My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography from the book, History of Kentucky, Edition 1 by J. H. Battle, W. H. Perrin and G. C. Kniffin and published by F. A. Battey Publishing Company in 1885.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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OTIS COOK was born June 18, 1852, in Columbus, Ky., and is a son of William and Sophia M. (Cobb) Cook. The father was born April 27, 1815, in Richmond, Va.; he died in Columbus, September 27, 1872. The grandfather of our subject, William Cook. Sr., was born in 1782 in what is now Howard County, Md. He came with his family to Columbus, Ky., in 1819, having first purchased a stock of general merchandise in New Orleans; these goods were brought to Columbus by a keeler, occupying three weeks on the passage, and were the first ever sold at this point. At this early day this locality was a dense forest, and Indians roamed here in great numbers. William Cook, Sr., entered a quantity of land from the government, part of which is now owned by his daughter, Miss Annie E. Cook. He died in Columbus, June 6, 1829. Miss Annie E. Cook was born in Columbus, January 2, 1827, and has always resided here. William Cook, the father of Otis Cook, was extensively engaged in the forwarding and commission business; he also held many offices of trust, and was postmaster from 1836 to 1854. In 1853 he was appointed treasurer of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company, which position he creditably filled for several years; at the time of his death he was city treasurer of Columbus, and had been a life-long and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Otis Cook is the owner of 487 acres of land, located four miles southeast of Columbus, on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, about 250 acres of which are under cultivation; he has recently placed on this farm a number of short-horn cattle, this being the first thoroughbred stock ever brought to Hickman County. Miss Annie E. Cook owns 320 acres of land located two miles west of Clinton; this land was entered by her father from the government. She also owns three entire blocks and portions of several other blocks in Columbus, also a farm of 220 acres in Mississippi County, Mo., lying near Belmont.

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This family biography is one of 142 biographies included in the Hickman County, Kentucky section of the book, The History of Kentucky, Edition 1 published in 1885 by F. A. Battey Publishing Company.  For the complete description, click here: History of Kentucky, Edition 1

View additional Hickman County, Kentucky family biographies here: Hickman County, Kentucky Biographies

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