Jonathan Brooks

Jonathan Brooks probably was born during the early 1700s. He was the patriarch of the Brooks family of early Albany. We seek information on his origins and early life.

He was in Albany by April 1727 when he married Rebecca "Tattein" (Totten) at the Albany Dutch church. By 1749, four daughters had been christened in Albany. His marriage also produced at least one son.

In November 1729, he purchased a lot at the foot of Gallows Hill for twenty-two pounds. It was said to have been on the west side of what became Pearl Street. In March 1733, "he purchased" vacant land next to the brickyard of Luycas Hooghkerk. That one acre parcel was on Gallows Hill near "a small run of water, to the north of the road." A year later, he was indebted to the city and given eight days to pay his debts.

In 1742, his name was included on a list of first ward freeholders. In 1766, his Albany property was valued and his son Peter was noted on the assessment.

After that, the name "Jonathan Brooks" appears regularly in the community record. With other same-named individuals born in Albany beginning in 1738, we hesitate to assign qualitative information to this individual who would have been in his seventies during the era of the American Revolution.

However, we believe this Jonathan Brooks lived into the 1770s. In July 1773, he was named co-executor of the estate of his brother-in-law - a Dutchess County farmer. John Totten's will also provided for his sister, Rebecca Brooks, and her children.

Sources: The life of Jonathan Brooks is CAP biography number 346. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. Some information on him appears online.