Hugh Cook (1776 - 1793)

Born 22 May 1776 in Mile End Old Town, Stepney, Middlesex, England

Ancestors

Died 21 Dec 1793 at age 17 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England

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Biography

Hugh Cook was born in Middlesex, England.

Hugh Cook was the youngest son of British explorer and naval officer Captain James Cook and his wife Elizabeth Batts. He was born on 22 May 1776 in the hamlet of Mile End Old Town, in the parish of Stepney in London's east end. ^[1][2][3] He was named after his father's friend and fellow naval officer Sir Hugh Palliser, and baptised in St Dunstan, Stepney, on 5 June 1776. ^[3]

Soon after Hugh's birth, his father left England on his third and final Pacific voyage. His father was brutally slain on the island of Hawaii on 14 February 1779 and was buried at sea by his mourning crew. ^[4][5]

Hugh entered Merchant Taylors' School in London in 1787 ^[2] before becoming a student of Christ's College, Cambridge, in February 1793. ^[6]

Soon after taking up residence at Christ's College he contracted scarlet fever and died on 21 December 1793, aged 17 years. ^[7][8] The Lincoln, Rutland and Stanford Mercury reported:

Cambridge, Dec. 25 ... Saturday last Mr. Hugh Cook, a very promising youth, son of the late famous navigator, died at his apartments in Christ college.^[9]

His mother had intended that Hugh become a priest. She "had purchased the advowson of a living, with a view to his preferment; but he died unacquainted with a circumstance which might, if prematurely announced, have damped his personal exertions." ^[10] Hugh was buried at St Andrew the Great, Cambridge, on 24 December 1793. ^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ Andrew Kippis, The life of Captain James Cook, 1788, volume 2, page 315. Google Books (accessed 30 Nov 2019).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Charles J Robinson, A register of the scholars admitted into Merchant Taylors' School : from A. D. 1562 to 1874, 1883, volume 2, page 158. Internet Archive (accessed 2 Dec 2019).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials. 1538-1812 (database and images). Hugh Cook, 5 Jun 1776, baptism (accessed 30 Nov 2019); citing London Metropolitan Archives, Reference: P93/DUN/005. Ancestry Record 1624 #2078637. Free Ancestry Image.
4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "James Cook",Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (accessed 2 December 2019),
5. ↑ Arthur Kitson, Captain James Cook, R.N., F.R.S., “The Circumnavigator”, New York: E P Dutton & Company, 1907, pages 471-4. Internet Archive (accessed 30 Nov 2019).
6. ↑ John Venn (ed), Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900, volume 2, page 115. Google Books (accessed 2 December 2019).
7. ↑ Arthur Kitson, Captain James Cook, R.N., F.R.S., “The Circumnavigator”, New York: E P Dutton & Company, 1907, pages 507-8. Internet Archive (accessed 1 Dec 2019).
8. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "St Andrew the Great," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (accessed 3 Dec 2019).
9. ↑ The Lincoln, Rutland and Stanford Mercury, 27 Dec 1793, page 3.
10. ↑ The Gentleman's Magazine, 1835, volume 4 (new series), page 92. Google Books (accessed 4 Dec 2019).
11. ↑ Findmypast.com. Cambridgeshire Burials (database). Hugh Cook, 24 Dec 1793, burial (accessed 2 Dec 2019).

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLG-X5JL : 13 December 2015), Hugh Cook, ; Burial, Cambridge, City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, St Andrew the Great Church; citing record ID 106447496, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

Acknowledgements

This profile was created by Wombat Allen on 2 May 2012. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Wombat and others.