Waitstill Cook

1727, January 21 – born in Wallingford, CT[1]. He was the son of Isaac Cook and Anna Hill (daughter of Luke Hill and Hannah Butler), the grandson of Henry Cook (son of Henry Cook and Judith Birdsall) and Mary Hall (daughter of John Hall and Jane Woolen).

1750, abt – married Elizabeth White at Canoe Brook Swamp, NJ[2]

1755 – in French and Indian War in Capt. Street Hall’s Company, along with Isaac Cook. Served 32 days.

1757. Moved back to Branford, CT[3]

1761, April 4. Medad Lyman, New Haven jailer, offers a reward for the apprehension of the following escapees: Caleb Dorchester and Waitstill Cook (debtors) and William Campbell, a deserter.

1780, January 26 – buried Branford, CT

 

Elizabeth White

1791. Came to Underhill with her 2 youngest sons.

1812, July 11. Died in Underhill, VT. Buried in Poker Hill Cemetery, North Underhill, VT.

 

Children

 

  1. Jane Cook. Born April 10, 1751[4]. Baptized June 12, 1757 in the Branford Congregational Church.
  2. Hannah Cook.  Born March 11, 1753. Baptized June 12, 1757 in the Branford Congregational Church. Married 1st, March 18, 1779 in Branford, Rufus Norton. Married 2nd, 1815, Matthew Adgate. Moved back to Guilford, where Matthew died.
  3. Jacob Cook. Born July 15, 1755. Lived in Underhill, VT for awhile, then went to California[5]
  4. Waitstill Cook. Born November 6, 1757.
  5. Ebenezer Hubbard Cook[6]. Born September 6, 1759, Branford. Baptized Oct 14, 1759 in the Branford Congregational Church. Married April 12 or 22, 1791, in Benson, Rutland Co, VT, Jemima Archer. Ebenezer died September 4, 1847 in Fitchville, Huron Co, OH. Jemima (who was the daughter of Thomas Archer and Azubah Old) died September 27, 1855 in Huntington, Loraine Co, OH.
  6. William Cook. Born May 9, 1762, Branford. Married Roxanne McLaughton, In 1830, living in Georgia, VT. Then went west. Some of his kids ended up in Wisconsin.
  7. Elizabeth Cook. Born March 13, 1764[7]. Married January 13, 1788, in Williston, VT[8], Stilman Bradley. Died March 4, 1834. Buried in Old Cemetery, Williston, VT.
  8. John Cook. Born May 14, 1768, Branford, CT. Married September, 1803, in Guilford, CT, Lucy Cruttenden.
  9. Huldah Cook. Born May 14, 1768, Branford, CT. Married May 29, 1793, Branford, CT, Obadiah Walton. Left Guilford, CT, in 1794, going 1st to Richmond & later, to Williston, VT. Found in the 1830 Williston, VT Census (00101001-002001). Died July 9, 1849, Williston, VT. Buried in East Cemetery.
  10. Benjamin Cook. Born April 6, 1771. Married Nancy ___. Oct 1789 – bought land from Allen Goodrich in Benson, VT[9]. Owned land in Underhill. Died October 30, 1851[10]. Buried in North Underhill Cemetery.

[1] Published vital records.

[2] Family legend. Supposedly Elizabeth is a Mayflower Descendant. According to Conn. Historical Collections by Barber, many people from Branford, CT moved to Newark, NJ, taking all the church records. I have yet to find any New Jersey records showing this family, so information about the earliest years of the oldest 3 children, might be very helpful.

[3] His oldest 3 children, who were born in 1751, 1753, and 1755, were all baptized on June 12, 1757 in the Branford Congregational Church and on May 29, 1757, his wife was admitted as a member. This suggests that the family moved back to Branford in the spring of 1757.

[4] Branford VR. All of Jane’s siblings’ births are recorded in the Branford VR.

[5] Info from Harvey Mayo.

[6] Named for Waitstill’s brother’s father-in-law.

[7] Recorded in the Branford, CT and Williston, VT VR.

[8] Williston, VT VR

[9] He would have been only 18. Right Benjamin?

[10] No obit in Burlington Courier.

 

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