Sarah Brooks

Sarah Brooks died from injuries sustained in a fall that occured after a four-month long illness. She was 67. Mrs. Brooks was born in Troy, NY in 1810. She was married to Joseph Brooks for 40 years, and they had six children. The couple came to California in 1861 and then to Idaho in 1869. The Owyhee Avalanche reported at time of her death that Mrs Brooks was the oldest woman in Owyhee county. According to the Avalanche: "It’s unusual in this section of the country to meet someone of her advanced years. This fact, and the esteem in which she was held, makes her loss an occasion of general sadness, which was expressed by the large number of friends who attended the funeral notwithstanding the severity of the weather."

Sarah's husband, Joseph Brooks, was a native of England. The 1870 census listed him as 60 years old with the occupation of grocer. He was still living in Silver City during the 1880 Census where he listed his occupation as “owns toll road.” He was remarried to Louisa C Brownell, a widow with a 21-year old son who was working at a quartz mine. Joseph lived to be 81, dying in 1891 and buried at the Boise Pioneer Cemetery.  

The weeping willow featured on Sarah’s gravestone is a common cemetery symbol during this time period, but the only one remaining in this cemetery.