On the Mayflower
Woolcomber
Separatist
Need to get the following books for future research on this line:
Title: Francis Cooke of the Mayflower; The First Five Generations,Edition: First Printing
Author: Ralph V. Wood, Jr.
Publication: Picton Press, PO Box 250, Rockpost, ME 04856-02501, November1996
Abbrev: Francis Cooke of the Mayflower; The First Five Generations,Edition: First Printing
Note:
Very good
Page: p. 79Title: Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England
Author: James Savage
Publication: Baltimore Genealogical publishing Company, 1965, 1969, 1977,1981, 1986, 1990
Abbrev: Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England
Page: Search on Phillip Tabor (1646-1694)
Title: Mayflower Descendants And Their Marriages
Author: Landis, John T.
Publication: Clearfield Co. Reprints & Remainders
Abbrev: Mayflower Descendants And Their MarriagesTitle: Taber Genealogy, Subject: Taber Genealogy
Author: Wright, Anna
Publication: 1952-1957
Abbrev: Taber Genealogy, Subject: Taber Genealogy
Page: p. 4. Location Plymouth and Page: III
Title: Descendants of Thomas, Son of Philip Taber
Author: George L. Randall
Publication: Viking Press, New Bedford, Bristol CO, MA, 1924
Abbrev: Descendants of Thomas, Son of Philip Taber
Page: p. 6. Esther Cook had Mary's name hand written over it
17th signer of Mayflower Compact
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"Francis Cooke was one of the 'Purchasers' who in 1627 bought all the rights of the 'Adventurers', in effect saving the Colony from Bankruptcy"Biographical Summary (found athttp://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/FrancisCooke.php)
Francis Cooke was born about 1583. His origins have not been discovered, but it is probable he was born in England, perhaps from the Canterbury or Norwich areas. He married Hester le Mahieu on 20 July 1603 in Leiden, Holland; she was a French Walloon whose parents had initially fled to Canterbury, England; she left for Leiden sometime before 1603. Francis Cooke and Hester le Mahieu's marriage occurred in Leiden, Holland six years before the Pilgrim church made its move there, so he was living there long before their arrival and must have met up with and joined them afterwards. His wife Hester was a French Walloon. What brought Francis to Holland in the first place is unknown: religious persecution of Protestants in England did not really begin until after King James took power in 1604. In 1606, the Cookes left Leiden and went to Norwich, Norfolk for a time (for what reason is not known), but returned to have their first son, John, baptized at the French church in Leiden, sometime between January and March, 1607. In Holland, Cooke took up the profession of a woolcomber.
Francis, and his oldest son John, came on the Mayflower to Plymouth in 1620. He left behind his wife Hester and his other children Jane, Jacob, Elizabeth and Hester. After the Colony was founded and better established, he sent for his wife and children, and they came to Plymouth in 1623 on the ship Anne.
Francis lived out his life in Plymouth. Although he kept a fairly low profile, he was on a number of minor committees such as the committee to lay out the highways, and received some minor appointments by the Court to survey or lay out land. He was a juror on a number of occasions, and was on the coroner's jury that examined the body of Martha Bishop, the 4-year old daughter who was murdered by her mother Alice. He received some modest land grants at various times throughout his life. He lived to be about 80 years old, dying in 1663; his wife Hester survived him by at least three years and perhaps longer.
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Will of Francis Cooke:
7 December 1659
The last Will and Testament of ffrancis Cooke of Plymouth late Deceased:exhibited before the Court held att Plymouth aforsaid the fift day ofJune 1663 on the oathes of mr John Aldin and mr John howland;
The Last Will and Testament of ffrancis Cooke made this seaventh of thetenth month 1659I being att prsent weake and Infeirme in body yett in prfect memory throwmercy Doe comitt my soule unto god that gave it and my body to theearthe; which my will is should bee Intered in a Decent and comly manner;
As for such goods and lands as I stand posessed of I Doe will andbequeath as followeth;
1 My will is that hester my Dear and loveing wife shall have all mymoveable goods and all my Cattle of all kinds; viz: neat Cattle horsekindsheep and swine to be att her Dispose
2 my will is that hester my wife shall have and Injoy my lands bothupland and meddow lands which att prsent I posesse During her life
3 I Doe ordaine and appoint my Deare wife and my son John Cooke Joyntexequitors of this my said will
Witnes
John Aldin
ffrancis Cooke
John howland
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Presidents George Bush, and George W. Bush. Descendant of John Howland,Elizabeth Tilley, and her parents John and Joan Tilley; and FrancisCooke. George W. Bush, through mother First Lady Barbara Bush, is alsodescended from Henry Samson.
George W. Bush ? George Bush ? Prescott Bush ? Flora Sheldon ? MaryButler ? Courtland Butler ? Samuel Butler ? Sarah Herrick ? SilenceKingsley ? Samuel Kingsley ? Mary Washburn ? Elizabeth Mitchell ? JaneCooke ? FRANCIS COOKE
George W. Bush ? George Bush ? Prescott Bush ? Flora Sheldon ? MaryButler ? Elizabeth Pierce ? Betsy Wheeler ? Sarah Horton ? Joanna Wood ?Jabez Wood ? Hannah Nelson ? Hope Huckins ? Hope Chipman ? Hope Howland ?JOHN HOWLAND
George W. Bush ? Barbara Pierce ? Marvin Pierce ? Jonas Pierce ? ChloeHolbrook ? John Holbrook ? John Holbrook ? Zilpha Thayer ? Mary Samson ?Stephen Samson ? HENRY SAMSON*************
Found on Rootsweb site of Sharon Sager June 2004:
Francis Cooke was the grandson of Sir Anthony Cooke. He married Hester Mahieu June 30, 1603 in Leiden, Holland. Francis and his son John immigrated aboard the "Mayflower" landing November 11, 1620. Hester, along with Jane and Jacob, immigrated aboard the "Anne" in 1623. Francis Cooke was given six shares in the division of lands in 1624. He was one of the 'Purchasers' who in 1627 bought all the rights of the 'Adventurers,' and in the division of cattle made Tuesday, 22 May/1 June, 1627, the first lot, the smallest of the four black heifers and two shee goats, fell to his company of thirteen, composed of himself, his wife Hester, his sons John and Jacob, and daughters Jane, Hester, and Mary; along with Experience Mitchell. In 1633-34 he was appointed referee in the settlement of various affairs between different member of the colony; and surveyor for laying out the highways about Plymouth, etc. In 1636 he received an apprentice, John Harmon, son of Edward Harmon of London, tailor, for 7 years. His pay at the end of service was to be a double suit of clothing and 7 bushels of corn. From 1636-1640 his name constantly appears in some capacity or other, performing important duties for his government. John became a deacon of the Plymouth Church in the 1630s, but he was excommunicated from the church about 1657, around which time he became a Baptist. In 1664 he was granted fifteen acres of land near Dartmouth and served as Deputy to Plymouth General Court in 1666. He was an adviser for the defense of Dartmouth against the Indians and became a magistrate authorized to marry, to administer oaths, and to issue warrants for court trials at Plymouth. On January 7, 1659 Francis prepared his will: I being at ye present weak and infirm in body yett in perfect memory thro mercy doe comt my soul unto god that gave it, and my body to the earth which my will is should be intered in a decent and comely manner. As for
ch goods and land as i stand possessed of i doe will and bequeath as followeth: "1. My will is that Hester my dear and loving wife shall have all my moveable goods and all my cattle of all kinds viz. Meat cattle horse kind sheep and swine to be at her dispose. "2. My will is that Hester my wife shall have and occupy my lands both uplands and meadow lands which at present I possess during her lifetime. Francis died April 07, 1663 in Dartmouth, MA (age 86). Hester Mahieu, died Aft. June 18, 1666. They had 6 children: John, Elizabeth, Hester, Jacob, Jane, and MaryCOOKE FAMILY
Background:—A 1620 Mayflower passenger, Francis Cooke married Hester Mayhieu at Leiden 30 June 1603, the records there describing him as a woolcomber, unmarried, from England (MD 8:48). Thus he was in Holland before the arrival of the Clyfton/Robinson Separatists. He was probably born no earlier than 1583, for he must have been under sixty in 1643 when he was on the ATBA for Plymouth, and yet not much after 1583 if he married in 1603. He appears frequently in Plymouth records on grand and trial juries, as a surveyor of the highways, on various ad hoc committees, and in a number of land transactions. (See Bowman's "Francis Cooke and His Descendants," MD 3:95.) He came to Plymouth with son John, and Francis's wife
and their daughter Jane and son Jacob arrived on the Anne in 1623. Two more children, Hester and Mary, were born at Plymouth. Jane married Experience Mitchell; Hester married Richard Wright; and Mary married John Thompson. Francis's son Jacob married Damaris Hopkins, daughter of Stephen. Dawes-Gates, 2:239-57 gives a good account of both father Francis Cooke and son Jacob Cooke. Another good account of the Francis Cooke family can be found in Small Descendants, 2:601.
Francis died 7 April 1663 (PCR 8:23).
Q 49:122. BACKGROUND:
Suffice it to say, Francis Cooke, born, probably in England after 1582, arrived on the Mayflower and was among those signing the Mayflower Compact. His early life abroad is virtually unknown to us. He married Hester Mahieu, intention in Leyden, Holland, 30, June 1603. probably about the age of 19 or 20. He was was called a "woolcomber." He and his son John were the first to arrive, with Hester and the other children following later.Among The Survivors:
It is interesting to note that a total of 101 emigrants arrived in this first ship, yet half were dead by 1625. In fact nearly this many were dead by April of 1621, less than six months after their arrival. In all a total of 51 deaths are enumerated. A passage from the Cooke Volume (excerpt written by Captain John Smith) indicates the tribulations of an unsettled, strange and sometimes hostile land.
"1624. In this Plantation [New-Plimoth] there is about an hundred and fourescore persons, some Cattell, but many Swine and Poultry; their Town containes two and thirty houses, whereof seven were burnt, with the value of five or six hundred pounds in other goods, impailed about halfe a mile, within which within a high Mount, a Fort, with a Watch-tower, well built of stone, lome, and wood, their Ordnance well mounted, and so healthfull that of the first Planters not one hath died this three yeares; yet at the first landing at Cape Cod, being an hundred passengers, besides twenty they had left behind at Plimoth for want of good
take heed, thinking to find all things better than (sic) I advised them, spent six or seven weekes in [1p] wandring up and downe in frost and snow, wind and raine, among the woods, cricks, and swamps, forty of them died, and three-score were left in most miserable estate at New-Plimoth, where their Ship left them, and but nine leagues by Sea from where they landed, whose misery and variable opinions, for want of experience, occasioned much faction, till necessity agreed them...." An earlier abstract
demonstrates just how humble were these early beginnings: On 28 December 1620 after the common house had been completed except for the thatching, "we took notice how many families there were...single men...to join with some family...that we might build fewer houses...and we reduced them to nineteen families". Each of these nineteen received a parcel of land about fifty feet deep. Frontage was proportional to the number in the family, about eight feet per person. Francis Cooke's lot was on the south side of the street, with Isaac Allerton and Edward Winslow on his east and west.George Ernest Bowman:
"THE PRESENT ESTATE OF NEW-PLIMOTH" IN 1624*
THE following account of Plymouth, in 1624, is reprinted from Capt. John Smith's "The General Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles .... to this present 1626." the copy from which the present transcript has been made was printed in London, in 1627, and is now in the Boston, Mass., Public Library. It was formerly the property of Rev. Thomas Prince of Boston; and the marginal notes in his hand prove that it was used by Prince in writing his "Chronological History of New-England" published in 1736. His marginal notes on this description of Plymouth are here printed as footnotes.
This account of Plymouth is found at page 2247 of "The Generall Historie" and on the right-hand margin, opposite the first line, was printed: "The present estate of the plantation at New-Plimoth. 1624."
The present estate of New-Plimoth.
AT New-Plimoth there is about 180 persons, some cattell and goats, but many swine and poultry, 32 dwelling houses, whereof 7 were burnt the last winter, and the value of five hundred pounds in other goods; the Towne is impaired about halfe a mile compasse. In the towne upon a high Mount they have a Fort well built with wood, lome, and stone, where is planted their Ordnance: Also a faire Watch-tower, partly framed for the Sentinell, the place it seems is healthfull, for in these last three yeeres, notwithstanding their great want of most necessaries, there hath not one died of the first planters, they have made a * This article was originally printed in the third volume of "Pilgrim Notes and Queries", a monthly magazine published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, from 1913 to 1917, inclusive, but discontinued on account of the World War. We here reprint the article because about two-thirds of the present members of the Society have been elected since it first appeared, and have not, therefore, had an opportunity to read this contemporary account of Plymouth Plantation.—Editor.
A marginal note in the hand of Rev. Thomas Prince reads: "Govr Bradford mentions but 4 or 5 burnt ye last winter. But with ye 2 Burnt in 1621 Capt Smith might Say yr had been 7 Burnt in all." EDITOR.68 "The Present Estate of New-Plimouth" in 1624
saltworke*, and with that salt preserve the fish they take, and this yeare hath fraughted a ship of 180. tunnes. The Governour is one Mr. William Bradford, their Captaine Miles Standish, a bred Souldier in Holland; the chiefe men for their assistance is Master Isaak Alderton, and divers others as occasion serveth; their Preachers are Master William Bruster and Master John Layford The most of them live together as one family or houshold, yet every man followeth his trade and profession both by sea and
land, and all for a generall stocke, out of which they have all their maintenance, Untill there be a divident betwixt the Planters and the Adventurers. Those Planters are not servants to the Adventurers here, but have only councells of directions from them, but no injunctions or command, and all the masters of families are partners in land or whatsoever, setting their labours against the stocke, till certaine yeeres be expired for the division; they have young men and boles for their Apprentises and servants, and some of them speciall families, as Ship-carpenters, Saltmakers, Fish-masters, yet as servants upon great wages. The Adventurers which raised the stocke to begin and supply this Plantation were about 70. some Gentlemen, some Merchants, some handy-crafts men, some adventuring great summes, some small, as their estates and affection served. The generall stocke already imploded is about 7000 . £ . by reason of which charge and many crosses, many of them would adventure no more, but others that knowes, so great a designe cannot bee effected without both charge, losse and crosses, are resolved to goe forward with it to their powers; which deserve no small commendations and encouragement. These dwell most about London, they are not a corporation, but knit together by a voluntary combination in a society without constraint or penalty, aiming to doe good & to plant Religion; they have a President & Treasurer, every yeere newly chosen by the most voices, who ordereth the affaires of their Courts and meetings, and with the assent of the most of them, undertaketh all ordinary businesses, but in more
weighty affaires, the assent of the whole Company is required. There hath beene a fishing this yeere upon the Coast about 50. English ships: and by Cape Anne, there is a Plantation a beginning by the Dorchester men, which they hold of those of New—Plimoth, who also by them have set up a fishing worke; some talke there is some other pretended Plantations, all whose good proceedings the eternal God protect and preserve. * A marginal note in the hand of Rev. Thomas Prince reads: "yy essay'd to make one, but wr disappointed, as Govr Bradford informs us." EDITOR.He was married to Hester LE MAHIEU on 30 Jun 1603 in prob Leyden, Holland.(486) (487) Intentions were recorded in Leyden. Children were: Jane COOKE, John COOKE, Ester (Hester) COOKE, Jacob COOKE, Mary COOKE
Francis Cooke was the 17th signer of the Mayflower Compact. He was an original member of Robinson's flock in England, who went to Holland in 1608. He was born about 1577 at Blyth, Co. York, England, a parish adjoining Austerfield, near Scrooby. He fled with Elder Brewster and the "exiles from Scrooby" to Leyden, where he soon married his wife Hester called "the Walloon. He came in the Mayflower 1620, with his son John. His wife Ester, and children, Jacob, Jane and Ester came in the "Ann" in 1623. In 1626 Mary was born. He was one of the original purchasers of Darthmouth in 1652, and of Middlesex in 1662. He died April 7, 1663. His will was Dec. 7, 1659. His wife and son John were executors. He was called by Bradford, " a very old man in 1650, who saw his children's children having children," and married a native of the Netherlands, of the Walloon Church.
The Cooke family name, originally spelled Cok, is very old in England. To it belong Richard and Walter Cook, crusaders, who went to the Holy Land in 1191.
John, (1610-1694) the oldest child was so small that he was led by his father's hand when they landed at Plymouth. The fact that John was his father's only companion during the separation of the family, (1620-1623), greatly enhanced the intimacy between the two. Francis, although he had other sons, always referred to John as "my son." They were men of one mind. The Cookes were silk mercers by trade and probably brought a loom with them, but both Francis and John were also naval architects. John and his father were also connected in civil offices. The Cookes seem to have been a well-to-do family. It must have cost Hester a pang to see her brave little boy away on that untried adventure, and it must have been like heaven to them all when they were reunited again, two and a half years later.(source: Memoirs of the Lenard, Thompson and Haskell Families p. 220)
Francis was made a freeman in 1633; in 1634, referee in settlement of various affairs between members of the colony; 1636 to 1648, his name constantly appears in come capacity or other, performing important duties under the government; 1640, recieved grant of land, with son John, bounding on the North River; 1642, contributed with son, John, towards building a bark; 1642 to 1648, he seems to be constantly in some office or one of the committee, made report on the laying out a highway; 1659, appointed by Court as referee in settlement of numerous accounts; 1662, with son John and others, was allowed to settle upon a tract of land purchased for a new settlement. This comprised the old town of Darthmouth, now New Bedford.
After arriving in Plymouth, Massachusetts; he was most likely a husbandman. All Francis' sons were farmers. Francis' wife, Hester, came to Plymouth on the Anne with the rest of their children, near the latter part of July in 1623. In the following spring they received two acres on the south side of the brook, towards the bay, and four acres towards Strawberry Hill (Family Tree Maker, CD 203, The Complete Mayflower Descendants, Disk 1. The Mayflower Descendant, Volume III, Mayflower Genealogies - Francis Cooke and His Descendants) Francis married Hester Mahieu on June 30, 1603 in Leyden, Holland. Hester's father was Frances LeMahieu of France (B: abt. 1564), and Jeanne ____? Hester
was born between 1582-1588 in Canterbury, England, and died after June 8, 1666 in Plymouth, MA.
Hester came on the ship Anne. She was a French Walloon (Huguenot) and took communion with the Separatist Church. He was admitted to the French Reformed Church in Leyden in 1603.Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620-1691
Part Three: Biographical Sketches
Biographical Sketches
Eddy, Samuel" It is possible that the "strangers" on the Mayflower were Walloon or Dutch passengers who had joined the English on the way to New England. Some who joined may in fact also have been refugees in England. We know of a few of their names. Francis Cooke was on the Mayflower. He married his wife Hester Mayhew in Leiden's Vrouwekerk, the Walloon Church, in 1603, when they were still know as Franchoys Coucke and Esther Mahieu." (New England ancestors: spring 2000. vol.1. no.2, page 36)
I have notes and sources for many individuals in this file. Please contact me directly if you would like to check to see if your ancestor is one of those individuals!
on the Anne
Separatist
I have notes and sources for many individuals in this file. Please contact me directly if you would like to check to see if your ancestor is one of those individuals!