WILLOW CEMETERY

At Franconia's March, 2002 town meeting, in response to questions from the floor, the Franconia Board of Selectmen appointed a committee to look into the state of neglect at Willow Cemetery, the town's first burying-ground. This writer, on the basis of extensive familiarity with the town's cemeteries acquired over two decades, initiated subsequent discussions with Selectwoman Ruth Vaill about the importance of conducting a thorough site survey of Willow Cemetery prior to undertaking any restoration activities. Ms. Vaill suggested that I submit a proposal for such a survey to the Board of Selectmen for their consideration. I did so, the proposal was accepted, and the survey was undertaken and completed in calendar year 2002.

A final report and accompanying maps and documents presented my methodology and findings. Click the link below to open a new window, then click on any title to download it in PDF format.

 
The BROOKS FAMILY OF FRANCONIA — A Descendant Chart

The chart linked below includes 14 generations — 1,197 persons in all — beginning with the emigrant progenitor Capt. Thomas/1 Brooks, who died at Concord, Massachusetts in 1667, and continuing to the present. Dates for living individuals are suppressed for privacy. Two of Thomas's 3rd great-grandsons (6th generation), brothers Luke and Timothy Brooks of Stow, Massachusetts, became 1790s settlers of Franconia, where they are buried in Willow Cemetery. To their prolific families I have added the lines of other descendants of Capt. Thomas Brooks (including myself) who have lived in or been associated with Franconia.

NUMBERING SYSTEM: For descendants of Capt. Thomas/1 Brooks, an alpha-numeric ID suffix (i.e., Joshua/2a) denotes the generation of descent (where /1 is the emigrant progenitor, and "a" denotes Thomas's Brooks line. If a spouse or other non-Brooks individual has a number-only suffix (i.e., John/9 Smith), that generation number is particular to that particular surname.

NAVIGATION:  Use CTRL-F or the Find command in your browser to search a particular name.