This well known and honored citizen of the village of Eastport is one of the representative pioneers of Antrim county, with whose agricultural development he was prominently concerned, and he is now living retired in the village mentioned, secure in the esteem of all who know him and placed in independent circumstances through his well directed efforts in the past years.
Mr. Cook is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Olmsted, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on the 8th of June, 1837, and being a son of Caleb and Eliza (Parsons) Cook, both of whom died in Ohio, where they passed the major portion of their lives. The father was a carpenter by trade and devoted his attention to contracting and building for many years, with residence and business headquarters in the village of Olmsted. Of the eleven children born to this worthy couple only four are living at the present time.
The subject of this sketch was reared to maturity in his native state and in its common schools secured his early educational discipline, while as a youth he learned the carpenter’s trade under the effective direction of his honored father. He was engaged in work along this line at the time when there came to the young men of the nation the call of higher duty, the integrity of the Union being placed in jeopardy through armed rebellion. On the 12th of August, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Third -Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, and he continued in active service until the practical close of the war, having received his honorable discharge on the 3d of July, 1865, and having made a creditable record as a loyal and valiant soldier. He participated in a number of the important battles incidental to the progress of the great internecine conflict, endured his full share of hardships and was always found at the post of duty and ready to do the work assigned to him. The history of his regiment during the three years of his service constitutes the record of his military career.
After the close of war Mr. Cook returned to Ohio and once more set himself to winning the victories which peace ever has in store for the valiant souls. He resumed the work of his trade, in Cuyahoga county, where he continued to reside until 1878, when he came to Michigan and enrolled himself among the early settlers of Central Lake township, Antrim county. Here he purchased fifty acres of wild and heavily timbered land, which he reclaimed and placed under cultivation, becoming one of the leading farmers of this section of the county and being still the owner of a finely improved landed estate of fifty acres, of which thirty-five are under cultivation, the balance being devoted to pasture. The place is improved with good buildings and is one of the valuable farms of the county. Mr. Cook gave material assistance and co-operation in pushing forward the wheels of progress in the early days, aiding in the construction of highways, the establishing of schools and the proper maintaining of civic affairs of a general order. Although never an aspirant for public office he has rendered an uncompromising allegiance to the Republican party and manifested much interest in its cause, both in a general and local sense. Fraternally he is identified with the post of the Grand Army of the Republic in East-port. Mr. Cook continued to give his personal attention to the supervision of his farm until 1903, when he rented the property, and in his attractive home here he is now living retired from the active labors which characterized so many years of his life.
Mr. Cook was first married in i860 to Miss Sarah Stokes, a native of Dover, England. Her parents came to America when she was ten years old and settled in Olmsted, Ohio, where they passed their remaining years. Mrs. Cook died in 1885, without issue. In December, 1892, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Cook to Miss Sarah R. Foss, who was born and reared in Ohio, being a daughter of Jacob and Harriet (Harnet) Foss, the former of whom was a native of Germany and the latter of the state of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have no children.
Source: Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens; Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1905.