First found in Essex where they were granted lands by William the Conqueror for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Brookss to arrive on North American shores: Henry Brooks of Boston, Massachusetts, who settled in 1630; John Brooke of Montgomery, Pennsylvania, and William Brooks of Virginia settled in 1635.

Motto Translated: By persevering.

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