Eagle Feathers #228 – The Story Teller

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

His goal in writing was to stimulate interest, excite and enlighten young people about history. His heroes were mostly of the American saga. Elbridge Streeter Brooks (1846-1902) was a well-known author, reviewer and editor for numerous publishers and magazines: The Independent, Wide Awake, Publishers Weekly, and Harpers to name a few. He set out writing a series of articles named Historic Boys and Historic Girls which were in the St. Nicholas Magazine.

He authored over 65 books. The first was a labor of love about his father, a Doctor of Divinity who graduated from Tufts College and died in 1876, the Centennial year of General Washington’s flag raising. This was befitting for Elbridge who was a true Yankee, with Patriot blood running through his veins.

His mother was a descendent of the Munroes, who fought at Lexington and whose farmlands and gristmills topped General Putnam’s Prospect Hill defensive earthworks. Eleven of the seventy Minutemen at Lexington were relatives of his mother. Three of the names on the monument erected to the memory of the fallen heroes were her blood relations. The first was Ensign Robert Munroe. His great grandfather also responded that day and later served on Prospect Hill during the Siege of Boston. Additionally, his paternal grandfather was a privateer during the War of 1812. This account left no wonder as to why his stories were weighted with historical fervor.

The Andy Griffith Show aired an episode about Paul Revere and also the Emancipation Proclamation which was one of its best of the 249 in the series. It showed how stories, even rustic ones, can bring history to life if presented to youth in the right way.

Somerville had its own homespun story teller in Elbridge S. Brooks. He said, “In writing for them, it is my endeavor to throw away the dead bones of history and to put a living, every day interest into the historical story.” He brought to life soldiers, sailors, statesmen, explorers, and inventers, not only for the youth but for time-honored adults.

These were uplifting narratives of Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, John Paul Jones, Patrick Henry, and many others. How popular was he? One of his most celebrated volumes, The Century Book for Young Americans, had an exceptional sale of 20,000 volumes within three months of its publication.

Brooks spent the last fifteen years of his life writing from his home at 44 Walnut Street on his hallowed Prospect Hill. During his career, he was a member of the prestigious Authors’ Club of New York, received an honorary degree of Master of Arts from Tufts College and was in Who’s Who in America.

Until the time of his death, he was the first Vice President of the Somerville Historical Society. His research at the Society and the stories he created helped inspire America’s future generation, The Greatest Generation. The society dedicated its Historic Leaves, Volume 1, Number 1, to his biography and memorial.