 1607 - 1695 (88 years)
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| Name |
John Cooke [2, 3] |
| Suffix |
of the Mayflower |
| Born |
1607 |
Leiden, Holland  [2, 3] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Immigrated |
1620 |
America |
| on the "Mayflower" |
| Died |
23 Nov 1695 |
Dedham, MA |
| Person ID |
I3501 |
Main |
| Last Modified |
7 Nov 2004 |
| Father |
Francis Cooke, of the Mayflower, b. 6 Apr 1583, Blythe, Yorkshire, England , d. 7 Apr 1663, Plymouth, MA (Age 80 years) |
| Mother |
Hester Mahieu, b. 1592, Canterbury, England , d. Aft 18 Jun 1666, Plymouth, MA (Age 74 years) |
| Married |
Jun 1603 |
Leiden, Holland |
| Family ID |
F1404 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Sarah Warren, b. Abt 1614, England , d. Aft 15 Jul 1696 (Age ~ 82 years) |
| Married |
28 Mar 1634 |
Plymouth, MA [2, 3] |
| Children |
|
| Last Modified |
26 Dec 2003 |
| Family ID |
F1402 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- JOHN COOKE (I), son of Francis and Hester (Mahieu) Cooke was born about 1612, and came to New England, with his father, in the Mayflower, 1620. As a lad he had acquired an education superior to that of most of his contemporaries, which was evinced by his own achievements and shown in the strong, earnest character which distinguished him during his long life. The most active period of his life was spent in Plymouth and although he never quite disassociated himself from allegiance to the faith which the Pilgrims brought with them, his independence of thought seem to have precluded entire acceptance of the orthodox establishment and his earnest nature compelled him to "speak his mind" and give to his friends and neighbors the convictions concerning religious matters which he himself had formed. He at one time became an Anabaptist preacher and after his removal to Dartmouth, he was authorized by the Court at Plymouth, "to make contracts of marriage, administer oaths, issue warrants in his Majestie's name" and to perform all civil and religious acts. In 1643, he was serving in the military company of Plymouth and had engaged in many business enterprises and accumulated an estate that in 1644, when he was just 24, was taxed equally with his father. He married, March 28, 1634, Sarah, daughter of Richard Warren, the Mayflower passenger. Mistress Warren, the widow of Richard, and mother of Sarah, in consideration of the marriage conveyed to John Cooke, certain lands at Eel River, which in 1637, he exchanged for other lands with Richard Bartlett. He was a volunteer in Captain Prince's company for service in the Pequot war, and was one of the owners of the first vessel built in the colony, the forty-ton pride and delight of Plymouth. Between 1653 and 1660, John Cooke removed to Dartmouth and took up holdings in the northerly part of Fairhaven, in the district now known as Oxford. Here he lived at the time the crushing blow fell on Dartmouth, dealt by the infuriated Philip whose savage hordes devastated the town with torch and tomahawk. Foreseeing the necessity, John Cooke had converted his homestead into a "garrison house" and to this haven of safety the inhabitants of that part of Dartmouth fled on the first alarm, those that reached it safely there defended themselves but many were slain on their way. John Cooke died November 23, 1695, aged about 85 years. A large boulder with bronze inscription has been erected in Oxford, bearing the following memorial:
Sacred to the Memory of
JOHN COOKE
who was buried here in 1695.
"The last surviving male Pilgrim of those who came in the Mayflower. First white settler of this town, the pioneer in its religious, moral, and business life. A man of character and integrity and the trusted agent for this part of the Commonwealth of the Old Colonial Civil Government of Plymouth."
His will, dated November 9, 1694, names the following children and makes the widow, Sarah, executrix:
I--Sarah, b. abt. 1635; m. Nov. 20, 1652, Arthur Hathaway.
II--Elizabeth, b. .........; m. Nov. 28, 1661, Daniel Wilcox.
III--Esther, b. Aug. 16, 1650; m. Thomas Tabor.
IV--MERCY, b. July 25, 1654. (See following.)
V--Mary, b. Jan. 12, 1657; m. Philip Tabor.
Dartmouth is place of death according to: Mayflower Planters, Cape Code Series Vol. II, Political, Economic and Social England, 1580-1620, Page 151
List of those able to bear arms in the Colony of New Plymouth in 1643.
Mayflower Source Records (August 1643) The names of all the males that are able to beare armes from XVI yeares old to 60 yeares wth in the seuerall Towneshipps. pg. 501 [2, 3]
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