Page:One of a thousand.djvu/97

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BROOKS. BK< ii >KS. Si William Percival, Alfred, and Francis, all nt whom have attended, or are at present pupils in the public schools. Politically, Mr. Brine has always acted with the Republican party, and rather than accept any office himself, has preferred to promote the advancement of others to sta- tions of power and influence. He was for many years treasurer of the Middlesex Club. He served twelve years as a trustee of the Somerville public library. Daily engaged with the details of a large and prosperous business, faithful in the dis- charge of all social and business obligations, Mr Brine yet finds time to make a cordial and practical response to the calls of phil- anthropy, and to join with his fellow-citi- zens in measures that tend to promote good government. BROOKS, FRANCIS (Francis Boott Brooks until 1854), son of Edward and Elizabeth (Boott) Brooks, was born in Med- ford, Middlesex county, November 1, 1824. Mr. Brooks comes of a line rich in his- toric associations, his ancestors being iden- tified with the leaders of public and social life for many generations. Thomas Brooks, the first of the name in New England, came from Suffolk, England, and settled in Watertown, where a lot was assigned him in 1631. In 1660 he bought some four hundred acres of the famous Cradock farm located in the town of Medford. His descendants were conspicuous in their service to the state, and in their contribu- tions to philanthropic and educational enterprises which tended to the up-build- ing of the infant colony. Governor John Brooks was a striking example of the best product of Massachusetts soil, and from 1752 to 1763 performed the duties of chief magistrate of the Commonwealth with the same fidelity and patriotic devo- tion as he displayed in his participation in the battle of Lexington, and in his intimate connection with General Washington's military life. Still later the social stand- ing of this family was emphasized by the marriage of two sisters of Edward, the father of Francis Brooks, to Edward Ever- ett and Charles Francis Adams. Mr. Brooks was first married May 6, 1850, to Mary Jones Chadwick, who died March T4, 185 1. His second marriage occurred November 29, 1S54, with Louise, daughter of Henry and Mary Ann (Davis) Winsor. Of this union were six children: Fanny, Edward, Henry, Frederic, Eliza- beth Boott, and Louise Winsor Brooks. In 1862 Mr. Brooks represented the town of Medford in the lower branch of the Legislature. Mr. Brooks was sent with Edmund Dwight to distribute the Boston French relief fund among the peasantry in the neighborhood of Paris after the Franco-Prussian war of 1S71. BROOKS, PHILLIPS, son of William Gray and Mary Ann (Phillips) Brooks, was born in Boston, December 13, 1835. He received his early education at the common and high schools of Boston, where he fitted for Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1855, subsequently study- ing theology at the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va. In 1S59 he was ordained and became rector of the Church of the Advent, in Phil- adelphia. Three years later he took charge of the Church of the Holy Trinity, in that city, which position he occupied until 1869, when he became rector of Trinity Church, Boston, with which he is still identified. Dr. Brooks has risen to one of the most prominent positions in the Episcopal church. He has declined many calls to other churches since he became rector of Trinity Church in Boston — in 1881 to the Plummer professorship in Harvard College, and later the office of assistant bishop of Pennsylvania, to which he was elected in 1866 — wisely preferring to re- main in his Boston parish, where he has become a power that may justly be said to be unrivaled in the church. His present church edifice, noted through- out the United States for its unique archi- tecture and fine interior decorations, was constructed at a cost of more than half a million dollars. In its pulpit the figure of Dr. Brooks has become one of the most familiar sights of Boston, and the immense auditorium is constantly thronged with an eager and expectant audience, in culture and intelligence second to none in the country. Dr. Brooks has published many of his sermons and lectures, among the most popular of which may be mentioned : "Our Mercies of Re-occupation" (Phila- delphia, 1865); "Addresses by Bishops and Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church" (Philadelphia, 1869) ; "The Liv- ing Church" (Philadelphia Protestant Episcopal Book Society, 1869); "Ser- mon preached before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Bos- ton" (Boston, 1S72) ; Address delivered May 30, 1873, at the dedication of An- dover (Mass.) Memorial Hall (Andover, 1873) ; "Lectures in Preaching," delivered before the Yale divinity school (New York, 1877) ; "The Influence of Jesus," Bohlen