Samuel Brooks (c. 1793 – March 22, 1849) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

-born merchant and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. He was born in

Haverhill, New Hampshire Haverhill is a town and the seat of Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,585 at the 2020 census. Haverhill includes the villages of Woodsville, Pike, and North Haverhill, the historic town center at Haverhill Corn ...

, the son of merchant Samuel Brooks. He set up business in Newbury, Vermont. He married Elizabeth Towle in 1813. Around 1820, he moved to Stanstead in Lower Canada, later moving to

Lennoxville Lennoxville () is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lenn ...

. He was a merchant there and also provided loans, raised livestock and acted as agent for the

British American Land Company The British American Land Company (BALC) was a company formed in 1832 for the purpose of purchasing land and encouraging British immigration to Lower Canada. It was founded and promoted by John Galt, Edward Ellice and others to acquire and man ...

in the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (, ) is a historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby, Quebec, Granby in ...

. He later was a bank manager at

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

and president of the Stanstead and Sherbrooke Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Brooks was also involved in the development of railroads in the region with

Alexander Tilloch Galt Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, (September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation, the Canadian Confederation, union of British North American colonies into Canada. Early life He w ...

. He served in the local militia and as justice of the peace. Brooks was elected to represent Sherbrooke in the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of e ...

in 1829 and was reelected in 1830. He was forced to resign in 1831 because he was not a British subject. He was elected to represent Sherbrooke in the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

in 1844 and was reelected in 1848. He died in office in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1849. His son Edward Towle served in the Canadian House of Commons. His daughter Eleanor Hall married John Sewell Sanborn, who served in the Senate of Canada.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Samuel 1790s births 1849 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East American emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Anglophone Quebec people Politicians from Estrie People from Haverhill, New Hampshire Canadian justices of the peace People from Newbury, Vermont Politicians from Sherbrooke