April 21: Our Brooks Connection

The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant.

Every table had an argument going.

~George Carlin

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,


I never met my Ggrandfather James Brooks Davis - he died 20 years before I was born. But I do remember my grandmother Bura (Davis) Shepard talking about her father. She always referred to him by all 3 names, as if his middle name Brooks had special significance, but I never heard her say what that significance was. Perhaps she never knew. 

The Brooks Connection. From Ronald Davis' family history I learned years ago that James Brooks Davis had a Ggrandparent named Vashti Wright. (Vashti is the name of the queen of Persia in the Bible book of Esther) Recently I discovered that her maiden name was Brooks. Was she the one James Brooks Davis' parents were thinking of when they named him?

Vashti Brooks Wright was born in Bush River, South Carolina in the all-American year of 1776. After a remarkably long life for someone born in the 18th century, she died in Owen County, Indiana at 91. She had moved there from South Carolina with her family sometime in the early 1800s. Here's the interesting thing: it was also in Owen County, just 3 years after her death, that James "Brooks" Davis was born.

On the other hand, it might have been another member of Vashti's family that Charles and Melinda (Wright) Davis were thinking of when they named their first child James Brooks Davis. The name of Vashti's father, as well as one of her brothers, was -- get this -- James Brooks. The parents of the elder James Brooks were Matthew and Elizabeth (Warren) Brooks, who, according to historical records, had immigrated to the U.S. in 1731 via the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.

Here, then, are the names and dates of those in a 300 year lineage from my granddaughter Preslea Maida Shepard to Matthew Brooks, with James Brooks Davis smack dab in the middle:

Preslea Maida Shepard (b. 2010)...
Nathan William Shepard (b. 1977)...
Steven Dale Shepard (b. 1948)...
Eugene William Shepard (1921-2003)...
Bura (Davis) Shepard (1896-1986)...
James Brooks Davis (1870-1928)...
Melinda (Wright) Davis (1846-1920)...
John Lynn Wright (1819-1909)...
Vashti (Brooks) Wright (1776-1867)...
James Brooks (1747-1790)...
Matthew Brooks (1711-1755)...

The picture above on the left, taken recently, shows Preslea Shepard of San Francisco, California, the youngest in the lineage listed above, with her grandmother Cindy Shepard of San Diego, California.

20th Century Brookses. At least two 20th century members of our family were given the name Brooks, both grandsons of James Brooks Davis. One was James Brooks Millikan (1948-1958), John and Marjorie (Davis) Millikan's youngest son, whose life was cut short by bone cancer. The other is George Brooks (Bud) Davis, who lives in Washington State, and who I referred to in this blog a couple of weeks ago. The picture on the right, taken earlier this month, shows George Brooks (Bud) Davis with grandchild Moira. Bud: "Moira, six months old, is the daughter of my wife Janet's son David and wife Jenny Kaye who live in Edmond, OK."

Trivia Question for Today. The lineage listed above shows that immigrant Matthew Brooks is Preslea Shepard's GGGGGGGG grandfather. (With just a change or two, most of you can create a lineage similar to the one above that shows your connection to Matthew Brooks.)  Here is today's trivia question: how many GGGGGGGG grandparents does each person have in their family tree? (You have two parents, 4 grandparents, etc...) The first one to email me with the correct answer will get a special commendation in an upcoming post. (woo-hoo!)

In the meantime celebrate, protect and honor our beautiful world on Earth Day tomorrow.
- - -
Steve