Philip St. George Cocke (1809 - 1861)

Born 17 Apr 1809 in Fluvanna County, Virginia, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Sallie Elizabeth Courtney (Bowdoin) Cocke — married 4 Jun 1834 in Norfolk, Virginia, United States

Died 26 Dec 1861 at age 52 in Powhatan County, Virginia, USA

Philip Cocke is Notable.

Biography

Philip St. George Cocke was born 17 Apr 1809 to John H. Cocke II and Ann Blaws Barraud at Bremo Plantation, aka Bremo Bluff, in Fluvanna County, Virginia.

Education

Cocke graduated from the University of Virginia in 1828 and then from the US Military Academy in 1832 with the rank of brevet second lieutenant. He was soon assigned as second lieutenant to an artillery unit in Charleston, South Carolina. He served there during 1832 and 1833, becoming adjutant of the Second US Artillery on July 13, 1833. On April 1, 1834, Cocke resigned from the military and became a cotton planter in Powhatan County, Virginia, and in Mississippi.

Marriage and Children

He married Sallie Elizabeth Courtney Bowdoin (b. May 9, 1815) at Christ Church in Norfolk, Virginia, on June 4, 1834. They had 11 children:

John Bowdoin Cocke, b. 2 Oct 1836, Richmond, Virginia

Louisiana Barraud Cocke, b. 14 Nov 1837, Surry Co., VA

Sally Browne Cocke, b. 31 Jan 1840, Powhatan Co., VA

Lucy Cary Cocke, b. 25 Jun 1842

Philip St. George Cocke, b. 17 Mar 1844, Powhatan Co., VA

William Ruffin Coleman Cocke, b. 7 Aug 1846, Powhatan Co., VA

Courtney Bowdoin Cocke, b. 27 Sep 1848

Charles Hartwell Cocke, b. 12 Mar 1851, Powhatan Co., VA

Mary Augusta Cocke, b. 19 Jun 1852

Helen Hansford Cocke, b. 28 Jan 1855

Ann Blaws Cocke, b. 19 Mar 1857

Slaves

Philip St. George Cocke owned large plantations in several Virginia counties, including Powhatan, Surry and Brunswick Counties, as well as cotton plantations in Mississippi. In 1835, Philip St. George Cocke commissioned architect A.J. Davis to build a manor house named "Belmead" in Powhatan County.

1840

• 30 slaves in Surry County, ^[1]
• 125 slaves in Brunswick County and
• 82 slaves in Powhatan County.

1850

• 118 slaves in Powhatan County^[2];
• 82 slaves in Eastern District, Powhattan County^[3]
• 75 in the southern district of Brunswick County^[4];
• 45 in the southern District of Brunswick County^[5]
• 196 slaves in Lowndes County, Mississippi. ^[6]

1860

• 125 slaves in Powhatan County; ^[7]
• 259 in Lowndes, Mississippi; Original image shows 259^[8]
• 69 in Yazoo County, Mississippi ^[9]
• 39 in Holmes County, Mississippi;^[10]
• 52 in Fluvanna County, Virginia.^[11]

1860 Census

Occupation: Plasterer

Real Estate Value: $650,000

Personal Estate Value: $850,000

Civil War Service

Philip became a Confederate Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. However, Cocke was demoted from brigadier general to colonel after being transferred into the Provisional Confederate Army despite being one of the first officers to answer the call to defend Virginian soil. He watched as other men were promoted to generals ahead of him even though they had entered Confederate service after him. He lashed out by writing letters, even accusing Major General Robert E. Lee as being one of the main culprits for this affront. “I think General Lee has treated me very badly and I shall never forgive him for it,” Cocke complained to the superintendent at VMI, Francis H. Smith. Cocke did eventually receive a promotion to brigadier general in the Provisional Confederate Army four months after his demotion. By November 1861, rumors began to circulate among Cocke’s subordinates that he was suffering from a mental breakdown. He returned to his plantation in December and was dead before the New Year. He was later commended by General Robert E. Lee for his defensive policies and by General P.G.T. Beauregard for his actions as a Colonel at Blackburn's Ford. The Battle of Centreville was his last battle before he took his own life in Powhatan County, Virginia, after only 8 months service in the Confederate Army.^[12][13]

Sources

1. ↑ 1840 U.S. Federal Censuses for Surry, County, Virginia, Brunswick County, Virginia and Eastern District of Powhatan County, Virginia, all available on ancestry.com
2. ↑ 1850 Census:"1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archive in Washington DC; Washington, DC; NARA Microform Publication: M432; Title: Seventh Census Of The United States, 1850; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing LinkAncestry Record 8055 #92944827 (accessed 25 December 2021)
   Philip St Geo Cocke in My District, Powhatan, Virginia, USA.
3. ↑ 1840 Census:"1840 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1840; Census Place: Eastern District, Powhatan, Virginia; Roll: 574; Page: 165; Family History Library Film: 0029691
   Ancestry Sharing LinkAncestry Record 8057 #1914995 (accessed 25 December 2021)
   Phillip St Geo Cocke.
4. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archive in Washington DC; Washington, DC; NARA Microform Publication: M432; Title: Seventh Census Of The United States, 1850; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing LinkAncestry Record 8055 #93199723 (accessed 25 December 2021)
   Phillip St Geo Cocke in Southern District, Brunswick, Virginia, USA.
5. ↑ 1850 Census:"1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archive in Washington DC; Washington, DC; NARA Microform Publication: M432; Title: Seventh Census Of The United States, 1850; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing Link Ancestry Record 8055 #93197938 (accessed 25 December 2021)
   Phillip H Geo Cocke in Southern District, Brunswick, Virginia, USA.
6. ↑ 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules for Lowndes County, Mississippi, Southern District of Brunswick County, Virginia and Powhatan County, Virginia, all available on ancestry.com
7. ↑ 1860 Census:"1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing LinkAncestry Record 7668 #91252035 (accessed 25 December 2021)
   Geo Cocke in My District, Powhatan, Virginia, USA.
8. ↑ 1860 Census:"1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing Link Ancestry Record 7668 #90411587 (accessed 25 December 2021)
   Phillip St George Cocke in Lowndes, Mississippi, USA.
9. ↑ 1860 Census:"1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing LinkAncestry Record 7668 #90509250 (accessed 25 December 2021)
   P St G Cocke in Yazoo, Mississippi, USA.
10. ↑ 1860 Census:"1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
    The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
    Ancestry Sharing LinkAncestry Record 7668 #90381771 (accessed 25 December 2021)
    P G Cocke in Tchula, Holmes, Mississippi, USA.
11. ↑ 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules for Yazoo County, Mississippi and Powhatan County, Virginia. The large slaveowner in the Tchula district of Holmes County, Mississippi was "P.G. Cocke" and that in Fluvanna County was "John St.Cocke", all from the National Archives through ancestry.com
12. ↑ https://emergingcivilwar.com/2019/04/25/a-melancholy-suicide-the-death-of-brigadier-general-philip-st-george-cocke/
13. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #10036

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_St._George_Cocke
• Virginia, Surry County Marriage Records, 1735-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCHW-QFM : 9 March 2018), Philip St Geo Cocke and Sally E C Bondoin, 03 Jun 1834; citing Surry, Virginia, United States, Register of Deeds, Surry.
• Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XR4V-Y9Z : 11 February 2018), Philip St. George Cocke and Sally E. Courtney Bowdoin, 04 Jun 1834; citing Norfolk, Virginia, reference pg.86; FHL microfilm 32,981.
• United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8DV-RZ8 : 12 April 2016), Philip St Geo Cocke, Pohatan county, part of, Powhatan, Virginia, United States; citing family 15, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• 1860 Census: "1860 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1860; Census Place: My District, Powhatan, Virginia; Roll: M653_1371; Page: 816; Family History Library Film: 805371
  Ancestry Sharing Link Ancestry Record 7667 #34105658 (accessed 25 December 2021)
  Philip St Geo Tocke (50), Plasterer, in My District, Powhatan, Virginia. Born in Surry, Virginia.
• Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XR9N-BHM : 10 March 2018), Philip St. Geo. Cocke, 26 Dec 1861; citing Powhatan, Virginia, reference Item 3 e 9; FHL microfilm 2,048,581.