Note: Tomorrow marks the 12th anniversary of this blog! WOW! I never imagined I would have enough to write about to fill 12 years but here we are. I hope you’ll stick around for more stories from the stones in 2025 and beyond — Traci

First, my apologies for not writing a post since early October 2024! I’ve never gone that long without doing so but sometimes life gets in the way of your plans. A stress fracture in my left foot certainly threw me off. At any rate, happy New Year!

Second, this post contains stories about Confederate veteran graves. If that is a trigger for you, you may wish to stop reading now.

Mom and I stopped by Brooks City Cemetery on our multi-cemetery “hop” around Fayette County, not knowing what to expect. I knew it contained several Confederate veteran graves. A large sign tells you that the cemetery is maintained by the General McLaws Camp #29 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. It also states that 18 Confederate veterans are buried there. Find a Grave lists about 120 memorials for Brooks City Cemetery. That’s about all I know.

Namesake of Brooks

There are four Brooks graves at this cemetery and one of them happens to be the person for whom the town was named. His marker isn’t very grand so I had no idea who he was when I photographed it back in 2019.

I’m not sure where Hillery Brooks was born but he married Nancy Anderson in Oglethorpe County in 1827. They lived in Henry County and started a family. He and Nancy moved to Fayette County in the 1850s, following some of their now married daughters. The town was called Sharon Grove at the time. The Brooks family thrived and Hillery was active in their Baptist church.

In 1871, the Savannah, Griffin, and Alabama Railroad finished construction through Sharon Grove (which had begun before the Civil War). Hillery donated the land for the depot with the only condition being that it be called Brooks Station. Over time, Sharon Grove began to be called Brooks Station and eventually was shortened to Brooks in 1907.

As a side note, the Brooks family is thought to have been the first in town to have a well on their property. Before then, folks carried water from nearby streams.

“The Good Man is Gone From Us”

Hillery Brooks died in 1881 at age 75, after suffering a bout of dropsy. This obituary from the Newnan Herald describes his funeral.

Wife Nancy lived another nine years, dying on July 1, 1890 after a “lingering illness.” I suspect that both Hillery and Nancy’s markers were made at the same time since they are so much alike. I like the motif of the finger-pointing hand emerging from an open Bible.

Hillery and Nancy’s son, John R. Brooks, is also buried here. A Confederate veteran, he served Georgia’s 53rd Infantry, Company C. They were known as the “Fayette Planters”. In June 1864, he was held prisoner in Cold Harbor, Va. but was eventually released. He died on May 26, 1936 at age 90.

A Teenage Soldier

James Madison Bridges has two markers. One that he shared with his wife, Maenette, and his Confederate grave marker beside it.

Born in 1847 in Fayette County to Robert Bridges and Sallie Price Bridges, James had many siblings. He enlisted in the Confederate Army in June 1863 in nearby Griffin, and was assigned to Company E of the Second Regiment of the Georgia Cavalry. They were also known as the “Fayette Dragoons”. He would have been only 16 at the time.

I don’t know much about James’ service in the Civil War. He surrendered with his company in April 1865 in Greensboro, NC. Then he returned to Fayette County and married Mary Antoinette (Maenette) Cobb in April 1869.

The couple farmed next door to James’ parents. By 1880, they had a son and two daughters. According to the 1910 U.S. Census, they had 12 children altogether, with seven of them surviving.

James died of paralysis on February 3, 1896. It’s possible he had a stroke that caused it but I can’t be sure. I could not find any documentation to back up the statement in James’ obituary that he represented Fayette County in the Georgia legislature. But he was clearly loved by his neighbors.

Maenette did not remarry but continued living in Fayette County. She applied for a Confederate widow’s pension in 1910 and it appears that she did receive it. Maenette died on April 12, 1919. Brooks, like the rest of America, was suffering through the Spanish Flu pandemic at the time. She was 73. James and Maenette share this marker.

Confederate Widow

Finally, I want to share the story of another couple, Kenion and Nettie Brooks. But in this case, Kenion went to war and never returned.

Born on May 2, 1829 in Fayette County, Kenion (sometimes spelled Kinion) Abraham Brooks married Parthenia Ann (Nettie) Mitchell in 1851. She was born around 1836, so Nettie was a young bride. The couple would have at least seven children together.

Enlisting in May 1862, Kenion served in Company C of the Georgia 53rd Infantry. This is the same Fayette Planters that John R. Brooks (mentioned above) served in. He saw a great deal of action, fighting in the Battle of Malvern Hill, the Battle of Stone Mountain (Va.), and the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam).

But it was at the Battle of Salem Church (Chancellorsville, Va.) that would seal Private Banks’ fate. From May 3 to May 4, 1863, the 53rd lost 15 men and 105 were wounded. Kenion Banks was among the wounded and later died at Spotsylvania (Va.) Courthouse on May 7, 1863. He was 34.

I believe that the actual burial site of Kenion Banks is unknown, somewhere in Spotsylvania. His marker at Brooks Cemetery is most likely a cenotaph because of the words “In Memory Of” and was placed at a later date.

Back in Brooks, Nettie was pregnant and caring for their children. She gave birth to Kenyon Bradford Banks on July 16, 1863. They lived with her father, Francis, for a time. She died on July 30, 1885 at age 50.

I think Nettie’s grave marker is one of the loveliest I’ve seen. The motif of the hand clutching a bouquet of flowers with one finger pointing up is not one I see very often. It could mean that God plucked a beautiful flower to take to Heaven. I do believe Nettie’s children loved her very much to have provided such a thoughtful stone for their mother.

Next time, Mom and I will take a walk through Fayette County’s County Line Cemetery.