Cooke of B'ham,Measham, Burton, Derby & Dublin

[kenneth cooke]

The problem is to ascertain whether the Cookes I have found in Manchester are the same family as the ones who later appear in Birmingham. The following BDM records from Birmingham are relevant:

At St. Martin’s:
Baptism of Edward Cooke, 27.10.1800, mother Mary Cooke
Marriage of William Cooke, bachelor and Mary Cook, widow 24.1.1809, witnesses Eliz. Bromley & Thos. Packwood.
Marriage of Thomas Cooke, bachelor, button maker and Mary Sanders, spinster 1810
Baptism of their son, Mark Thomas Cooke 17.9.1814
Burial of Samuel Cooke of Shutt Lane, 13.12.1830, 86 years old (b.1744).

And at St.Phillip’s:
Baptism of William Cook, 2.1.1810, born 15 October 1809 to William and Mary Cook
(I believe the child was Wm. Bromley Cooke)
 
We know that William Bromley Cooke’s father’s name was William. The time of the marriage of
William and Mary fits in with the birth of Wm Bromley. The marriage entry is from St. Martin’s parish, and William’s baptism was at St. Phillip’s. This is consistent with the usual practice of marrying in the bride’s parish, and returning to live in the husband’s parish, where he had his livelihood.
The name of one witness was Bromley, which indicates that our Birmingham Cookes were most
likely the same as the ones from Manchester, offspring of Samuel Cooke and Ann Bromley.
I would guess that Elizabeth Bromley was a cousin of the groom, William Cooke.

On the baptism entry for Edward Cooke, his mother’s status is not given. When William and Mary married in 1809, Mary was a widow. One of the witnesses at William jnr’s marriage in 1830 was an Edward Cooke. I believe that he was the same Edward, baptised in 1800, and that his mother had remarried, to William Cooke. (She could have been the widow of William’s brother John, who has not been accounted for, so far.) So Edward, the witness in 1830, would have been William Bromley’s half-brother. 
There was a Samuel, who was buried at St. Martin’s in 1830, 86 years old (b.1744), who would fit in as the father of Thomas, John and William. He would be our earliest known Cooke ancestor.

[kenneth cooke]

The Cookes seem to have 'slipped through the net' and were not noted in the 1851 Census. I had assumed that they were in Ireland, where William Bromley Cooke was noted in the Trade directory of 1852. There were two WBC's, father and son, but it now appears that it referred to William junior.
When Arthur was born in Manchester in 1850, it was registered by his mother, Anna Maria, and the father was a commercial traveller. Then they are not in the Census until 1861, in Derby.

But in the minutes of the Celtic Lodge (Freemasons) No.291 of Edinburgh and Leith, Scotland, we find, dated 16 August 1852:
“Mr. William Bromley Cooke, a commercial traveller, was entered apprentice”

So, I have to conclude that only the five sons went to Ireland at various times, but eventually they all left Ireland for good.

 

[kenneth cooke]

Did he or did he not go to Ireland?
One should never stop searching the internet, as new things are appearing all the time. In the last few days I have discovered three items about my Gr Gr g'father Wm Bromley Cooke senior.
The first appears in the previous post. The second is the actual wording of the death notice which his sons in Dublin inserted. "Cooke- May 25 at Derby, England, late of Dublin, Wm Bromley Cooke, sen., after a short illness, aged 57." From Cork Examiner, 6.6.1867.
The third is a resume of a case at the Court of Chancery, Warwickshire, 1846 Cooke v. Cooke
Plaintiff Wm Bromley Cooke, Defendant Elizabeth Cooke, from National Archives. No further details, so far.
He would be declared bankrupt (2nd time) in July 1847, so he needed money. The only Elizabeth Cooke I know of is the one, who with an Edward Cooke, was a witness at WBC's marriage in 1830.
I believe that Edward was William's half-brother, and that Elizabeth was either Edward's wife or sister.
 

[Beck18]

Hi Kenneth
                  I'm fascinated at your research! I'm also related to the same lines (Cooke family as you)! I was just wondering do you happen to know the names of Samuel Cooke's parents as well as his wife Ann's parents names? I have search but can't find anything at all just wondering if you have come up with anything in your searches?

Many Thanks
Beck Harvey formerly Cooke!

[kenneth cooke]

Hi Beck,
I thought you must be descended from one of the Cookes who stayed in England.
Of course I remember Clydie Cooke and his brother Jack. I last saw Jack at my father's
funeral in Dec. 1986. He was Harry Cooke, Arthur's youngest brother.
Don't expect to find much about Samuel Cooke & Ann Bromley though.
I live in Mornington. You can reach me on ^(*)
Cheers, Ken

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