The Ford Family

Born	November 12, 1825 Williamsfield, OH
Died	November 26, 1897 Williamsfield, OH
Father	Charles Brooks
Mother	Isabel Brooks
Siblings	Charles Newell Brooks

Spouse	Emeline Persis Brooks
Married	1847
Children	Ellen Emeline Woodworth Franklin L. Brooks Charles Varnum Brooks George William Brooks

Bio
William Charles Brooks is the son and grandson of American Revolutionary soldiers. His father Charles moved to Williamsfield where William was born in 1825. He marries Emeline Persis Palmer in Williamsfield Ohio in 1847. Today we honor these ancestors by naming our children after them, as in the case of Kathleen Palmer Ford and her niece Emily Brooks Ford!

In 1850 William Brooks and Em P. Palmer Brooks have a daughter they name Ellen Emeline. (This daughter would grow up and marry Newell Woodworth and have a daughter they name Edith. Edith is our beloved Bama Ford!) With all the Emelines and Palmers and Brooks in Williamsfield it is easy to get confused, so let's get back to the life of William Charles Brooks.

William, like so many others here in Williamsfield, is a farmer. He needs some boys to help him out so two years after Ellen is born he and Emeline welcome a son named Franklin. Then in 6 years Charles Varnum Brooks is born and three years later the final son George is born. This is a young family to say the least so William also learns the blacksmith trade and is listed as a "Tinner" in the 1870 records of the area. He even sends his boys off to school at this time, which I think is rare for the time where agriculture and farming dominate.

In fact, by the time he is 54, William is back to farming. Is he still doing blacksmith work or did that not work out? We do not know. What we do know is that Williamsfield is a bustling growing town at this time in history (far more so than today even). Railroads are coming near the town and industry begins. His son Charles gets a job in the local Stove Mill and George becomes a Timberman, helping to clear the land for growth and expansion.

It was a life of hard work and William dies young at 72 years of age. His widow Emeline will go live with her son Charles and his wife and daughter. We are not sure where Franklin ended up, but perhaps he traveled further west in search of his own great adventure.