Daniel Cook-1798-1875

Daniel Cook

     Daniel Cook was born in New Brunswick, Canada, 15 December 1798 to Daniel Cook and Lydia Churchill.  He married Mary Maria Fuller about 1820 in Canada. They had five boys and five girls. 

     At the age of 44 he was baptized a member of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 3 November 1843 (1844) by James Calvin Sly. 

     In order to be with the Saints, Daniel moved with his family from Canada into New York and then on to Nauvoo, Illinois.  I don’t think that the family actually lived in Nauvoo.  One report I read said they lived a short distance up the Mississippi River from the city.  Their daughter, Hannah Elizabeth said she remembered well the anxiety, persecution and turmoil of that time. 

     Their trek West began in Bethlehem, Missouri, in the Justus Morris Wagon Train.  They continued west and met Brother Wilford Woodruff for the first time. He promised them that they would arrive in the Valley in safety. The company had nine wagons and 41 persons in all. Sixteen male members were capable of doing military duty. There was one horse, seventy-two head of cattle, six dogs and four doves. Also, they carried eleven guns, two pistols and three swords.

     They were all amazed one day when from a rise in the land they spotted 8000 buffalo all in the same area.  All in all that day they spotted about 15000 head of buffalo.  They shot some for meat and ate as much as they could but much of it spoiled because it was in the middle of July and just too hot for the meat to keep for very long.  They traveled at nights some of the time because of the extreme heat of the sun on the prairie.

     They arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley about noon on 2 October 1850.  They had traveled a total of 1075 miles in 107 1/2 days.  They had rested for a total 26 days leaving 81 and half days of traveling.  Many were out or nearly out of provisions by the time they arrived in the city and had been living on bread and water for a few weeks.

     They rested a few days in Salt Lake City, bought more supplies and then traveled to the settlement in Tooele. They worked at odd jobs. Daniel Cook selected building lots, but some of the family continued living in their wagon boxes for the next year. They worked and did odd jobs; they also sold coal in Salt Lake City.

1850 Territorial Census

     They didn’t stay long in Tooele. In late March and early April of 1851, Daniel Cook moved his family to Provo.   Then, in July of 1852, the Cooks moved again, this time to present-day Nephi.

1860 Census

1870 US Census

      A letter from Hannah Elizabeth Cook Hoyt (Daniel and Mary Maria’s ninth child), 17 May 1865:

      “Father and Mother are living here in one of our rooms. He is almost blind and she is not well. Has been very sickly here this last winter. All of the children and myself have had the measles. I lost a baby ten days ago. He was born the 12th of February. Brother James is living at Chicken Creek but is going to move here soon.

     October 1868 29th, Mother Mary Cook died in Nephi.

     February 1874 5 or 6th, Father Daniel Cook died in Salina, Sevier, Utah. He had been blind for several years past and lived with his son Isaac.  He is buried in the Salina Cemetery.