Funeral costs in Trust Deed records(Rutherford Co. TN, 1922)

Nora Preston Cook, wife of Wm. Clarence Cook died of pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 28. Not only was Clarence facing raising their 3 sons who were under 6 years of age on his own, but he also had to come up with money for his wife's burial. So he, his father, and his father-in-law did what they had to do to come up with the money to bury Nora. To secure the burial which was handled by Woodfin & Moore. Clarence, his father, and his father-in-law put up property to secure the services and guarantee that the burial costs would be paid. We find out the details in Rutherford Co TN Trust Deed Book TT page 420, which gives the listing.

• 1 white-faced cow 5 years old property of Clarence Cook valued at $ 50.00 said cow is at Christiana Tenn
• I white-faced cow 6 years old property of J. B Preston valued at $ 80.00 Said cow on Frank Manken farm in the 24th District
• 1 bay horse 6 years old property of W. G. Cook valued 75.00 Said horse is at Christiana Tenn.

Sources:
Trust Deed Book Vol TT p 420, Clarence Cook et al Mortgage to Woodfin & Moore pg 420; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSTC-GP1G : accessed 2 Jan 2025), IGN 8332417, Image 539 of 651.

"Tennessee, Deaths, 1914-1966", Rutherford Co. TN, Death Certificate File # 134 --Nora May Cook, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DY49-NTJ? : accessed 2 January 2025), IGN 4184089, image 603 of 2306.

Understanding Our Ancestors: Tuberculosis & Influenza

I'm writing an article about my great grandparents, William Green Cook & Jane Bell King Cook and their descendants.  In order to get a better understanding of the social aspect of what happened with my family in the early 1900s,  I've added several books to my personal library.  My Cook family was hit pretty hard by tuberculosis.  It all but wiped out my Great Aunt Rebecca's branch of  the family.  I knew very little about what had happened prior to my researching the family and even then very little about the TB hospitals.

The list of books I'm studying are as follows:

• The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History--John M. Barry(2005)
• Fevered Lives: Tuberculosis in American Culture since 1870--Katherine Ott(1999)
• Bargaining for Life: A Social History of Tuberculosis, 1876-1938 (Studies in Health, Illness, and Caregiving)--Barbara Bates(1992)
• Living In The Shadow Of Death: Tuberculosis And The Social Experience Of Illness In America--Sheila M. Rothman(1994)
• The White Plague: Tuberculosis, Man and Society--Jean Dubos(1987)
• Discovering Tuberculosis: A Global History, 1900 to the Present--Christian W. McMillen(2015)

I also purchased one book about Yellow Fever because I wanted to compare that with the other illnesses.  I don't know of anyone in my family that died from Yellow Fever.  If you have any family from areas where there was swamp land you may find some of your family dealt with it. 

The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, The Epidemic That Shaped Our History--Molly Caldwell Crosby(2007)

There are many other issues that our ancestors dealt with regarding their health and economic situations.  It is hard for us to understand why they made certain decisions but reading about what was happening in the world during their lifetime helps to put that into perspective. In 1927, my dad's brother died of scarlet fever.  Dad had rheumatic fever when he was of elementary school age but was fortunate enough to survive even though it threw him behind in school because of having to be absent.

Look at your family.  What obstacles did they face? Health? Disabilities? Financial? Environmental? Look for books on that time period and subject to get a better understanding. It really does help.

Mrs. Ruth King Bond (1891-1914)--Dau of Richard Nance King and Parrie Cook

Mrs. Ruth King Bond (1891-1914)--Daughter of Richard Nance King and Parry Cook King

• Age 23 
• Born 16th May 1891 in Rover, Bedford Co., Tennessee
• Died 30th Apr 1914 at Britton OK
• Lived at Eagleville until age 9(1900)
• Moved to Triune in 1900
• Later to Murfreesboro.
• Married Mr. Dan Bond 11 Dec 1909
• Moved to OK in 1910.
• Mr. Bond died in Jan 1914
• She came to Britton after being widowed to live with her brother Mace King
• Her health rapidly declined
• Survivors:
• 3 year old daughter, Maud
• Sister--Eula King
• Brothers, Mace King and Joe King
• Converted and joined Missionary Baptist Church at Elmer OK in 1911

Source:  Above information from the obituary than ran in the Britton Weekly Sentinel(Britton, OK) 7th May 1914 which can be viewed in digital format at Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112143371/obituary-of-ruth-king/

Additional information:

Ruth's sister, Eula brought Maud back to Tennessee to live with Ella Cook Martin.  Ella was Parry Cook King's sister who had raised Ruth after Parry's death.  She also raised Maud.  Eula returned to OK and died a short time later.  Ruth, Eula and Dan all died of tuberculosis and are all buried somewhere in Britton OK.

Source Additional information from Charlotte Ralston whose source on this line was Maud Bond Hailey Thomas.

I did find Ruth's listed at FindAGrave in Britton Cemetery however it looks like it was added from her death notice and their is no picture of a stone.  I don't know who would have records of the cemetery.  There is a Stone monument that contains some history of the cemetery located here at FindAGrave.  

From the ok3explore.health.ok.gov website:
Earliest OK death record is 1908 however, vital records weren't required by law until 1917.

This is Ruth's pedigree She, her full siblings and her descendants are kin to me  thru the King line, Cook line with an additional line of the Putmans.  You can get a visual of it by looking at the Thruline icons(the gray ones)

Where are Wm Green Cook & wife Jane at the time of the 1920 US Federal Census?

Many people are in search of their ancestors in the newly released 1950 US Federal Census. I've been fortunate to find the vast majority of my close relatives in it and will wait until there is an index to search for those more distant relatives. It seems like a good time to take inventory of my direct ancestors and their census records. There are several paternal and a few maternal  ancestors that I have been unable to find in the US Federal Censuses that were recorded between 1850 and 1940.  One of my most recent MIA census records is the entry for my paternal great grandparents, William Green Cook and Jane B King Cook.  My study of the tax records of Wm Green Cook for the years 1912-1944 leads me to believe that they should be in Civil District 10 of  Rutherford Co TN . I've included the study below along with the snippet of the census page where they should have been enumerated.  Jane died a year after the census from pulmonary tuberculosis but appeared to have been sick with it since the fall of 1920 according to the information given on her death certificate.  At least that was the time she was treated by the physician who signed off on her death certificate.

Close-up of the portion of the Tax Study that covers the years
surrounding the 1920 Census

Above screenshot of 1920 US Federal Census--Rutherford Co TN--District 10 ED 123 Sheet 9A(image 17 of 20 at FamilySearch.org

Displacement of some sort was going on at the time of the census which may or may not have had to do with the TB and flu outbreaks happening in the area during that timeframe.  In the document granting the adoption, it mentions that Eliza is living in Chapel Hill with her Father & Mother but that her parents home is in Rutherford Co TN.  This letter is dated Dec 31, 1918 so that would have been a year and a day before the 1920 Census date of January 1st.  Were the missing people all together or at an infirmary or TB sanatorium?  Was the census taker aware that they were sick and skipped their home?  The daughters could be there taking care of their Mom.  A number of people from this family worked at the pencil mill but those folks were living in Marshall Co TN and the missing members are not with either of these families.  In my efforts to find my great grandparents, I've discovered a lot more questions than answers.   

Further Research Opportunities

Newspapers 1918-1930s

Marshall Co TN paper (at FamilySearch.org)

Murfreesboro paper(at Newspapers.com via my subscription) 

Where are Tennessee Orphan's Home records(Columbia, TN) archived?  What additional correspondence(if any) might they have?

How were hospitals and sick houses treated for enumeration purposes during the 1920 Census?  

[These are just the ones I can think of right now I'll probably add to the list before I'm able to find the answers.]

Sources: 

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RXJ-1G?cc=1488411&wc=QZJR-3KV%3A1036996801%2C1036967001%2C1037036801%2C1589332678 : 14 September 2019), Tennessee > Rutherford > Civil District 10 > ED 123 > image 17 of 20; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• Correspondence concerning adoption of Almedia Anderson by Eliza A Cook", copies of documents that were part of the papers of Eliza A Cook Rowland.  These papers covered the years 1918-1926.  I have copies of some of the documents supplied to me by Eliza's grandson Mark Rowland around 2010.
• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNRS-8Y1 : 3 February 2021), John Cook, 1920.
• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNR9-Y4R : 3 February 2021), C C Thompson, 1920.
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPQB-ZZT : accessed 21 April 2022), Horace Rowland, District 10, Rutherford, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 12, sheet 3B, line 78, family 61, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2270; FHL microfilm 2,342,004.
• "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N9RQ-G3N : 1 March 2021), Jane Bell Cook, 7 May 1921; Death, Rutherford, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
• "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NS4Z-GJ7 : 1 March 2021), Charlie Cleveland Thompson, 30 Jul 1934; Death, Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
• "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N917-23P : 23 February 2021), Rebeca Love Thompson, 1 Feb 1928; Death, Lewisburg, Marshall, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
• "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSQW-KTY : 23 February 2021), Margaret Ruth Cooper, 22 Mar 1941; Death, Civil District 13, Davidson, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
• Tax books District 1-25 1912-1913
• Tax books District 1-25 1914, 1917
• Tax books District 1-25 1918-1919
• Tax books District 1-25 1920-1921
• Tax books District 1-25 1922-1923
• Tax books District 1-25 1924
• Tax books District 1-25 1925
• Tax books District 1-25 1926
• Tax books District 1-25 1927
• Tax books District 1-25 1928-1929
• Tax books District 1-25 1930-1931
• Tax books District 1-25 1932
• Tax books District 1-25 1933
• Tax books District 1-25 1934
• Tax books District 1-25 1935
• Tax books District 1-25 1936-1937
• Tax books District 1-25 1938-1939
• Tax books District 1-25 1940-1941
• Tax books District 1-25 1942-1943
• Tax books District 1-25 1944-1945 

An Address--Past and Present--Ruth Thompson Cooper

My Dad's paternal 1st cousin Margaret Ruth Thompson Cooper passed away in 1941 from tuberculosis.  I have a digital copy of her death certificate which lists her address as 129 6th Avenue S, Nashville, Tennessee.  On seeing the address and noting that the certificate said she had been sick for 6 months I had thought the address was probably a hospital or one of the sick houses for those with TB.  So I went looking thru the 1940 Nashville City Directory for that address. I found her listed but her surname has the word "more" added to the end of it.  I checked the abbreviation key page and didn't find "more" listed.  If it is a boarding house and there are more people why are their names not listed? Odd.

I was curious to see what is in that location today so I checked the address on Google Maps.   Today that would be near the Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena and not far from Nissan Stadium.  She is listed there in the 1940 and 1941 directory.  In the 1938 directory,  she is listed at 107½ 4th Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee.  The 4th Avenue address is only a few blocks away and is closer to the Ryman Auditorium.  Given this information, it seems that this was a neighborhood she had live in for at least 4 yrs.

Google Map for 129 6th Avenue South, Nashville Tennessee

Margaret was listed as Mrs. in her last two directory entries.  She had married in 1933 in Williamson Co TN to Burgess V Cooper.  I haven't found her divorce yet but Burgess remarries in 1939 and she is listed as divorced on her Death Certificate.The informant on her Death Certificate was her cousin J. W. Cook, son of her maternal Uncle Clarence Cook.  There were many from my family who died of TB within the 1920 to 1945 timeframe.  

I've not been able to find her in the 1940 census but with the information obtained from her Death Certificate I know she was still alive and the city directories tell me where she is living.  I really need to do a bit more digging and get her story out.  I feel like I have just scratched the surface. 

Notes: 

Ancestry.com. Tennessee, Death Records, 1908-1958 [https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2376]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. TN Death Cert of Mrs. Margaret Ruth Cooper (Davidson Co. TN 1941)

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2469]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Browsed to the TN--Nashville ---1940 listing Nashville, Tennessee, City Directory, 1940

Image 115 of 748 (listed alphabetically by surname)
Image 673 of 748 (by street address)


Google Maps Address 129 6th Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee(accessed 2/22/2018)