. how shall we discharge the great miracle and duty we owe him. For to Live is Christ & to die is gain.
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