Horatio G. Brooks

Horatio G. Brooks (October 30, 1828 – April 20, 1887) worked as chief engineer for the New York and Erie Railroad (NY&E) until the railroad moved its steam locomotive maintenance facilities from Dunkirk, New York, to Buffalo. In 1869 he leased the former NY&E shops in Dunkirk and formed Brooks Locomotive Works. Brooks also served for three terms as mayor of Dunkirk. He was a leading figure in the business and social life of the area around Dunkirk, and western New York state.

Horatio G. Brooks
Born(1828-10-30)October 30, 1828
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
DiedApril 20, 1887(1887-04-20) (aged 58)
Dunkirk, New York
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery, Fredonia, New York
Known forfounder of Brooks Locomotive Works, three-term mayor of Dunkirk, New York
Spouse(s)Julia A. Haggett
Notes

Family and early life

Horatio Brooks was born on October 30, 1828, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[1][5] His family moved to Dover, New Hampshire, in 1838.[3]

He married Julia A. Haggett, of North Edgecomb, Maine, on March 6, 1851.[1][3]

Career

In 1844, he began working as an apprentice machinist in the shop of Isaac and Seth Adams, his cousins.[2][3] He started with the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) at their shops in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1846, and worked his way up to become a fireman in 1848 and an engineer in May 1849.[2][3] His experience on the B&M led to his next position as an engineer for the New York and Erie Railroad in 1850;[2] in this position he operated the first locomotive in Chautauqua County, New York, on November 28, 1850.[1][3]

He moved west in 1856 at the request of his friend from the B&M, Charles Minot, who was superintendent of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, where Brooks became master mechanic of the line.[1][2] The move was the result of a trainmen strike against the Erie, for which both Brooks and Minot were identified for dismissal; after the superintendent during the strike resigned, Minot was recalled to the Erie and he brought Brooks back with him.[6] Brooks was appointed superintendent of the western division of Erie Railroad in October 1862,[1] and superintendent of motive power in 1865.[2]

When Jay Gould ordered that the railroad's shops at Dunkirk, New York, be closed with work consolidated to other locations on the line, Brooks leased the shops buildings and formed Brooks Locomotive Works in October and November 1869.[1]

Death and legacy

Horatio Brooks died on April 20, 1887, survived by his wife and two daughters (a third daughter preceded him in death).[3][5] He was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredonia, New York.[4]

The Brooks Locomotive Works remained in the family for a while, with his sons-in-law Edward Nichols and Frederick H. Stevens both serving as president, Nichols from 1887 to 1892 and Stevens from 1896 to the merger that formed Alco in 1901.[7] Stevens continued on with Alco, becoming chairman of the board of directors in 1905.[8]

In 1898, the Stevens family donated the Horatio G. Brooks Dunkirk homestead to YMCA to become the organization's hospital and library;[9] the donation was valued at $150,000 (equivalent to $4,610,000 in 2019).[10] It became known as the Brooks Memorial Hospital.[11][12] By 1944, the original building was slated to be razed.[13]

Horatio Brooks's wife Julia died in 1896, leaving many shares of company stock and large amounts of cash to their descendants and family.[14] She was buried beside her late husband in Forest Hill Cemetery.[15][16]

Monuments to Horatio Brooks commemorating his work as president of Brooks Locomotive Works and his contributions to the community were proposed as early as 1903.[17][18]

A locomotive that bore his name in honor was involved in a collision in 1923 when it ran out of control onto another line.[19]

Brooks was remembered in celebration in 1923 by employees of the Brooks plant who had worked there for 25 or more years; he was hailed as "Dunkirk's first citizen."[20]

Brooks was one of a few men nominated to be included in the Hall of Fame for New York State's exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair.[21]

References
  1. "The Late H. G. Brooks". Knoxville Daily Journal. Knoxville, TN. May 12, 1887. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Obituary: Horatio G. Brooks". Boston Post. Boston, MA. April 22, 1887. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Dunkirk's Sorrow; The Death of Mr. Horatio G. Brooks". The Buffalo Commercial. Buffalo, NY. April 21, 1887. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Horatio G Brooks". Find-A-Grave. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  5. "Death of Horatio G. Brooks, President of the Brooks Locomotive Works". Railway World. Vol. 13 no. 17. Philadlephia, PA. April 23, 1887. p. 391 – via Google Books.
  6. "First Engineers' Strike on Erie". The Morning Call. Paterson, NJ. April 23, 1912. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Large Industry Survived Years of Depression". Buffalo Courier. Buffalo, NY. September 17, 1905. p. 46 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "High Place With Locomotive Works". The Buffalo Enquirer. Buffalo, NY. November 22, 1905. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "The Brooks Gift to the City of Dunkirk". Locomotive Engineering. Vol. XI. New York, NY. June 1898. p. 287 – via Google Books.
  10. "The Social Chronicle: Coming and Going". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, NY. May 10, 1898. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "City May Run Hospital". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. June 27, 1924. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "300 Present for Hospital Program Sunday Afternoon". Dunkirk Evening Observer. May 10, 1948. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Old Building To Be Razed". Dunkirk Evening Observer. Dunkirk, NY. April 29, 1944. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Will of the Late Mrs. Brooks". Buffalo Evening News. November 17, 1896. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "The Last of Earth; Funeral of Mrs. Horatio G. Brooks at Dunkirk Largely Attended". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, NY. November 9, 1896. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Julia A Brooks". Find A Grave. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  17. "Will Erect Monument". The Buffalo Enquirer. Buffalo, NY. October 3, 1903. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Carnegie Library Site Proposed for Dunkirk". Buffalo Courier. Buffalo, NY. June 12, 1904. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Brooks' Namesake Goes On Rampage; Wallops Freight". The Evening Tribune. Hornell, NY. January 15, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Brooks Plant 25 Years Club Honors Memory of Horatio G. Brooks". Dunkirk Evening Observer. Dunkirk, NY. October 31, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Noted Chautauquans Being Nominated for Fair's Hall of Fame". Dunkirk Evening Observer. Dunkirk, NY. July 11, 1938. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
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