Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Brooks, Albert I.

Born: 1827-06-05 Franklin County, Tennessee

Died: 1894-01-24 Petersburg, Illinois

Albert I. Brooks was an attorney, county government official, and federal government official. Brooks received his early education in the county schools of his native Franklin County, Tennessee. In October 1846, he enrolled in the preparatory department at Illinois College, remaining there until 1849. Choosing to pursue a career in law, Brooks read law in Springfield, Illinois, and with Thomas L. Harris of Petersburg, Illinois. In 1850, Brooks resided in Petersburg and owned real property valued at $400. Admitted to the Illinois bar in 1852, Brooks commenced practicing law in Petersburg. In March 1855, Brooks received a bachelor of laws from Louisville University. In addition to his law practice, Brooks entered county government and politics. He served as master in chancery for Menard County in 1853. In April 1855, Brooks became a candidate for clerk of the Illinois Supreme Court, but he eventually declined to run. Brooks also served as postmaster for Petersburg in the 1850s. In January 1856, delegates to the American Party's convention for the Illinois Sixth Congressional District appointed Brooks to the district committee. In 1860, he was an alternate delegate to the 1860 Illinois State Republican Convention and served as secretary for the Republican Party's convention for the Illinois Sixth Congressional District. In 1860, Brooks owned real property valued at $7,000 and had a personal estate of $300. Brooks remained an attorney until 1861, when he left the profession and moved to Kentucky. President Abraham Lincoln helped secure Brooks an appointment as a clerk in the U.S. Pension Office. He remained a clerk with the U.S. Pension Office until 1865.

In June 1857, Brooks married Ann A. Gill, with whom he had three children.

Catalogue of Phi Alpha Society Illinois College 1845-1890 (New Haven: CT: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1890), 24; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, McLean County, 10 June 1857, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Petersburg, Menard County, IL, 270; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 9 July 1853, 3:2; 13 March 1855, 3:2; 19 April 1855, 3:1; 7 May 1855, 2:1; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 18 January 1856, 2:4; Illinois Daily State Journal (Springfield), 9 April 1860, 2:2; 12 July 1860, 3:4; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Petersburg, Menard County, IL, 229; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1845-1855, 18:69, National Archives Building, Washington, DC; Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 4:356; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1861 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1862), 90, 91; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1863 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1864), 114, 115; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1865 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1866), 142; Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999 (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2015).