BOB BROOKS

The following bio was taken from page 124 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

My grandfather, John William Brooks, was a Civil War Veteran. He returned from the war and settled in Anderson County, Texas, near Palestine. On September 15, 1885, he and my grandmother, Nancy Jane Scott, were married. Five children were born to this family: Lacy, Bob, Charlie, Ollie and Georgia.

On a cold February day in 1897, Grandfather decided to go to Palestine to make a bank deposit. He traveled from Dennison Springs to Palestine, a distance of about thirty miles, in a covered wagon. He made a deposit of $500 in currency and $500 in gold pieces. It began to rain on his way home and he developed pneumonia and died, leaving my grandmother with five small children.

My father, Bob Brooks, was a farmer and carpenter. He and my mother, Ada Perry, were married on December 12, 1912 in Nacogdoches County, and four children were born to this family: Jeffie Lou (Brooks) McKnight, Adell (Brooks) Clifton, and twins, Bobbie (Brooks Pitman and Robbie Brooks. Robbie was married to Novice Miller. He was killed in an auto accident in 1977.

I, Jeffie Lou, met and married my husband, Lem McKnight, in Nacogdoches County. In 1938 we moved to Rusk county, and we were blessed with four children: two boys, Obie and Boyce; and two girls, Joyce and Jean.

Obie McKnight married Shirley Sanders and they have two sons, Tommy and Gary.

Joyce McKnight married Walter Mason and they have two children, Glenn and Cynthia Deanne. Glen is married to Debbie Coggshell and they have two sons, Jeffery and Jeremiah. Cynthia Deanne is married to Allen Baker and they have a daughter, Amber Deanne.

Jean married Bobby Pirtle and they have three girls: Terri, Vickie, and Phyllis. Phyllis is married to Larry Bristow.

Boyce McKnight was killed in an auto accident in December of 1962. He was nineteen years old.

After my husband and I were married, we moved to the farm and farmed and raised cattle until 1946. Then we went into the lumber business and operated a lumber mill and a grocery store for a time. Obie is operating the mill at present.

Lem passed away on June 14, 1972 with a heart attack. Before his death, we pulled a camper and did a lot of traveling and fishing. Now my hobbies are flowers and crocheting. I also enjoy being a member of the Southside Baptist Church, Henderson Garden Club, United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Genealogy Society.

Submitted by Jeffie Lou (Brooks) McKnight