Children of James Brooks (1772 – 1835) and Wife Nancy Isbell: Johnson H. Brooks (1815-1875)

S.W. Barbee, “Old Lawrence Reminiscent,” Moulton Advertiser (5 January 1909), p. 1, col. 3-4, transcribed by George A. O’Reilly, The History of E. James Brooks Family of Lawrence County, Alabama (1500 Trinity Road, Huntsville, Alabama 35802-2779; Oreilly0103@gmail.com). pp. 203-4

Or, Subtitled: More Affrays! — “His bellicose disposition led him into many a brawl with others, one of which cost him very dearly, since by it he lost an eye”

This posting is a continuation of two previous postings (here and here) discussing the children of James Brooks (1772-1835) and Nancy Isbell of Wayne County, Kentucky, Warren County, Tennessee, and Lawrence County, Alabama. The previous postings have discussed their children Godfrey Isbell Brooks, Thomas R. Brooks, Hannah Isbell Brooks, Margaret C. Brooks, and James Irwin Brooks. The next child of James Brooks and Nancy Isbell was:

Children of Dennis Lindsey (1794-1836) and Jane Brooks: Sarah Brooks Lindsey Speake (1818-1889) — Children of James and Sarah Lindsey Speake

Charles Washington Speake and Dixie West Speake and family, from Harold L. Speake and Maxine Gibson, “Speake Family,” in Heritage of Lawrence County, Alabama (Clanton, Alabama: Heritage Publ. Co., 1998), p. 242

Or, Subtitled: Bald Judicial Caputs and Spelling Eleemosynary

James B. Speake and Sarah Brooks Lindsey had eight children — Henry Clay, John Marshall, Dennis Basil, James Tucker, Charles Washington, Daniel Webster, Mary Frances, and a baby who died at birth. Mary Frances died at age four. The only information I have found about the last two children is in the 17 February 1924 letter of James and Sarah’s son Charles Washington Speake to A. Howard Speake of Brooklyn, New York, cited in a previous posting. My previous posting provides biographies of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster Speake from Dictionary of Alabama Biography,[1] as well as photographs of both of them previously owned by Harold Layman Speake, a descendant of their brother Charles Washington Speake.[2]

Children of Dennis Lindsey (1794-1836) and Jane Brooks: Sarah Brooks Lindsey Speake (1818-1889) — Biographies of James B. Speake

Tombstone of James B. Speake, Speake cemetery, Oakville, Lawrence County, Alabama; photo is by Allen J and is at James’s Find a Grave memorial page set up by David Young

Or, Subtitled: “A School Teacher of Fine Natural Sense, Great Dignity of Deportment and Good Acquirements

As the last posting indicated, Sarah Brooks Lindsey married James B. Speake, who was born 14 April 1803 in Washington County, Kentucky, and died 18 September 1890 at Oakville, Lawrence County, Alabama. The couple married 4 June 1833. James is buried with Sarah in Speake cemetery at Oakville, with a tombstone that has the dates of birth and death of both.[1]