The  paternal  grandfather,  John  Prescott
Brooke,  was  born  on  the  Atlantic  ocean
in  1795,  his  parents  at  the  time  being
passengers  on  a  sailing  vessel  which  was  transporting  them  from
Ireland  to  America. They  landed  in  Charleston,  S. C,  where  he
was  reared  and  educated. He  eventually  removed  to  Hall  county,
Ga.,  where  he  became  a  prominent  and  influential  citizen,  having
served  as  county  sheriflF  and  later  having  represented  Hall  county
in  the  state  legislature,  for  a  period  of  five  years. In  1830  he  re-
moved to  Cherokee  county,  where  he  was  sheriff  two  years,  while
he  represented  the  county  in  the  legislature  for  two  years,  at  the
time  of  the  administration  of  Gov. George  W. Crawford. George
Washington  Brooke,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a
valiant  soldier  of  the  Confederacy  in  the  war  between  the  states,
having  enlisted  May  14,  1862,  as  a  private  in  Company  F,  Third
Georgia  cavalry,  with  which  he  participated  in  the  battles  of  Per-
ryville,  Ky.,  Chattanooga  and  Resaca,  in  the  last  mentioned  of
which  he  was  captured,  being  taken  to  Johnson's  island,  in  Lake
Erie,  where  he  was  held  a  prisoner  until  the  close  of  the  war. He
then  returned  to  his  plantation,  near  Woodstock,  Ga.,  where  he
lived  the  greater  portion  of  his  active  life. In  1885  he  and  his
wife  removed  to  the  city  of  Canton,  Cherokee  county,  where  they
have  since  maintained  their  home,  both  being  members  of  the  Bap-
tist church,  while  the  father  has  ever  been  a  stanch  adherent  of
the  Democratic  party,  having  held  various  local  offices,  including
that  of  justice  of  the  peace,  of  which  he  was  incumbent  twelve
years. George  W. Brooke,  Jr.,  to  whom  this  sketch  is  dedicated,
secured  his  educational  discipline  in  the  grammar  school  at  Can-
ton, and  in  Yale  business  college. He  has  been  engaged  in  the
grain  business  since  1892,  having  his  ofiice  headquarters  in  the
capital  city  of  the  state,  though  he  is  interested  in  the  Etowah
mills,   at   Cartersville,   Bartow   county;   in   the   Steel   Elevator   &


CYCLOPEDIA  OF  GEORGIA  237

Storage  Company,  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  in  the  Choctaw  Ele-
vator Company,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  his  business  operations  being
of  wide  scope  and  importance. He  is  a  member  of  the  Atlanta
Grain  Dealers'  association,  is  also  identified  with  the  following
named  local  organizations:  Capital  City  club,  Piedmont  Driving
club. 