Last Civil War Veteran in Swain County when he died. Although he lived on Hazel Creek and his wife is buried at the Bone Valley Cemetery there, George was buried at Arlington Cemetery and that is where this military marker is located, not at Bone Valley as some unknown person recorded here.
George Addison Brooks 1844-1938. Bio By Michael & Gwen
A Civil War soldier, hunter, lumberjack, midwife, dentist – George Addison Brooks wore all of those hats and more during his lifetime.
Former Western Carolina University professor Duane Oliver, a native of Swain County, wrote a short historical treatise entitled "Hazel Creek From Then Till Now" which was regionally self-published in 1989.
In that monograph (pg. 11), Professor Oliver stated that George, and his wife Matilda Herrin, moved from Buncombe County to Hazel Creek in Swain County, North Carolina in 1880. The late Professor Oliver noted that "since there was no doctor on Hazel Creek at the time, and would not be for well over three decades, he became both dentist and midwife for the area, always keeping a pair of pliers handy for tooth extraction, and later estimated that he had helped deliver over three hundred babies." (There was no doctor in the area until the arrival of the Ritter Lumber Company in 1910.)
According to Professor Oliver (pg. 115) George joined the 25th Infantry Regiment of the Confederate army when he was only 16. His unit saw major action at Petersburg in June of 1862 and at Fredericksburg in December of 1862. He left the regiment sometime in 1863 (it is, frankly, not known whether he had permission to leave or, like many other young men, decided on his own to return home from that war). Some seven years later he would marry Matilda Herren of Buncombe County, sister of Luster Herren with whom George had served in that rebel unit.
Family sources told stories indicating George enjoyed his drink and would sometimes go off on his own to drink, hunt, and fish for days at a time. Matilda, by all accounts a religious, loving woman, tolerated his behavior.
An unidentified newspaper clipping (possible Asheville or Bryson City) reported that "Mr. Brooks new the Great Smoky Mountains as few men do and made many trips into the wilderness area. He was a good shot and brought home deer, wild turkeys, and other game until hunting in the present national park area was prohibited."
George died of a stroke in 1938; Matilda preceded him in death in 1926.
Oliver's monograph notes that the pair raised eight children beyond infancy. Although they lost four children in infancy, one son, Lawrence, lived to be 101 years old at the time of his death in 1988.
Contributor: Thom Black (49302062) • [email protected]
George Addison Brooks 1844-1938. Bio By Michael & Gwen
A Civil War soldier, hunter, lumberjack, midwife, dentist – George Addison Brooks wore all of those hats and more during his lifetime.
Former Western Carolina University professor Duane Oliver, a native of Swain County, wrote a short historical treatise entitled "Hazel Creek From Then Till Now" which was regionally self-published in 1989.
In that monograph (pg. 11), Professor Oliver stated that George, and his wife Matilda Herrin, moved from Buncombe County to Hazel Creek in Swain County, North Carolina in 1880. The late Professor Oliver noted that "since there was no doctor on Hazel Creek at the time, and would not be for well over three decades, he became both dentist and midwife for the area, always keeping a pair of pliers handy for tooth extraction, and later estimated that he had helped deliver over three hundred babies." (There was no doctor in the area until the arrival of the Ritter Lumber Company in 1910.)
According to Professor Oliver (pg. 115) George joined the 25th Infantry Regiment of the Confederate army when he was only 16. His unit saw major action at Petersburg in June of 1862 and at Fredericksburg in December of 1862. He left the regiment sometime in 1863 (it is, frankly, not known whether he had permission to leave or, like many other young men, decided on his own to return home from that war). Some seven years later he would marry Matilda Herren of Buncombe County, sister of Luster Herren with whom George had served in that rebel unit.
Family sources told stories indicating George enjoyed his drink and would sometimes go off on his own to drink, hunt, and fish for days at a time. Matilda, by all accounts a religious, loving woman, tolerated his behavior.
An unidentified newspaper clipping (possible Asheville or Bryson City) reported that "Mr. Brooks new the Great Smoky Mountains as few men do and made many trips into the wilderness area. He was a good shot and brought home deer, wild turkeys, and other game until hunting in the present national park area was prohibited."
George died of a stroke in 1938; Matilda preceded him in death in 1926.
Oliver's monograph notes that the pair raised eight children beyond infancy. Although they lost four children in infancy, one son, Lawrence, lived to be 101 years old at the time of his death in 1988.
Contributor: Thom Black (49302062) • [email protected]
Last Civil War Veteran in Swain County when he died. Although he lived on Hazel Creek and his wife is buried at the Bone Valley Cemetery there, George was buried at Arlington Cemetery and that is where this military marker is located, not at Bone Valley as some unknown person recorded here.
George Addison Brooks 1844-1938. Bio By Michael & Gwen
A Civil War soldier, hunter, lumberjack, midwife, dentist – George Addison Brooks wore all of those hats and more during his lifetime.
Former Western Carolina University professor Duane Oliver, a native of Swain County, wrote a short historical treatise entitled "Hazel Creek From Then Till Now" which was regionally self-published in 1989.
In that monograph (pg. 11), Professor Oliver stated that George, and his wife Matilda Herrin, moved from Buncombe County to Hazel Creek in Swain County, North Carolina in 1880. The late Professor Oliver noted that "since there was no doctor on Hazel Creek at the time, and would not be for well over three decades, he became both dentist and midwife for the area, always keeping a pair of pliers handy for tooth extraction, and later estimated that he had helped deliver over three hundred babies." (There was no doctor in the area until the arrival of the Ritter Lumber Company in 1910.)
According to Professor Oliver (pg. 115) George joined the 25th Infantry Regiment of the Confederate army when he was only 16. His unit saw major action at Petersburg in June of 1862 and at Fredericksburg in December of 1862. He left the regiment sometime in 1863 (it is, frankly, not known whether he had permission to leave or, like many other young men, decided on his own to return home from that war). Some seven years later he would marry Matilda Herren of Buncombe County, sister of Luster Herren with whom George had served in that rebel unit.
Family sources told stories indicating George enjoyed his drink and would sometimes go off on his own to drink, hunt, and fish for days at a time. Matilda, by all accounts a religious, loving woman, tolerated his behavior.
An unidentified newspaper clipping (possible Asheville or Bryson City) reported that "Mr. Brooks new the Great Smoky Mountains as few men do and made many trips into the wilderness area. He was a good shot and brought home deer, wild turkeys, and other game until hunting in the present national park area was prohibited."
George died of a stroke in 1938; Matilda preceded him in death in 1926.
Oliver's monograph notes that the pair raised eight children beyond infancy. Although they lost four children in infancy, one son, Lawrence, lived to be 101 years old at the time of his death in 1988.
Contributor: Thom Black (49302062) • [email protected]
George Addison Brooks 1844-1938. Bio By Michael & Gwen
A Civil War soldier, hunter, lumberjack, midwife, dentist – George Addison Brooks wore all of those hats and more during his lifetime.
Former Western Carolina University professor Duane Oliver, a native of Swain County, wrote a short historical treatise entitled "Hazel Creek From Then Till Now" which was regionally self-published in 1989.
In that monograph (pg. 11), Professor Oliver stated that George, and his wife Matilda Herrin, moved from Buncombe County to Hazel Creek in Swain County, North Carolina in 1880. The late Professor Oliver noted that "since there was no doctor on Hazel Creek at the time, and would not be for well over three decades, he became both dentist and midwife for the area, always keeping a pair of pliers handy for tooth extraction, and later estimated that he had helped deliver over three hundred babies." (There was no doctor in the area until the arrival of the Ritter Lumber Company in 1910.)
According to Professor Oliver (pg. 115) George joined the 25th Infantry Regiment of the Confederate army when he was only 16. His unit saw major action at Petersburg in June of 1862 and at Fredericksburg in December of 1862. He left the regiment sometime in 1863 (it is, frankly, not known whether he had permission to leave or, like many other young men, decided on his own to return home from that war). Some seven years later he would marry Matilda Herren of Buncombe County, sister of Luster Herren with whom George had served in that rebel unit.
Family sources told stories indicating George enjoyed his drink and would sometimes go off on his own to drink, hunt, and fish for days at a time. Matilda, by all accounts a religious, loving woman, tolerated his behavior.
An unidentified newspaper clipping (possible Asheville or Bryson City) reported that "Mr. Brooks new the Great Smoky Mountains as few men do and made many trips into the wilderness area. He was a good shot and brought home deer, wild turkeys, and other game until hunting in the present national park area was prohibited."
George died of a stroke in 1938; Matilda preceded him in death in 1926.
Oliver's monograph notes that the pair raised eight children beyond infancy. Although they lost four children in infancy, one son, Lawrence, lived to be 101 years old at the time of his death in 1988.
Contributor: Thom Black (49302062) • [email protected]
Bio by: Michael & Gwen
Inscription
CO I 25 NC INF CSA
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
