Brookings Family Introduction

The Brookings Family of Woolwich Maine

My Great Great Grandmother Elizabeth Percy Brookings Blinn, a great-great-great granddaughter of Henry Brookings. She was born and raised near Brookings Bay, Woolwich Maine.
For more photos of her and her immediate family, go to this page on the Blinns of Nevada site.

Origin of the name: "Brooking" is an Anglo-Saxon clan name meaning "The people who dwell by the brook". (Brooking Society) Alternative Spellings are Brookin and Brooken, including those ending in an "s", like our own Brookings, and the most common alternative spelling in this line, Brookins.

The Brookings Family of Woolwich Maine was one of the first to settle in the area now called Woolwich in Maine's Sagadahoc County. Henry Brookings returned to the land his grandfather Wadley's family had been driven from by the indian wars in the late 1600s. Tradition says that the child, Sarah Wadley, was found wandering in the fields after an indian attack and taken to relatives further east. The fate of her family is unknown, but they were most likely killed by indians. As a young woman, she married Henry Brookings of Isle of Shoals. Their son Henry, who married Sarah Young, daughter of Deacon Rowland Young (also an ancestor of Mormon Leader Brigham Young) lived for some time in York, Maine where at least five children were born. Influenced by his mother, the younger Henry decided to regain his grandfather's land which had been left vacant for sixty years. In 1738, Henry and his family, including his mother, landed at Wadley Cove (now Brookings Bay). The family remained here for many generations. In 1748 Henry was killed by marauding indians. Sons Ebenezar and Josiah are the ancestors of the Woolwich Brookings. Son Daniel lived in a hut by the shore. Sarah, Henry's wife outlived him by twenty years and grandmother Sarah lived to be 102 years old. The fates of Samuel and Sarah, his other children are not known. Henry's most famous descendant is probably Wilmot, son of Abner, Josiah's youngest boy. He grew up on the Brookings land and as a young man went west to Dakota where he became substitute lieutenant governor. Brookings, South Dakota was named for him. Wilmot's sister married Cosby Wheeler and went to Turkey as missionaries. The original Brookings farm was located in an area of Woolwich known as Murphy's Corner on the shore of Brookings (Wadley's) Bay. In the genealogy charts following, my own ancestors' names are in burgundy.
[Most of this is taken from History of Woolwich Maine, (see resource page)]

The following is the letter in answer to Henry's request for land: Boston, Aug. 5, 1737
Mr. Brookings,
Rec'd the application which you made to me desiring I would confirm 100ac of land to you upon the claim of your grandfather Wadleigh. Now in the case the whole right of Wadley was in you or if you can procure it, I am willing to allow and confirm 100 acres at some convenient place upon acct. of said right inasmuch as the said Wadleigh was an ancient settler upon some part of those lands.
Yours friend
Edward Hutchinson
(from History of Woolwich, Maine)

This map, at right, shows most of the places mentioned here. It is the southern corner of Maine and taken from the 1895 Atlas of America. York is in the bottom left and Woolwich is in the green area (Sagahahoc County) at the top right. The area was early looked upon as favorable for European settlement, but difficulties with the native inhabitants as well as rival claims by England and France kept the land from developing to its potential until after England seized Canada/New France in 1763. Woolwich was incorporated as a township in 1757.

Some Brookings related links:
- Brookings Family Genforum.
- Brookings Forum @ Ancestry.com.
- Brookins Family Genforum.
- Wadley Family Genforum.
- Woolwich Maine Homesite.
- The Brookings Institute in Washington DC.
       Not related to our Brookings I don't think, but interesting
- Brookings Oregon Homesite.
       Named for Robert S Brookings of St. Louis, MO in 1912. He was the largest stockholder in a lumbering enterprise that started the town. (Oregon Geographic Names, McArthur, 1944 p59) Not sure yet how he is related, but found this interesting.
- Brookings South Dakota Homesite.
       Named for Wilmot Brookings, see see following pages for info on him.
- The Isles of Shoals.
- The Brooking Society,
        for those related to or interested in the Brooking/Brookings family.
- Visit my Links page for more useful links.
If you know of a site which should be listed here, please let me know

This map shows the location of Brookings Bay, formerly Wadley's Cove in Woolwich, Sagadahoc County, Maine

Brookings Family Reunion:

Every year descendants of the Brookings family, no matter what the branch have been meeting in Maine during the summer for a fun family reunion. Once the dates for 2005 are announced I'll try to get the information posted here. Everyone is welcome :)

Brookings Pages

I have acquired so much information on the Brookings family that I have had to divide up this page
- Early information and notes on the Brookings family.
- Brookings of Woolwich Maine Genealogy.
- Brookings notes and miscellaneous records.

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Sep 2004

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