William Brooker (1826 - 1909)

Born 26 Aug 1826 in Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Gemmell) Brooker — married 22 Oct 1848 in Limehouse, Stepney, Middlesex, London

Descendants

Died 24 Jan 1909 at age 82 in Croydon, South Australia, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Don Graham [send private message]

Biography

William was born in 1826. He is the son of William Brooker Mary Pickten. He was christened on 30 Aug 1826 in Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, England. William Brooker ... He passed away in 1909. ^[1]

Census

• 1841 England Census: Name: William Brooker; Event Place: Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom; Residence Note: New Found; Gender: Male; Age: 15; Birth Year (Estimated): 1822-1826; Birthplace: Hampshire; Registration District: Basingstoke; Parish: Wootton St Lawrence; County: Hampshire

Mary Brooker F 50 Hampshire

Mary Brooker F 45 Hampshire

Susannah Brooker F 15 Hampshire

William Brooker M 15 Hampshire

Mary Brooker F 9 Hampshire

Elizabeth Brooker F 5

Maria Brooker F 4

London bricklayer and elder of the Church of Christ, William Brooker (26 August 1826 – 24 January 1909), who with his family emigrated to South Australia aboard Caroline[1] arriving in April 1855.[2]

Orbituary - The Register (Adelaide, SA) Tue 26 Jan 1909 Page 4 CONCERNING PEOPLE Mr. William Brooker, sen., died at the residence of his son-in-law (Mr. J. W. Snook), Port road, Croydon, on Sunday. He was born in Wootton, Hampshire, in 1826, and came to South Australia in the Caroline in 1855. He went to the Victorian gold diggings shortly afterward; but had no success. He returned to South Australia, and worked at his trade of bricklayer. On September 9, 1858, at Port Adelaide, Mr. Brooker and another bricklayer named Lihou were on a scaffold 35 ft. high, engaged in completing the cornice and parapet around the Union Bank building. The cornice work suddenly gave way, and precipitated the men and the staging to the ground. The two were seriously injured, Mr. Brooker, who was literally dug out of the rubbish, was badly hurt in the, spine, and for 50 years was crippled as a result. The cause of the accident was described as subsidence of the building, combined, with vibration caused by the passage of railway trucks. Mr. Brooker had been in South Australia for only three and a half years when the accident happened. After the fall he lay at Wooldridge's Hotel for six or eight weeks. There was no hospital at Port Adelaide at the time, nor any ambulance, so when at last he could be conveyed to his home members of the local friendly society lodge carried him on their shoulders from the Port to Croydon. The procession attracted considerable attention, and some residents of the western suburb still remember the occurrence and the stir which it made. One incident of the trip is indicative of the rough-and-ready nature of the men in those days. Mr. Brooker's feet became so cold on the journey from the Port that he complained, and his bearers and followers straightway entered an adjacent hotel, and, removing the brick hobs from the fireplace, used them as foot warmers over the rest of the distance. For 38 years thereafter Mr. Brooker was pound keeper, and took a great interest in the Hindmarsh Floricultural Society. He was one of the elders of the Robert Street Church of Christ, and was one of the early members. Mrs. Brooker predeceased him by three years. He has left three sons (Messrs. William Brooker, of York; T. H. Brooker, ex-Minister of Education, of Norwood; and J. Brooker, of Croydon), one daughter (Mrs. J. W. Snook), 15 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Sources

1. ↑ First-hand information as remembered by Don Graham, Friday, November 7, 2014. Replace this citation if there is another source.

• "England, Hampshire Bishop's Transcripts 1680-1892," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLYH-WB25 : 16 March 2018), William Brooker, 30 Aug 1826; citingBaptism, Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, "England, Hampshire Bishop's Transcripts 1680-1892," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLYH-WB25 : 16 March 2018), William Brooker, 30 Aug 1826; citing Baptism, Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, Lancashire Record Office and Hampshire Record Office, United Kingdom.
• "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M79Q-P9K : 24 May 2019), William Brooker in household of Mary Brooker, Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
• Brooker & Sons From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929) Tue 26 Jan 1909 Page 4 CONCERNING PEOPLE.