Woman of the Century/M. Sears Brooks

BROOKS, Mrs. M. Sears, poet and author, born in Springfield, Mass. She is of English ancestry, descended from the Tuttles, of Hertfordshire, England, who settled in New Haven. Conn., in 1635, upon the tract of land now occupied by Yale College, part of which tract remained the family homestead for more than a century. She is of Revolutionary stock, her grandfather being one of Mad Anthony Wayne's picked men at the storming of Stony Point. Her family has been remarkable for strong religious inclination, high regard for education and culture. Some of the most noted names in American letters are descended from this stock. Among them are Presidents Dwight and Woolsey, of Yale, Prescott, the historian, Goodrich (Peter Parley), and many others. Mrs. Brooks received her education in the public and private schools of her native city. After her marriage she removed to Missouri, in 1859, and subsequently to Madison, Ind., in 1863, where she now lives. Her earliest contributions to the press appeared in eastern publications under a pen-name. Latterly her poems, essays and short stories have appeared over her own name in newspapers and magazines in various cities. She has been engaged in regular newspaper work in southern Indiana, as editor and contributor. The advancement of women has been a subject claiming her attention, and for the pant two years she has held the office of press superintendent for the State under the Indiana Woman Suffrage Association. Mrs. Brooks partakes in a large degree of the family characteristics, and in associations of prominence, in both State and Nation, her aid and influence have been felt. In her literary work she displays great force and beauty of diction, originality of thought and clearness of perception. She has published in holiday form "A Vision of the Mistletoe" (Buffalo, 1888).