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Brooks family photographs

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Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
PA.129
Repository:
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Extent:
3.5 cubic ft. (9 boxes, 1 oversized box)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item or series here], Brooks family photographs, PA 129, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.
Date:
1790-1992 (inclusive)
Creator:
Brooks family
Abstract:
Involved in this collection are Morgan Brooks (1861-1947), a professor of engineering, and his wife, Frona Marie (Brooks) Brooks (1861-1947). One of their children, Charles Franklin Brooks (1891-1958), became a member of the Society of Friends shortly after marrying Eleanor M. Stabler (1892-1986) in 1914. Their daughter, Barbara Brooks (1922-2007), married Edward H. Kerner, and she was active in Quaker concerns, particularly peace. This collection contains loose photgraphs, albums, and photos of family groups, among others.

Morgan Brooks (1861-1947) and Frona Marie (Brooks) Brooks (1861-1947) are central figures in the Brooks Family collection. They descended from the Brooks, Butler, and Buck families of New England.

Frona's grandfather, Charles Buck (1798-1863), married Sophronia Herrick (1803-1841) in 1825. The couple had three children, Charles W. Buck (1833-1933), a Unitarian minister; Robert Herrick Buck (birth name Jedidiah), who invested in Colorado gold mines; and Charlotte Frances Buck, (1828-1907). In 1852 Charlotte married Boston attorney Benjamin Franklin Brooks, and the couple had four children: Frona Marie Brooks, the only child to marry, Arthur, Esther Clara Herrick Brooks, M.D., and Franklin Herrick Brooks. Morgan's grandfather, Caleb Butler, married Clarissa Varnum, and they had a daughter, Frances Butler in 1822. Frances married Francis Augustus Brooks, a Boston, Mass., corporate attorney and railroad president, in 1847. This couple had three children: Charles B., Frederick, and Morgan Brooks. The collection includes correspondence among these family members and a great deal of professional correspondence and documents, mainly from Charles W. Buck, Benjamin Franklin Brooks, Franklin Herrick Brooks, and Francis Augustus Brooks.

Morgan Brooks and Frona Marie Brooks were married in 1888. They moved to Urbana, Illinois, shortly after their wedding where Morgan became a nationally known professor of engineering. Morgan and Frona had eight children, all of whom survived into adulthood: Henry Morgan (1889-1948), married Ruth Hayford in 1911; Charles Franklin Brooks (1891-1958), married Eleanor M. Stabler, and they had seven children; Frances Brooks (b. 1893) married Lincoln Colcord in 1929; Frederick Augustus Brooks (1895-1967), married Harriet Kinley in 1921 (divorced) and, secondly, Margaret H. Ward in 1929; Roger Brooks (1896-1957) married Anne Goebel in 1921 (divorced) and, secondly, Janet in 1928; Edith Brooks (1889-1952); Frona Marguerite Brooks ("Margie") (1901-1985), married George Hughes in 1924. The couple had two daughters, Ann and Octavia ("Taffy") before they divorced in 1927; she then married Richard Rice; Dorothy Prescott (b. 1905), married Joe Thomas in 1931.

This collection contains loose photgraphs, albums, and photos of family groups, among others.

Gift of Barbara Kerner and other members of the Brooks family, 2003 (Accession number: 2003-015). Part of the Brooks Family Papers, RG5/252.

This collection was removed from the Brooks Family Papers, RG5/252.

People

Publisher
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Finding Aid Author
Zoe Peyton Jones
Finding Aid Date
2018
Access Restrictions

This collection is available for research use.

Use Restrictions

Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce items in this collection beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/.

Collection Inventory

1. Morgan and Frona Marie Brooks and their eight children.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Contains the following: Morgan Brooks (as adult); Frona Marie Brooks (as adult); Henry Morgan Brooks (as child or, when pictured with siblings/parents, as adult); Charles Franklin Brooks (as child or, when pictured with siblings/parents, as adult); Frances Brooks (as child or, when pictured with siblings/parents, as adult); Frederick Augustus Brooks (as child or, when pictured with; siblings/parents, as adult); Roger Brooks (as child or, when pictured with siblings/parents, as adult); Edith Brooks (as child or, when pictured with siblings/parents, as adult); Frona Marguerite Brooks (as child or, when pictured with siblings/parents, as adult); Dorothy Prescott Brooks (as child or, when pictured with siblings/parents, as adult).

2. Parents and siblings of Morgan and Frona Marie Brooks: MB and FMB as children, and their siblings, parents, grandparents, etc.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Contains the following: Frederick Augustus Brooks; Frances Butler Brooks; Frederick Brooks; Charles Butler Brooks; Morgan Brooks (as child); Benjamin Franklin Brooks; Charlotte Frances Buck Brooks; Charles Buck Brooks; Esther Clara Herrick Brooks ("Daisy"); Franklin Herrick Brooks; Frona Marie Brooks (as child); Sophronia Preston Herrick Buck; Robert (Jedediah) Herrick Buck; various descendants of his in Colorado; Clara Varnum Brooks

3. Children of Morgan and Frona Marie Brooks: The eight Brooks children, as individual adults, and their spouses, children, grandchildren, etc.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Contains the following:

3a: Henry Morgan Brooks (as adult); Ruth Hayford Brooks; Elizabeth Brooks;

3b: Charles Franklin Brooks (as adult); Eleanor Stabler Brooks; Edward Morgan Brooks; Sarah Berg Brooks; Karena Brooks Poonen; Alex Poonen; Andre Poonen; Zarean Poonen; Daniel Brooks; Roxanna Brooks; Valerie Brooks Samson; Peter Samson; Marita Brooks Lidman; Ken Lidman; Christine Lidman; Bernard Brooks; Larimore Brooks; Margaret Brooks Morse; Philip Weber "Pete" Morse; Philip Morse (?); Eleanor Morse Seager; Sylvia Brooks; Barbara Brooks Kerner; Winifred Kerner; Edith Brooks Allison; Glenn Allison; Norman Herrick Brooks; Frona Brooks Vicksall; Ross Vicksall;

3c: Frances Brooks Colcord (as adult); Brooks Colcord;

3d: Frederick Augustus Brooks (as adult) Note: no photograph.;

3e: Roger Brooks (as adult) Note: No photograph;

3f: Edith Brooks (as adult);

3g: Frona Marguerite (Brooks) Hughes Rice; Ann Hughes; Octavia Hughes (possibly); Ann and Octavia's families and children (possibly);

3h: Dorothy Prescott Brooks Thomas; Joe Thomas; Morgan Thomas; Sophronia Herrick "Sonia" Thomas; Patricia Mead "Trixie" Thomas; Florence Blaine "Kit" Thomas

4. Houses.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Identified houses: 419 Oak Grove, Urbana, IL; Buck house, Hampden, ME; 1012 W. Oregon St., Urbana, IL; 2950 Park Ave., Minneapolis, MN; 529 Holly Ave., St. Paul, MN; 1600 K St., Lincoln, NE; 1004 S. Matthews Ave., Urbana, IL

5. Unidentified/unrelated people.
Box 3
6. Snapshots/scenes without people.
Box 4

Archival Resource Key. Small album (~4 x 6), leather cover, cardboard gilt-edged.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Inscribed "From Harry To Charlie." Pictures of Brooks children (series 1) and their grandparents, aunts, and uncles (series 2).

Archival Resource Key. Large album (~9 x 12), leather cover, cardboard gilt-edged pages.
Box 5
Scope and Contents

Mostly pictures of grandparents, aunts, and uncles (Series 2), with some of the Brooks children with their parents (Series 1), and some of more distant relatives (cousins, great-uncles, etc.)

Archival Resource Key. Medium-sized album (~7 x 11), black cover, black paper pages, bound with string.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Inscribed "Some Photographic Reminiscences For Mother From Charlie." Pictures from C.F.B's childhood and young-to-middle adulthood, of his siblings, his parents, himself, his wife, and his children.

Archival Resource Key. Large album (~9 x 12), black cover, black paper pages, bound with string.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Pictures of Brooks children (Series 1) on trips abroad and at lake in Minnesota, as well as some early pictures of their spouses and children (Series 2).

Archival Resource Key. Medium-sized album (~7 x 11), purple cover, black paper pages, bound with string.
Box 6
Scope and Contents

Pictures from Brooks children's (series 1) summers at lake in Minnesota, of the Brooks children as young adults, and of Charles's family (Series 2) when his oldest children were little.

Archival Resource Key. Small album (~6 x 7), leather cover, cardboard gilt-edged pages.
Box 6
Scope and Contents

Pictures of Frona Marie Brooks as a young girl, her siblings, her friends from high school, and a number of other unidentified women.

Archival Resource Key. Large album (~9 x 12), black cover, black paper pages, bound with string.
Box 7
Scope and Contents

Pictures from Brooks family's (Series 1) trip by steamer to India and China.

Archival Resource Key. Medium-sized album (~7 x 11), black cover, black paper pages, bound with string.
Box 8
Scope and Contents

Pictures from Brooks children's (Series 1) childhood, adulthood, and families. Many pictures are duplicated in loose photo collection. Pictures of Frederick and his daughters, who do not appear elsewhere. Also includes height and weight chart of Brooks family (Series 1). Most photos unglued from pages, and many pages loose. Handle with extreme care.

Archival Resource Key. Medium-sized album (~7 x 11), black cover, black paper pages. Cover says "Frona M. Brooks.".
Box 7
Scope and Contents

Assorted pictures from Brooks family's (series 1) trips abroad and to the lake in Minnesota, with a few of Ann Hughes and of Dorothy's children.

Archival Resource Key. Large album (~9 x 12), black cover, black paper pages, bound with string.
Box 9
Scope and Contents

Pictures from Brooks family's (Series 1) trip by steamer to Egypt and around Europe.

Archival Resource Key. Large album (~11 x 14), black cover, black paper pages.
Box 10
Scope and Contents

Pictures from Brooks family's (series 1) trips to Europe, Asia, and the Minnesota lake. Album coming apart and many pages disintegrating; handle with care.

Archival Resource Key. Small album (~4 x 6), black paper pages with plastic covers, red spiral binding.
Box 6
Scope and Contents

Pictures of mountains, animals, and an unidentified little boy.

Archival Resource Key. Small album (~4 x 6), black paper pages with plastic covers, red spiral binding.
Box 6
Scope and Contents

Pictures of mountains, a cathedral, and a stagecoach.

Archival Resource Key. Small album (~4 x 6), black paper pages, black cover.
Box 6
Scope and Contents

Snapshots of Brooks children (Series 1) having fun in Urbana, at picnics, on rooftops, with friends, etc. Also includes a few of Henry's daughter Elizabeth as a baby.

Archival Resource Key. Large album (~10 x 13), black paper pages, black cover.
Box 10
Scope and Contents

Pictures (mostly postcards) from trip to Europe. Many pages disintegrating; album unbound. Handle with extreme care.

Archival Resource Key. Medium-sized album (~7 x 11) black cover, black paper pages, bound with string.
Box 9
Scope and Contents

Pictures of Brooks family's (Series 1) residences.

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