Person Page - 3038

       Jonathan/4s Brooks Jr. was born 30 Sep 1745 at Ridgefield, CT.¹ He married Catharine Matthews, daughter of Fletcher Matthews.^2,3 Jonathan/4s Brooks was a member of the Committee of Safety and Observation for the precinct of Cornwall, NY (Orange County), 1775.⁴ His parents subsequently removed to Orange County around 1780. In the 1790 census, Jonathan Brooks of New Cornwall had a household of himself and four other males over 16, three males under 16, three females, and 10 slaves.⁵ His will, dated 21 Aug 1811 at Blooming Grove, NY, gives land, horses, and bedding to sons Fletcher M. and Benjamin Franklin, and to daughter Esther, and gives "my bla[c]k man Abner his freedom in two years from the time of my death."⁶

       Phebe/4s Brooks was born 12 Nov 1746 at Ridgefield, CT.¹ She married Samuel Stiles.²

       Martha/4s Brooks was born 20 Feb 1752 at Ridgefield (also rec. Bethlehem), CT.¹

       Ruth/4s Brooks was born 9 Nov 1753, probably at Ridgefield, CT (also rec. Southbury).¹ She married, 27 Dec 1780 at Southbury, Samuel Munn.²

       Major John/4s Brooks was born 4 Dec 1755 at Ridgefield, CT.^1,2 He removed before the Revolution to Peenbeck, NY, then served a number of enlistments during that conflict in the cause of independence, amounting in all to five years of service.² (His initial service, referenced in pension correspondence and erroneously dated 1776 in John's own pension affidavit, was evidently for the term of six months in 1775, under Gen. Richard Montgomery, "at the taking of St. John's, Canada," which fell 2 Nov 1775.).² He married (1), in New York state by 1779, Rachel Blizzard, the mother of his children.^3,4 He remained at Peenbeck for seven years after the close of the Revolution, during which time his house burnt.² He then spent 10 years in Sullivan County, NY, at least some of these at Neversink, where his house again burnt.² Circa 1800 he removed to Pompey, Onondaga, NY.²
     In 1810 he followed his son John, who had removed the previous year, to Florence, OH, where he was a village trustee, 1817.^5,2 His wife Rachel died at Florence 23 Mar 1826.⁶ He married (2), 7 Jun 1826, Asenath (Mrs. Robey) Smith.⁷ She died at Florence 27 Oct 1827.⁸ He married (3), 21 Oct 1828, the widow Lena Barnes.⁹
          "The story of John Brooks's romances is so interesting one [must] pause to contemplate it. A woman named Barnes came to the settlement and lived there four years. Someone coming from the East told her [that] her husband was dead. This did not cause Mrs. Barnes any great grief, because she [had] left him as he was most unkind to her and to their son, whom she brought with her.
     "John Brooks was a charming gentleman, and when he asked the widow Barnes to marry him, she consented. All of the sons of John Brooks liked Mrs. Barnes immensely. Into this happy family came a letter from the East informing them that Mr. Barnes was still alive. The elders of the church called upon Mrs. Barnes and informed her that if she continued to live with Mr. Brooks she would lose her church membership. This seemed to her so serious a matter, that reluctantly she left her happy home, went to church, as was the custom, publicly confessed her fault and asked forgiveness of the congregation. She and her son lived together, but each day she went to Mr. Brooks's house, where she kept things clean, and washed and mended and cooked for the man she still loved.
     "In a short time came word that Mr. Barnes was really dead. The minister then got a marriage license for her and Mr. Brooks and came to the Brooks home. John Brooks was hoeing in the garden and Mrs. Barnes was in the house. The minister told Mr. Brooks that he had come to marry them. Mr. Brooks leaned on his hoe and eyed the minister coldly. 'No sir, Parson,' he told him. 'We're plenty married enough now. I married her once and I meant it. We've neither of us changed. There isn't going to be any more marrying between us.'
     "Probably Mr. Brooks resented the interference of the church in his affairs. However, Reverend Betts was equal to the occasion. He explained to Mr. Brooks how much Mrs. Barnes wanted to keep her church membership, how much it would mean to her, and at last said, 'Now, Mr. Brooks, I know you won't refuse to do a little thing like this, to please your wife.'
     "Mr. Brooks leaned his hoe against the house and went inside. Mrs. Barnes was washing dishes. Mr. Brooks informed her that they were to be married, so she dried her hands, rolled down her sleeves, and they were married by Rev. Xenophon Betts, and lived happily ever after. The whole Brooks family mourned Mrs. Barnes after her death."¹⁰
     John Brooks married (4), 5 Feb or 16 Mar 1838, in Huron County, the widow Orrilla (Holcomb) Hancock. "Mr. Brooks was never destined to be as happy again as he had been with [Lena Barnes], for though he married the widow Hancock … for his fourth wife, they did not get along. The records say she was 'bought off, and went to Michigan, and afterwards to Missouri.¹¹'" He died in Erie County, OH, 22 Sep 1846 at age 90.² Buried in Cable Cemetery, Florence. "Blockhouses and Military Posts of the Firelands tells us that Cable Cemetery is on Joseph Brooks's lot, and that John, Sr. is buried on John Jr.'s lot with only a DAR marker."¹²
     6 Mar 1833, John Brooks of Florence, OH, aged 77, made affidavit at Norwalk concerning his particularly eventful Revolutionary War service. He declared that on 3 Mar 1776, then a resident of Peenbeck, Ulster, NY, he enlisted as a private soldier for one year's service in the company commanded by Capt. Cornelius Hardenburgh in the 3d NY Regt. of the Continental Line. They marched to Esopus, NY, then traveled by water to New York. Wounded at Flatbush, he retreated with the army from Long Island to Manhattan, remaining there until October, when his unit evacuated the island upon the British capture of Fort Washington. They marched to White Plains, where he was wounded in the action of 8 Oct in his right arm, and subsequently furloughed for four weeks, returning to service about 4 Dec 1776. He went with Washington to Trenton, took part in the successful capture of the Hessian garrison there on Christmas Day, and was there dismissed at the expiration of his term of service.
     He further deposed that about the middle of Apr 1777, having returned to Peenbeck, he again enlisted, this time for the term of eight months, as an orderly sergeant in the militia company of Capt. James Tillford, Col. John Snyder's regt. Stationed at Fort Clinton, about 18 miles below West Point, he was engaged in garrison duty and the construction of fortifications and redoubts at Fort Montgomery. When Fort Clinton fell to the British, he made his escape in the dark, and thence made his way to Newburgh to rejoin his company, continuing in service until his discharge, 7 Dec 1777, having served nine months.
     John Brooks returned to Peenbeck, then enlisted again for frontier service at Fort Dempsey, serving eight months under Capt. Felter on the New York frontier "from Fort Stanwix to Orange County Line." He then joined Sullivan's 1779 expedition against the Iroquois, was engaged in the battle of Beaver Creek against Joseph Brant's force of Mohawks and Loyalists, and there received three different wounds, by Musket Balls Buckshot & Swords. — One of which broke his right thumb which has always since been uselefs to him. In this battle, his regimental lieutenant colonel, major, and company captain (Barzillai Tyler, who had recently appointed John Brooks ensign) were all killed. After the battle Brooks was commissioned lieutenant, which rank he held until the close of the war.
     Discharged in April 1780, he reenlisted (unit unspecified, but probably commanded by Capt. Abraham Cuddeback) and served on garrison duty at DeWitt Fort until the end of the war.² For disability resulting from his wounds, he was pensioned from January 1, 1777, under the act of June 7, 1785. Under the pension act of 1831, he was awarded a pension, 12 Mar 18--, retroactive to 4 Mar 1831, of $80 annually for Revolutionary service.² "While his service record card and DAR records show him as major, his pension record does not reflect this."¹¹
     His widow Orrilla successfully filed application, 4 Jun 1868, for a widow's pension based on his Revolutionary service.²