Infographic: Jefferson Gideon Cook, his wives and children

I used the Infographic option(currently in beta) at Google's Notebooklm to create an infographic from the information in my blog post about Jefferson Gideon Cook's wives and children. It did a fairly good job of providing a visual of the information contained in the blog post.

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", image, 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", image, 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", image, 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", image, 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.

Using Broad Searches to Gather Genealogical Evidence

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.