A Closer Look at the Death Records of Fredrick S. Cook (1905–1933)

Image created using ChatGPT
to colorize and correct Fredrick's 
Yearbook photo from
University of Chicago(1929)

Abstract from Fredrick S Cook's Death Certificate

State of Illinois
Standard Certificate of Death
Registered No. 17778
Place of Death County of Cook, City of Chicago
6842 Harper Ave 43rd Ward
Registration Dist. .No. 3104

Length of residence in city or town where death occurred: 28 yrs

Full Name: Fredrick S Cook
Residence 6842 Harper Ave
Sex: Male
Race: White
Marital Status: Single
Date of Birth: July 2 1905
Age 28 yrs 0 months 0 days

Occupation: Librarian
Industry in which work was done: University of Mich.
Date Deceased last worked at this occupation: Oct 4 1931
Birthplace: Chicago Ill.

Father's Name: Jefferson G. Cook
Father's Birthplace: Eagleville, Ten.

Mother's Maiden Name: Sarah Seat
Mother's Birthplace:  Lebanon, Ten.

Informant J G. Cook 6842 Harper Ave
Place of Burial: Triune, Williamson County, Tenn.
Date of Burial: July 4, 1933
Undertaker: Harry A Barbour
Business:  Barbour & Gustin
Address: 4141 Cott. Gr Ave Drexel 0510

Has decedent ever served in military or naval service of US? No.

Date of Death: July 2 1933
Attended by Physician April 6 1933 - July 2 1933.
Last ween alive by physician July 2, 1933 10:15pm
Principle Cause of Death: Septic Endocarditis
Onset April 6, 1933
Contributory causes: Cerebral Embolism June 19 1933
No operation performed
No autopsy

Code:  91a(International Cause of Death--seems to be using International List of Causes of Death, Revision 3 -1920)
What Test confirmed diagnosis? Physical Laboratory Examination
Was disease any way related to occupation of deceased? No
Signed: John C Dupral M D
4715 Ellis Ave
Date July 3 1933 Telephone Oakwood 0003

Notes:  Fredrick S. Cook, my 2nd cousin once removed, died on his 28th birthday. He was born in Chicago on July 2, 1905 His death certificate contains much more information than most of the other death records I've encountered over my 30+ years of research. Perhaps that is because his father is the informant.  Fredrick worked as a librarian at the University of Michigan, though his last day of work there was recorded as October 4, 1931 according to the information given by his father.. It seems likely he had returned to the family home in Chicago before he became ill.  I had trouble with the name of the Undertaker's business but was able to find it listed in a newspaper of the area in which he lived to verify using the address.

The principal cause of death was septic endocarditis, a serious infection of the heart's inner lining, with onset recorded on that same date. A contributory cause was cerebral embolism, dated June 19, 1933, a complication in which infected material from the heart can break away and block blood vessels in the brain. The doctor last saw Fredrick alive at 10:15 PM on July 2nd, which implies that he was likely present as Fredrick took his last breath.. The diagnosis was confirmed by physical and laboratory examination. No surgery was performed and no autopsy was conducted. Also noted that Fredrick's occupation was not a contributing factor in his death.  This was at the time when antibiotics were not yet used to treat infections.  If this had happened a few years later he may not have had the same fate.

Transcription of Fredrick's Death Notice

Fred Cooke 

College Grove, Tenn., July 4.-(Spl.) --J. T. and J. L. Seat of College Grove have received word here of the death of their nephew., Fred Cook, 28, of Chicago, which occurred in that city on Sunday night after a brief illness. 

Mr. Cook also is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Cook, and a sister, Miss Louise Cook of Chicago. 

The body arrived in Nashville Tuesday morning and was taken to' Triune Methodist church on Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock, where funeral services were held. Burial was in the Triune cemetery..

Notes: 

Fredrick's maternal uncles are mentioned in his death notice as well as his surviving sister.  It's worth noting that his surname is spelled Cooke in the obit but it is not unusual to see Cook with an added E.  My own name has the E but most of my ancestors prior to my father's birth in 1930 did not have the E on any of their documents with minimal exceptions.  Standardized spelling for surnames was not a thing until the time of Social Security here in the US and that was about 2 or 4 years out from his death date. 

Further Research Opportunities:

• Fredrick's University of Michigan Connection
• The Gap Between Fredrick Leaving Work and His Death
• Triune Methodist Church Records

Since Fredrick died single at 28, and there's no known evidence of children, the only documented line through which Jefferson Gideon Cook and Sarah Seat Cook's DNA would descend is through their daughter Sarah Louise Cook Kester. Any DNA matches that appear to connect to this family almost certainly descend through Louise and her Kester descendants unless future research turns up an unacknowledged child fathered by Fredrick, which is always a possibility worth keeping in mind when unexpected DNA matches appear that don't fit the known Kester line.  Jefferson G Cook had several siblings but this family seemed to like to keep the family size small and some never had children.  This may explain why their isn't a branch for Jefferson Gideon Cook Jr.'s father among my descendants of Wm Clifford Cook & Elizabeth Putman Cook.  

Sources
"Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1948", State of Illinois, Standard Certificate of Death, # 17778, Fredrick S. Cook(DOD: 2 July 1933); image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99GF-W5FB : accessed 18 Feb 2026), IGN 4153220, Image 308 of 2865.

"Fred Cooke"(death notice), The Tennessean, 5 July 1933, p 4; images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-frederick-s-cook-son-of/77309359/ : accessed February 19, 2026), clip page for Frederick S Cook- son of Mr & Mrs Jefferson Gideon Cook Jr. by user rmbeckman.