Erastus Brooks (NYPL Hades-165542-EM11505)

Erastus Brooks (January 31, 1815 – November 25, 1886) was an American newspaper editor and politician from New York.

Life

He was born on January 31, 1815, in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, then in the

District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachu ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, the son of Capt. James Brooks who commanded the privateer ''Yankee'' during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and was lost at sea near the end of 1814. At age eight Erastus left home and began work as a messenger boy and shop clerk in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Some time later he became a

typesetter Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random Ho ...

and later a printer. He attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

for two years, at the same time working as a printer to support himself and pay for tuition, but due to his financial distress did not graduate. He then taught school in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

, where he became editor of the ''Haverhill Gazette'' in June 1835. In 1836, his brother James Brooks (1810–1873) was one of the founders of the '' New York Daily Express'' and Erastus wrote articles and editorials for the paper. In 1836, he went to Washington, D.C. as a special

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

. In 1840, he returned to Portland and edited the ''Portland Advertiser'', a Whig paper campaigning for

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

. After the election, he carried the electoral vote of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

to Washington, D.C., where he remained again until 1843 when he traveled to Europe. He returned on the

packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

''Sheffield'' which was wrecked off

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

and lost his literary treasures picked up in Europe. On January 12, 1844, he married Margaret Dawes Cranch (1819–1895), daughter of Chief Judge

William Cranch William Cranch (July 17, 1769 – September 1, 1855) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge and chief judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. A staunch Federalist Party, Federalist and nephe ...

(1769–1855), and they had seven children. Erastus Brooks was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(6th D.), first elected as a Whig, from 1854 to 1857, sitting in the 77th, 78th, 79th and

80th New York State Legislature The 80th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 18, 1857, during the first year of John A. King's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisi ...

s. He was a delegate to the American Party national convention of 1856 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

which nominated the

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

/ Andrew J. Donelson ticket for the 1856 United States presidential election. At the

1856 New York state election The 1856 New York state election was held on November 4, 1856, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, a Canal Commissioner, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York ...

, he ran on the American Party ticket for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

, but was defeated by Republican

John A. King John Alsop King (January 3, 1788July 7, 1867) was an American politician who was Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. Life John Alsop King was born in the area now encompassed by New York City on January 3, 1788, to U.S. Senator Rufus King ...

. Brooks was a delegate to the Constitutional Union national convention of 1860 in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

which nominated the John Bell/

Edward Everett Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865) was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Mass ...

ticket for the 1860 United States presidential election. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Richmond Co.) in 1878, 1879, 1881,

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...

and

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

. He was the Democratic minority candidate for Speaker in 1878, 1879 and 1881; and Permanent Chairman of the Democratic state convention of 1881. Brooks was one of the first trustees of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Brooks lived the furthest from the campus of the original trustees, but he never during his twenty years as a trustee was absent from one of its meetings. He died on November 25, 1886, in

West New Brighton, Staten Island West New Brighton (also called West Brighton) is a neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City, situated along the central North Shore. The neighborhood is bordered by New Brighton to the east, Port Richmond to the west, the waters of the Kil ...

, of "inflammation of the bladder,

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...

, and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

,"''A VETERAN EDITOR GONE; ERASTUS BROOKS DEAD AT HIS STATEN ISLAND HOME''
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' on November 26, 1886 and was buried at the

Moravian Cemetery The Moravian Cemetery is a cemetery in the New Dorp neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. Location Located at 2205 Richmond Road, the Moravian Cemetery is the largest and oldest active cemetery on Staten Island, having opened in 1740. ...

New Dorp, Staten Island New Dorp is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. New Dorp is bounded by Mill Road on the southeast, Tysens Lane on the southwest, Amboy and Richmond Roads on the northwest, and Bancroft Avenue on the no ...

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 137 and 139; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''The Star of the West''
by Anna Ella carroll (Boston, 1856; pg. 161ff, bio and portrait)
The ''Sheffield'' shipwreck
at

RootsWeb Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Erastus 1815 births 1886 deaths Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators Writers from Portland, Maine New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians New York (state) Know Nothings People from Staten Island Brown University alumni New York (state) Constitutional Unionists 19th-century American newspaper editors New York (state) Democrats American male journalists 19th-century American male writers Journalists from New York City Burials at Moravian Cemetery People from West New Brighton, Staten Island Deaths from urinary tract infection Deaths from pleurisy Deaths from pneumonia in New York City