BROOKS

(a recount of her family history)

By Jewell Comer Turner

William Ellison Brooks was born July 14, 1846, to Lewis^{^[1]} and Nancy Hale Brooks. At that time, the family lived in Washington County, Tennessee. Nothing is known of his brothers and sisters, but his father, Lewis, was the son of James Brooks, whose wife’s maiden name was Johnson. Sara Nancy Hale was the daughter of Richard Hale, who married a Miss Stone.

Very little is known about this branch of the Brooks family except that William E. grew up on a small mountain farm where it was almost impossible to eke out an existence. When he was seventeen, he was affected by an uncontrollable desire to join the army. He registered for enlistment in the Union Army on February 23, 1863, at Jonesboro, Tennessee. He was sworn in Company D of Tennessee’s 8^th Calvary on September 16, 1863, at Greenville, Tennessee. On March 9, 1864, our subject was wounded in the Battle of Chattanooga, placed on a troop train and brought to a military hospital in Nashville.

At the time he was wounded, his gun, a Cab Sabin[2], was torn to pieces. His injuries were not only serious but he was accused of being neglectful for losing his gun. He was asked to pay for the gun and also his uniform. The he could not do, as he had only drawn two government checks and never drew any more before he was mustered out. His absence from the battle front was unexplained during the time he was in the Nashville hospital. In January, 1865, he was located and arrested for apparently being AWOL. He was then placed in a Knoxville Military Prison.

News from his home was scarce while in the army, but he did receive the sad news of his mother’s death. It seemed to him only a short time until he heard of his father’s second marriage.

The loss of his mother along with someone taking her place, his unjust imprisonment, and the injuries he had received caused a bitterness that make him resolve never to return home. Because of this, we have never been able to learn much about his family’s early history.

William Brooks was mustered out of the army September 11, 1865. At that time his company was encamped in south central Kentucky. He worked for the next four years as a share cropper. During this time, he met Mary Elizabeth Arterburn, a fair eighteen-year-old beauty. They were married in the latter part of 1869.

To them were born nine children in a period of twenty-six years. Alice, the oldest, married Jacob Emberton, and they were the parents of five children. Alice died March 17, 1932.

The next daughter, Mollie, was the second wife of Henry Soards and the mother of four children. After Henry’s death, Mollie married Bill Jenkins. She died January 1, 1941[3].

The third daughter, Lela Frances, married Bert Downing and they were parents of eight children. When the mother was in labor with the first child, the husband was in tears and told his sister, “This is the last one.” She answered, “No, Bert, this is the first one.”

William Monroe was the first boy born to this union on July 23, 1879. He married Maudie Jenkins. They had five children, three of whom lived to adulthood.

The next son, Ulysses (Les), married Betty Lloyd [4], who died young, leaving two small boys, Homer and Herman. The father took the two little boys and moved up north. He married again and we have never known the second set of children.

Homer and Herman Brooks have both come back to Kentucky. They cannot find their mother’s grave although they know she was buried in Neal Cemetery about 1914. They wish to erect a monument but are saddened that they do not know where to place it.

Burley was next in line. He married Bertha Lloyd. They had eight[5] children, and the wife died in 1963. About six weeks after Bertha’s death, Burley told his sister, Lillian, that he was looking for a new wife. The sister reproved him and told him he should show more respect for his first wife. He said, “Lillian, she is just as dead as she will ever be.”

The next child was Lora May, born January 15, 1888. Lillian Mayme followed on May 5, 1890. The youngest was Wanie, born February 12, 1895.

William Ellison’s wife, Mary Elizabeth, died March 18[6], 1896. Eight months later, he married a Miss McCue. Three weeks after his second marriage, he contracted pneumonia and died, leaving his new wife with nine stepchildren. The six older children married or secured homes in a short length of time. Lora, Lillian, and Wanie were left at home with the stepmother. The poor lady was losing her mind and meted out unusual and cruel punishments when the children got out of line in the least.

Two-year-old Wanie was naughty, and the stepmother took off his clothes and put him in a tub of ice water. Often the children had to sleep under the house with the chickens. Once she made two-year-old Wanie walk two miles although nine-year-old Lora was begging to carry him. The baby was crying because his little legs were so tired.

The stepmother died in a mental institution. Then, the three younger children were passed around among brothers, sisters, and strangers. Wanie spent much time with his sister, Lela. He and his nephew, Guy, were about the same age and bosom friends. Guy wanted Wanie to have something like everything he received. He was quoted, when he was very young, as saying, “Tanks for Guy a tāta and tanks for Wanie a tāta.” Both boys were in World War I. Wanie returned, but Guy did not.

Lillian remembers most being punished by having her hair pulled by a red-haired woman. She can’t remember for what she was being punished. At this place, a black woman took eleven-year-old Lillian away from the house and instructed her to leave the place at the first opportunity. She said, “Go any place, but just leave here.” Soon Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Harlin, who were childless, were passing in a buggy. Lillian stopped them and insisted on going home with them. This was the wisest thing she ever did, as they gave her a home that was ideal for that day and age. Soon after this, Lora and Wanie went to live with older brother William Monroe. Lora became very ill with typhoid fever. Dr. C. C. Riggs (Gamaliel’s second doctor), lived on an adjoining farm to the Brooks family. He insisted on bringing the patient to his home while she recuperated. While there, a romance developed between Lora and the doctor’s son. They were married in June, 1909[7], and became the parents of four children, only two of whom survive.

Lillian married Estis^{^[8]} Comer October 3, 1909. Their five children and seven of their great grandchildren still survive. There are also nine great grandchildren.

Wanie married Wealtha[9] Harlin on December 10, 1922[10]. He died with cancer of the pancreas September 19, 1953. Wealtha died of the same ailment March 26, 1960. There were no children.

It has been impossible so far to trace the Brooks ancestry very far, but it is believed that the line was originally spelled Brooke.

[2] The spelling of this gun may not be correct as I can find no references to a gun by this name

[5] The original document listed 6 children, but there were actually eight.

[6] Other records list March 19^th, 1896 as the death of Mary Elizabeth Ellison

[7] Other records list this date as Aug. 29, 1909

[10] Other records list this date as Dec. 18, 1922