|
|
 1850 - 1902 (51 years)
-
| Name |
John BROOKS |
| Born |
20 Oct 1850 [1] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Census |
- 1851 Crawshaw Hall - age 4 months.
1871 4 Pembridge Gardens - age 20, Undergraduate ? [Visitor].
|
| Newspaper Articles |
- The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW: 1888 - 1954)
Wednesday 13th August 1902
Shot While Asleep
There took place early one morning recently in Tranent, some ten miles from Edinburgh a tragedy of a most sensational nature. About half past 4 in the morning the mansion house of St Germains near Tranent, was the scene of a murder and suicide which has caused great excitement all over the district, as the two victims moved in the best local society.
Mr John Brooks a man of considerable wealth who maintained a large establishment, shot his wife in her sleep and afterwards blew out his brains, death in both cases being instantaneous. Mrs Brooks who was a daughter of Sir John Drummond Hay, was shot in two places and Mr Brooks shot himself through the right temple.
St Germains is a large mansion house, standing in its own grounds and is some distance from any other dwelling. For some days past the servants of whom there are eight, have noticed that Mr Brooks was strange in his manor but no serious mental derangement was suspected. The household retired to bed as usual on Sunday night and the first indication that something was untoward had happened shortly after 4 o'clock when the servants were awakened by the discharge of firearms.
One of the maids immediately rushed into the bedroom occupied by Mr and Mrs Brooks and was met by a terrible spectacle. She found Mrs Brooks lying dead in bed in a pool of blood with her head practically blown to pieces. Mr Brooks was lying on the floor, with a bullet wound in his right temple. Beside him lay a sporting rifle, which was subsequently found to have been taken from the adjacent gun room.
The bedroom contained two beds and both Mr and Mrs Brooks were in their night attire. it is surmised that Mr Brooks rose during the night and fetched the rifle and after murdering Mrs Brooks sat on the floor and placed the weapon to his own temple. The position of his body lends colour to this surmise.
The family only recently returned from a three months sojourn to Tangier where Mr Brooks owned an estate. Mr Brooks was an enthusiastic golfer and was a well known figure on the Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick Lines. Mr and Mrs Brooks appeared to be an ideally happy couple and the only possible cause of the tragedy is mental aberration. Mr Brooks had been in indifferent health and had complained of pains in the head.
|
| Died |
30 Jun 1902 |
Tranent, Scotland  [2] |
| Cause: Gunshot Wound |
- Registered by: A Campbell, Inspector of Police, Tranent, Scotland
|
| Person ID |
I7446 |
BROOKS Family History |
| Last Modified |
28 Jan 2021 |
| Father |
John Marshall BROOKS, b. 29 Apr 1819, Manchester, Lancashire, England , d. 27 Jun 1864, St Georges Street, Hanover Square, St Marylebone, Middlesex (Age 45 years) |
| Mother |
Mary ORRELL, b. CA 1826, Heaton Norris, Lancashire , d. 8 May 1860 (Age ~ 34 years) |
| Married |
4 Nov 1844 |
Parish Church, St Marylebone, Middlesex [3] |
- Witnessed by: William [?] & Harvey [?]
|
| Family ID |
F2246 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Louisa Annette Edla DRUMMOND-HAY, d. 30 Jun 1902, Tranent, Scotland |
| Married |
8 Jan 1874 |
Tangier, Morocco [1] |
| Children |
| | 1. John Hay BROOKS, b. 22 Jun 1878, Tarporley, Cheshire , d. 12 Nov 1940, Kilshara, Dunbar, Scotland of Senya el Hashti, Tangier, Morocco (Age 62 years) |
|
| Last Modified |
24 Oct 2024 |
| Family ID |
F2247 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
-
| Event Map |
|
 | Died - Cause: Gunshot Wound - 30 Jun 1902 - Tranent, Scotland |
 |
|
-
| Sources |
- [S201] Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition.
- [S396] Death Record [Scotland].
- [S4] Marriage Certificate [UK].
|
|
|
