New member introducing myself

Question

MY NAME IS JEFF, I TURN 65 IN A FEW DAYS AND I AM REALLY TRYING HARD TO TRACK MY PATERNAL FAMILY DOWN. I HAVE ONLY BEEN DOING IT FOR A SHORT TIME ON ANCESTRY.COM BUT I HIT A BRICK WALL AT THOMAS HOWARD BROOKS 1850/1872 IN FROM PULASKI OR MASSAC CO. ILLINOIS. I'M CONSIDERING A Y-DNA TEST BUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH COMPANY TO USE IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE WHO TO USE' ANY ADVISE WOULD BE HELPFUL. THANK YOU

Answer 1

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to WikiTree's forum!     I'm not the one to answer your DNA testing questions but I'm sure others that are qualified will post a comment within the next day.

But regarding  Thomas Howard Brooks,  the more information you provide the better chance of good research help.   I.E.   Do you think he was also born in Illinois?   What are  the 1850/1872 dates,   DOB/DOD or his residence in Illinois?   

Let us know and we'll try to help!

Comments

I BELIEVE THOMAS WAS BORN IN ILLINOIS SOMETIME BETWEEN 1845 AND 1850. HE DIED IN 1872 SHORTLY AFTER HIS SON OLIVER WAS BORN. HE MARRIED JULIA BURKHART IN 1868 OR 1869. I TRULY HAVE NO OTHER INFO EXCEPT THAT HIS SON OLIVER LIVED UNTIL1930. AS SOON AS I CAN FIGURE OUT THIS DNA STUFF I'LL TRY TO UPLOAD IT. THANK YOU.

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Jeff,

I agree with others that the best way to work on a Brick Wall is to build the profile INCLUDING the siblings, wives, children, etc....

But I looked at Family Search records and it's likely you ancestor is  Thomas Howard Brooks with FamilySearch ID    GWSR-SQM   located at  https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GWSR-SQM

They have posted  5 very useful Family Search records there,  that you certainly want to include in your ancestor's profile. Those records are:

"Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK92-VX5T : 17 October 2017), Thomas H Brooks and Julia Burkhart, 16 Sep 1869; citing Pulalski, Illinois, United States, county offices, Illinois; FHL microfilm 960,486.

"United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6HY-Q2S : 19 March 2020), Howard Brooks, 1870.

"Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK92-297Z : 17 October 2017), Howard Brooks in entry for Oliver P Brooks and Maggie Brooks, 23 Dec 1894; citing Massac, Illinois, United States, county offices, Illinois; FHL microfilm 963,669.

"Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQS3-WSP : 8 March 2018), Howard Brooks in entry for Oliver P. Brooks, 03 Feb 1930; Public Board of Health, Archives, Springfield; FHL microfilm 1,643,654.

 

"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXH4-VTT : 18 March 2020), Julia Burkhart in entry for M Burkhart, 1860.   (Wife of Thomas H. Brooks)

Unfortunately,  they don't propose parents   BUT  a little more searching finds a Thomas H. Brooks  (some records just Howard Brooks)   who is a few years younger than the 1870 census record for YOUR Thomas Howard Brooks.

I would look closely at this man's records, despite the age difference:

"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX4G-VLP : 18 March 2020), Thos H Brooks in entry for Jane Penington, 1860.

"United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8P1-3P8 : 4 April 2020), Jane Brooks, Pulaski county, part of, Pulaski, Illinois, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Joseph B. Brooks b Illinois 1823  possible father?

"Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X25R-NQ1 : 4 November 2017), Joseph B Brooks and Jane Smith, 1840; citing Alexander, Illinois, United States, county offices, Illinois; FHL microfilm 961,420.    (In 1850,  there is a girl living with Joseph and Jane Brooks,  named Smith.)

I haven't looked for ideas on Ancestry.com  (currently not a paying member)...... but at this stage  if it were my ancestor, on the EDIT page,  I'd create a  == Research Notes ==  section   below the    == Biography ==    section.   There you can track your research progress.  

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Happy  Almost Birthday.

From here I think you have some leads you need to research.   I think it's worth your time because:

In 1850  Joseph B. Brooks and wife Jane are household # 260 , Oct 15, 1850,  Living in their household is Sarah J. Smith b Illinois 12 years old.

probably related to 

In 1850  George B. Brooks and family are household # 169 in same county  Oct 5, 1850….Because living in their household is Sarah J. (transcription error says I) Smith,  b Illinois 13 years.  (Likely she moved back and forth to help out.)

"United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8P1-3XN : 4 April 2020), Geo B Brooks, Pulaski county, part of, Pulaski, Illinois, United States; citing family 176, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).   

 

In 1870   Thomas H. Brooks lives very near George B. Brooks   (Joseph b. Brooks has died and his Jane remarried)….. there are Smith households on both sides of Thomas in this census.

Enjoy the Hunt!

Answer 2

Hi Jeff!

I just wanted to say welcome to WikiTree and also to remark on what a fabulous job you are doing with your tree so far.

Keep up the good work and hopefully we will be able to fill in some branches for you!

Answer 3

Hi Jeff, welcome to WikiTree and G2G! 

If you build the profile for that ancestor with what information you have then, you can post in G2G again. Then you will want to attach that ancestors profile like you did yours on this post. That will make it easier for us to help you search.

Happy Early Birthday!!! I hope that you have a wonderful birthday! 

Answer 4

Hey Jeff,

There are two words that inform the advice I give people about DNA tests. First is Paternal. If you are trying to track down your paternal family, meaning both men and women in your paternal line, you can take an autosomal DNA test. Companies offering this are: Ancestry, 23&Me, Living DNA, Family Tree DNA and My Heritage. 

The second word is Patrilineal meaning you are looking for your direct male-line ancestors, your fahter, his father, his father and so on. For this, you can take a YDNA test at either Family Tree DNA, or YSEQ.

Ancestry has the biggest database of autosomal testers with which to compare your DNA to. But, if you do your autosomal at FTDNA, your sample for the autosomal test can be used again, at a later time, to do your YDNA.

The other factor to consider is the price. auDNA testing is much less expensive than YDNA tests. Most all of the companies have big sales on tests close to or around holiday dates if you are looking for a deal.

You can find all of the companies I mentioned by googling them.

Mags
 

Comments

Worth mentioning that I think you can still transfer for a small fee the autosomal results at Ancestry DNA to Family Tree DNA autosomal called Family Finder.  But when and if you get the Y. Male line test at FTDNA you might as well get the 111 marker test ( otherwise it just costs more to come back and upgrade later) A marker test at 12, 25, or 37 and even 67 won't get you into the genealogical time frame of your brick wall most likely.

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You can transfer your autosomal information to FTDNA, but a new sample will be needed to do a YDNA test at FTDNA.

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Yes, true thank you for clarifying, Mags.