Brooks, William Param, 1832-1889

William Param Brooks was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on March 27, 1832. Upon the death of his mother in 1845, Brooks' father, Jordan Param Brooks, moved the family to Savannah, Georgia. Brooks worked for his father as a seaman's apprentice, and soon began his engineering apprenticeship. He served as engineer aboard the S.S. Habana, a steamer that became the C.S.S. Sumter at the commencement of the Civil War. Brooks remained an engineering officer on the Sumter until 1862. In 1862, shortly after marrying Emily Ann Bence of London that same year, Brooks was assigned to the C.S.S. Alabama. On June 19, 1864, the Alabama fought the U.S.S. Kearsarge off the coast of Cherbourg, France, and lost. Brooks survived and remained in France for months, his wife, Emily, joined him soon after his rescue. As a result of various vessel assignments, Brooks arrived in Havana, Cuba, where he remained with Emily after the end of the war. He served in the Spanish Navy for eleven years and was instrumental in the salvation of two steamers caught in a hurricane and tidal wave. For this act, Queen Isabel II of Spain bestowed to Brooks the Naval Cross of the Order of Merit, First Class. William Brooks returned to Savannah, where he became the chief engineer on the Tallahassee, a position he held until his death on April 19, 1889. He and his wife are buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery.

From the description of William P. Brooks scrapbook, 1861-1869 (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 76065692