CENTRE LINES

The COOK Family

This column is part of a feature series which focuses on a different Centre County family each week. Five new columns will be released each month unless some technical difficulty enters the picture.

This column's focus is on COOK. An effort has been made to identify all persons carrying that name in the 1890 U.S. Census, using the Centre County business directory which was formed from a preliminary review of that census before the larger set of 1890 U.S. Census records was destroyed by fire. (Sadly, the postal directory does not typically provide the ages of females, but it's the best record we've got).

No books in the Pennsylvania Room of the Centre County Library in Bellefonte apparently deal in part with the Cook family.

There are 47 different first-name entries for Cook (or Cooke) in John Blair Linn's History of Centre and Clinton County (1883). In addition, there are several mentions of the name in Beers' Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania (1898).

And, now, your ancestors' Cook neighbors in 1890:

BELLEFONTE Borough:

Andrew J., 45, supt. Berwind & White coal interests--122 W. Linn Sarah J. Margaret H. James B. 15 Blanche Mary Charles F., 40, banker--325 N. Spring Annie Harris 8 Joseph 5 Nellie Abbie M. John W., 51, coal operator--208 N. Allegheny Edith E. John D., 13 Arthur 10 C. E. Cooke, 26. coal dealer--107 Willowbank Emma S. Hazel E.

BURNSIDE Township:

Christopher, 54, laborer--Pine Glen Mary

HOWARD Borough:

C.C., 33, mfg. of lumber Sara E. Mary E. Charles R. 3 Mary Cooke Mary A. Walter L., 34 Maud Cooke

PHILIPSBURG Borough:

Mary L.--2nd St. Mary E. William T. A., 37, laborer--Presquisle St. Martha J. Valaria Ora E. Eranus R. 10 Don 7 Mary John W. 3