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Below is a family biography included in The History of Wayne County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1886. 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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William M. Cook, mayor of Clifton, and a prominent business man of the town, was born in Wayne County March 23, 1849, son of John L. and MaryAnn (Johnson) Cook, both of whom were natives of Wayne County. William M. was reared on a farm and secured a limited education in his boyhood days, and continued farming exclusively until twenty years of age. He then traded in stock until his marriage, at the age of twenty-two, with Almyra I. Montague. He then resumed farming and followed that and stock trading until 1882, when he engaged in steam saw-milling in the county, at which he has continued ever since. In December, 1884, he moved to Clifton, and the following March engaged in the general merchandise business with G. W. Thompson, continuing the same up to the present time. May 11, 1886, Mrs. Cook died, leaving six living children: Nancy L., Jacob L., Mary, Thomas, Jesse and Nellie. Mr. Cook is a Democrat in politics, and in August, 1885, was elected to the office of mayor of Clifton. He is a Mason and K. of H. and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in which faith his wife died.
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This family biography is one of 76 biographies included in The History of Wayne County, Tennessee published in 1886. The History of Lawrence County was included within The History of Lawrence, Wayne, Perry, Hickman & Lewis Counties of Tennessee. View the complete description here: History of Lawrence, Wayne, Perry, Hickman and Lewis Counties of Tennessee
View additional Wayne County, Tennessee family biographies here: Wayne County, Tennessee
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