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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Chicot County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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Hugh N. Brooks is a butcher by trade and an enterprising resident of Dermott, Ark. He was born near the mouth of Red River in Louisiana, on March 25, 1852, being a son of John T. Brooks, who was born near Cape Girardeau, Mo., January 8, 1816, being reared, educated and married there. He followed merchandising and farming there for some time, after which he moved to Louisiana, and settled in Point Coupee Parish, where he made large investments and became prominent as a dealer in real estate. He was a Roman Catholic in belief, although not a member of the Church, and socially was a Master Mason, and politically a Democrat, being an active worker in the interests of his party, by which he was offered many positions of honor and trust but declined them all, as he had no desire for office. His death, which occurred January 18, 1869, was a source of much regret to all who had the pleasure of knowing him, for he was a man who had always tried to do as he would be done by, and his many noble qualities of mind and heart were seen and recognized. His parents were born in Ireland, and emigrated to the United States in 1776, settling in South Carolina, moving from there to Missouri in 1799, where they spent the remainder of their lives, dying at an advanced age. The grandfather was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was severely wounded in battle, the wound resulting fatally after many years of disability. The mother of Hugh N. Brooks, whose maiden name was Mary J. Evans, was a native of Missouri, born March 27, 1826, and was a daughter of Berry C. and Nancy (Taylor) Brooks, the latter dying in Drew County, Ark., September 16, 1881, having removed there from Louisiana after the death of her husband. John T. Brooks and his wife were married in Missouri, in 1842, and became the parents of fifteen children—nine sons and six daughters— twelve of whom grew to maturity, and five are now living: John T. (a farmer of Louisiana), Hugh N., Mary J., Sevaris R., and Minnie B. (who is going to school in Fayetteville, Ark.), Those deceased are: Mark, William B., Henry M., Perry E., James E., George J., Henry M., Jr., Annie and Narcissus. Hugh N. Brooks was reared in Point Coupee Parish, La., but as the country was very wild and thinly settled, and school-houses very few, his educational advantages were quite meager. At the age of eighteen years he commenced the battle of life for himself as a trader and dealer in livestock, more especially cattle, and after being thus engaged for some time he went to Texas, and for one year resided near Fort Worth, after which he returned to Arkansas, and in 1887 settled in Desha County, where he opened a small farm, which is still in his possession. Besides this property he has landed interests in Louisiana, at and near his father’s old homestead, but he has long since given up farming, and is now engaged in the butchering business at Dermott. He is, without doubt, a self-made man, and during his walk through life has risen from adversity to the enviable place he now occupies in business as well as social circles. He is a sober, industrious and honest gentleman, creditable alike to his sisters and brothers, and to the community in which he lives. He has always been a stanch Democrat, and in his religious belief is a Roman Catholic, but not a member the church.

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This family biography is one of 34 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Chicot County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Chicot County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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