Mordecai Cooke I (abt. 1610 - bef. 1664)

Born about 1610 in Petworth, Sussex, England

Husband of Susannah (Thresher) Cooke — married 1648 in Mordecai's Mount, Gloucester, Virginia

Descendants

Died before 1664 before about age 54 in Gloucester County, Colony of Virginia

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Mordecai Cooke I resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776. Join: US Southern Colonies Project Discuss: southern_colonies

Biography

Mordecai Cooke, "ancestor of a well-known family in Virginia, patented October 2, 1650, 1,174 acres in Mobjack Bay, which he called 'Mordecai's Mount.' ^[1] He used the same arms as the Cookes of Whitfield, county Suffolk, England. (See Descendants of Mordecai Cooke of Mordecai's Mount, Gloucester county, Virginia, by Dr. William Carter Stubbs.)^[2]

"Mordecai Cooke, of 'Mordecai's Mount,' Gloucester Co., Va., was a staunch loyalist and devoted to his king and to the House of Stuart ; a staunch and liberal supporter of the Established Church ; the name of his wife is unknown, but generally believed to have been of the Giles family, as that name is used in every branch of the family."^[3]

Mordecai Cooke was transported by Christopher Boyse into Charles River County, Virginia in 1639. He was one of the earliest settlers of what became Gloucester County, since Charles River became York County in 1643 and Gloucester County was formed from York in 1651. ^[4] Mordecai and his descendants have always been large land holders in Gloucester Co.: "Wareham," "Beechy," "Woodlawn," "Cedars," "Chalk Level," and "Mordecai's Mount" (later known as "Church Hill"), were some of their possessions. "Cedars" and "Woodlawn" are still owned by the family.^{[3] [5]}

Land transactions include, but not limited to:

• Mordecay Cooke, 1174 acs. [called Mordecai's Mount] lyeing neare the head of Ware Riv. in Mockjack Bay, beg. at a point of cleared land called Mordecays Mount, running up the W. side of Cow Cr. etc. 2 Oct. 1650, p. 255. Trans. of 24 pers: Edward Bond, his wife, Wm. Sawyer, Charles King, Henry Corkett (or Cockett), Bart Lentill, Ann Winn, ThomasParvoll, Philip Garner, Mord. Cooke, Richard Viriam, Wm. geey, Wm. Gillam, Edward Attore, Ja. Banks, twice, Alexander Green, twice, Jane his wife, Edward Greene.^[4]
• Mr. Mordecoy Cooke, 300 acs., upon the N. side of a swamp falling into Ware Riv., & opposite land of John Walker., 7 Sept. 1654, p. 375. Trans. of 6 pers: Thomas Seag (or Seay). Henry Norman Mathew Borrowes, John Gassent, Thomas Cater, Richard Pevvis.^[4]

Vitals

Birth: 1610 or 1623 (from WikiTree profiles), England

about 1610^[6]

before 1623^[7]

Parents: unknown. Speculation: John Cooke, 1623 immigrant (#MUW)^[8]

Immigration: 1639 (#Stubbs)

Residence: 1639 Elizabeth City Co., Virginia; "Mordecai's Mount," Gloucester Co., Virginia^[6]

Marriage: before 1648 (#Stubbs)

Wife:

Susannah (unknown), widow of Michael Peasley (#Stubbs)

Susannah (Thrasher) Peasley (#Find-A-Grave)

Susanna Peasley, married about 1647^[9]

Children:

• Mordecai b 1648/9; d 1718 (#Stubbs), married Frances Ironmonger
• Thomas of "Woodbury"...(#Stubbs)
• Elizabeth m Richard Buckner of Essex (#Stubbs) - detached as daughter
• Giles, m _____ (#Stubbs), (#VA_Bios)
• John, m _____ (#Stubbs); "resided at 'Beechley', Gloucester Co." (Rootsweb)
  • John's son Jno. m Ann Todd (#Stubbs)

Died: before 1667 (#Stubbs), Mordecai's Mount, Gloucester County, Virginia (assumed); before 1661^{[citation needed]} I was unable to verify the land patents cited in Stubbs, p 22 referencing "Mrs. Cooke's land" in 1667 and 1668. I did find a 1664 reference in Nugent:

Richard Renshaw, 300 acs. Gloster Co., 23 Mar. 1664. "On the Bryre br. which issueth into the head of Ware Riv. in Mockjack bay, beg. by the branch side running N.W. by same &c. to Mrs. Cooks land &c. ..."^[10] The description fits the location of land owned by Mordecai Cooke so I think it is safe to assume Mordecai was dead by March 1664, if not earlier. (Shirley Dalton 16:41, 20 July 2021 (UTC))

Locations:

• Elizabeth City county, 1645 (#Stubbs)
• York county, 1646 (#Stubbs)
  • Note: Gloucester formed from York county in 1651 (VA County Formations). Charles River county, formed in 1634, was renamed York County in 1642. (Elizabeth City & Charles River counties were adjacent counties in 1634.)
• patented October 2, 1650, 1,174 acres in Mobjack Bay, which he called "Mordecai's Mount." (#VA_Bios)
• Ware Church Parish, Gloucester, Virginia (#Stubbs)

Peasley (wife's first husband) locations:

• Harris Creek, 1636 land patent (#Stubbs)
• New Pocosin Parish, will (#Stubbs)

Son John:

• "resided at 'Beechley', Gloucester Co." (Rootsweb)

Among the original patents taken from the land books at Richmond, we find the following: 1,174 acres on Mock-Jack Bay, patented Oct. 2, 1650, by Mordecai Cooke, Sir William Berkeley, Gov., and this estate was called "Mordecai's Mount," and became his family seat. On Sept. 7, 1654, he patented 300 acres lying on Ware river, for the transportation of six persons into the Colony. In 1680 he received a grant of 1,600 acres, for the transportation of twenty persons; at this time Sir Henry Chieheley was Gov.; April 24, 1703, he patented 1,200 acres in Gloucester Co., late belonging to Alexander Murray, deceased, and escheated to her Majesty, Francis Nicholson, Gov.; in 1713 Thomas Cooke patented 300 acres on the Island of New Point Comfort, escheated lands; in 1714, 156 acres on Cappahosick Creek; and in Sept., 1728, 1,000 acres on the north fork of the North Anna; and in 1728, John Cooke, of King and Queen Co., patented 1,000 acres at the same place."^[3] (Note: Land grants after 1667 are not for this Mordecai Cooke, possibly for his son or grandson.)

These are different families

• Isle of Wight county: John Cooke b 1656 (several WikiTree profiles)
• Old Rappahannock County/Essex County/Middlesex County:

from VA County Formations:

Old Rappahannock: Formed in 1656 from Lancaster County. It became extinct in 1692 when it was divided in into Essex and Richmond Counties. The records were transferred to Essex County. Records include Land, Probate, and Court Records from 1656.

Middlesex county formed from Lancaster county in 1669

Research Notes

Estimated Birth Years: Birth year of both "about 1610" and "before 1623" are compatible with speculation that Mordecai was the son of John Cooke, 1623 immigrant to Virginia. Death "before 1667" (#Stubbs) based on reference that year to "Mrs. Cooke's land."

Residence in Elizabeth City County, 1645: The reference that Mordecai Cooke lived in Elizabeth City County in 1645 comes from Stubbs:

Mordecai Cooke first appeared in Elizabeth City County, Va. as a witness in a suit in 1645, of Selden vs Galt, for possession of Buckrow Beach (Wm. and Mary Quarterly, vol. IX.) Stubbs, pp 19, 22

Stubbs is in error here. The lawsuit cited, Selden vs Galt, was filed on 1 January 1745 between John Selden and Samuel Galt who both claimed title to land "on the Strawberry Banks," which apparently included "Buck Roe" Beach, based on conflicting patents in the previous century. How the name of Mordecai Cooke became connected with this lawsuit is a mystery. The date is off by 100 years and Mordecai's name nowhere appears in the discussion of the lawsuit. See William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, Volume 9, pages 86, 87.

Removal of this erroneous citation leaves the residence history of Mordecai Cooke, the Immigrant, confined to Charles River, York and Gloucester Counties as the names were changed over time. (Shirley Dalton 16:06, 20 July 2021 (UTC))

Data from Stubbs

full citation for #Stubbs below

p 22: "Mordecay" Cooke immigrated 1639. Lived 1st in Elizabeth City county (1645 record); then York county (1646).

p 20: Death in 1647 of Michael Peasley (his will; Augustine Warner and Armiger Wade, overseers); widow Susannah wife of Mordacai by 1648. (maiden name unknown) (Peasley pat. land on Harris Creek 1636; will - New Pocosin Parish)

Peasley left two children, Henry & Elizabeth; Mordacai "qualified" as guardian of Elizabeth - p 22 still (Henry 21 by 1648, per patent); Henry Peasley d Gloucester co, VA; will 1675

Mordacai & Susannah (widow Peasley) had 5 known children (p 22)

• Mordacai (b 1648 or 9)
• Thomas of "Woodbury"...
• Elizabeth m Richard Buckner of Essex* & * (below)
• Giles, m _____, was father of Giles (Burgess 1722...); (VA Bios - "Cooke, Giles, son of Mordecai Cooke, the immigrant to Virginia, was tobacco agent in 1714, and was burgess for Gloucester county in the assembly of 1723-1726.")
• John, m _____, was father of Jno. m Ann Todd (& others)

* cites bp of Jno. Fitzhugh, son of Henry and Susannah (Cooke) Fitzhugh, b June 30, 1727, "his sureties were Mordecai Cooke, and Anne and Mrs. Elizabeth Buckner 'his aunts.'" ... "...Buckner was clerk of Essex county, 1703..." Note that "his" is referring to Mordecai (3rd of the name in America), who is brother of Frances (m Throckmorton) and Susannah (b Dec. 7, 1693) m Henry Fitzhugh b 1686. (p 27) "His" aunts would be sisters of 2nd Mordacai (son of immigrant). Since Anne is not listed as a child of the immigrant, perhaps she is the wife of a Cooke? (I read at one point, but cannot find the reference now, that "aunt" in colonial America was used to refer to a godparent who was a relative, so perhaps "his" was referring to the child & Anne was a Fitzhugh, with aunt applied equally to his great-aunt Elizabeth.)

* "Buckner, Richard, son of John Buckner, of Gloucester county, was clerk of Essex county in 1703, and clerk of the house of burgesses in 1713." (#VA_Bio)

Mordacai d before 1667 (based on reference to "Mrs. Cooke's land") (back to #Stubbs)

son Mordacai (c1650-c1718) m Frances Ironmonger, daughter of William & Elizabeth (Jones) Iremonger - p 26

most of the Cookes lived Ware Church Parish Gloucester (Note: It seems Ware Church was used as the parish courthouse, but the parish name is just Ware Parish as far as I can tell. See Virginia Parishes.)

Mordacai (son of Mordacai & Frances Ironmonger) m Frances Whiting. Sister Frances Cooke m 1690 Gabriel Throckmorton (1660-1737). Sister Susannah (b Dec. 7, 1693) m Henry Fitzhugh b 1686.

Data from Ware Church

Ware Episcopal Church, Gloucester, VA^[11]

History of Ware Church^[12]

• Ware Church: List of names in the cemetery
  • Cooke, Mary 1691/4/14 - 1724/3/15 158A APVA
  • Cooke, Mordecai 1708 - 1751/4/5 158A APVA
• Ware Church: Gravestones in the cemetery:
  • Cooke, Ann (1682/11/9 - 1720/7/18): Stone only, moved from Wareham Cemetery, near Pinero. (Epitaphs, 1959), 158A APVA. Information from transcription on stone: Mrs. Ann Cooke, wife of Mr. John Cooke; Eldest Daughter of Capt Thomas and Elizabeth Todd. Born "in this Parish of Ware" 9 November 1682 & died the 18th day of July 1720.
  • Cooke, Elizabeth (1713/12/17 - 1762/12/8): Stone only, moved from Wareham Cemetery, near Pinero. (Epitaphs, 1959), 158A APVA. Information from transcription on stone: Elizabeth Cooke, wife of Mr. Mordecai Cooke, eldest daughter of Francis and Mary Whiting. Born "Parish of Ware" on 17 Dec. 1713, died 8 December 1762.
  • Cooke, Ellen C. (1777 - 1820/4/15): Stone only, 158A APVA. Information from transcription on stone: Ellen C. Cooke, daughter of Dr. Mordecai C. & Eliza M. Booth; wife of Warner T. Cooke. Died Apr. 15, 1820, aged 43 years.
  • Cooke, Giles Buckner (1838/5/13 - 1937/2/4), Major, CSA. Member of Gen. R. E. Lee's staff and kept historically significant diaries of his wartime experiences. After the Civil War, he became an Episcopal minister and educator. 125B West. Information from transcription on stone: Giles Buckner Cooke, son of John Kearns Cooke and Frances Bracken New. Born May 13, 1838, died February 4, 1937. Major and Assistant Adjutant and inspector General, C.S.A. Staff of General R. E. Lee. Teacher and Minister of the Gospel for over 70 years.
  • Cooke, Giles Buckner (1901/3/11 - 1972/11/16), 125B West. Information from transcription on stone: Giles Buckner Cooke, Son of Giles Buckner Cooke and Katharine Grosh. Born March 11, 1901, Died November 16, 1972.
  • Cooke, Mary (1691/4/14 - 1724/3/15), Stone only, moved from Wareham Cemetery, near Pinero. (Epitaphs, 1959), 158A APVA. Information from transcription on stone: Mrs. Mary Cooke, wife of Mr. John Cooke; eldest daughter of John Smith, Esq and Elizabeth Smith. Born "Parish of Ware" 14 April 1691 and died the 15 March 1724.
  • Cooke, Mary F. (1825 - 1903/6/26), 114A West. Information from transcription on stone: Mary F. Cooke, Dau. of Francis & Fannie Cooke.
  • Cooke, Mordecai (1708 - 1751/4/5), Stone only, moved from Wareham Cemetery, near Pinero. (Epitaphs, 1959), 158A APVA. Information from transcription on stone: Son of John & Ann Cooke. Died 5 April 1751 Age 43
  • (see link above... information presented there in table form is clearer). Fox, Isabell Booth (1704 - 1742/6/13). Wife of The Rev'd John Fox, fifth rector of Ware Church 1737-1758. Also the second wife of the previous rector, The Rev'd John Fox, and daughter of Thomas Booth and Mary Cooke Booth, the latter the daughter of Mordecai Cooke II. (Epitaphs, 1959). Children also buried there: Fox, Mary (1738 - 1742/9/5); Fox, Susannah (1740 - 1743/10/8). Isabell, Daughter of Mr. Thomas Booth, Wife of the Revd. Mr. John Fox, Minister of this Parish. Died 13 June MDCCXLII [1742], of her Age XXXVIII [38].
  • Fox, Nannie Cooke (1875/11/23 - 1928/1/5), 83A South. Information from transcription on stone: wife of I. Huntington Fox

Additional Notes

Father, son, and grandson Mordecai Cooke did not (as far as I can tell) use I, II, and III in their lifetimes. Given that II & III both married a Frances, it's useful to have the suffixes attached to their profiles.

Text includes the comment that Mordecai's wife's name was not known "but generally believed to have been of the Giles family." That statement needs support, although the reasoning is sound ("as that name is used in every branch of the family").

Merial Wheatley was detached as his mother. Sources added to her profile support that she was not the mother of Mordecai Cooke of Virginia/wife of his father John Cooke-586 who immigrated to Virginia.

Leads

• from MUW - Mordecai Cooke (link no longer live; see WayBack Machine capture, accessed 8 Jan. 2019, for list of sources):
  • Mordecai Cooke came to America at Elizabeth City, probably from Whitefield County, Suffolk, England, in 1639. He settled in Goucester County Virginia in 1650 and where he lived on 1174 acres called "Mordecai's Mount." He married Susanna Peasley, widow of Michael Peasley of Pocosin Parish, York County, Virginia in 1648.
  • Ancestors: Some accounts state that Mordecai's father was John Cooke who came to America prior to 1623.
  • Descendants: His granddaugher Susannah (1693-1749) married Henry Fitzhugh (1686-1758), son of William (The Immigrant) Fitzhugh.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #130616631 for Susannah Thrasher Peasley Cooke (no sources/tombstone pictures):
  • Susannah Peasley Thrasher was born abt 1625 in Gloucester, Gloucester, Virginia, United States. She is the daughter of Robert Earl Thrasher (1603-1657) and Isabell Elizabeth (Painter) Thrasher (1603-1680).
  • Burial: Ware Episcopal Church Cemetery, Gloucester, Gloucester County Virginia, USA Note: she is not listed by Ware Episcopal Church as being in the Cemetery (see Ware Church section under "Research Notes" above)

Note: the possible Jones connection goes back to Elizabeth Jones, daughter of Richard Jones (ca. 1580-1681) and Ann Jeffries (statement unsourced, for me: Ancestry link, subscription required)

As of September 21, 2015, WikiTree does not show a connection to the Richard who married Jeffries. However, the parents of Frances Ironmonger, who married Mordecai (the son of this Mordecai), are William Ironmonger and Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Jones and his wife Sarah (Thomas).

Sources

1. ↑ cut from text: "He had issue Mordecai, Thomas, Giles, John, Mary married Thomas Booth, Frances married Gabriel Throckmorton, and Susannah married Henry Fitzhugh."
   
   NOTE: children listed by #VA_Bios for immigrant Mordecai Cooke appear to be those of his son's (Mordecai who married Frances Ironmonger)
   
   
2. ↑ from Tylers' Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Hardy, Stella Pickett, Colonial Families of the Southern States of America: A History and Genealogy of Colonial Families who Settled in the Colonies Prior to the Revolution, New York : Tobias A. Wright, 1911 (Print.) p 164 ff
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Nugent, Nell Marion, Abstracted and Indexed by. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800. In Five Volumes. Richmond, VA.: Press of the Dietz Printing Co., 1935, p p 116, 142, 200, 316
5. ↑ Rootweb tree, possibly a citation on the page was for this information:

   Baytop. Richmond, Va., Standard, III. Va. Hist. Mag., XI. Wm. and Mary Quar., II. Descendants of Mordecai Cooke, by Stubbs. Beach. Wm. and Mary Quar., XVIII. Src:A Key To Southern Pedigrees, Virginia County Records, Ancestry

6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} from the profile created 20 February 2011 through the import of WikiTree.ged (prior to import, this record was last changed 06:18 19 Feb 2011). The import added the user ID: 1B85A5E4A29747D1A9D1D680F4D6296DAADD and appeared to site an LDS biography (AFN: 22H5-QHB), but that bio gives birth as 1597.
7. ↑ birth year of 1623 previously in profile could have been based on supposition that Mordecai is son of John Cooke who immigrated in 1623 (and since Mordecai is also an immigrant, he had to have been born in England, before his father immigrated)
8. ↑ father John also from 2011-ged, apparently citing LDS AFN: 22H5-QHB: John Cooke. Mordecai, son, born about 1597, of Gloucester, Virginia
9. ↑ from 2011-ged, apparently citing LDS AFN: 3CJ6-2N: Susanna Peasley, married about 1647, of Gloucester, Virginia
10. ↑ Nugent, Nell Marion, Abstracted and Indexed by. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800. In Five Volumes. Richmond, VA.: Press of the Dietz Printing Co., 1935.Page 532.
11. ↑ The church has completely redone its website and the lists previously available are no longer found on the Ware Church website. They were, however, captured by archive.org's WayBack Machine, and the links on this page have been updated to go to the captured pages. ~ Noland-165, 31 March 2021
12. ↑ History of Ware Church goes to the old page, which includes a link to Early Rectors (with brief biographies). The current website (as of 31 March 2021) appears to have the same text for its page of "Our History", but no links to additional information on the church's website.

See also:

• Descendants of Mordecai Cooke, William Carter Stubbs (1923). Available online courtesy of Hathi Trust (accessed September 16, 2015).
  • see a review of Stubbs' work: Reviewed Work: "Descendants of Mordecai Cooke, of Mordecai's Mount, Gloucester County, Va. 1650 by William Carter Stubbs," Review by: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Apr., 1896), pp. 285-286 (Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture; DOI: 10.2307/1915474). Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1915474 (accessed September 20, 2015)
• VA Bios: Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Lyon Gardiner Tyler (Cooke)
• VA Bios: Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Lyon Gardiner Tyler (Buckner)
• Find A Grave: Memorial #130613261 for Mordecai Cooke.