Cook Family History: Last Name Origin & Meaning

Colleen Kernan

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As a young lad I had an opportunity none
will have again.We,the Cook kids who
grew up at Clarendon were told about the
Revolutionary War by it's last soldier,
our Great Grandfather,Lemuel Cook,who
we more affectionately called granpa Lem.He would delight in telling us about
his life and we were glad to listen.We'd
watch for Lemuel to come to come out and
sit in his rocker either on the front
porch or under the big old elm tree in
the front yard,as he always did on warm summer afternoons.We would watch for him
to motion us to come over with his cane,
he always knew we were watching and
would run to see who would get there for
the best seat.It would usually start
with a question.Tell us about George
Washington,what did he look like?He
would say "Let me think on it",a gleem
would come to his eye and he would begin
to speak slowly and deliberately.
I saw General Washington a few times
,said a few words to him and he back to
me.I'll not forget .First time I set
eyes on him was at White Plains or there
abouts.I'd joined up at the first call
and those first couple of years were
hard ones.Our company was resting near
White Plains after being pushed off
the island and out of New York City and
up river.My job was with Major Tallmadge
bein' in the Light Dragoons we had horses to take care of.Mine was a good
ole Bay I'd brought from home.I was caring for my horse and a couple of others that needed rubbing down and heard a commotion a ways down the road.
I could see by the uniforms it was officers leading several companys of
foot.One fellow sat in the saddle head
and shoulders above the others.I knew it
must be the General,we had heard how
large a man he was.As they came closer
all I could do was stand there with my
mouth open.An officer in front gave me
a dirty look like saying,'How come you
don't salute?I whipped off a fancy one.
The officers dismounted and went to talk with the Major I suppose.I went
back to my horse,a while later the
General came around the headquarters
where I was ,to stretch his legs I
suppose and said,"Is that your horse
soldier?""Yes ,Sir,said I coming to
attention.He put me at ease and asked
my name,"Lemuel Cook ,from Connecticut,
Sir".That's a right smart mount you have
there Lemuel Cook from Connecticut"."He's done good by me,
General"said I."Well ,you take care of
him,you will be glad you did",with that
the General went about his business.
That's all there was to it,I'll never
forget tho,all the things that must have
been pressin' on him he took time for a
kind word.He had the kindest look in his
eyes I've ever seen.Got the chance to
see him a few times more being in the
quartermasters,they called us artificers in them days.Didn't see him
again until some two,maybe three years
later.We were going down thru the Head
of Elk,things were better,we had been
winning we knew we had a big battle
coming up somewhere to the south.Scuttle
butt was that the General had gone on ahead and would meet us along the way.
We had stopped and I was minding my own
business payin'no mind to no one when
I heard a rich full voice say,Lem Cook,
is that you?"I thought that might be you
with that bay".I had whirled around with
my eyes bugging out and mouth wide open
again,amazed that he had remembered me.
I finally managed a "Yes Sir","It's
very good to see you Sir"."I admire the
lines of your Bay,Lem,I have one like it
at Mount Vernon","Yes sir,he's a little
worse for wear but I've been keepin'
your advice,my brothers made me promise
to bring him back to the farm when the War was done"."That's what we are about,
Private"and with that the General was
gone as quickly as he appeared.I'd
grown six inches since the last time I
spoke we'd met,he must of recognized
the horse than me.It seems as tho he still towered a foot over me.But I was
ten feet tall after that,they all asked
"How come the General knows you?"they
all asked.I didn't tell 'em.We saw him
again at Yorktown,which turned out to
be the big one where we was headin'.Last
time I spoke to him was at Danbury when
he gave me my discharge,I was standing
there with my brother,still have my
discharge here someplace,but will have
to tell you about that another time.The
general had a look about him you don't
forget,there's hardly any words to
describe him.Those were hard days for the most part but there was some good
things about them too.

Note*Lemuel Cook was born 10 Sept.1759
in Connecticut.He died 20 May 1866 in
Clarendon New York.Frank W.Cook who
recorded this story was his grandson.

Dec 01, 2002 · Reply

Nancy Adams

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This if from a newspaper clipping:
Juanita Cook Bride of Sgt. S. E. Williams
Miss Juanita Cook daughter of Mrs, Iva Cook, 5119 Victor, became the bride of Staff Sgt. Sidney E. Williams, USMCR, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney L. Williams, Milford, Feb, 23, at the Junius Heights Baptist Church. The Rev. Melton C. Greer officiated.
The bride was given in marriage by her brother Horace Cook. Mr. and Mrs Robert Townsend attended the couple and special music was furnished by another brothe of the bride, Verdie Cook, soloist and Miss Mary Cook, organist. Ushers were P> W. McClendon and Ben Cook, who is also the bride's brother.
A reception was held following the ceremony at the home of the bride's mother.
Mrs. Williams is a graduate of Corsicana High School and attended TSCW. Her husband, a graduate of Milford High School, served with the AAF in the European theater of operations during the war.
After a short wedding trip, the couple is at home at 2818 Brooklyn.
Out-of-town guests at the wedding included the bridegroom's mother and Miss Frances Williams, Milford; Mrs. Aulton P. Yeager and Miss Phillis Ann Yeager, Nevada, and Mrs. Aline Tremble, Corsicana.

Dec 01, 2002 · Reply

Nancy Adams

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Ancel Cook, 63, a resident of Dallas for 20 years, died Sunday in a Dallas hospital after a heart attack.
Cook, who lived at 2105 Royal Lane, owned and operated the Checkerboard Feed Store at 11415 harry Hines for several years. He was a member of Highland Baptist Church. A native of Oklahoma, he moved to Collin County in 1900, later to Dallas.
Survivors include his wife; a son, James Cook of Sweetwater; a daughter, Miss Melva Cook fo Nashville, Tenn,; two sisters, Mrs Lonnie Smith of Royse City and Mrs. W. E. Holland of Dallas and a brother, D. E. Cook of McKinney.
Funeral arrangements were pending at Rhoton Funeral Home, Carrollton.

Dec 01, 2002 · Reply

Nancy Adams

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Ira Ancel Cook, the son of Ira Erastus Cook and Clarissa Stinebaugh Cook
was born 3-16-1894 Cameron (near Ft. Smith, Ar.)
His church membership was at Highland Baptist, Dallas, Tx. He married Irene Frazier Oct. 20, 1915 Nevada, Tx. He died Nov. 10,1957 Baylor Hospital, Dallas, Tx. Irene was born Aug. 22, 1895 Nevada, Tx. Also became a member of Highland Baptist Church. She died Jan 15, 1979 Brookhaven Medical Center, Dallas, Tx. She was the daughter of David Edward Frazier and Annie Olivia Williamson Frazier. Irene and Ira Ancel are buried at Restland, Dallas,Tx.
Children: Melva Janice Cook born Aug.1,1919 Nevada, Collin Co. Tx.
James Weldon Cool born Nov. 5, 1926 Wylie, Collon Co. Tx. m 1st: Melva Moore, 2nd: Helen Rolater--one child Pat Cook.

Verdie Bryan Cook born 2-17-1889 Cameron, It . He was a Baptist; he died in Nevada, Tx and is buried there. He was a son of Ira Erastus and Clarissa Stinebaugh Cook. He married Iva Ethel Estes. He died Jan 12, 1930. She married J. O. Smithey.

Verdie and Iva Cook's Children:
Horace Alton Cook born Jan 12, 1924 Nevada, Collin Co. Tx. married 1st: Dorothy Clinton 2nd Mary Elizabeth Bedigan. He died Nov 24, 1981.
Bennet Bryan Cook (Ben) born 11-17, 1926 Neveada, Collin Co. Tx. married Mary Margaret Cook (not related). They are still living.
One daughter Melissa Jane Cook married 1st: Kevin Thompson, children: James Paul Thompson and Fiana Lynn Thompson. Melissa's 2nd: Benjamin Reid Tamplin, Jr. Child: Bryan Bennett Tamplin.
Iva Juanita Cook born Nov 27, 1926 Nevada, Collin Co. Tx. Married Sidney E. Williams, she died Oct 16, 1991. She had the misfortune of eating at the Luby's in Killeen, Tx. the day a hate filled person drove his truck inside and got out shooting, Juanita was one of the victims of his shooting rampage.
Verdie Estes Cook born in 1930, he married Mary Nell Bellflower. Children: David Cook and Barbara Gayle Cook.

Dec 01, 2002 · Reply

Susan Cook

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Here is my "Mystery Man" story. Anyone who may recognize the man or any other
information about the rank in the service or which branch's serving in would be greatly appreciated. A photo of him can be seen on AncientFaces in the Mystery section under surname "Cook", entitled "Mary Cook Henchman's Unknown" Man.

Never give up on your family research. I'd been researching the COOK Family
for about four years and then I decided to research the Witnesses on our
certificates. Through this I discovered some step family members who knew our
family well. She gave us the name of a half sister to my husband which we
knew nothing about. The researcher contacted the sister but she didn't want to have any contact with us at that time. So we respected her wishes for her privacy. However we did get to England and visited with the step family who was happy to meet with us for some time and now we communicate
through letters. We were so happy and they are just wonderful people.

After 2 years I decided at Christmas that I'd send our half sister a letter,
not a Christmas card, as yet we knew nothing of her background. In this
letter I enclosed a picture of my husband, her half brother and stated that now you may not wish to speak with us but that someday if she had children
they may wish to contact the family. Well, about two months after Christmas
2001 we receive a letter from another country and this is from her son, our
nephew. He was over joyed to find some Cook Family. Soon we were emailing
each other often and he sent us his web page and finally this past Christmas
2002 we get an invitation to meet his mother in London. How happy we were.

It was during this visit that I was given a wee small picture of a man in a
service uniform. She told us that their mother kept this photo on her always
and in the end when she was on the way to a hospital where she died she
passed this small pamphlet with a 1' by 2' photograph to me stating she did
not know the man nor did my husband. She stated to me that I may be able to
find who he was and what rank and branch of service he may be in and maybe where the photo was taken.

To say I was overjoyed is an understatement. I've been trying through all my resources to find his rank and branch of service he may be in. It's fun and exciting to discover information that formerly was a mystery and I'm on the trail of discovery. I love it!

Thanks for any sort of information.

Feb 27, 2003 · Reply

Sharon Bryant

1 favorite

My father, Frank Krolikowski-Cook passed away recently. While searching for his military records, a box was found with fifteen eight by ten photos of WWII Veterans. Each photo has a name on it. Some photos have years dating from 1942 - 1945.
I would like to find either the Veteran himself if possible, or the families of these Veterans and send them the photo.

The names of the soldiers are:
George Schroeder; V.J. Parr; George Harris; Dr. F.L. Mitlinos; Forrest J. Poole; Joe Eule; Al Wish; Harry "abie" Levine; Herman Weiner; Harry Paskow; C.J. "Olsen" Olszowski; Albert Kamm, Wilford L. McHugh, and S.J. "Butch" Plas.
One photo of Veteran Gordon J. Engelbrink has found its way home. I found his son living, made the phone call to verify some information, sent him the photo by email and he verified it that yes, it was his father.

My father was in the Army, though Mr. Engelbrink's photo proved he was in the Navy. How my father and he crossed paths, I have no idea unless my father met him while be transported on a ship. My father took basic training at Ft. Sheridan in Illinois in 1942. He served in the 50th Field Artillery Battallion overseas. Though my father talked very little about his service years, I know he served in Germany and France.

If anyone has any information on any of these Veteran's, please contact me by email.
Thank you,
Sharon Bryant
[contact link]

Mar 18, 2006 · Reply

Matt Cook

4 favorites

Mathew George Cook is the grandson of Stasys and Sofie Kudokas and son of George. He currently resides in Iowa with his wife and 3 daughters, Anna age 8, Abigail age 6 and Ava age 2. He is the owner operator of GP Enterprises a commercial construction company in the midwest United States. He will be traveling to Lithuania for the first time in March 2012 and is hoping to find and meet relatives from the Kudokas family. He can be reached via email at [contact link]

Jan 26, 2012 · Reply

Wanda Stone

3 favorites

Searching for John Francis Cook 1760-1845 (died in FL)

Sep 27, 2014 · Reply

Johnance Strueh

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My grandfather was John Cook, Evansville Indiana. He was at one time married to Ada Landrum. She passed away when my mother was a young girl and he remarried. My.mother is Nancy Louise Lively (Cook). Searching for Cook or Landrum relative s

Mar 22, 2015 · Reply

Lorraine McLaren

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I am not a direct relation from what I have in my records, but I am wondering about time frame on your search. familysearch.org lists both John Cook and Ada Landrum as well as findagrave.com has an Ada Cook in Evansville, Indiana in the 1960's. There is one Landrum in the same cemetery. Both of these resources are free to explore. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mar 23, 2015 · Reply

Darlene Shipley

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I am looking for info on George Cook from the late 1700s he marrried a Wemyss, daughter Mary A. Cook 1825-1913, married Daniel Pease, Son Solomon Pease 1852-1929, his daughter Mary I Pease is my grandmother.

Mar 24, 2015 · Reply

Lorraine McLaren

7 favorites

Hi Darlene,
I looked into your Cook, there are an number of listings for this family tree on Ancestry.com; It lists Mary Cook as both Mary Anne Cook and Mary Georgeanna Cook, b. 04 July 1825 in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, NY. They list her mother, ______Wemyss, as being born in Taverndale, Scotland. Very few of these sites have any records for that time period, so you may want to try a family History Center at your local LDS stake center. they have the ability to access microfilm of older harder to find items.
I rather enjoyed you grandmother's mother Mary Isabel listed in the death records in Yuma, Arizona on ancestry.com. there aren't many resources that bring up the death certificates for death listings.
Good luck in your search.

Mar 25, 2015 · Reply

Shenna Bland (Cook)

6 favorites

I am looking into my grandfathers ancestry . His name was Henry Cook and his fathers name was Christian Cook his mothers name was Bessie Bance. I believe they had nine children. I haven't been able to get any farther.

Apr 06, 2015 · Reply

Cook Family History & Genealogy

Cook Last Name History & Origin

History

Name Origin

Spellings & Pronunciations

Nationality & Ethnicity

Famous People named Cook

Early Cooks

Cook Family Photos

Cook Family Members

Cook Family Tree

Most Common First Names

Sample of 20 Cook Biographies

Cook Death Records & Life Expectancy

Life Expectancy

Oldest Cooks

Other Cook Records

Share memories about your Cook family

Followers & Sources

Cook Family History & Genealogy

Cook Last Name History & Origin

History

Name Origin

Spellings & Pronunciations

Nationality & Ethnicity

Famous People named Cook

Early Cooks

Cook Family Photos

Cook Family Members

Tell their story

Cook Family Tree

Most Common First Names

Sample of 20 Cook Biographies

Cook Death Records & Life Expectancy

Life Expectancy

Oldest Cooks

Other Cook Records

Share memories about your Cook family

Followers & Sources