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Preston Smith Brooks (1818 - 1857)

Preston Smith Brooks
Born in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of and
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , and
Died at age 38 in Washington, District of Columbia, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 28 Jan 2020
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Contents

Biography

Notables Project
Preston Brooks is Notable.

He is remembered as a democrat, violent anti-abolition advocate.

Preston Smith Brooks was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina on 4 August, 1819. [1]

He graduated at the South Carolina college in 1839, studied law and was admitted to the bar in May, 1843. [1]

In 25 November,1844, he was elected to the state legislature of South Carolina House of Representatives from Edgefield District where he served until 25 November, 1844. During the Mexican-American War he served as a captain in the Palmetto Regiment of South Carolina volunteers. [1]

He married Martha (Means) Brooks (1826-1901) on January 2, 1845 in Edgefield, South Carolina.[2]

In the 1850 U.S. Census, P.S Brooks is head of household in The District, Edgefield, South Carolina. He is a lawyer with birth year about 1819. His wife is Martha Brooks, age 23, with children Mary C. Brooks age 4, Sallie Brooks age 2, and Caroline Brooks age 1. This household includes Harvey Brooks age 75 and Jane Boles age 50. [3]

He was elected a representative from South Carolina to Congress as a state-rights democrat in 1853, and was re-elected twice. [1]

On May 22, 1856, Brooks attacked and seriously injured abolitionist and Republican Senator Charles Sumner, beating him with a cane on the floor of the United States Senate, reacting to Sumner's anti-slavery speech in which Brooks's second cousin, South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, was mentioned. South Carolinians, with other Southerners, reacted with "widespread adoration", and the city of Brooksville, Florida as well as Brooks County, Georgia renamed the areas in his honor.[4] Friends of Mr. Brooks among them Mr. Barksdale of Mississippi, accompanied him, and with drawn revolvers, prevented any interference. [1]

"The caning had an enormous impact on the events that followed over the next four years...
As a result of the caning, the country was pushed, inexorably and unstoppably, to civil war."[5]

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district, March 4, 1853 – July 15, 1856 and August 1, 1856 – January 27, 1857.

He received numerous costly canes and other testimonials from different parts of the South. [1]

He died 27 January, 1857, in Washington, D.C. [1] He died before the outbreak of the hostiles of the Civil War.

Slaves

Slaves of Preston Smith Brooks - Slavery Documentation Page

Research Notes

On several of the slave sales records he is listed as Dr.[6]

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Cyclopedia of American Biography 1600-1889 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
  2. ↑ Ancestry.com. South Carolina, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 1641-1965 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005, Name: Preston Smith Brooks, Spouse: Martha C. Means, Marriage Date: 2 Jan 1845, Source: Edgefield Marriage Records-Carlee McClendon-Pottersville Museum. Ancestry Sharing Link
  3. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 United States Federal Census"
    The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: The District, Edgefield, South Carolina; Roll: 852; Page: 83a; Line Number: 37
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8054 #5754084 (accessed 6 April 2024)
    P S Brooks (31), Lawyer, in The District, Edgefield, South Carolina, USA. Born in South Carolina.
  4. ↑ Foreman, Amanda: A World On Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War"; Random House; New York; 2010, p. 34.
  5. ↑ Puleo, Stephen The Caning: The Assault That Drove America to Civil War; Westholme Publishing; 2012.
  6. ↑ Ancestry.com. Edgefield, South Carolina, U.S., Slave Records, 1774-1866 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, Edgefield County Historical Society, 2010; Edgefield, South Carolina; Slave Records of Edgefield County, South Carolina; Author: Lucas, Gloria Ramsey; Reference: Box # 59, Pkg. 2460, Name: Jack, Race: Black, Residence Place: Edgefield, South Carolina, USA, Date Bought: 13 Apr 1848, Price: Nvg, Page number: 57, Role: Enslaved Person, Previous Owner/New Owner: Z.s. Brooks, Dr. P.s. Brooks. Ancestry Sharing Link

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Images: 1
Capt. Preston Brooks to Mexico in War
Capt. Preston Brooks to Mexico in War


Comments: 2

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Thompson-40998 Shirley (Thompson) Gilbert
As a member of the US Black Heritage Project, I have added a list of the slaves owned by Preston S Brooks on this profile with categories using the standards of the US Black Heritage Exchange Program. This helps us connect enslaved ancestors to their descendants. See the Heritage Exchange Portal for more information.

See: Slaves of Preston Smith Brooks - Slavery Documentation Page

posted by Shirley (Thompson) Gilbert
James Brooks
Preston is my 3rd cousin 4 times removed, through our great grandfather John Brooks Esq. Sr.

Preston's 2nd, my 6th.

This is confirmed through my ancestry Dna.

posted by James Brooks
edited by James Brooks

Featured National Park champion connections: Preston is 15 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 22 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 13 degrees from George Catlin, 14 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 22 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 14 degrees from George Grinnell, 26 degrees from Anton Kröller, 14 degrees from Stephen Mather, 23 degrees from Kara McKean, 16 degrees from John Muir, 16 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 25 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.

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Categories: Edgefield County, South Carolina, Slave Owners | Edgefield Village Cemetery, Edgefield, South Carolina | United States of America, Mexican-American War | South Carolina, Notables | Namesakes US Counties | US Senators from South Carolina | Edgefield County, South Carolina | Democratic Political Party | Confederate States Politicians | Lawyers | 1850 US Census, Edgefield County, South Carolina | Notables