Francis Cooke

Francis Cooke

Francis Cooke (1583 – 7 April 1663 Plymouth, Massachusetts) was one of the 102 passengers on the "Mayflower." This early settler is one of the twenty-six male Pilgrims known to have descendants. He is described in Leiden Walloon Church (Waalse Kerk) marriage records dating from 1603 as a "woolcomber out of (uyt) England". [Johanna W. Trammel, "The Pilgrims and other people from the British Isles in Leiden", 1576-1640 (Isle of Man: Mansk-Svenska Publishing Co. Ltd., 1989), p.152] However, his origins are unknown. He could have been a refugee from religious persecution elsewhere in continental Europe. In Leiden, sometime after July 20 1603, as Franchoys Couck, he married Hester le Mahieu, the daughter of Protestant refugees from the Walloon Flanders area. [Walter J. Harrison, "New Light on Francis Cooke and His Wife Hester Mayhieu and Their Son John," "Mayflower Descendant", Vol 27, 145-153. Their betrothal was recorded on July 4 and 5, so the 20th was the soonest the marriage could have taken place after banns were read.] The Mahieus, from Lille, had resided in Canterbury, then London, since the 1570s before moving to Leiden in 1590. Hester le Mahieu's sister was Marie le Mahieu, wife of Jan Lano, another Protestant refugee in Canterbury and then Leiden, whose son, Philippe de Lannoy (anglicized to 'Delano')migrated on the "Fortune" to join his uncle Francis Cooke and his cousin Robert at Plymouth colony in 1621, having been left behind with twenty others when the "Mayflower's" sailing mate, the "Speedwell," foundered and returned to port in England leaving the Mayflower to sail alone. Philippe is the progenitor of the branch of the Delano family from which Franklin Delano Roosevelt descends.

While in Leiden, Francis and Hester were members of the Walloon church. In 1606, they left Leiden briefly for Norwich, England, where they joined another Walloon church, returning to Leiden in 1607, possibly for religious reasons. Between 1611 and 1618, the Cookes were members of the Pilgrim Separatist congregation in Leiden. [Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs. "The Pilgrims and other English in Leiden records: some new Pilgrim documents." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, July 1989, p.195-214. ] The Pilgrim church was not established in Leiden until 1609, so Francis was living there long before their arrival and must have met up with and joined them afterwards.

In 1620, Francis and son John embarked on the "Mayflower," leaving Hester and their younger children behind to follow when the colony was established.

Arriving at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts, on November 11 (November 21, new-style calendar), forty-one of the passengers, among them Francis Cooke, signed the Mayflower Compact as the boat lay at anchor.

Francis was active in Plymouth civil affairs in the 1630s and 40s - committees to lay out land grants and highways, petit jury, grand jury, coroner’s jury. He appears on the 1643 Plymouth list of those able to bear arms. At some point in 1638 or afterward, he settled at Rocky Nook on Jones River, within the limits of Kingston, a few miles from Plymouth. [Robert Charles Anderson, "Francis Cooke", "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633," 1995, Vol. I.]

In 1651, fellow Pilgrim William Bradford wrote of him: "Francis Cooke is still living, a very old man, and hath seen his children's children have children. After his wife came over with other of his children; he hath three still living by her, all married and have five children, so their increase is eight. And his son John which came over with him is married, and hath four children living." [William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647, ed. Samuel Eliot Morison (New York: Knopf, 1991), p. 442, 446.] Francis Cooke died in 1663 in Plymouth. [Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, eds., (Boston 1855-1861), Vol 8, p. 23]

Descendents

United States Presidents George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Franklin D. Roosevelt are direct descendants of Francis Cooke. Other famous descendants of Francis Cooke include Cephas Thompson, William D. Washburn, Mrs. Anna Mary Robertson ("Grandma Moses"), Orson Welles, Julia Child, Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce (Texas cattleman who introduced the Brahman cattle breed into Texas), Pete Seeger, Marjorie "Betty Crocker" Child, "Wild Bill" Hickok, John Bartlett, Johnny Carson, George Mortimer Pullman, Elliot Richardson, Charles G. Dawes, Amasa Mason Lyman, Charles E. Merrill, Dane Cook, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Gere, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Beach Boys Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson. [http://www.franciscookesociety.org/famous.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.pilgrimhall.org/cookefrancisrecords.htm Francis Cooke] at the Pilgrim Hall Museum
* [http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/FrancisCooke.php Francis Cooke] at MayflowerHistory.com


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cooke — is the surname of several notable people: Alan Cooke, British actor Alexander Cooke (d. 1614), English actor Alfred Tyrone Cooke, of the Indo Pakistani wars Alistair Cooke KBE (1908 2004), journalist and broadcaster Amos Starr Cooke (1810–1871),… …   Wikipedia

  • Francis Judd Cooke — (b. Honolulu, Hawaii, December 28, 1910; d. Lexington, Massachusetts, May 1995) was an American composer, organist, cellist, pianist, conductor, choir director, and professor.Cooke was born in Honolulu to a family of New England missionaries… …   Wikipedia

  • Francis Joseph Spellman — Francis Joseph Kardinal Spellman (* 4. Mai 1889 in Withman, Massachusetts, USA; † 2. Dezember 1967 in New York) war Erzbischof von New York. Leben Nach dem Studium der Theologie wurde er am 14. Mai 1916 in Boston zum Priester des Erzbistums… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Francis Bacon — (Baron Baco von Verulam; lat.: Baco oder Baconus de Verulamio; * 22. Januar 1561 in London; † 9. April 1626 in Highgate) war ein englischer Philosoph und Staatsmann sowie Wegbereiter des Empirismus …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Francis Alÿs — Francis Alÿs, né en 1959 à Anvers, est un artiste touchant à tous les médias. Il vit et travaille à Mexico depuis 1986. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Expositions 3 Bibliographie 4 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Francis Younghusband — Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE (31 May 1863 – 31 July 1942, Dorset[1]) was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer. He is remembered chiefly for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia;… …   Wikipedia

  • Francis Constable — (1592 ndash; August 21, 1647) was a London bookseller and publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, noted for publishing a number of stage plays of English Renaissance drama.Life and workFrancis Constable, son of Robert Constable and Margery… …   Wikipedia

  • Francis Bacon — Francis Bacon, conocido también por barón de Verulam, vizconde de San Albano, canciller de Inglaterra y célebre filósofo nacido en York House, Strand Londres el 22 de enero de 1561 y muerto en la misma ciudad en Highgate el 9 de abril de 1626.… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Francis Raymond Fosberg — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Francis Raymond Fosberg Nacimiento 1908 Spokane, Washington …   Wikipedia Español

  • Francis M. Dimond — (* 6. Juni 1796 in Bristol, Rhode Island; † 12. April 1859) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von 1853 bis 1854 Gouverneur des Bundesstaates Rhode Island …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”