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| Dr. James Edgar Rooks |
Education: Undergraduate not known; University of Maryland School of Medicine (1905)
Birthplace: Hot Springs, AR
Parents: Harrison Thompson (1844-1935) and Margaret Jane Tucker (1845-1924) Rooks
Spouse: Mattie Lynn Mitchell (1885-1919), Eola Elizabeth Porter (1897-1978)
Children: Eugenia, Edwina, and Joyce Elinor (all by Mattie)
Tenure in Oil City: 1917-1925 (may not have been continuous)
In the 1880 U. S. Census, five year-old John is noted living in Hot Springs, AR with father (age 36, a carpenter), mother (35, housewife), and siblings Ella (3) and Mary (10 months).
Little else is known about his early life, though he was noted to have been from Tennessee when graduating from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1906.
Baltimore Sun 14-May--1905, Page 9
An article by Dr. Rooks titled "Report Of A Case Of Intestinal Obstruction" published in the medical school's March 1906 monthly bulletin identified him as being from Rocky Mount, LA at that time. He passed the examination to practice in Louisiana in May of that year and in 1909, then a resident of Doyline, LA; he also became licensed in the state of Tennessee.
In December 1911, the announcement of his upcoming marriage to Mattye Lynn Mitchell of Shreveport identified him as formerly of Memphis and then currently practicing in Webster Parish. Late in the following year a daughter (Eugenia) was born to the couple.
Over the following years the family moved frequently around northwest Louisiana, residing in Mansfield (1913), Haughton (1915), and Red River Parish (1916). In December 1916, it was announced Dr. Rooks had relocated to Little Rock, AR to practice solely in the area of genito-urinary diseases, however by the third quarter of 1917 (July-September), he had transferred to Oil City. There he was identified as a Liberty Loan subscriber during World War I, as well as draft registrant.
In 1919, Mrs. Rooks passed away from pneumonia brought on by influenza (presumably the Spanish Flu pandemic). Daughters Eugenia (6) and Joyce Elinor (1) also became seriously ill, but survived. A third daughter Edwina (4) apparently did not contract the disease.
Afterward, both Dr. Rooks and Mattye's family (the Mitchells) published thanks for sympathies extended during their period of grief.
Times 30-Jan-1919, Page 9
Dr. Rooks received occasional mention in the papers in the early 1920s. He was noted visiting his "old home" of Paris Texas in June 1920. In 1921, he was identified as a Caddo Parish Ward 2 Election Commissioner for Oil City.
He and daughters may have moved at least briefly to Paris, as a December 1923 Shreveport social column mentioned Eugenia and Edwina visiting family in the city for the Christmas holidays while being from there. The following year, Dr. Rooks' mother passed away in that Texas town.
He eventually returned (or possibly never actually left) and at some point, likely early 1925, married Oil City High School home economics teacher Eola Porter. She was identified by her maiden name when hosting a December 1924 banquet for the school's first football team. However the two are listed as a couple residing at 909 Gladstone Blvd. in the 1925 Shreveport City directory.
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| Eola Elizabeth Porter Rooks |
Dr. Rooks, Dr. Paul Thomas Alexander (another OC physician to be profiled later), and several Shreveport doctors were charged in October 1925 with violating the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act. That law initially controlled related activities for and essentially prohibited the prescription of morphine and cocaine-based drugs. Both Drs. Rooks and Alexander were released after each posted a $2,500 bond (approximately $36,000 today) and arraigned in federal court the following year. The outcomes of their individual cases is not known, however the charges were likely dropped ultimately due to a successful challenge to the law (Linder v. United States) by an Oklahoma doctor similarly charged where it was ruled the government overstepped its bounds to regulate medicine. Neither man apparently suffered any later personal/professional consequences resulting from the incident.
On the move again, the family resided a few months in Minden before returning to Shreveport in December 1926. In 1929 Dr. Rooks was identified to be a member of the Shreveport charity hospital staff specializing in "genito-urinary and skin." The following year he presented a paper to the Shreveport Medical Society titled "Some Phases In The Pathology And Treatment Of Gonorrhea."
Per the 1930 census, Dr. and the second Mrs. Rooks, along with the three girls, were living at 329 Columbia Street. That house still stands and can be seen on Google Street View.
In 1935, the Times Stroller social column mentioned Dr. Rooks had been seriously ill for five months, though the nature was not specified.
Dr. Rooks was killed instantly when the automobile in which he was a passenger, driven by Mrs. Rooks, overturned on a slick road near Montgomery, LA while they were en route to New Orleans for a Eucharistic congress. A second passenger, Mrs, Temple Lynch Cage was severely injured and died later. Mrs. Rooks suffered broken bones but survived.
Times 19-Oct-1938, Page 3
Note Mrs. Cage, a long-time Shreveport resident, had Oil City connections; as brother John was listed as a resident at the time. Her other brother, Oscar Gladstone Lynch, later moved there where he served as town clerk and postmaster.
Times 19-Oct-1938, Page 3
Interment: Saint Joseph Cemetery; Shreveport, LA
For more information on Mrs. Eola Porter Rooks, see School Days - Teachers.
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