Author Topic: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look  (Read 10695 times)

Offline mackaa

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COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« on: Thursday 03 July 14 12:20 BST (UK) »
Hi everyone
I am looking for some suggestions to find a family by the name of COOK, apparently from Sussex.  They arrived in Western Australia in 1830.  Mr Henry COOK and wife, name unknown.  Three supposedly adult sons Henry, Thomas George, William.  Thomas George born c1816.  Also three children Phillip, Eliza and Mary Ann.  Phillip born c1826 and Eliza c1817.  Arrived WA on the Rockingham.
I have tried several of the paid sites to search for them but with such common names it is proving very difficult.  Would appreciate any suggestions of Sussex specific search places.  I have unconfirmed information that Phillip was born in Brighton.
Appreciate any help
Kind regards
Mackaa

 

Offline Freespirit1

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Re: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 03 July 14 12:33 BST (UK) »
There is a baptism at the Brighton Bible Christian Providence Chapel, Cavendish St for:
Phillip Cook, born 23 Feb 1830, bapt 14 Mar 1830, parents William (shoemaker) and Susannah.
It also notes that Susannah was the daughter of Phillip and Elizabeth Gendle.

I'll have a look for some of the other names.

On second thoughts, this probably iisn't the right family.  It could be a long trawl through the records as there were many churches and chapels in Brighton.

Offline Freespirit1

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Re: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 03 July 14 13:13 BST (UK) »
I've had a look through the SFHG baptisms for Brighton and so far the only near match I can find is the Phillip mentioned in my previous post, although there are still registers yet to be transcribed.  Are there any further details to help identify the family?  Do you know the ages of Henry senior and the adult sons? Were they all the children of Henry senior?  Are there any women mentioned who might be mothers of the children?  Are any occupations mentioned?

It is possible that they were only in Brighton for a short time and the the family members were born somewhere completely different so any additional information will hep in the search.

Offline mackaa

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Re: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 03 July 14 13:49 BST (UK) »
Thanks for looking Freespirit

The confirmed information I have is ...
Thomas George COOK - died 1884 in Western Australia. Obituary says late of Sussex age 70 years so born circa 1814.  Obit also confirms arrival in WA in 1830. 
Passenger list for "Rockingham" gives Mr and Mrs Henry COOK and three children - Phillip, Eliza, Mary Ann.  Also lists William, Thomas and Henry as separate passengers - all sons of Henry.  Rockingham Museum have advised me that Phillip was 4 years old on arrival and born 1826 Brighton, England. 

Unconfirmed information :
Henry's wife name Mary
Henry himself bap 3 Nov 1780 Westbourne, Sussex - father Thomas - mother Jane
Daughter Eliza born c 1817
Son Henry born c 1819
Son Phillip born c 1826 - might be named Phillip Frederick Augustus COOK
Daughter Mary Ann born 1830
That is all I have at the moment

I have ordered marriage and death certs for Thomas George COOK but being a typical Genie I am impatient lol.

Thanks for any suggestions where to search
Mackaa




Offline artifis

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Re: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 03 July 14 17:00 BST (UK) »
SFHG Sussex Marriage Index has a Henry Cook marrying a Mercy Whiteing on 8 Nov 1805 which seems a good candidate for your Henry.

There are two baptisms for their children at Westfield: 
Henry on 25 May 1806
Mercy on 21 Aug 1808

No further baptisms found there nor any Cook burials for the relevant period.

A Henry Cook married Mary Peen on 8 Nov 1796 at Sedlescombe and another Henry Cook married a Mary Cole on10 Jul 1798 at West Tarring but there are no relevant baptisms for their children in either parish.

Offline Freespirit1

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Re: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« Reply #5 on: Thursday 03 July 14 17:11 BST (UK) »
You got there just before me Artifis!  The other thought I had was that Westbourne is right on the border of West sussex and Hampshire.  Maybe some of the baptisms were in Hampshire.  I'll have a look.

Offline Jo Harding

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Re: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 03 July 14 17:12 BST (UK) »
Hello mackaa,

There is a family tree on Ancestry for Phillip Frederick Augustus Cook which shows he was born in Kent in 1826. The source is given as School Indexes in Rockingham, Western Australia.

He is shown as having emigrated to Western Australia on 14 May 1830. His residence in 1830 was Clarence Beach,Western Australia, where he went to primary school being listed in he school indexes.

I cannot find anything for them in Brighton, or Sussex,but it is difficult with the name being a common one as you say. Have you approached the Sussex Family History Group?

http://www.sfhg.org.uk/

Jo.

Offline Freespirit1

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Re: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 03 July 14 17:25 BST (UK) »
Just a thought, as they're not coming to light easily in the baptism records, could they have been baptised on arrival in Australia?

Offline mackaa

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Re: COOK family from Sussex - no idea where to look
« Reply #8 on: Friday 04 July 14 07:15 BST (UK) »
Thanks for the suggestions so far. 

I have had a bit of a look into Phillip Frederick Augustus COOK - he is not from the right family.  He was born 16 Jun 1914 in Northam, WA and died 2 October 1986 - buried at Culham Cemetery.  Culham Cemetery is close to Toodyay however my Phillip is buried in the Toodyay Cemetery with his brother Thomas.  The online tree says that Thomas and his wife Cecilia are also at the Culham Cemetery but they are not.     

My Phillip Cook was born in approximately 1826.  The death index gives the place of birth as Brighton (WA 1898/2652) so I am wondering if this is where the reference to Brighton has come from, although the Ancestry Tree I believe you are referring to gives place of birth as Kent.  Age at death was 72 so a match for birth c 1826. 

The Clarence School records do give the name as Phillip Frederick Augustus Cook but this is from the Ancestry Index only.  I will attempt to get access to the original record to confirm this entry.  If he was attending school in Clarence I would expect to see the other two younger siblings also - Eliza and Mary Ann.  My other concern with this information is that all of the children had very simple traditional names - Phillip Frederick Augustus does not fit the naming pattern at all. 

The 1805 marriage for Henry COOK to Mercy "feels" good.  But that means I need to find probably four more children who remained in England and a death for the Henry baptised 1806 as there was another Henry travelled to Australia with them.  I guess he could have been a lot older and still came to WA? - what a nightmare to try and find a Henry COOK in Australia lol.

So I think I need to be patient (yeah right) and wait for the certificates to come then contact the Sussex FHS.  Unless anyone has any further ideas in the meantime.

Thanks for all your help
Mackaa