Samuel Brooks (c. 1793 – March 22, 1849) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born merchant and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. He was born in

Haverhill, New Hampshire Haverhill is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,585 at the 2020 census. Haverhill includes the villages of Woodsville, Pike, and North Haverhill, the historic town center at Haverhill Corner, and the dis ...

, the son of merchant Samuel Brooks. He set up business in Newbury, Vermont. He married Elizabeth Towle in 1813. Around 1820, he moved to Stanstead in Lower Canada, later moving to

Lennoxville Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...

. He was a merchant there and also provided loans, raised livestock and acted as agent for the

British American Land Company The British American Land Company (BALC) was a company formed in 1832 for the purpose of purchasing land and encouraging British immigration to Lower Canada. It was founded and promoted by John Galt, Edward Ellice and others to acquire and manag ...

in the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...

. He later was a bank manager at

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

and president of the Stanstead and Sherbrooke Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Brooks was also involved in the development of railroads in the region with

Alexander Tilloch Galt Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, (September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and a father of the Canadian Confederation. Early life Galt was born in Chelsea, England on September 6, 1817. He was the son of John Galt, a Scottish ...

. He served in the local militia and as

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Brooks was elected to represent Sherbrooke in the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

in 1829 and was reelected in 1830. He was forced to resign in 1831 because he was not a British subject. He was elected to represent Sherbrooke in the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

in 1844 and was reelected in 1848. He died in office in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1849. His son Edward Towle served in the Canadian House of Commons. His daughter Eleanor Hall married

John Sewell Sanborn John Sewell Sanborn (January 1, 1819 – July 17, 1877) was a Canadians, Canadian educator, lawyer, judge and political figure. Some sources give his middle name as Sewall. He was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire and graduated from Dartmouth ...

, who served in the Senate of Canada.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Samuel 1793 births 1849 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East American emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Anglophone Quebec people People from Haverhill, New Hampshire Canadian justices of the peace People from Newbury, Vermont