I'm in the habit of checking back on my searches at repositories that are constantly adding records. This week, one of my searches was for Gideon Cook in FamilySearch's Full Text Search. That search led to several discoveries which helped give me more evidence to use in my study of the Cook family.
One significant find was a court case in which Reece Hamer sued J. H. Hill and others. Hill had been appointed to attend to real estate and personal property that Reece’s wife, Nancy Vernon Hamer, inherited from her father. Some form of mismanagement or dispute arose, prompting the lawsuit. The key detail for my research was that the case listed the children of Reece and Nancy Vernon Hamer, mentioning that Gideon Cook, who married Mary S. Hamer, was among them. It also established that Gideon and Mary were Rutherford County, Tennessee residents. The case and all other involved parties were in Williamson County, Tennessee. I already had other evidence placing them in Rutherford County, as Gideon and Mary’s son was born there in May 1868 but can always use additional evidence. This also supports my hypothesis that Mary was alive until at least October 1868. She passed away sometime between that date and October 30, 1869, when Gideon remarried Martha Ann Hale.
Another important detail from the court case was the absence of Harriet G. Hamer Cook, daughter of Reece and Nancy, who married Gideon Cook’s brother, James Polk Cook, in October 1865. Harriet was not mentioned among Reece’s children, suggesting she had died before James married the widow Susan Carson Ferguson in December 1867. While divorce was technically possible for James and Harriet, it seems unlikely since James and Susan named their first child Harriet Sophie Cook, likely in memory of his first wife. Harriet’s omission from the case strengthens the evidence supporting her earlier death.
In addition to the above discoveries, I also located the death certificate of Joseph Gideon Cook, the infant son of David Stahl Cook and Ollie Mai Cook. He passed away in January 1915 at just one month and 28 days old due to whooping cough with an additional complication of indigestion. I was unaware of his existence since he never appeared on any census records. The death certificate listed his father as "D. S. Cook" and his mother as "Miss Cook." Ancestry did not generate a hint for him until I manually added him as David and Ollie Mai’s child. I also would not have found him on FamilySearch because I was unaware he existed. However, by searching for "Gideon Cook"—one of his grandfathers and his namesake—I was able to identify him and place him within the family tree.
A broader search using the FS Full Text Search yields better results for me. I can then apply filters to zoom in and out of surrounding areas and sort through the findings efficiently. This approach works better than conducting a highly specific search that returns no results.
Sources:
Williamson County Tennessee, Chancery Court, Oct. 1865-Oct. 1868, Vol 22, p 578, Reece Hamer v. John H Hill et. al; imaged at FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSBP-GK55 : accessed 20 February 2025), IGN 008398574, Item 2, Image 577 of 604.
"Tennessee, Deaths, 1914-1966," Davidson Co TN Death Certificate of Joseph Gideon Cook DOD 27 January 1915; database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XCZ9-FLQ: accessed 20 February 2025), IGN 004183031 > image 1540 of 2173; Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
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