Mr. Williams Barker Brooks, who died at Norwell, on the sixteen inst., was born at Camden, Me, November 9, 1813. He was the son of Captain Noah and Esther Stetson Brooks. His father held a commission in the War of 1812. The family moved [back] to Boston soon after the close of the war, and the captain engaged in shipbuilding and took a prominent part in town and later in city affairs. Williams was educated in the pbulic schools, receiving a Franklin Medal from the Hawes School, from which so many of our substantial citizens have graduated, and also from the English High School. He learned the trade of shipbuilding, but later engaged in business as a dealer in wood and coal in South Boston. He took an active interest in municapal affairs, and served two years in the school committe. In 1852 he removed to Dorchester, and was for many years the manager of the Dorchester Gas Light Company. He was prominent in town affairs there, and might have been elected to public office had he been willing to allow the use of his name for that purpose; but he preferred to play his part as a public-spirited citizen without being trammelled by party ties. In 1882 he retired from active business and removed to South Scituate, now known as Norwell, where he had since lived. He was a man of sterling character, conscientious by the performance of every duty to his family and to his community in which he lived. He was married in 1836 to Alvira Wood Rice, who died in 1897. Of their nine children, two sons and four daughters survive.
Faded newspaper obituary, clipping, probably local Norwell paper, or Boston Globe equivalent
© 1993-2008 Helen Glenn Court | All rights reserved