Mrs. Sarah Farwell

The Pedigree Resource File of Family Search tells us that Sarah Cooke (sometimes spelled Cook) was the daughter of Asaph and Thankful Parker Cooke. Sarah was born in 1790/1791. She was the sister of Eleutheros Cooke, and the aunt of Civil War financier Jay Cooke.

Sarah Cooke married Moors Farwell in 1819, and died on February 28, 1827. Sarah is buried in the North Monroeville Cemetery, which is maintained by the Ridgefield Township Board of Trustees in Huron County. Moors Farwell, who was the first Mayor of Sandusky, married again, and have several children. Moors Farwell died in 1850, and he is buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Buried near Sarah Cooke Farwell are several members of the Cooke family. In the early days, North Monroeville was known as Cooks' Corners or Four Corners.

Maria Louisa Cooke

Maria Louisa Cooke is buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. She died on June 21, 1856 at the age of 33 years, 5 months, and 21 days. She was the spouse of William W. Cooke, whose occupation was listed as "street superintendent" in the 1860 U.S. Census for Erie County. Not much is known about this young woman who died at just over 33 years old, but her tombstone is still sturdy, upright, and the engraving very readable even though it has been over 150 years since she was buried.

Eleutheros Cooke House

In 1995, Estelle M. Dorn bequeathed the Eleutheros Cooke House to the Ohio Historical Society. The Cooke House was built by Eleutheros Cooke, Sandusky's first lawyer, in 1843-1844. It originally was located in downtown Sandusky, but was later moved to 1415 Columbus Avenue in the 1870's. A total of three families have lived at 1415 Columbus Avenue. The last owners were Randolph and Estelle Dorn. They purchased the house in the 1950's. The Dorns redecorated the house, and the Cooke House today looks as it did when Mr. and Mrs. Dorn resided there.

Image courtesy WikiPedia

Eleutheros Cooke served in Congress as Representative from Ohio from 1831 to 1833. His son Jay Cooke, was well known as a financier during the Civil War. According to his Congressional biography, Eleutheros Cooke died in Sandusky, Ohio, on December 27, 1864, and he was buried at St. Paul’s Episcopal Churchyard, in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

The Eleutheros Cooke House is open from Noon to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., from April to December. Admission is free. This historic home is managed by The Old House Guild of Sandusky.

Mr. and Mrs. Pitt Cooke

Pitt Cooke was born in 1819 in Bloomingville, Ohio. He was the son of Eleutheros Cooke, and the brother of Jay Cooke, well known banker, and financier of the Civil War. Pitt Cooke became a lawyer in Sandusky in a partnership with Lucas Beecher, following studies at Kenyon College. He later was in the forwarding and commission business with William Townsend, also of Sandusky. During the Civil War, Pitt Cooke assisted his brother Jay Cooke in the banking business. He continued in banking until 1873, when he moved back to Sandusky. Pitt Cooke died on December 9, 1879.

An excerpt from Pitt Cooke's obituary in the "Firelands Pioneer" read: "He was a man of large heart and warm, generous impulses, and ever ready to assist to the extent of his ability those who were in need. His loss will be deeply felt by many beyond his own family and immediate friends." He was survived by his wife, the former Mary Elizabeth Townsend, and six children.

Mrs. Pitt Cooke was the daughter of William Townsend. During the cholera epidemic of 1849, William Townsend died of the disease, along with his wife, daughter, and sister-in-law. In the Erie County section of the book entitled MEMORIAL TO THE PIONEER WOMEN OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, we read that Mary Elizabeth Townsend Cooke took in her orphaned siblings, and raised them along with her own children. A lovely framed photograph of Mrs. Pitt Cooke is found in one of the bedrooms of the Follett House Museum. Mrs. Pitt Cooke died on May 29, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Pitt Cooke are both buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Rev. Eleutheros Jay Cooke

Rev. E. Jay Cooke died suddenly at Schenectady, New York on October 27, 1908. Rev. Cooke was an Episcopalian minister. He had served churches in St. Paul, Minnesota; Cleveland, Ohio; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Schuylerville, New York.

Eleutheros Jay Cooke was born in Sandusky, Ohio on May 24, 1847. His father was Pitt Cooke, a brother of Civil War financier, Jay Cooke. (Eleutheros Jay Cooke's first name was also the first name of his paternal grandfather, an early lawyer in Sandusky, Ohio.) Rev. Cooke's mother was Mary Elizabeth Townsend Cooke. Mrs. Pitt Coooke was an amazing woman. Besides raising a large family of her own, she also took in her orphaned siblings, after their parents died during the cholera epidemic. (A lovely portrait of Mrs. Pitt Cooke can be seen at The Follett House Museum in Sandusky, Ohio.)

Shortly after Rev. Cooke shook hands with presidential candidate William Howard Taft, Rev. Cooke suddenly died, as a result of heart failure. The funeral for Rev. E. Jay Cooke was held at Grace Episcopal Church on October 31, 1908. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery. Close friends of Rev. E. Jay Cooke served as pallbearers: C.W. Sadler, George R. Butler, Frank Sloane, Charles L. Mills, Ed Zurhorst, Edward H. Marsh, Dr. A. J. Gawne, and George Barker. The letters IHS which appear on Rev. Cooke's cross-shaped tombstone represent the first three letters of the name of Jesus in the Greek language. The inscription at the base of Rev. Cooke's tombstone is: A Faithful Priest in the Service of God.

A plaque on the east wall of the sanctuary of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Schuylerville, New York reads:

“To the Glory of God and In Loving Memory of
Eleutheros Jay Cooke
May 24, 1847–October 27, 1908
Our Beloved Rector and Friend
From December 1896 until the day of his death

Well done thou good and faithful servant
Enter thou into the joy of the Lord
Matt. 25:21”

Erastus Cook

From the HISTORY OF WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT, by Charles Henry Stanley Davis, we read that Erastus Cook was the son of Asaph and Sarah P. Cook.(Later some family members spelled the surname as Cooke.)

Erastus Cook married Fanny Anderson on November 10, 1826. Erastus Cook was the Postmaster of Sandusky from 1836 to 1841. He died on July 29, 1849,during Sandusky's Cholera epidemic. You can see the name of Erastus Cook on page 61 of the pamphlet Cholera of 1849 and the Opinions of Medical and Other Professional Gentlemen in Regard to its Origin and Proper Treatment, available at the Ohio Memory website. Erastus Cook is buried in the North Monroeville Cemetery.

Erastus Cook was a brother of Eleutheros Cooke, Sandusky's first lawyer. Mr. and Mrs. Erastus Cook were the parents of James, George, and Emma Cook.

Children of Moors and Samantha Farwell

Though barely legible, this tombstone honors the memory of three children of Moors and Samantha Farwell.

Records from the ERIE COUNTY CEMETERY CENSUS BEFORE 1909, provide these names and dates for the Farwell children:

M.E. Farwell
Died June 25, 1837
Age 4 hours

T.M. Farwell
Died July 8, 1842
Age 2 years, 2 months

T. J. Farwell
Died September 29, 1842
Aged 39 days

Moors Farwell was the first Mayor of Sandusky. He was first married to Sarah Cooke. (Sarah Cooke was the sister of Eleutheros Cooke, the first lawyer in Sandusky.) Sarah Cooke Farwell died on February 28, 1827, and she is buried in Huron County. Moors and Sarah Farwell had a daughter Sarah Farwell, who married Jeremiah Cochran.

According to the publication NEWSPAPER ABSTRACTS, HURON COUNTY, OHIO, 1822-1835, by H. R. Timman,Moors Farwell of Sandusky, married Miss Semantha Dean of Cortlandville, on June 17, 1831 at Cortlandville, New York. (This item appeared in the Sandusky Clarion on July 6,1831.) In the 1850 Erie County Census, Moors and Semantha/Samantha Farwell had these children living with them:

Julia Farwell, age 17
Maryetta Farwell, age 16
and
Augusta Farwell, age 12

The R. B. Hayes Center's Obituary Index indicates that Moors Farwell died on December 14, 1850. Mrs. Samantha Farwell married Samuel Enoch Hitchcock in 1858. They moved to Alpena, Michigan, where Samuel was instrumental in organizing the first church of Alpena County. Julia Farwell appears in their household in Michigan in the 1880 U.S. Census. Augusta and Maryette Farwell both passed away in 1852, while still in their teens, according to Oakland Cemetery records.

It is sad that these Farwell children died so young. Their father was very active in the early affairs of Huron and Erie County, and their mother was a pioneer citizen of Alpena, Michigan. Had they lived longer, they too may have made significant contributions to their community.