Ohio Biographies

William E. Cook

William E. Cook, who has held the office of Justice of the Peace since 1885, by his cordial and genial manner makes friends wherever he goes. He is one of the leading and public-spirited citizens of Fayette County, and is following the life of an agriculturist, in which pursuit he has been very fortunate. He is the owner of as good a farm as can be found within the limits of Fayette Township, and the view of his place on another page is a valuable addition to this volume.

The original of this sketch was born in Western Union Township, Ross County, this State, June 4, 1856, and is the son of Mathew Scott and Eleanor (Tiffin) Cook, also natives of that county. The father, who was born April 9, 1803, became a very wealthy man, having extensive landed interests in various parts of the Buckeye State and also in Nebraska. He was one of the promoters and stockholders of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, now known as the Baltimore, Ohio & Southwestern. He lost considerable money in that project, which crippled him financially for a number of years.

The nine children comprised in the parental family grew to mature years, and with one exception are all living. Mary is the widow of Robert W. Manly and resides in Chillicothe; Margaret married Capt. Frank T. Gilmore, and they make their home on the old farm in Ross County; Edward is engaged in stock-raising in Elba, Neb. During the late war the latter was a member of the Eighty-ninth Ohio Infantiy, and by the hardships and exposures endured his health was greatly impaired. Diathea makes her home with her mother in Chillicothe; Scott departed this life in his twenty-eighth year; Lucy, Mrs. Edward McCanless, is residing in Pittsburg, Pa.; Maria and Eleanor are twins, the former the wife of Dr. G. W. Tower, of Detroit, and the latter residing at home; William E. was the youngest of the family.

Politically, the father of our subject was an oldline Whig, and cast his first Presidential ballot for John Quincy Adams. On the organization of the Republican party, he joined its ranks, and, being a .strong anti-slavery man, took part in the Morgan raid, and assisted in the defense of Chillicothe during that period. In an early day he was a surveyor, and located most of the land between Mt. Sterling and the estate of our subject. He was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For two years he represented Ross County in the Ohio Legislature. He departed this life November 28, 1882, at Chillicothe, and lies buried in Grand View Cemetery of that place.

William E. Cook grew to manhood on the home farm, and received an excellent education in the High School of Chillicothe and Cornell University. October 26, 1878, he was married to Annie, daughter of William E. and Annie (Christopher) Floyd, who was born in Philadelphia, Pa., October 31, 1856. After his marriage, Mr. Cook removed to Howard County, Neb., where he operated his brother's estate, but later returned to Ohio and has since resided upon his present farm. He is the proprietor of three hundred and twenty-six acres, upon which he has placed excellent improvements, among the most noticeable of which is his comfortable residence.

Mr. and Mrs. Cook have a family of six children, viz.: Mathew Scott, who was born July 13, 1879; William Floyd, March 27, 1881; Edward Tiffin, June 24, 1883; Annie Floyd, September 11, 1885; Martha Christopher, April 6, 1887, and Kate Floyd, September 8, 1890. In his political relations, our subject is a Republican, casting his first vote for James A. Garfield in 1880. He has served as delegate to county, State and congressional conventions, and, as before stated, has been Justice of the Peace since 1885, and exerts a wide power for good in his community. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church, whicli organization he also attends. He is a member of the Patriotic Order of Sons of America and Knights of Pythias, and by his integrity and unimpeachable character has won the full confidence of all who know him.