The family of Joseph R. Holbrook 1814-1881

 As I write this post, I'm thinking of the pictures that used to be published in our local newspapers, of five generation families.  Usually someone is holding an infant or toddler, and the representative of the oldest generation is anywhere from 70 years old, upwards.  When I was a baby, Joseph Holbrook could theoretically have been in my five generation photo, except that he had already been gone about 70 years.  I guess my point is that my posts about the Holbrook line are getting close enough that I can relate to these people a little more, even though there are still many unanswered questions about them.

Joseph Rockwood Holbrook is the youngest son of Nahum and Susanna Rockwood Holbrook, born January 4, 1814 in Washington County, New York.  He stayed there long enough to marry Mary Elizabeth Whittemore, daughter of Josiah and Betsy Foster Whittemore, on or about May 7, 1836.  (I am still searching for the records to confirm this date.)  They didn't stay in New York long, because the first of there children, born less than two years later, was in Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana, and the rest of their children were born in Bloom Township, Cook County, Illinois, starting in 1840.

The known children of Joseph and "Lizzie", as she is referred to on one census record, were:

Clark Holbrook, born March of 1838 in Crown Point, as mentioned above.  He married Ann K Raymond, whose parents aren't known to me, and they had Mary, Howard, Christie, Alice, and George.  Clark died in 1904.

Nahum was born June 10, 1840, in Bloom Township, where his parents settled for the rest of their lives.  Nahum married Clarissa Hewes, daughter of Benjamin and Rebecca Bulinghame Hewes, and they had Helen, Kathryn, Minnie, Nora, Luella, George, and Walter.  He died in 1875.

Their first daughter, Susan, was born April 30, 1842,  Sadly, she never even appears on a census record as she died in 1848.  

Fremont (in the early days, seen as Freemont) was born in February of 1850.  He married Phoebe Brown and they had three children, who will be mentioned in a later post.

Their last known child was Martha (known as Mattie), born May 9, 1852.  She married William A DuBreuil, son of Augustus and Elizabeth Hoxley DuBreuil, and had children L. E., who only lived 12 years, Weldon, Allan, Forrest, and Winfield.  Martha died in 1916.

Clark and Nahum were each eligible to be involved in the Civil War, but I haven't found their names on the databases I've consulted.  Joseph was a well to do man and I wonder if these Holbrooks purchased substitutes, as was a common and acceptable practice.  This is speculation on my part.  

I've noticed several trends with this family.  The naming patterns have changed, with most of the children not giving traditional family or Biblical names to their children.  Joseph, of course, was the first in our direct line to strike out on his own, crossing several states to arrive at his new home (although, as noted in my last post, he had siblings within 150 miles of Cook County).  And his family is the smallest in number that I've yet seen in the Holbrook line.  

I would love to find a photo of this man, and of his wife!