Posts

Job Brooks Murder, 1863

The following articles are from newspapers chronicling the murder of Job Brooks, and the trial of his son and wife in that case, Keturah Ann Brooks. The murder occurred in the spring of 1863 in Vincentown, and ultimately ended in the conviction and execution of Brook's son for the murder. The mother was found not guilty, and it appears she was dragged into the trial by the other two, who accused her in an attempt to cover their own crime. The murder must have been quite sensational--quite a bit of newspaper coverage was devoted to it. Prison statistics for Burlington County in 1863, quoted in the New Jersey Mirror, indicate that there was no one else arrested for murder in the county that year. John D. Thompson's obituary in the New Jersey Mirror of 30 Apr 1890 says he was born at Quaker Bridge, around 1807 or so: "At Tuckerton, February 28, 1890, John D. Thompson, Esq., in his 83d year. The deceased had been for many years closely identified with the interests of the s...