Francis Harvard Brooks

I have written a brief history of my grandfather, Francis H. Brooks, but I have not published it at this time. Several years ago while studing the census records in California for Francis Brooks, I realized that he may have been born in Italy and not in Austria. (More on that discovery later). My grandson, Geoff Brooks, filled a mission in Austria and he has had a interest in the Brooks line of ancestors. He wants to return to Austria and Italy this year with his wife that also served a mission in Italy. We have agreed to buy his airfare to Germany if he will try to find the birth record of Francis Brooks whom we believe was born in Dorf Tyrol, Italy. He is doing some extensive internet research in preparation for this trip. I will include a copy of his email to me regarding his progress as noted below.

Hi grandpa.
I have been very busy with various aspects of this research. I have been spending a lot of time on the web trying to pinpoint which landes archives will have the best chance of having the record. Because of what i have found i highly doubt that the record we are seeking will be in the church in dorf tirol.
The more i have been looking it seems that almost all records have been collected and put together in several locations, i.e. Land archives. I have found 2-3 that i think will have the record. The first is in Bozen. I have the contact information for that archive and i have been working with my friend ENGIN (a friend i made in
innsbruck) to contact them and ask if they have the records from the Dorf tirol. Engo tried last week to call but he didnt realize the number was in italy and not austria, Different country codes, so he thought the number was disconnected. He is going to try again this week. If he is unable to get a hold of them i also have thier email address and i will send them an email towards the end of this month start of next month and see if i can find anything out. I also have been able to make some contacts over there with some church geneology people (ward members). I have one in austria and Ky, my wife, has been trying to get a hold of someone in one of her wards in italy that does genelogy. The second location is the tiroler landes archive. They have mircofilm there from several cities that has to be ordered before hand. (that is in innsbruck) I am trying to find out whhich cities are available. A lot of this is very hard to work through from over here. And i dont think there is enough time to to it all while we are over there. So i am trying as hard as i can to set some things up before hand.. The biggest problem is my german is a bit out of practise so i am taking longer to understand how it works there.
there also might be a land archive in Milan. Both Bozen and Milan are close to Dorf Tirol. I have recently found something that says it wasent until 1939 that it was austrias job to gather records of birth, deaths, marriages ect. Before that time it was the job of the state recognized religous orginizations - on assignment from the government. i.e the catholic church. the article went on to say that many foriegn guests come to tirol to look for thier ancesters hoping to find and complete there family tree. Unfortunatly geneology is only possible if you know the exact village where the baptism, marriage,or death took place. Once you know the place then you need to order the microfilm and look through it. it says that most common on the mircofilms is name registers. It also says that tirol is the first autrian state to have all of the church materials on mircofilm. Ok if that stuff didnt make much sense its because it was translated from german from the tiroler landes archiv webpage it had a whole bunch of tips and information to other sites. So i have not been working on this and i have not forgotten about you, its just been that i have been working on a different aspect of the research. It is so interesting. I am really just trying to insure that our time in austria and italy is best used and that the records that we need are available and that we know where we need to go.
Love
geoff
Anyone reading thsi blog that can assist us in our search in Austria and Italy should contact geoff atgbrooks@gmail.com
RHB

Thoughts of a Genealogist

The hobby of genealogy occupies the spare time of countless numbers of persons who are seeking their roots, i.e., their ancestors. I understand why this is so as I read and study the Second Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, “Behold I will reveal to you the Priesthood by the hand of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the Fathers and the children shall turn their hearts to their Fathers, if it were not so the earth would be utterly wasted at His coming”. We know that Elijah has come and he has indeed planted in the hearts of the children the promises made to the Fathers. The Lord has not forgotten His promises made to the House of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and He did that by sending Elijah the prophet. He truly is planting in the hearts of the children the promise to Israel by Elijah. Many in the world do not understand why they have such a strong interest in their Fathers, but I do. Once Elijah has planted this thought in our hearts, the result is that we turn our hearts to our Fathers and we remember them. The best way to remember them is to find out who they were and receive unto ourselves the joy of our heritage. I suspect that if we could recall our preexistence, and knowing how many of our fathers would come forth onto this earth when there would be no Gospel because of the wickedness of men, we promised them, that when we came to earth when the Gospel is present, that we would remember them and the sacrifices that they made so we could have what we have today. But, many of us who have the most, are caught up in our worldly pursuits and we ignore what Elijah is trying to do. The consequence of planting in our hearts the promises made to our fathers is Genealogy.
I have gone to some effort and expense in making my genealogy available to my kindred, but I see that few have an interest. My PGV web site has been visited by few, but it is probably because few know about it. I plan to broadcast the news of this site to my kindred and invite them to it. Hopefully, it will spark an interest in their Fathers. RHB

Armstrong/Clark Connection

As posted on April 8, 2005, and after a more careful study of the 1850 U.S. Population census, Mahoning County, Goshen Twp; wherein James Potter Armstrong is found living with his wife and six children and others, a John Armstrong also is noted on Pg 562 of the same Census record as shown below:
John Armstrong age 45 farmer Ohio
Pheby A. age 39 New York
Louisa age 17 Ohio
William age 8 Ohio
Clark age 6 Ohio
Sarah A. age 4 Ohio
Mary I. age 2 Ohio
All are born in Ohio except wife, Pheby.

The most interesting person in this family is Clark Armstrong. He has been given the name “Clark” which is a little unusual for an Armstrong given name. As noted in the Blog of April 4, 2005, William Armstrong, the first born son of James Potter Armstrong, files a marriage application to marry Elizabeth M. Clark in 1854, about 10 years after Clark Armstrong is born. Furthermore, Clark Armstrong is found living with William Clark (father of Elizabeth M. Clark) family in the 1860 Census, Mahoning County, Smith Twp. Ohio.
A search of the 1860 Ohio Census for a John Armstrong with a wife Pheby results in nil. He is not to be found. On the other hand, Clark Armstrong, age 24, is found in the 1870 Ohio Census, Mahoning County, Smith Twp. He is apparently married to a Julia M., age 27; no children. In the 1880 Ohio census, Mahoning County, Clark Armstrong is found, age 36, with his wife Julia, age 39, and a son, William, age 9. William is probably their first born son and therefore, their marriage probably occurred about 1869.

Questions:
1. Is John Armstrong, noted above, the brother of James Potter Armstrong?
2. Is the wife of William Clark, Mary A. (born abt 1811), an Armstrong? Perhaps a sister of James and John? (If this is true,, Clark Armstrong left home at an early age to live with his Aunt and Uncle, William and Mary Clark)
3. What are the circumstances in the John Armstrong home that would cause Clark Armstrong to leave and live with the Clark family?

Research Needed:
1.Guardianship records in Mahoning County, 1850 – 1860
2.Wills and Probate records for Mahoning County, 1850 – 1870
3. Track William Armstrong, son of John Armstrong, and search for his records. RHB

Ancestry View

The view of my ancestry as noted in the first post of this blog is incorrectly noted. It should be the following: http://royalbrooksfamily.pgvhosting.com/This link will take you to the correct site. Sorry for the confusion. RHB

Armstrong/Clark Marriage

In my last post(4-8-05), the record indicated therein, shows William Armstrong's intention to marry Elizabeth Mary Clark in 1854 in the Smith Township of Mahoning County. The marriage actually took place the following year, 1855, according to the pension records for William Irwin Armstron. Elizabeth Mary Clarks' family was found still living in Canfield, Ohio in 1860. Her father was William Clark, age 60, a physician, living with his wife,Mary A, (50 years) and three persons; Minerva (30 years), Catharine H (11 years) and Clark Armstrong (15 years). All of these persons in this census record were born in Ohio except for the head of the house, William Clark who was born in Ireland. This fact leads me to believe that Armstrong's and Clark's were closely related before the marriage of William Armstrong to Elizabeth Mary Clark.
Conclusion: Perhaps by tracing the Clark line back in time, it will lead to a connection with the Robert  Armstrong family? RHB

Marriage Applications for early Armstrong families in Ohio 

Armstrong Research, James Potter Armstrong

In the search for the parents of my 2nd great grandfather, James Potter Armstrong, I have taken the tact of looking at Armstrong families that lived in close proximity to where James Potter Armstrong lived believing that some of these Armstrong’s may be related to my Great Grandfather, James Potter Armstrong. A record was found wherein were recorded the Marriage Applications abstracted by the DAR, vol. 2. for Mahoning County. The writer has noted that there are 4 marriage applications issued for Armstrongs living in the Goshen and Smith townships of the county of Mahoning from 1853 to 1856. From previous research, it is known that the William Armstrong application on March 20, 1854 to marry Elizabeth M. Clark is the first son of James Potter Armstrong. The marriage took place on August 29, 1855.
In as much as the townships of Smith and Goshen are adjacent to each other, it seems likely that these four Armstrong’s may be related to each other. Furthermore, James Potter Armstrong, age 46, lived with his family of six children in the Goshen Township in 1850, according to the 1850 U.S. Population Census. However, William the oldest son, age 15, is not listed as a child in this 1850 census. But, we find him at age 19 applying for marriage. Interestingly, Elizabeth Mary Clark died in 1856, about a year after she was married to William. In addition, according to the DAR Abstracts of these Marriage Applications, a Jas Armstrong, signs for a marriage application for Julia Ann Armstrong to be married to Joshua W. Bradway on July 30, 1856. Another fact is that, there is an Ann Armstrong living with the James Potter Armstrong family in 1850 according to the Goshen Township, Mahoning County, U.S. Population Census. Is this the Jas Potter Armstrong’s sister, age 36? and what is the connection among the mentioned parties? All of these facts seem to strengthen the premise that the Armstrong’s living in these above mentioned townships are related and that, perhaps, by researching the records they left behind, they may lead to finding the parents of James Potter Armstrong. A Julia Bradway, age 21, appears in the 1860 U.S. Population Cesus for Marion Township of Marion County, Ohio with a 3 year old son, Archibold, but no Husband. Is she the Julia Ann Armstrong that married Joshua Bradway? More research is needed. More later RHB

The Younger Royal H. Brooks
It has been four years since my wife, Anita Loe passed away and I have had considerable peace and comfort living in the close vicinity of my brother, Loren Brooks, age 84.  Almost without exception, we arrange to meet each and every day.  I miss very much my married life with my wife Anita, but the loneliness that would have followed after her passing has been swallowed up in my association with my brother and his family, visitation and helpfulness of my children, my being consumed with my hobby of working with wood (pen and segmented vessels) and family history and temple work. The Lord has greatly blessed me in that regard and in having two homes , each of which provide me with a wonderful climate in which to live.  My home in Overton, Nevada is a winter home   where the climate is very mild from November to May and a home in Bountiful, Utah where the climate is Spring and Summer. I have a wonderful wood shop in both Overton and Bountiful.  In Bountiful , I have a small space where I can do some vegetable gardening.
Since I have a daughter and her husband that have moved to Saint George and a son that has a winter home in Saint George, I get to see them quite often.   In fact my daughter, Shauna, mentioned above usually comes to see me each Wednesday  when we study antique clock repair. I have two grandchildren that live in Las Vegas.  Overton is about midway between Las Vegas and Saint George, an Hour and 10 minutes from Overton.