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Armstrong,
John
Aten, Ira
Baylor,
George
Brooks, J.
Abijah
Burton,
Marvin
Crowder, Robert
A.
Doherty,
Bobby Paul
Ford, John S.
Gillett,
James B.
Gonzaullas,
Manuel T.
Guffey, Stanley
Keith
Hall, Jesse
Lee
Hamer, Francis
A.
Hays, John Coffee
Hickman,
Thomas R.
Hughes, John
R.
Jones, John
B.
Klevenhagen,
John J., Sr.
Marsh, Bryan
Miller,
Charles E.
McCulloch,
Benjamin
McDonald,
William J.
McNelly,
Leander
Peoples,
Clinton T.
Riddles,
James E.
Rogers, John
H.
Ross, Lawrence
S.
Walker,
Samuel H.
Wallace,
William
Wright,
William L.
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 J.*
Abijah Brooks
1855 - 1944
J.
A. Brooks was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky on November 20, 1855.
He moved to Collin County Texas about 1876 where he operated a farm
and a ranch. Brooks joined the Rangers in 1883, serving in Company F
under Captain Shely.
Brooks played a prominent role in the fence-cutting
wars and tracking down the Conner gang in the early 1880s. In a shoot-out
with the Conners, one Ranger was killed and three Rangers, including
Brooks, were wounded. Brooks lost several fingers on his left hand as
a results of his wounds.
He quickly moved up the Ranger ranks. In March
1888, J. A. Brooks was promoted to Lieutenant in charge of Company F,
becoming Captain of the company in March 1889. Company F was kept busy
with livestock thefts, fights, and murders. The company was also involved
in combating the crime caused by individuals like Catarino Garza and
the Reese-Townsend feud at Columbus. Captain Brooks' company was also
on hand to put a stop to the Maher-Fitzsimmons prizefight in El Paso
in 1896.
With reorganization of the Ranger force, Brooks
became Captain of Company A. Brooks was known as one of the "Four Great
Captains," along with John H. Rogers, John R. Hughes, and William J.
McDonald. The early 1900s saw the Rangers adding the policing of the
oil-boom towns to their list of duties. After a long career with the
Rangers, Brooks resigned in November 1906.
Brooks moved to Falfurrias where
he became active in local and state politics, serving in the 31st
and 32nd legislatures. In 1911, he helped to organize Brooks
County, which was named in his honor. He became the county's first judge
in 1911, serving in that capacity until 1939. J. A. Brooks died on January
15, 1944. He was buried in Falfurrias.
*There
is some confusion as to his first name—most records records simply
list him as "J.A." while others list him as "John"
or "James".
Suggestions for further reading:
-
Frederick Wilkins, The Law Comes to Texas,
Austin: State House Press, 1999.
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Walter Prescott Webb, The Texas Rangers,
Boston: 1935.
-
William W. Sterling, Trails and Trials
of a Texas Rangers, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968.
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Texas Adjutant General's Papers, Texas State
Archives, Austin, Texas.
-
Vertical Files, Texas Ranger Research Center,
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, Waco, Texas.
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