Gideon Cook's Wives and Children

I've been working on the 1858-1888 timeline for my 2nd Great Grandparents(Wm C & Elizabeth Putman Cook) and their children to see the big picture of what was going on within the family.  It has really been a great experience.  I still have a lot of work to do but will focus on the timeline in an upcoming post. This post focuses on Wm C & Elizabeth's son, Jefferson Gideon Cook.

I believe I've finally sorted thru records and determined how many times Jefferson Gideon Cook was married and identified his children from each marriage.  It really wasn't very clear as there were two women name Mary listed as his wife with a Martha sandwiched in between.  Some trees had the two or all three combined and others had overlapping marriages or discrepancies in the surname of the last of his wives. So what do the records say as far as Gideon's marriages?

On 9th September 1866, Gideon  was married in Williamson Co. TN to Mary S. Hamer by Park Street.  Mary was the sister-in-law of Gideon's brother, James Polk Cook who had married Harriet Hamer  in October of the previous year.  When he made application and bond for the marriage on September the 8th, his brother James was his bondsman.  Mary Hamer Cook was the mother of Robert L. Cook,  Gideon's oldest child who was born on the 16th of May 1868.  The information on Robert's death certificate and in his obituary supports that.  Both Hamer sisters were gone by the 1870 census.  I have not found divorces for either from the Cook brothers and feel it is likely they both  left their marriages by death rather than divorce  If anyone that has researched this family knows I'd love to hear from you.

By the time of the 1870 census, there is a female named Martha Cook listed  in the household with Gideon and his young son.  While I have not found the marriage book  listing for Gideon and Martha, I did find their marriage in a Tennessee state compiled index at Ancestry from the Rutherford County Tennessee record books.  The date given is 30th of October 1869 and that would seem to add credence to my thinking that this is his wife and not a lady by that name living there to care for the young Robert.  I had considered both scenarios.  Further, Martha Ann Hale is listed as J. G. Cook Jr.'s mother as well as the mother of Gideon's youngest child Martha Ann Cook on each of their death certificates.  The fact that Gideon was the informant on his daughter Martha's death certificate while terribly sad, gives me confidence enough to conclude that Martha was the daughter of Gideon and Martha A Hale Cook.  Perhaps the elder Martha had died in childbirth or from complications soon after.  A number of times when that happens the surviving child is named after its mother and that might have been the case with Martha as well.  In total Gideon and Martha had 4 children:  Jefferson Gideon Cook Jr, John R. Cook , Cass B. Cook and Martha A. Cook.

Faced with the prospect of raising his young family alone,  on the 14th of October 1884, Gideon  married to Mary J. Elliot in Rutherford County, Tennessee.  Mary is enumerated with him in the 1900 US Federal Census in Rutherford Co TN and her entries say she has been married for 15 years and is the mother of one child who is alive at the time of the 1900 census date. That child was Ollie Mai Cook.  Ollie's year of birth varies over her lifetime but I believe that her actual year of birth was 1885.

Ollie's Birth Year

Source-----------Year

1900 Census    1885

1910 Census    1885

1920 Census    1888

1930 Census    1888

1940 Census    1886

1950 Census    1885

Soc. Sec. Rec.  1884

Gravestone       1886

Death Cert        1888

Mary J Elliot Cook died on the 23rd of March 1915 from pulmonary tuberculosis.  Gideon outlived her by almost 16 years, passing on the 18th of January 1931 from chronic fibroid tuberculosis

Sources:
1900 U.S. census, Davidson County, Tennessee, Nashville, Ward 4(part of), enumeration district (ED) 101, sheet 4-A, house 27, Family 30, J G Cook household; imaged, "United States Census, 1900," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS8W-XQH : accessed 20 February 2024).

"Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHS-XP1N : accessed 10 February 2024), Entry for J G Cook and Miss Mary S Hamer, 08 Sep 1866(bond date).(notation on bond says marriage was solemnized on the 9th)

"Tennessee, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1851-1900," database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com) Martha A Hale and J G Cook 30 Oct 1869 Rutherford Co. TN, citing Rutherford County, Tennessee Marriages, 1851-70. FHL Film #0379649.

"Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHS-66RD : accessed 20 February 2024, Entry for Jefferson G Cook and Mary J Elliott, 14 Oct 1884.

"Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSWT-VJF : accessed 20 February 2024), Entry for Jefferson Gideon Cook, 18 Jan 1931.

“Funeral for Confederate Veteran to Be Today,” The Tennessean, 20 Jan 1930, p. 5, col, 7; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 Feb 2024).

"United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KQB-1YTY : 10 February 2023), Ollie M Cook, 

"Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966", index only, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6JCS-JWHF : accessed index only 20 February 2024), Entry for Ollie Mai Cook, 10 Apr 1968. (Digital image forthcoming which will then change the range of years covered in the record set)

"Robert Lee Cook", Nashville Banner, 12 June 1954, p. 2, col. 7; digital images, Newspapers.com(https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 February 2024).

"Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSV9-P79 : accessed 20 February 2024), Entry for Robert L. Cook 11 Jun 1954.

"Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014," online database, Ancestry.com; entry for Ollie M Cook 413-84-1422.

1910 U.S. census, Davidson County, Tennessee, Nashville, Civil District 6, ED 93, Sheet 2a, Dwelling 27 Family 27, Household of Jefferson G Cook; unaged "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TXC-9SG : accessed 20 February 2024).

"Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N91N-Z68 : Fri Oct 13 18:15:23 UTC 2023), Mary Jane Cook, 23 Mar 1915.

1920 U.S. Census, Davidson County, Tennessee, Nashville, Civil District 6, ED 111, Sheet 7b, Dwelling 135, Family 147, Household of Jefferson G Cook; imaged "United States Census, 1920",database with images , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN51-8KR : accessed 20 February 2024),

1930 U.S. Census, Davidson County, Tennessee, Nashville, Civil District 6, ED 19-214, Sheet 15b, Dwelling 321, Family 337, Household of David Cook; imaged "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPWK-CXB : accessed 20 February 2024).

1940 U.S. Census, Davidson County, Tennessee, Woodbine, Civil District 6, ED 19-19, Sheet 9b, Household 195, Household of David S Cook; imaged "United States Census, 1940", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K44V-5YX : accessed 20 February 2024).

1950 U.S. Census, Davidson County, Tennessee, Woodbine, ED 19-37, Page 8, Dwelling 63, Household of Stahl D Cook; imaged "United States 1950 Census", database with images , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6NTM-JT2D : accessed 20 February 2024).

"Mrs. Mary J Cook", The Tennessean, 25 March 1915, p. 14, col. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com(https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 February 2024).(Death announcement for Mary who died on the 24 of March)

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/215649022/ollie_mai-cook: accessed February 21, 2024), memorial page with gravestone image for Ollie Mai Cook (1886–1968), Find a Grave Memorial ID 215649022, citing Triune Cemetery, Triune, Williamson County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by Tammy Vermillion (contributor 49014485).