William Henry COOK
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | Thomas COOK | |
| Mother: | Nancy (Cook) | |
| Birth: | 29 Feb 1868 | Harlen Twp., Warren Co., Ohio 1 |
| Death: | 12 Jun 1946 | Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio 2 |
| Death Of Spouse El: | 8 May 1931 | 3 |
| Notes: | William's middle name was also spelled 'Henery'. According to family lore, William had a brother named Harold ("Harry") Cook and a half-brother named Samuel Cook. In the 1870 U.S. Census, there is a William Cook, age 2, living with Thomas and Rachel Cook. Including William, there were four children living in the household. (None of these children are Harry or Samuel.) The family lived in Clermont County, Wayne Township, in the Village of Georgetown. There is no definite proof that this is indeed William Henry and his family. The 1880 Census shows a 12-year-old William Cook living in Wayne Township with his brother in law, John Hill, and working as a laborer there. In addition, the IGI gives William's parents as Thomas Cook and Rachel Hill. This information, along with the possibility of the above 1870 census being this William Cook, contradicts what is given on the birth record from Clermont County (documenting his birth in Warren County). Further research is needed. The 1900 U.S. Census states that William Henry married Ella in 1895, when he was 27 years old and she was 22. Their marriage occured shortly before the birth of their first child, Leonard. In the 1900 U.S. Census, the family was renting a house in Union Township, in Butler County. William Henry was 32 years old, worked as farm labor, and could either read or write. Ella was 28 and could do both. The couple had been married for five years and had three children -- the oldest, Leonard, was four years old. (The census is dated 20 June 1900 -- Leonard may have been born after February 1895, since he was only four years old.) William Henry stated that both of his parents were born in Ohio. When William Matthew was born in April of 1910, the Cook family lived in Carlisle, Franklin Township, Warren County. William Henry gave his occupation as "laborer," and stated that he was 42 years old. Ella was 39, and listed as a housewife. On the birth certificate, the child's name is given as "William Mathews Cook," and William Henry is listed as "Wm. A. Cook." In the 1910 U.S. Census, the family lived in Franklin Township, in Warren County. William Henry was 45 years old, and Ella was 39. Their children Leonard, Oliver, Edna, Benny, Marie, and Walter lived in the household. The oldest, Leonard, was 14, and the youngest, Walter, was five years old. In addition to the couple's own children, there lived a 21-year-old cousin named Cora Williams (presumably a relation of Ella's). Helen, the couple's seventh child, is not listed in this census and must have died before the age of two. Though the census is dated at 2 May 1910, William Matthew is not yet listed. If the census date is correct, he would have been only a week old at the taking of the census. William Henry stated that his father may have been born in Maryland. Flooding ravaged the Ohio Valley in 1913, devastating towns bordering the Miami and Scioto Rivers in Ohio. This flooding likely also affected the Little Miami, which flows through Warren County. Whether the Cook family lived in Carlisle in Warren County or Miami Township in Montgomery County, this farm family of ten children was probably drastically affected by this catastrophe. In January 1920, at the enumeration of the Census, the Cooks had purchased a home in Miami Township, Montgomery County. William Henry stated that he was 49 years old, and his wife Ella was 47. He was farming, as was his eldest son, Leonard. Thomas and Bennie, the next oldest boys, were doing factory work. Since the previous census, children William, Edith, and Charles had been born. Charles, the youngest, was almost five years old. Edna, the oldest daughter, had already married and moved out of the house, and had subsequently died in 1919 of tuberculosis. Albert must also have died, as he is not listed in this census. At the 1930 Census, William and Ella were renting a home in Miami Township with their sons Leonard, Ben, and Russell. William, Russell, and Leonard were working at a paper mill, while Ben was still doing factory work. Marie Alice had married in 1920, Thomas Oliver had been hit by a train in 1924, William Matthew had married in 1927, and Walter had likely married sometime before 1930. Edith had apparently also moved out, although family records state that she didn't marry until 1938. This census states that the entire family was born in Kentucky. Ella widowed William in 1931, when he was 63 years old. According to Bill Cook, William Henry had to have witnesses to his Social Security application and other government documents, due to the fact that he had no birth certificate. (Can this be correct, or did Grandpa mean William Matthew instead?) William Henry lived with his youngest son Russell and Russell's wife Margaret after Ella's death. Uncle Russ was in the service, so Margaret had to provide most of William's care after the onset of WWII. William developed arteriosclerosis and heart disease prior to his 78th year, and was checked in to the Montgomery County Home in December of 1945. Dr. H.C. Van Kirk, MD attended William from December 10th (his admittance to the Home) until his death on June 12, 1946. William lived at 601 Infirmary Road during his stay at the Home, and was buried on June 14th in Hill Grove Cemetery in Miamisburg, presumably with his wife Ella. |
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Family 1
| Spouse/Partner: | Ella Susan WILLIAMS | b. 2 May 1872 d. 8 May 1931 |
| Marriage: | 1895 | |
| Children: | ||
Leonard Pierre COOK
 |
b. Feb 1895 d. 19 Jan 1948 | |
| Thomas Oliver COOK
|
b. 10 May 1897 d. 31 Oct 1924 | |
Edna Mae COOK
 |
b. Jun 1899 d. 2 May 1919 | |
| Benjiman Smith COOK
|
b. 10 Apr 1901 | |
| Marie Alice COOK
|
b. 7 Feb 1903 | |
| Walter James COOK
|
b. 1905 | |
| Helen R. COOK
|
b. 14 May 1908 d. Bef 1910 | |
| William Matthew COOK
|
b. 25 Apr 1910 d. 30 Apr 1962 | |
| Albert COOK
|
b. 1911 d. ? | |
| Edith Caroline COOK
|
b. 6 Sep 1912 d. Aft 1938 | |
| Charles Russell COOK
|
b. 10 Feb 1915 d. 29 Mar 1996 | |