JAMES BROOKS and ELIZABETH TRAYLOR by Linda Sparks Starr MAR 1993 They married 26 DEC 1782 in Caswell Co. NC with John H. Simpson, witness or bondsman per _Caswell Co. NC Marriage Bonds, 1778-1868_ compiled by Katharine K. Kendall. Her father is the William TRAYLOR who died in Wilkes Co. GA c1792. James was chosen as guar- dian by one of William's children and appointed guardian by the court of another. His father may be the John Brooks Jr. and Catherine as given in _Brooks and Kindred Families_ by Ida Brooks Kellam, 1950; however, records clearly indicate there were two (actually three) James Brooks in GA in 1790. These two Jameses have to be sorted out before moving on to his parents. per _A 1790 Census for Wilkes Co. GA_ by Frank Parker Hudson: one James Brooks lived in the same area as the TRAYLORs -- the area which became Oglethorpe Co. GA in 1793. Other BROOKS in this area were: Benjamin, MIDDLETON, Richard and Thomas. The second James Brooks lived in the area of Wilkes which became Warren Co. in 1793; other BROOKS families residing in this area included Joab, Jesse, Jacob, Jane, John and Micajah. According to Johnella Boynton of Atlanta, GA who sent me the in- formation on this book, Ms Kellam didn't do anything with MID- DLETON Brooks who was closely allied with the above William Traylor; most probably, this Middleton Brooks is somehow related to the James Brooks who married a daughter of William Traylor. per Johnella Boynton: the James Brooks who sold land in Jasper Co. GA in 1808 made his mark as a "B"; the James who sold land in Jackson Co. GA 1809 made his mark more like an "8" with open top. Johnella points out marks did change; however since there were two Jameses in GA in 1790, I believe it highly likely there were two James Brooks in 1808-9. Obviously, "our" James is the one living near the Traylors in 1790 in the area which became Oglethorpe Co. "Our" Sparkses were living in Jackson Co. GA 1806 making "our" James more likely to be the one who sold land in Jackson Co. 1808. However, to put another wrinkle into all this, one James Brooks living in Wilkes Co was dead by 1803 [see below for details.] The earliest reference to our James is the above marriage record in Caswell Co. NC. Caswell Co. was formed from Orange Co. NC in 1777. None of the five James Brooks listed in _North Carolina Tax- payers 1701-1786_ by Clarence E. Ratcliff, 1984 are located in either of those counties. However, the following BROOKS were living in Caswell Co. in 1777: Arthur, David, John and Thomas. Those famiies living in Orange in 1755 were: Jacob, John and Thomas. In 1771 two William TRAYLORs were living in NC--one in Bute Co.-- specific location not given in _The Handybook_ for it was dissolved after only a few years -- and the other in the area which now comprises Franklin, Warren and Vance Counties which lie to the east of "now" Caswell Co. NC.; all of these counties are lo- cated in northern NC adjacent the VA border. According to Ms Kellam, at this time her BROOKS family were resid- ing in Chatham Co. NC; this county is located in the central part of the state, south of "now" Orange Co. and adjacent Randolph County where one of the five James Brooks was located in 1779. There are no listing for Chatham Co. (where Ms Kellam's Brooks families were located) in the Ratcliff book. This all suggests "our" James is not "her" James, but more work needs to be done. KNOWN FACTS ON "OUR" JAMES He died 1828 in Jasper Co. GA. That this one is "ours" is proven by son Paschal probating his estate. "Paschal" as a brother of Sarah Brooks who married John SPARKS is proven in his affadavit signed 1840 in Chambers Co. ALA attesting her marriage to John per her Widow's Pension File located in Nat'l Archives. James Brooks Jr. is another son proved by the above paper. Bevin is a son as he probated James's estate along with Paschall. THIS James was living in or near Jackson Co. GA 1806 for the above Widow's Pension File says Sarah and John Sparks were married in Jackson Co. on March 29 of that year. James was living in Wilkes Co. GA 31 OCT 1792 per "Minutes of the Inferior Court 1792- 1793" as abstracted by Grace Gilliam Davidson in vol. 1, _Early Records of Georgia_, 1932. James Brooks was chosen guardian by Frances Traylor and appointed guardian of Milley Traylor, orphans of William dec'd. He sat on the Petit Jury 6 NOV 1792 per _The Wilkes County Papers 1773-1833_ by Robert S. Davis Jr., South- ern Historical Press, page 131. He probably lived on the waters of Troublesome Branches of Long Creek in Oglethorpe Co. in 1796. Land sold 12 NOV Joseph Reynolds to Joseph Canterbury was bounded on the south by James BROOKS and Catherine Felders. This deed was located in Deed Book B 1795- 1798 per page 19, vol 32, No. 1 "GA Genealogical Magazine". Oglethorpe County was formed from parts of Wilkes and Clarke Coun- ties in 1793. By 1813 this James Brooks had moved south into Putnam Co. GA for he and his son-in-law John Sparks appear on the tax list that year. John Sparks purchased land in Jasper Co. GA in 1814 and was residing on this land when the 1820 census was taken. However, two James Brooks appear in Putnam Co. GA on the 1820 census--father and son; none appear in Jasper Co. MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE JAMES WHO: was listed in "Some GA Revolutionary War Soldiers" by Robert S. Davis Jr. in his reprint of Ruth Blair's _Revolutionary Soldiers' Receipts for Bounty Grants_ per vol. 30, No. 1 page 55 "GA Genea- logical Magazine". Ms Kelliam claims he was a chaplain and a Lt. during the war. [Middleton Brooks served in the Revolution from Halifax Co. VA which is adjacent Caswell Co. NC] rec'd bounty land in Wilkes Co. 1790-1795 per _The Reconstructed 1790 Census of GA_ compiled by Marie de Lamar and Elizabeth Rothstein. [These are different citations for the same bounty grant] was living in Jasper County 1827 who "won" land in Coweta granted 27 SEP 1830. Anyone was eligible to enter this lottery--not just soldiers of the revolution or their descendants. In other words, this James Brooks could even be the younger son of "our" James. NOT THE JAMES BROOKS dead by 1803 for son John Brooks, "son of James", was granted two draws in the land lottery because he was an orphan--suggests both his parents were dec'd for widows with children were en- titled to two draws [p 314, vol. 1 _Davidson Early Records of GA_]