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AN EDGEFIELD PLANTER AND HIS WORLD opens a window on the life of an elite family and its circle in a now iconic place, during a crystalizing decade of the Antebellum era. By the time he began a new diary volume in 1840, Brooks (1790-1851) was among the richest men in a South Carolina district known for its cotton-and-slave-generated wealth. His journal reveals Brookss attentiveness to his plantation and farms, self-image as a paternal master, religious sensibility, genteel but honor-bound bearing, personal and family connections, perspective on politics, and the effects of debilitating headaches. With his wife, Charleston heiress Mary Parsons Carroll, Brooks enjoyed and nurtured the social, cultural, and religious life of the village of Edgefield. While expanding his land holdings amid the vicissitudes of planter life, he promoted the developing economy of his state and region. He also participated in his states politics, in concert with or opposition to leading public figures.
Summary
Opens a window on the life of an elite family and its circle in a now iconic place, during a crystalizing decade of the Antebellum era. This journal reveals Brooks' attentiveness to his plantation, self-image as a paternal master, religious sensibility, genteel but honour-bound bearing, personal and family connections, and perspective on politics.
