J. Hugh LeBaron
William Maclin Brooks
Thu Feb 15 18:49:43 2001


William Maclin Brooks was born in October 1814 in Sumter District, South Carolina and was the son of William Middleton Brooks and Elizabeth Wilkins Watson, who were natives of Virginia. His grandparents were William Brooks and Susanna Middleton. He was educated at South Carolina College in Columbia and studied law. He moved to Marengo County, Alabama with his parents and practiced law in Linden. As solicitor, he successfully prosecuted William H. Jones for the murder of his slave Isabel. In 1846 he moved to Mobile but left in 1853 to escape a yellow fever epidemic and moved to Marion, Alabama where he quickly became Circuit Judge. He was active in politics and practiced law with ISHAM W. GARROTT Brooks was a Southern Democrat and a leader in the secession movement and the Confederate government. He was elected President of secession convention in 1861. In 1861, he headed a committee in Perry County, Alabama to provide essentials to soldiers in the field (socks, blankets, uniforms, food) and support for the soldier's families at home. He entered the military in 1864 as Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Alabama Reserves and was paroled at Marion on May 16, 1865. Records indicate that he was Captain of Company H of the 3rd Alabama Reserves. In 1866, he moved to Selma, Alabama where he practiced law with John Harllson. In 1886, he moved to Birmingham, Alabama where he formed the law firm of Brooks, Bush, and Vary. [Lovelace, Siloam History; England, Hospital in Marion; Harris, Heritage of Perry, v I; Owen, Alabama Biography, v III]