Brooks, Hattie
Harriet “Hattie” A. (Brooks) Pierce (1895-1938)
Keene, NH
In 1920, 15-year old Hattie Brooks lived with her grandmother Ida (Willard) Thompson in Keene, NH. She had just graduated from high school and was working as a housekeeper. At the time, her father Herbert W. Brooks and passed away in Westminster, VT, and her mother Ada May (Thompson) Brooks was in and out of her life.
1910 Census documenting Hattie Brooks residing in Keene, NH
Hattie Brooks was born in Westminster, VT on Feb 19, 1895, the first child of 18-year old Ada Thompson. Her parents soon married on July 20, 1895 in Westminster. The marriage record documents the family as persons of color. In February of 1897 they had their second daughter, Lottie P. Brooks. Herbert Brooks died in December 1897 at the age of 31 years, leaving Ada to care for their 2 year old and ten month old daughters alone.
Hattie’s mother had two more children following the death of her husband. Lillian Class was born and died in 1899; Walter Carroll Brooks was born in 1901. The names of the father(s) of Hattie’s half-siblings is not documented on the birth certificates.
While she is known to have lived in Keene in the late 1910s-early 1920s, it is unclear how long Hattie Brooks resided in southwest NH. At some point in the 1920s, she moved to New Bedford, MA with her grandmother and siblings. Hattie’s aunt Bella Thompson had married and was living in New Bedford.
At the age of 21, Hattie Brooks married Oakley Sylvester Pierce (1895-1935), a person of color from New Bedford, MA, on March 20, 1916. The young couple moved into Oakley’s father’s house at 384 Kempton Street, New Bedford.
During World War I, Oakley served as a private 1st class in Co. C, 367 Infantry, having enlisted in April 1918 and discharged in March 1919. In October 1919, their daughter Henrietta Frances Pierce was born. At the time, Oakley Pierce worked as a baker at a biscuit factory.
At some point during the 1920s, Hattie and Oakley separated. Oakley moved to Pittsburgh, PA where he died in 1935. Hattie and Henrietta relocated to Providence, RI. The 1930 US Federal Census reveals that they were living in the home of Clarence Purnell, a 40-year old Black widower. Hattie worked as a housekeeper to Purnell and as a dress maker to a private family.
The relationship between Hattie (Brooks) Pierce and Clarence Purnell became more intimate with the couple having a daughter together. Charlotte Elizabeth was born in July 1930. Hattie remained in Providence, RI for the rest of her life. She died on January 11, 1938.
GENEALOGY
ADA MAY THOMPSON (1877-1903) married HERBERT W. BROOKS (1866-1897) in 1895 in Westminster, VT. They had: Hattie A. Brooks (1895-1938), Lottie P. Brooks (b.1897). Ada also gave birth to Lillian Class (1899-1899) and Walter Carroll Brooks (b.1901). Ada May (Thompson) Brooks died on March 30, 1920 in New Bedford, MA.
HARRIET “HATTIE” A. BROOKS (1895-1938) was born February 19, 1895 in Westminster, VT to HERBERT W. BROOKS and ADA MAY THOMPSON. She married OAKLEY SYLVESTER PIERCE on March 20, 1916 in New Bedford, MA. They had Henrietta Frances Pierce (1919-1980). Hattie had Charlotte Elizabeth Purnell (1930-1989). Hattie Brooks Pierce died in Providence on January 11, 1938.
SOURCE MATERIALS
Fall River Globe newspaper, 18 Jun 1914— newspapers.com
Find-a-Grave
New Bedford City Directory, 1919— ancestry.com
Pennsylvania Vital Records, Deaths, 1935— ancestry.com
Rhode Island Vital Records, Deaths, 1938— ancestry.com
U.S. Federal Census, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 — ancestry.com
Vermont Vital Records, Births, 1895, 1897, 1901— ancestry.com
Vermont Vital Records, Deaths, 1897, 1899— ancestry.com
Vermont Vital Records, Marriages, 1895— ancestry.com
Whitman, MA, City Directory, 1920— ancestry.com
World War I draft registration card, 1917— ancestry.com