Captain James R. Brock and his family were living in Rusk County near Henderson (Texas) in 1853, when they purchased 400 acres of land in Van Zandt County, Texas, near Canton. They had moved from Gordon County, Georgia, to Rusk County. He was a skilled carpenter, cabinetmaker and farmer. He was also captain of the Georgia Militia in Habersham and Gordon Counties for many years. One of these districts was known as Captain Brock's District. He was born August 9, 1807 to Thomas and Jane Brock who settled in Georgia before 1820. James R. married Elizabeth Bryan, November 11, 1824, in Georgia. Both were born in North Carolina." My ancestor, John Henry Brock, was the youngest of three sons born to James R. and Elizabeth. Their other children were Thomas Jasper, Newton Vanburen and Margaret Jane. When Elizabeth died in late October of 1860 the family was devastated. Because he was so heartbroken James R. decided to volunteer with his sons as soon as the Civil War was declared in 1861. They were among the very first to enlist in the Confederate Army. Even though James R. was fifty-four years old he joined with the rank of 1st Lieutenant, Company E, 6th Regiment, Texas Cavalry. Thomas Jasper was in Company I, 11th Regiment, Texas Infantry, Newton Van Buren was in Company E, 6th Texas Cavalry; and John Henry, who was still a student, joined Company E, 6th Regiment, Texas Cavalry. Margaret Jane, the youngest child at age twelve, was left behind to live with the J. G. W. Bivins family until her father and brothers came home from the war. Newton Van Buren, John Henry and their father, James R. all returned home to join Margaret after the war; however, Thomas Jasper was killed during his long journey home, traveling by foot. John Henry was born in Red Bud, Gordon County, Georgia, on December 13, 1843. Before joining the Confederates he took advantage of a good education and was eighteen when he volunteered. He fought with Nathan B. Forrest in Tennessee and it was in Spring Hill that he was captured and taken to a prisoner of war camp in the north where he remained until the end of the war. He was captured "in clothing described as shoes so worn he was almost barefoot and clothing that was almost indecent." After the men returned they took Margaret and went back to Rusk County near Henderson. "It was here that John Henry Brock met and married Polly Sanders Elam on October 21, 1866. Polly was the daughter of Joel Elam and Sarah Eleanor Stamps, landowners adjoining the Sparkmans and Risingers and near the G. D. Buckners." John Henry and Polly bought 160 acres of land adjoining her father's property, where they lived "until around 1870 when they followed his father, brother, and sister to Parker County." There was one son, Joel Walter Brock, born to them while in Rusk County, June 18, 1869. Brannon Crossing on the Brazos River is the place John Henry and Polly settled in Parker County. He and his brother, Newton Van Buren, bought 400 acres of land in the Hiner Community. Newton Van Buren later sold his share to his brother and moved to Ellis County.
John Henry later moved to Olive Branch and bought several lots. A skilled carpenter and cabinetmaker, he built most of the town. He built the first cotton-gin, two two-story mercantile stores, the Baptist Church, the school, and most of the houses. A post office was established in 1890, and the town's name was then changed to Brock, in his honor. His wife, Polly, was postmaster from 1892 until two years before her death in 1924.

Genealogy of Richards & Shubert Family Lines by Judith Richards Shubert (Submitted by Mary Bynum)