South Carolina Roots: G4 Lewis Chamblee & Sara Mary Polly Burriss (Bouroughs)

Researching my 3rd Great-Grandmother, Rina Chamblee, I found that she married at 12 years old. Why would her parents allow her to do that? Hopefully, delving deeper into their lives will help me come up with an answer.

Lewis Benjamin Chamblee was born in 1776 in Anderson, South Carolina. How interesting to find a family connection there as I lived near there from 2008-2009 while teaching at Clemson. Lewis was born to Irish-born Isaac Chamblee and Lucretia Jones, which makes him a first generation American.

In 1803, at the age of 27, he marries his niece, Sara Mary "Polly" Burriss in Charleston, SC. She was 25, and the daughter of his much older sister Sara Mary Chamblee and Joshua Burriss or Boroughs. Immediately, they began having children and did not stop for 30 years. They had at least 12 children in total. My g3 grandmother was the youngest. Perhaps the reason they married her so young was that they were ready to retire from child-rearing.

In 1834, Lewis buys 40 acres of land in Pickens County, Alabama.

However, in 1840, they are still living in Anderson, SC, Lewis's hometown. Lewis was a farmer and he owned 3 slaves. Two years later, Sara Burriss was dead at age 64. Rina would have been 10 years old when her mother died.

This is, I'm sure, why her father married her to Pleasant Moorehead at age 12.

But first, Lewis would move his family to his 40 acres in Pickens County, Alabama. There, they engaged in farming in what is called the Black Belt, a region of fertile black topsoil. In 1850, at the age of 74, Lewis was still farming and his estate was worth $7800. Quite successful!

However, after that census, he would not live long to enjoy his wealth and success. Lewis died at age 79 in 1855. The date is not known and his gravesite has not been found. What is known is that he died before his way of life was changed forever by The Civil War. He died not knowing failure and hardship, unlike the fate of his children.

Lewis and Sara Mary Polly's legacy is a long one and impressive in scope.


Their first child, James Burriss Chamblee was born on January 7, 1803. He married Nancy Agnes Watson and they had 8 children, mostly boys. He fought in the Civil War. He was a farmer and owned slaves. After the war, a black farm laborer, a domestic servant and her 1 year-old baby lived with them. He died in 1880.

John David was born the next year on June 23rd. He married Sarah Fergusen. At some point before 1850, they moved to Leake County, Mississippi. This is quite possibly why his sister Rina moved to Leake County with her husband Pleasant Fortune Moorehead at that same time. He and Sarah had 9 children.

Then came Jane in 1807. She married an A. Gilmore, according to another researcher, but that has not been confirmed. It is not known when she died or if she children.

Next came Malinda in 1808. She married a Strickland and had at least 3 daughters, Malinda, Nancy, and Lina. I believe Malinda and her husband must have died before 1850 because in 1850 the three girls, 16, 11, and 8, and living with their grandfather Lewis.

Sarah was born in 1816. She married Reddin Eatman and they had 10 children. They lived in Greene County, Alabama all their lives. She died in 1878.
There might have been a daughter Martha next, but no records can be found.

Elizabeth "Betsy" was born in 1820. She married Matthew Snipes and together they had 14 children. Unlike many of her brothers and sisters, she did not move to Alabama. Rather she stayed in Anderson, South Carolina her whole life. She had her first child at age 13, so marrying early takes precedent in this family.

Rachel was born in 1822. No information has been found, so she may have died young.

Sallie was born in 1824. When she was 20, she married James C. Langdon. They moved to Leake County, Mississippi and had 10 children over the span of 20 years. She died in 1880 at the age of 56.

Next born was Isham or Isam, or he and Sallie may have been twins. Isham married Isabella Elizabeth Cochran at age 22. They had 8 children together and lived most of their lives in Alabama and then they moved to Freestone, Texas in 1870. They lived there until he died at the advanced age of 96 in 1920. Isham was a soldier in the Confederate Army and a stone mason.
Jacob was born in 1825. He married Charity Cockrell and they had 10 children. They lived in Alabama all their lives. I have not found anything which states he fought in the war, which is unusual. If one brother did the others usually did.

Lastly, my g3 grandmother Rina Theresa was born in 1832. She married Pleasant Moorehead when she was 12 years old. They had 8 children and lived most of their lives in Mississippi. Much more about her can be found in a separate post.

Maternal Grandmother's Family: G3 Pleasant Fortune Morehead and Macarina Theresa Chamblee

After spending over a year on my father's side of the family and my mother's paternal family, I am turning towards my mother's maternal side of the family, the Days-Spencer. Other family researchers have explored the Days extensively, and I am thankful for that. For now, I have chosen to focus on the Spencer side of the family, which is all knew territory and hard-going.

Not much is known about this side of the family because my great-grandmother, Sarah Alice Spencer, was orphaned at a young age. She literally lived in an orphanage and her children said she never spoke about her time there or her family very much.

For this post, I will explore the lives of her maternal grandparents: Pleasant Fortune and Rina Morehead.

Where Rutherford County is located

Pleasant Fortune Morehead was born on December 11, 1823, in Robinson Creek, Rutherford County, North Carolina to parents David Morehead and Sarah Fortune. He was born just ten months after his parents married.



Chimney Rock in Rutherford County and Lake Lure.



He was the oldest of 13 children. At some point between 1830-1840, PF strikes off to Mississippi. In 1841, he is recorded in Attala County, Mississippi. He is 18. It is not clear what he is doing there. Somehow, he makes his way over to Western Central Alabama. It is there he meets the french-derived Macarina Theresa Chamblee. They were married on November 14th, 1845. He was 21. She was 12. Though she doesn't have her first child until the age of 16, this is very distressing. Rina was the youngest child of Lewis Chamblee and Mary Buriss. Was it possible they fell on hard times? Did they need to unload her?

In any case, soon after they were married, PF enlists as a private in the company commanded by Sydenham Moore, the 1st regiment of the Alabama Volunteers commanded by Col. James R. Coffee. He enlists in April, 1847 at Eutaw, Alabama in Greene County. They were called the Eutaw Rangers.  In a letter to his wife, Moore writes that his regiment has not moved as expected, and he expresses frustration at their lack of involvement in the fighting; he blames their commanding officer for this: "You have no idea how impatient we become at being left behind when others are sent on. Our regiment seems destined to play no important part in this war...It is all owing, I believe, to the low repute in which our Colonel is held. Every day he is cursed more & more by the officers & men of the regiment. Many have said to me, 'If you had been elected we would have been at Monterey and had some chance to distinguish ourselves.'" He discusses sickness among the soldiers and conditions in camp, where the weather is hot and the men are annoyed by pests such as fleas and "giggers" ("an insect here which penetrates the feet, gets sometimes under the nail and deposits its eggs. If they are not destroyed they will ruin the feet and cause all the toes to come off").

They did end up going to Mexico and seeing quite a bit of action. PF was discharged in March 1848. PF and Rina remained in Alabama for a short while, long enough to have their first child, Landerson, in 1849. By 1850, they have moved West to Neshoba County, Mississippi. By then, PF's father and family have also moved to Neshoba County from North Carolina, and PF, Rina, and Landerson live down the street from them. PF's father is a farmer. PF claims to be a Baptist. Now, this must mean his occupation was Baptizing people. I didn't know this could be an occupation. His personal worth at that time was only 230 dollars.

By 1860, however, things are looking up. PF and Rina live in Leake County, just east of Neshoba. PF is a farmer and is still performing baptisms. They've had many more children and have also increased their personal wealth a great deal. Their real estate is worth 2,000 and their personal wealth is 9,000. A fortune for 1860. PF's younger brother, David, 21, also lives with them and helps on the farm.

His father David has also moved to Leake County. His real estate was worth 5,000 and his personal estate was 2200. He must have owned a great deal of land and a fine plantation home. His children were attending school, which means they didn't have to work the farm, which means they more than likely owned slaves.

David would die later that decade in 1867 at the age of 71 in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. Why he was in LA, I have no idea. Will investigate further.

In her application for a widow's war pension, Rina explains that their house was burned and PF's papers were destroyed in the fire. It is more than likely that their home was destroyed during the Civil War. I suspect that David's, being a large home, was also destroyed. Perhaps that's why he was in Louisiana, scouting new property.

1870 finds PF and Rina back in Neshoba County to the west. PF is solely a farmer now. Their estate is not worth nearly as much as it was the decade before. Their real estate is 1300, their personal estate is 900. Like so many after the civil war, the glory days are over. In fact, PF would die in 1871 at the age of 48 on October 5th. Why did he die so young? Why did he quit baptizing? Did he lose faith? Was he depressed? Could he have ended his own life? Or did some accident or harm befall him? I will continue to investigate.

This leaves us with Rina and how she spent the rest of her life. When her husband died she was only 39.

1880 finds her still in Neshoba County. She keeps house. Three of her sons live with her and are farm laborers. One daughter lives with her and helps her keep house. One boarder also lives with them. She lives down the street of her daughter Sallie, my g2 grandmother and her family.

In 1897, she applies for her first widow's pension.

By 1900, she has given up her own home. She lives with her youngest son, Albert, and his family in Neshoba County. He is a farmer.

It is not known at this time where she was in 1910. I could not find her living with any of her children. It's possible she lived with one of her grandchildren.

In 1919, she makes another appeal for a widow's pension. She is living just to the South in the adjacent county of Scott.

She cannot be found in the 1920 census either. She died on July 17th, 1923 at age 90. An impressive feat for a woman in this day.

Pleasant and Rina's legacy:

Landerson, b. 1849, married Georgiana Josephine Banks. They had 9 children. Landerson died in 1910 in Scott County, Mississippi.

Sarah "Sallie", my g2 grandmother, was b. 1853. She married Thomas Caldwell Spencer. Together, they had four children. Sallie died when she was 54.

Marietta, b. 1856, married Oliver Eatman. They had 3 children. They lived a great many years in her mother's home state of Alabama. She died in 1939 in Blosshing, Alabama.

Tempa Ann, b. 1859, married Andrew Jackson Eatman. They lived in Leake County, Mississippi all their lives. They had 5 children. She died in 1922.

James Webster, b. 1861, married Mary Mattie Cooper in 1886. They had 9 children. He was a general farmer mostly in Scott County, Mississippi. He died in 1946.

Joseph Swain, b. 1863, married Lavina Jane Barrett in 1883. They had 6 children. The family is pictured here:

Standing L to R is John H. (age 11), William "Pleas" (age 15) Joseph T. (Joe) (age 13). Seated is Warren "Harrison" (age 9), Swain (age 36), Grady Burton "Judge" (age 3), Lavina Jane Barrett, (age 46), and Rodger (age 6).   Lavina would be dead two years later.

Madora, or Dora, was born in 1868. She married Lecil or Lemmuel Barrett (probably a sibling of her brother's wife.) They had 9 children. They moved around a bit, Memphis, Neshoba, and finally settled in Lamar County. Dora died there in 1938.

Lastly, John Albert, born 1869. He married Leona Williams in 1895. They had 8 children. Like his brothers and fathers before him, he was a general farmer mostly in Neshoba County. By 1930, he'd moved to Newton, Mississippi though he continued to farm. He died in 1952 at age 83.

Missouri People: G3 Midget Brooks (1794-1875) & Rebecca O'Neal (1802-1870)

Midget Brooks (1794-1875) & Rebecca O'Neal (1802-1870)

Midget was born in 1794, the exact date is not known, in Hyde County, North Carolina, close to the outerbanks, to the Revolutionary soldier Thomas Brooks and his wife Angelica Riordame. Before 1820, he moved with his family to lust mountains of East Tennessee. It was there he married Rebecca O'Neal, the daughter of his father's war friend and North Carolina neighbor. They married on August 24th, 1820 when he was 28. She was 18 and not educated.

The next year, they had their first daughter, Mary. Mary never married and lived with them when they were elderly.

***

Their next child was Robert Bailey. His story: 

Born on October 3, 1823 in Henderson County, Tennessee . The family record shows that Robert Bailey Brooks, the son of Midget Brooks and Rebecca O’Neal, got married while living in Henderson County, Tennessee to his first wife, Nancy E. Rhodes, who was born in 1828. While living in Henderson County, Tennessee Robert Bailey Brooks and his wife Nancy E. Rhodes had three children: 1) Mary Jane Brooks born 07 Nov 1846; 2) Rebecca S. Brooks born 03 Nov 1848; and 3) William Calvin Brooks born 03 Mar 1852.

Tragically, some time between 1852 and 1855, Nancy died.   He then married his second wife, Martha Jane Phillips, who was born in 1837. Goodspeed’s History of Southeast Missouri published in 1888, page 1184, and family records state that the family of Robert Bailey Brooks set off from Henderson County, Tennessee on their way to Missouri in 1855.

They crossed the Mississippi River near the vicinity of Dyer County, Heloise , Tennessee by boat over to  Island #18. This island was in the middle of the Mississippi River on the Tennessee side between Dyer County , Heloise , Tennessee and Pemiscot County , Cottonwood Point, Missouri. Island #18 is where Robert Bailey Brooks and his family lived until late in 1856 when they moved to Pemiscot County , Cottonwood Point, Missouri . While the family was living on Island #18 Robert Bailey Brooks and his wife at the time Martha Jane Phillips had a son named James Franklin Brooks born on 27 Jul 1856.  

Robert Bailey Brooks enlisted in New Madrid County, New Madrid, Misouri in the 1st Missouri Infantry, Company B, CSA (Confederate States Army) sometime between 1861 and 1862. Goodspeed’s History of Southeast Missouri states that Robert Bailey Brooks fought in the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee (April 6 – 7, 1862) and the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi (October 3 – 4, 1862). 

Once Robert Bailey Brooks moved to Pemiscot County, Cottonwood Point, Missouri with his family, he had two more children with his second wife Martha Jane Phillips; 1) Nancy Brooks who was born in 1859 and 2) Carle Thomas Brooks who was born in 1861. Sometime after the birth of Carle Thomas Brooks but before 1870, Martha died.   

He married his third wife while living in Pemiscot County, Virginia Township, Virginia, Missouri sometime in 1870. Her name was Lucinda Smith. She died in 1873, without having any children.

Bailey married his fourth wife, Annie Prock, in 1873. By Annie Prock,  Baileyhad a son born in 1873 named Louis (Lewis) M. Harper. Annie Prock died in 1877.

After the death of Annie Prock, Robert Bailey Brooks married his fifth wife named Nancy Grubbs. Nancy Grubbs died in 1882. They did not have any children together.

On 06 Jan 1882, Robert Bailey Brooks married his sixth and last wife Martha J. Bowen (or Brown) who was the widow of Joseph Bowen (or Brown).  

Around 1890, Robert Bailey Brooks, the son of Midget Brooks and Rebecca O’Neal, built a house in “Upper Cooter” on the outskirts of what is today Steele , Missouri and moved his family there. The present day location of the house built by Robert Bailey Brooks was on Main Street (Route 1) going toward Interstate 55, first house on the right after crossing Cooter Road. Robert Bailey Brooks lived at this house that was located in present day Pemiscot County, Route 1, Steele, Missouri until his death on 25 Feb 1903.  

The following is the obituary of Robert Bailey Brooks: 

 Uncle Bailey Brooks passed away to him home beyond this life on February 25, 1903. He was sick only a few days having been stricken with pneumonia. Uncle Bailey as he was always called was the second of seven children born to Midget and Rebecca Brooks. He was born November 26, 1823 in Henderson County, TN. He remained with his parents until he was 21 years old when he began farming for himself. 

       In 1856 he moved to Missouri and located near the foot of Island #18 where he lived one year. Then he moved to the farm where he died. He was married six times. His first wife was Nancy Rhodes who bore him three children, two of whom are living, W. C. Brooks and Rebecca Davidson. His second wife was Martha Phillips who became the mother of four children. One is now living, James Franklin Brooks, His third wife was Lucinda Smith who lived only three years. His fourth wife was Annie Prock who lived four years. Two children were born to them of these L. M. Brooks is the only one living. He then married Nancy Grubbs who died five years after. His last wife, Mrs. M. J. Bowen, he married on July 6, 1882.

He was a democrat. During the war he served ten months in Company B, first Missouri infantry, Confederate States Army, and was at the battles of Shiloh and Corinth . At the time he located in Pemiscot County there were only four families in Cooter Township and the county was very sparsely settled. Uncle Bailey was a true friend to those who were in need of his help. Many men in this county at present owe their start to Uncle Bailey, who helped them in time of need.

He has long been a consistent Christian. Ever since he became a member of the church he has grown stronger in faith and works, which shows that his religion attended him in his season of retirement from the world. He will be greatly missed, but our loss we pray will be his reward. It is hard to give up a dear father, yet we should keep this sweet prayer before us, “Father, Thy will be done.”       

 ***

Midget and Rebecca's third child was Warington C. Brooks (1827-1857). To my knowledge, he never married or had any children. How he died at 30 is unknown.

***

Their next son was James Franklin Brooks (1832-1893). He would become my gr grandfther. He and his wife Sarah Richards would have 8 children, and lived in Pemiscot County, Missouri. Much more about them later.

***

The last boy was William (1838-?). He and his wife Elizabeth had 4 girls and 1 boy: Rebecca, Emiline, Mollie, Thomas, and Sarah. They, too, farmed the land in Pemiscot County, Missouri.

***

They also had a daughter named Polly, but nothing about her is known. She may not have survived infancy.

***

Rebecca died on Christmas Day in 1870 at the age of 68. Midget followed her 5 years later on February 3rd at the age of 75. They are buried together in Pemiscott, Missouri.

A Revolutionary Man: Thomas Brooks G4 Grandfather (1738-1822)

Thomas Brooks G4 Grandfather (1738-1822)

Youngest son of Stephen Brooks and an unknown mother, Thomas was born on March 7, 1738 in Hyde County, North Carolina, not far from the Atlantic ocean. Some researchers claim he was a mariner like his father, though not a pirate like his grandfather. Little data exists to tell us what his life was like in the early years. But research on the spit of land outcropped into the ocean proves their lives were never easy or romantic. Half the year they would have threat of hurricanes, and always the difficulty of trying to grow food from sand, and of making a living from what the sea would bring close.

In 1777, at age 39, he joined the 10th North Carolina Continental Army for a term of 3 years.

Muster Roll

After the war, he met Angelica Riordane. They married in 1783, when he was 45. Her age is unknown, but it is believed she was considerably younger. Together, they had 9 children, but three would die in infancy.

I believe their first two children were twins: David and Thomas Jr., born in 1784. David died before his first birthday. Thomas Jr. went on to marry and have children of his own. More about him later.

In 1785, Christopher was born. He would live to be 68, married twice, with at least two sons.

Their next son, John, would also die before his first birthday.

In 1790, their son Deuteronomy, was born. Deuteronomy died before the age of 1 .

The next year, their only daughter was born, Polly. She would grow up to marry the son of Thomas's best friend and war buddy, and have children.

In 1792, my g-3 grandfather, Midget, was born. Midget is a strange name, but it was most definitely a local family surname in the outerbanks. He is the reason why I believe Thomas's wife's maiden name was Midgett rather than Riordane, but so far I have not found anything hard to prove it. Much more about Midgett in a separate post.

Stephen is their second-to-last son, born in 1794. He would marry and have children and settle in Missouri.

The baby of the family was Jeremiah, born in 1796. Surprisingly, he and his family settled in Oxford, Mississippi, where I now live. His daughter and her family are buried less than 10 miles from my home.

***

Many researchers believe Thomas's wife Angelica was the daughter of a French man named Denis Riordane, but upon looking closer into the dates of Denis and his Angelica, it is my belief that Thomas's wife Angelica is actually Denis's granddaughter. It is entirely plausible that Angelica the daughter had her own daughter and named her after herself. This was quite common. I saw no evidence that Denis was actually french. In fact, he was more likely to be Irish.

The reason why I have trouble believing there is only one Angelica is the proof that is in Denis Riordane's will of January 18th, 1723:

In The Name of God Amen I Denis RIORDANE of of the prec^t of Corotuck in the County of Albemarle and in y^e Province of North Carolina Being Sick and Weak of Body But of Perfect mind and Memory Blessed Be God for itt and Calling to Mind that It is appoynted... that My Loveing Wife Sarah RIORDANE have and possess all my Lands in this Goverm^t that is to Say

Dureing her Naturall Life that is to Say Not Debaring My Daughter Angilica RIORDANE If She Marry from takeing on any part of my Said Land Dureing her Mothers Life Not Disterbing My Said wife Dureing her Naturall Life afore Said and at my Said wives Decease I Give all my Lands afore Said to my Said Daughter Angilica RIORDANE and y^e heirs of her body Lawfully Begotten If any but If none My Will & Meaning is that My Said Lands Desend and Come to Thomas VINCE and W^m VINCE and to the heirs of there Bodys Lawfully Begotten If any but If they Die with out any Such heirs as afore Said My will and Meaning is that all Land Desend and be to and for the maintaining Three of the Poress [poorest] Men in the Parish and So to Desend and be from age to age for Ever.

farther my will and Meaning is that If My Wife Die and Depart this Life Before My Daughter Angelica RIORDANE Come or attain to y^e full age of Sixteen or Married that My friend Luke WHITE have her and her Estate in his Ceare to Bring up my Said Daughter till She Come to y^e afore Said age of Sixteen or marry but live [next 4 or 5 words unreadable] Possessions. Also My Will and Meaning is that all the Rest of my Movable Estate Both within Dores and With out Excepting one Small Gon [Gun] to be Equally Devided

Between My Loveing Wife Sarah RIORDANE and My Daughter Angelica RIORDANE but Not to be Devided by appraism^t but by Two Members of y^e Court Chosen for that purpose to Make y^e Devision afore Said but If My Said Daughter Should Die and Depart this Life Without Lawful Isue of her Body.

It's obvious from this will that this Angelica was not yet 16 in 1723.

The death date for Thomas's Angelica is 1847, which is documented in government correspondence. Even if Angelica were only an infant at the time of Denis' will, she would have been 120 years old when she died. This is why I cannot say for certain that Thomas married an Angelica Riordane, even though many claim that he did. I'm not sure that this mystery will ever be solved, but I will continue to try.

***

Thomas Brooks' time in the Army is well-recorded, but not for the usual reasons. Late descendants know so much about Thomas merely because years after his death, the government refused to give his children his pension, claiming he was never officially on record, (which is not true,) and because they could not prove Thomas and Angelica were legally married.

Here's what happened:

       On September 5th, 1853, Jeremiah, the baby of the family at age 58, and living in Henderson County, Tennessee at the time, swore an affadavit claiming that:
 ...he is the son of Thomas Brooks who was a private in Captain Wilson's company of the 10th Regiment and served during the war. He further declares that his father died in the county of Wilson in the State of Tennessee in the year 1822 on the 13th of June leaving a widow Angelico Brooks to whom he was married in the county of Hyde in the State of North Carolina. Jeremiah Brooks further declares that his mother, Angelico Brooks, remained a widow until her death which transpired in the county of Henderson in the State of Tennessee in the month of October 1847 and it is believed on the 5th day of that month, leaving four heirs, to wit: Christopher, Stephen, and Jeremiah and Midget. He further declares that his father Thomas Brooks enlisted in the State of North Carolina and that he never received any pension nor his mother Angelico Brooks. He makes this declaration for the purpose of obtaining the benefit of the Act of Congress of July 7th 1832 for himself and brothers.

Thus begins a long, drawn-out drama between Thomas's sons and the Pension Office discussing Thomas's service, the lack of its proof, and whether or not he and Angelica were ever married.

It ultimately ended in their request for a pension being denied four years later in 1857.

With the aid of modern technology, it is now proven that Thomas was in fact on several muster rolls for the NC Continental Army. Though Thomas Brooks' descendents were never given any money for his service.

***

Thomas and Angelica's legacy is one that is very interesting, especially because one of their sons settled in Oxford, Mississippi, a place I've called home for the last 7 years.

Thomas Brooks, Jr. (1784-1857) moved to Greene County, in East Tennessee and married the daughter of a German man, Mary Whittenberg when he was 24. Like any good farming family, they had nine children together: Henry, Nancy, William, Thomas, Manor, Sarah, Stephen, Benamin, amd Mary.

Christopher Brooks (1785-aft 1860) also married a Whittenberg girl, Susan, the youngest of 13 children, on February 19, 1824. They had their first daugter in NC, Nancy, but soon moved to Henderson County, Tennessee, the main county of choice for most of my father's family at the time. They had at least two sons, Alfred Alexander, who married a woman named Nancy Sheppard. Together they had seven children. In 1860, they lived with Christopher and Susan and were farmers. Christopher must have had quite a large estate, as it was worth 1500, a fortune then. Their other son, Christopher, married a woman named Martha, and together they had 5 children: John, Mary, Mariah, James, and Margaret. It seems they were partial to J and M names.

John Brooks (1786-87) died as an infant.

Their next son, Deuturonomy, also died as an infant (1790-91).

Thomas and Angelica had one daughter, Polly (1791-1853). When she was 25, she married Custes O'Neal, the son of one of Thomas's war buddies and neighbor. It is unknown whether or not they had any children.

Their next son was Midget (hopefully pronounced the French was with the silent "t".) He would become my third great grandfather. At 28, he marred Rebecca O'Neal, who I believe was a sister to Custes. Farmers, too, they would have 6 children: Polly, Mary, Robert Bailey, Warrington, James Franklin (my g-2), and William. Between 1850-1860, they moved from Tennessee to the banks of Missouri. Much more about them later.

Marriage certificate

Stephen Brooks (1794-1853) married Maria Swiney on September 30, 1818. They had only one child that I have been able to unearth, James Harrison Brooks (1821-1891). James was an interesting find, though, because he was a farmer turned Indian doctor apprentice. How that came to pass is still unknown. As far as I know, he was not part Indian, unless his mother Maria was.  He and his wife Dolly populated Arkansas with their 10 children.  This is a photo of one of James' children, James Winfield "Whistling Pete" Brooks and his progeny:

"Whistling Pete" is the old man seated. Photo circa 1915.

Jeremiah was the last son born to Thomas and Angelia (1796-1860). He married Lucy Nunn and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Laura. Jeremiah and his wife moved to Oxford, Mississippi before 1850. Jeremiah's daughters married local, land-owning farmers and raised their families there. Many of their descendents are still in the Oxford area, though quite a few moved out to Texas and California. As I have devoted many months to researching this distant local branch of the family, I will post about them in more detail later.

Researching Thomas's side has taken much time, but luckily there was much to find. I am still waiting on a packet of information about him from the Green County, Tennessee local genealogical society. Through researching his line, I found a unique tie to a place I thought I wasn't tied to, and that is a precious find indeed.