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| Notes for Warren Dugan BROOKS R1a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous Notes: Grandpa [Warren] Brooks was born on the French Broad River in a little town called Del Rio, in Cocke County, TN. He was only about three months old when his father, Warren Sr., died as a result of injuries received in a brawl (precipitated by a famous Cocke County boxing match). Warren was the youngest of the Brooks children. Nine of his brothers and sisters went west in the late 1800's, but he came east, to Wise County, VA to work on the railroads. He never saw most of his siblings again, but his children remember receiving regular packages of goodies from Warren's Brooks family in Del Rio, Tennessee.5 Notes from ELIZABETH BROOKS BLEVINS - daughter of Warren Brooks, Jr. (June 16, 1988) -Warren Brooks's parents were from Cocke County, TN. He was raised on the French Broad River. -The Stokeleys were originally from a neighboring state. [Note: The Stokeleys had been in TN since the mid to late 1700's so this assertion that the Stokeleys were from another state must have been passed down for several generations. [LKH]] -The family of Warren Brooks, Jr., his brothers and sisters, spread out over the country. No two lived in the same state. -Two of Warren's brothers were killed in the Civil War. -Warren's brother, Charles, died of typhoid and Grandpa often warned against it. [Note: this conflicts with Mildred Brooks's assertion that Warren's brother, Charles, came to visit Grandma after Warren's death. [LKH]] -Warren came to Wise with his brother Charlie. They were very good square-dancers. Notes from CHARLENE BLEVINS HAMM - grand-daughter of Warren Brooks, Jr. (Fall 1994)162 -My Grandma Brooks told me that Grandpa was "Black Dutch". That is definitely something I remember her saying. -The Brooks family in Tennessee sent a trunkfull of silks and lace to Grandpa's family because they were poor. Grandpa had a lot of pride and was ashamed to go visit his people in Tennessee. [Note: Grand-daughter Mildred Brooks states that Grandpa did go visit his sister Rhoda and remaining Brooks family. [LKH]] I guess he didn't make in life what he wanted. He went into business with a guy and got cheated and the business failed. He was working in the sawmill and developed a "rupture" (hernia) which resulted in his death when my mom (Elizabeth Brooks Blevins) was about fourteen. -Uncle Charlie (son of Warren & Ibbie) was an avid reader and he had a photographic memory. An employee of Charlie's called him "the most knowledgable of the Brooks's". Grandpa took the Wall Street Journal. -Warren had a marvellous sense of humor. He was a talented dancer, noted as the best at all the social functions before his marriage. Grandpa and his brother, Charlie, were both good dancers. They came to Wise County together. -Most of Grandpa's family went west to Oklahoma. -Warren was very intellectually inclined. He was a great reader with a thirst for knowledge. Uncle Charlie (Warren's son) was also a great reader. Grandpa was so well versed in Latin roots that he could figure the meaning of most things. -Grandpa left Tennessee and came to Wise with the Railroads to seek his fortune. He then went into business but it failed. He was a poor manager, which worried Grandma. He didn't speak up for himself, so Grandma took management of the household. Grandpa died saw-milling. He got a rupture from lifting. -When Grandma and Grandpa had their first fight, Grandpa bent over to stir the fire she stuck him with a knitting needle. -Grandma was a gifted storyteller and she could tell a story again and again with no deviations. She'd have made a great entertainer.162 Notes from MILDRED BROOKS (Fall 1994)161 -Grandpa was passing through Wise County with the Railroads when he met Grandma. He was from the French Broad River in Tennessee. Before that I think the Brooks's came from North Carolina. Grandpa had a brother named David Brooks, and another one, Charles, who came up from Tennessee to visit with Grandma after Grandpa died. Another brother went to Texas. -Grandpa was very dark, not very tall, and he wore a beard. He could dance very well, and he was a hard worker. He died after surgery for a rupture in October 1923. [Note: This date conflicts with another account that he died when his daughter Elizabeth was fourteen, but aligns more closely to Ted Brooks's assertion that he was sixteen when called to his father's deathbed. [LKH]161 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Some of the memoirs for Warren may contain slightly conflicting information, but I have copied them in faithfully as they were reported to me and have added my comments in red. [LH] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warren Dugan Brooks was born August 8th, 1859. He was the youngest of the eleven children of Warren and Sarah Stokely Brooks, who married in Cocke County, TN, in 1833. They settled in the village of Del Rio, on the banks of the French Broad River to raise their large family. In November of 1859 Warren Brooks, Sr., was killed "in an affray" [read details in the overview for Warren, Sr.]. Warren Jr. was only three months old at the time. Warren Jr. came to Wise County with his brother, Charlie, to work on the railroad. His crew was working on a tunnel in Wise County, when he met Grandma. Grandpa was a solid man, not very tall, with large arms, and a beard (and a mustache). He was very dark but, although decescendants say he may have been "Black Dutch", his only known photo shows that he had very light eyes. He was noted for his size and strength, and his talent as a dancer. Grandma was working at a boardinghouse in Dwina where many of the railroad crews stayed. She was cooking, waiting tables and doing dishes at the boardinghouse when Grandpa arrived. He was almost a decade older than she, and perhaps he didn't immediately notice the twenty-one-year-old. She had tried unsuccessfully to meet him, and finally contrived to drop her handkerchief so that, according to the rules of chivalry, he would have to pick it up for her. Her ruse worked. They married at her step-father's home in Wise County on the 19th of September of 1889. Warren and Ibbia settled in the southeastern section of the county in an area called Dry Fork. The marriage was a lively success. Warren was blessed with a marvellous sense of humor; a fortunate asset since his young wife was mischievous and quick-tempered. On the occasion of their first argument, he bent to stir the fire and she stuck him with a knitting needle. Warren suffered at least one failed business venture. Grand-daughter Charlene Blevins Hamm remembers being told that he often failed to "speak up for himself." Apparently assertiveness was not one of his strengths, and management skills were not among his strong suit either, so Grandma managed the household. Despite his failure at business, Grandpa was bright, and knowledgable. He read voraciously, took the Wall Street Journal, and could deciper the meaning of unfamiliar words by using their Latin roots. He was ashamed of his poverty though, and didn't want his family to know he hadn't done in life what he'd wanted. They must have known of his family's less than opulent circumstances, though, since the Warren Brooks Jr. family once received a trunk full of silks and laces from their French Broad Brooks relatives. Grandpa made a trip with his son, Charlie, to visit his sister Rhoda and the other Brooks's who were still living in Del Rio, TN. Two of Grandpa's brothers were said to have died in the Civil War (he was a small child during the War), another is said to have moved to Texas, his brother Charles came to Wise with him (but where he went afterward is unknown), and several of his brothers and sisters are supposed to have moved to Oklahoma. Grandpa was working as a saw miller when he died. He got a rupture (hernia) and had to have surgery to correct it. There are conflicting family accounts of why and when he died. Some say that he died after developing pneumonia after his surgery; other accounts say that he died of complications from the surgery. His youngest son, Ted Brooks, reports that he was sixteen when Warren died, and remembers being called to his bedside in the hospital. There he was told, "Son, I'm not going to be coming home. You have to be the man of the house now." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comments Notes for Ibbia "Ibbie" LouEmma (Spouse 1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Some of the memoirs for Ibbia may contain slightly conflicting information, but I have copied them in faithfully as they were reported to me and have added my comments in red. [LH] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Misc. Notes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous Notes: Ibbia met Warren when she was working in a boarding house serving meals to the boarders. He had come to Wise County from Tennessee to work on the railroads and was staying in the boarding house where she worked.5 Ibbia was very religious, something she tried to instill in her children. She either had utter success or complete failure in this respect. She impressed early onto my grandmother's [Hazel Brooks Corder] impressionable young mind the importance of "saving her soul". Ibbie [Pronounced I-bey] married again, long after her first husband, Warren, had died. Her second husband committed suicide, according to information given me by my grandmother, Hazel Brooks Corder. She says: "He went to the outhouse and shot himself". [LH] The following notes were solicited from descendants of Ibbia Kennedy Brooks. Some of the information conflicts with other records: Notes from ELIZABETH BROOKS BLEVINS - daughter of Ibbia Kennedy Brooks (June 16, 1988) -Ibbia had a miscarriage around 1896-1900. -Ibbia's father died before she was born. -Ibbia Kennedy had an inheritance in Ireland and her cousin, Dave Kennedy, swindled her out of it. [Note: This is a tradition among older members of the family and has not been substantiated. Since the original Kennedy immigrant arrived in, it is highly unlikely that there was any significant "inheritance" to be had in Ireland. The story seems to be based on the fact that "Lawyer Dave" Kennedy went to Ireland to research the family history and afterwards spent or invested a large sum of money. - LH] -The Kennedys came from Ireland. "Mr." Kennedy came with his daughter, Mary. [Unsubstantiated-LH] -[Ibbia's mother] Elizabeth Talbert's people came from England. They lived in Virginia City, Wise, nearby. After Wiley died, Elizabeth Talbert Kennedy married Squire Osborne. -Wiley and Elizabeth Kennedy Talbert came from around the Caney Ridge area of Dickenson County. -Ibbie worked at a boardinghouse at Dwina where the railroad men ate. It was like an inn. She served there and did the dishes. She fell in love with Warren at first sight and dropped her hanky so he'd pick it up. Notes from CHARLENE BLEVINS HAMM - Grand-daughter of Ibbia Kennedy Brooks (Fall 1994 -Grandma had a "stupefying" memory. She could relate things word for word. When Grandma told you something, you could count on it. -Grandma resented her mother's remarriage. She hated her step-father and did not want to share her mother's attention with the man. She loved her mother and begged her not to marry Squire Osborne. He was a bad drinker. Grandma would work to buy her mother nice furniture and Squire Osborne would come in drunk and break it up. She rarely spoke of her biological father. -Grandmother had character. She resented her sister Mary's lack of character. She considered Mary immoral. Mary had a cleft which caused her to have a speech pattern problem. (She was the mother of Ira and Hugh Kennedy.) [Note: This was an opinion held by the subject, Ibbia Kennedy Brooks, only.[LKH]] -Grandma was working in a boardinghouse in Dwina when she met Grandpa. He was a bit older than she was. She dropped her hanky so Grandpa would retrieve it. -Grandma was 30 when mother (Elizabeth Brooks Blevins) was born, and mother was fourteen when Grandpa died (about 1911). -Grandma had "those somber looking people" who stared at you from the walls. Their eyes followed you like George Washington's! She had a family record scroll over her fireplace which Loretta filled out for her. -Grandma had two barrels in the kitchen; one for flour and one for meal. She had an organ in the parlor and cane-back chairs on the porch. -She drew humorous cartoon pictures. Her people looked like aliens. -Grandma was a character. She was very jolly but she had a quick temper. She would take a poker after anyone who called her "Ib". -Grandma kept travelling ministers in her parlor. She had a bed in there along with the organ, and a table and settee. She once kept John Kennedy (any relation?), a preacher who had a thundering voice. Well, he made noises in his sleep and they were very strange, so Grandma and my mom (Aunt Elizabeth) slipped into the parlor with a lamp to check on him. As they leaned over him with the lamp, he woke up, and in that screaming voice he hollered, "What are you doing?" and nearly embarassed them to death. -I met grandma's cousin Dave Kennedy once. He had a son, David, and a daughter, Cleo, who was dark and had long black hair. Grandma said Cousin Dave had traced the family tree. -Grandma moved in with her son Charlie when she was in her eighties.162 This set of memoirs is remarkably similar to Charlene's. Grandma Brooks must've made very similar impressions on people. [LH] Notes from MILDRED BROOKS - Grand-daughter of Ibbia Kennedy Brooks (Fall 1994) -Grandma was a strong personality, she always spoke her mind, but she was a good grandmother. -Grandma was working at a Boardinghouse when she met Grandpa. He was in Wise working on a tunnel for the railorad. After they married, they lived on a farm. -When Grandma's father died, she and her mother and her two sisters went back to live with her mother's family on their farm on the Clinch River. They were the Talberts. My dad (Charles Brooks, son of Ibbia) said that Mary Talbert was "Dutch". -Grandma's uncles, Forrest and John Kennedy, went to Dickenson County to live. -Once my dad (Charles Brooks, son of Ibbia) took Grandpa on the train to Tennessee to visit his sister Rhoda and the rest of the family that was still there. Dad said that Grandpa's mother, Sally (Sarah Stokely) Brooks died of a burst blood vein when she was laughing at a joke. -I never remember hearing Grandma talk about cousin Dave Kennedy. -Squire Osborne's picture hung in Grandma's house with a picture of Mary Talbert.161 Notes from MARLENE BROOKS - Grand-daughter of Ibbia Kennedy Brooks (July 10, 2002) -Mostly what I remember about Grandmother, she loved fruit of any kind. Fresh or canned. Whenever we'd go down there we'd take her some fruit. Fresh if it was in season, canned if it wasn't. -She would tell us some of the most awful scary stories about headhunters, or anything scary. Later on I figured out why she did it. She wanted us to get in the bed and be quiet when she put us there. -She had a featherbed and what was called a cornshuck bed. Every time you moved, the cornshuck bed crackled and made a noise like you were walking on leaves.163 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ibbia Kennedy was born the year her father, Wiley Kennedy, died. Like her husband Warren Brooks, she had no memories of a father. After Wiley's death, his widow and three small daughters went to live with the Talberts in Virginia City a tiny spot-in-the-road in Wise County. Mary Talbert Kennedy remarried to Squire Osborne, a man her youngest daughter despised as a drunkard. Ibbia told her grandchildren stories of working long and hard to save money to buy new furniture for her mother, only to have Squire Osborne destroy all the new pieces in a drunken rage. See Warren Brooks, Jr. for additional information on Ibbia Kennedy Brooks. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Modified 26 Aug 2006 | Created 8 Feb 2007 Laura K. Henderson |
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