Notes for Amos Roseman Alsobrooks:
was not given middle name at birth; was told that he needed to have one in order to work for the goverment; applied to the W.P.A.; he was sent home and that night chose the name Roseman.
He did get the job; one of the things he did was fill dirt into a swampy area on the sides of 1725 near 105.From mother's memoirs:
While on the subject of grandpas, let's take a look at your great-grandfather, my Pa Brooks. His real name was Amos Alsobrooks, and he was a giant of a man.
Perhaps not in stature, though he was big and tall, with lots of muscles from hard work. He was a very loving man, and always made you feel like a special person. Everybody loved him.
Pa had real thin hair, which he let grow pretty long for those days. Then he would comb it straight back, perhaps to cover up the bald area, but he didn't fool anyone.
I don't remember him ever going to church, but if anyone is in Heaven, then he is there. He stopped going (so I have heard), when one of his daughters (Lula) told him that since he didn't go to the Church of Christ, he was bound for Hell. So he up and quit going altogether. His daughter, of course, was entirely wrong. The church of Christ is anyone who has accepted Christ as their savior, and I think Pa really did. You can't exuberate that kind of love without God helping you out. It's funny, and sad, too, that couples can be so very different. Granny Brooks was never one to make you feel very wanted. She rarely even called me by the right name, until I got married. I guess since she was still having kids when she became a grandma, she didn't have the time or energy to make us feel special. I guess raising 11 kids would do that to anybody.
One of my favorite memories of Pa was when I was five, maybe 6 years old. It was Christmas, and Mama and Daddy had given each of us 25 cents, and let us draw names. James and I got each other's names.
Well, being kids, I bought him what I really wanted, and he did the same. I bought 4 coloring books and a box of crayons (note all for a quarter). He got me one of those wooden paddles with a ball attached on a rubber string, which he wanted. Well, after formally exchanging gifts, we informally switched, and both were happy.
Then, we all piled in the old car, drove out to Pa and Granny's, and Pa proceeded to color with me. I can still see him coloring in a Tarzan book with me, elaborating on all his muscles. How great it is to have someone make you feel special, at any age.
Unfortunately, Pa Brooks got sick, and when he finally was examined, cancer was found. Seems like he was sick for about 6 months before he went to MDAnderson, never to leave alive.
Seeing anyone in the process of dying is not a pleasant experience, yet it happens to all of us sooner or later. For a kid, however, to see someone she loves dying, it's not only sad, but a bit scary.
One trip to the hospital stands out. As far as I remember, Mama and Daddy and I went, none of the other kids. We were gonna give whoever was staying with him a break.
I remember someone saying not to mention dying around Pa, because he had not been told he was dying. I learned a lot that day, though, that many adults never learn.
{1965} It was the first time I remember being at MDAnderson, and it was a scary place to be. So much sickness and pain, and there seemed to be amputees everywhere you looked.
Pa was in a semi-private room, and the other guy looked like he was on his deathbed. Pa didn't look much better. He had always been so healthy looking, and now he was skin and bones. Like a skeleton with skin.
Pa had cancer of the lymph glands, so every time he got bumped or scraped or got a shot, he would get a little bump (or sometimes not so little) in that spot. I guess they were in fact tumors.
After we'd been there a little while, the adults went out in the hall to talk, and left me there with Pa, saying to call if I needed them. I guess they wanted to fill Mama and Daddy in on the latest word from the doctor. Boy, was I nervous!
Scared! is more the word. Scared that Pa would die in there with just me. I sure didn't want that to happen. After all, what could I do, me, a kid!
Well, Pa must have sensed how nervous I was, because he began to ask questions about my school and friends. We had moved to Houston by then, so it was pretty new to us both. I answered, awkward at first, but finally I felt more comfortable.
Then he started talking, about things concerning his death, and how concerned he was about Granny and what would happen to her. There I sat, holding his hand, not knowing what to say. I'd been told that he didn't know he was dying; that I wasn't to mention death in any form; what was I to say?
So I told him we'd all pitch in and take care of her, that he didn't have to worry about her. That seemed to satisfy him, and he closed his eyes and rested.
It was long before the adults returned, and then we left. I told Mama and Daddy what happened on the way home, but don't remember what they said.
I really feel that when a person has lived a pretty full life, and sometimes before that, the Lord gives them some warning. Maybe just an urgent need to get their life in order, but something to let them know that their time is close to the end. He sure let Pa know.
His funeral was something I'll probably always remember. He hadn't been to church in years, but I believe he lived a godly life. And his service reflected it. The church was full, with people outside the windows looking in. And I remember the preacher talking about how even though Pa didn't come to church, that he always made the preacher feel very welcome in this home, and considered them to be friends.
One of Pa's brothers came in from Florida, and to my child's eyes, he was the spitting image of Pa. It was like Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, except that Pa's body was in that coffin.
At the end of the service, the family had to walk in front of the coffin, and though I didn't want to , the ushers blocked the exits, so I felt almost forced into it. It was very hard to see him that last time, because he was so dear to me.
It was almost fifteen years before I could stand to go to a funeral and look at a body in a coffin without cringing inwardly, and sometimes outwardly.
1910 Census, Pct 3, San Jacinto County, TX:
McIlvain Gilbert M. Head M W 50 M1 25 TX KY MS Farmer General Farm
McIlvain Allice Wife F W 41 M1 25 10 10 TX Unknown Unknown None
McIlvain Ella Daughter F W 13 S TX TX TX Laborer Home Farm
McIlvain Girssie Daughter F W 12 S TX TX TX Laborer Home Farm
McIlvain Arlin Son M W 10 S TX TX TX Laborer Home Farm
McIlvain Lela Daughter F W 5 S TX TX TX None
McIlvain Leva Daughter F W 1 S TX TX TX None
1880 Census, District 2, San Jacinto County, TX:
Robert Z. BOYD Self M Male W 30 MS Farmer --- ---
Ceny BOYD Wife M Female W 35 MS Keeping House SC ---
Amanda A. BOYD Dau S Female W 10 TX MS MS
William L. BOYD Son S Male W 9 TX MS MS
Mary E. BOYD Dau S Female W 7 TX MS MS
Robert Z. BOYD Son S Male W 5 TX MS MS
Margarett BOYD Dau S Female W 4 TX MS MS
BOYD Son S Male W 2 TX MS MS1910 Census, Pct 3, San Jacinto County, TX:
McIlvain Gilbert M. Head M W 50 M1 25 TX KY MS Farmer General Farm
McIlvain Allice Wife F W 41 M1 25 10 10 TX Unknown Unknown None
McIlvain Ella Daughter F W 13 S TX TX TX Laborer Home Farm
McIlvain Girssie Daughter F W 12 S TX TX TX Laborer Home Farm
McIlvain Arlin Son M W 10 S TX TX TX Laborer Home Farm
McIlvain Lela Daughter F W 5 S TX TX TX None
McIlvain Leva Daughter F W 1 S TX TX TX None
1860 Census, Almarant, Walton County, FL:
Howell Alsabrooks 65 M W Farmer 100 150 GA
Jane Alsabrooks 64 F W Domestic NC
Isaiah Alsabrooks 24 M W Laborer 50 30 GA
Martha Alsabrooks 23 F W Domestic 50 350 ALLiving between Amos Alsabrooks and Olin Bradshaw.
1850 Ware Co. GA census:
Ollin Bradshaw 38 M NC
Mary Bradshaw 35 F NC
James Bradshaw 20 M NC
Nancy Bradshaw 18 F NC
John Bradshaw 16 M NC
Julia Bradshaw 14 F NC
Sally Bradshaw 11 F GA
Arcadia Bradshaw 8 F GA
Ollin Bradshaw 7 M GA
Woodard Bradshaw 4 M GA
Lawsin Bradshaw 1 M GA
1860 Census, Almarant, Walton County, FL:Olin Bradshaw 58 M W Farmer SC
Polly Bradshaw 54 F W Domestic SC
Olin Bradshaw18 M W Serving GA
Woodard Bradshaw 15 M W Serving GA
Lauson Bradshaw 10 M W GA
Elizabeth Hues 2 F W FLI'm not sure why the age discrepancy. Quit a differenc in Olin and Mary (Polly) though.
Mary (Polly) may have been Mary Pridgen, daughter of Lawson Pridgen who died in Sampson County, NC. Or possibly a child of one of his brothers.