John Cook (politician, 1730)

John Cook (* 1730 in Smyrna , Delaware Colony ; † October 27, 1789 in Smyrna , Delaware ) was a British- American politician and governor of the state of Delaware from 1782 to 1783 .

Early years and advancement

John Cook was a successful farmer and tanner who had acquired a large amount of land in Delaware. Before the Revolutionary War he was a sheriff in Kent County . Like many of his neighbors, Cook was originally against separating from England. As a result, he was initially suspect to the supporters of the American Revolution. Because of his popularity, he was elected to the House of Representatives of Delaware in the first election . He exercised this mandate between 1776 and 1777 and again from 1778 to 1779.

President of Delaware and further résumé

In 1780 he was elected to the Council of the Legislature, which then became the Senate of Delaware . In 1782 he was president of this body. In this capacity, after the resignation of John Dickinson, he became President of Delaware. The official title of governor was not introduced until 1793. Cook's succession in office was politically controversial in Delaware. It was therefore agreed that he could only hold office until new elections had taken place. Thus Cook was only president of his state between November 7, 1782 and February 1, 1783. After his short term in office he was again a member of the House of Representatives. He held this mandate from 1783 to 1784 and 1786 to 1787. Then he was again a member of the State Senate. At the time of his death, he was still a senator.

John Cook was married to Elizabeth Collins, daughter of future Governor Thomas Collins . The couple had five children. John Cook was also the father-in-law of John Clark , who was to become governor of Delaware between 1817 and 1820. His great-grandson was US Senator Anthony C. Higgins (1840-1912), who served in Congress from 1889 to 1895 .

Web links

• The governors of Delaware (English)
• John Cook in the database of Find a Grave (English)