BackGround: Detroit Temple, Detroit, Michigan.
First Generation
Robert2, [Robert1].
Pictures of the Robert McCOOK Jr Family
Robert McCOOK was born at Tecumseh Lenawee, Michigan 5 Jul 1851. One of four boys and five girls born to Robert McCOOK and Jane Hannah. He married 22 Aug 1881 in Washtenaw county, Michigan, Anna Phenice WAITE the daughter of James Waite and Arminda Adaline PASCO. She was born 14 Sep 1853 in London Twp, Monroe, Michigan and died 26 Mar 1921 in Cohoctah, Livingston, Michigan.
1860 Census Tecumseh, Lenawee, Michigan, Page 180
R Estate Personal Where
Name Age Sex Race Occupation Value Value Born
Robert McCOOK 45 M ---- Farmer $ 0,800 $ 0,390 Ireland
Jane " 38 F W ---------- -------- -------- Ireland
Ann " 16 F W ---------- -------- -------- Ireland
Alesander " 15 M W ---------- -------- -------- Ireland
John " 14 M W ---------- -------- -------- Ireland
Robert " 12 M W ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
Mary " 10 F W ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
Hellen " 7 F W ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
Esther " 3 F W ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
Sarah " 8m F W ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
1860 Census London, Monroe, Michigan. Page 400
R Estate Personal Where
Name Age Sex Race Occupation Value Value Born
James WAITE 35 M ---- Farmer $ 1,200 $ 0,600 New York
Adaline " 28 F ---- ---------- -------- -------- New York
Emma " 7 F ---- ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
Alfred " 5 M ---- ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
Louisa " 2 F ---- ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
James " 1 M ---- ---------- -------- -------- Michigan
1870 Census Clinton, Lenawee, Michigan, Page 180
R Estate Personal Where
Name Age Sex Race Occupation Value Value Born
SCHUMLA Christopher 30 M W Farmer $ 5,000 $ 1,000 Wertenburg G
" Page 28 F W Keeping House -------- -------- Wertenburg G
" Barbery 1 F W ------------- -------- -------- Michigan
" Albert 13 M W At School -------- -------- Michigan
McCOOK Robert 19 M W Farm Laborer -------- -------- Michigan
1870 Census London, Monroe, Michigan. Page 356
R Estate Personal Where
Name Age Sex Race Occupation Value Value Born
WAITE James 36 M W Farmer $ 2,000 $ 0,550 New York
" Charity 27 F W Keeping House -------- -------- New York
" Alfred 15 M W At Home -------- -------- Michigan
" Louisa 13 F W At Home -------- -------- Michigan
" Ida 7 F W ------------- -------- -------- Michigan
" Elbert 3 M W ------------- -------- -------- Michigan
1870 Census Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, Page 327
Name Age Sex Race Occupation
WOODWARD Benjamin 41 M W Hotel Keeper $ 6,000 $ 1,500 New York
" Louisa M 28 F W Keeping House -------- -------- Michigan
" Mary 19 F W House Keeper -------- -------- Michigan
" Augusta 17 F W House Keeper -------- -------- Michigan
" Eva 15 F W House Keeper -------- -------- Michigan
" Charles 13 M W At School -------- -------- Michigan
" Carrie L 7 F W At School -------- -------- Michigan
" Josephine 5 F W ------------ -------- -------- Michigan
" Kittie M 3 F W ------------ -------- -------- Michigan
" Willie 1 M W ------------ -------- -------- Michigan
FITZ Gerald James W 26 M W Hotel Clerk -------- -------- New York
DUNNE Richard 25 M W Houttes -------- -------- Michigan
WAIT Anna 19 F W House Keeper -------- -------- Michigan
HAIGHT Lorenzo 27 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Michigan
ALDRICH Thomas 58 M W Carpenter -------- -------- Michigan
WATSON James C 40 M W Physician $ 4,000 $ 3,000 Ohio
NABLE Sylvester C 25 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Michigan
NEAT Andrew 28 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Prussia
RENO Elisha 42 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Pennsylvania
WALKER William 15 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Michigan
YOUNGS Edgar B 40 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Scotland
WARD William 40 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- New York
BROWN William 50 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Ireland
OWNES James 20 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Canada
GIBSON William 15 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Michigan
SHERMAN Thomas 30 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Michigan
WAGONER Thomas 28 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Wertinberg
WAGONER John 26 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Wertinberg
WAGONER Henry 24 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Wertinberg
QUINT Frederic 23 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Hessen Cessel
DANCE James 55 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Hessen Cessel
BOWLES John 19 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Hessen Cessel
OWNER Michael 45 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Hessen Cessel
WARREN Jefferson 20 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Hessen Cessel
McDONALD John 50 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Hessen Cessel
HALL Charles 18 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Hessen Cessel
TAG Frederic 24 M W Day Laborer -------- -------- Hessen Cessel
1880 Census Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, ED 237 Page 17
Mar | Place of Birth |
Name Race Sex Age Relat Sta Occupation |Self Father Mother|
KIDDER Susan W F 56 ----- W Keeping House N. Y. N. Y. N. Y.
" Frank W M 20 Son S Farmer Mich. N. Y. N. Y.
COOK Robert W M 24 Serv S Servant N. Y. Ire. Ire.
1880 Census Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, ED 237 Page 36
Mar | Place of Birth |
Name Race Sex Age Relat Sta Occupation |Self Father Mother|
HAMMOND Henry W M 50 ----- M Farmer N. Y. N. Y. N. Y.
" Eliza W F 43 Wife M Keeping House Mich. N. Y. N. Y.
" George W M 12 Son S At School Mich. N. Y. Mich.
" Ralph W M 6 Son S At School Mich. N. Y. Mich.
" Albert W M 4 Son S At School Mich. N. Y. Mich.
WAIT Anna W F 26 Serv S Servant Mich. Verm. Mich.
Sibert John W M 28 Serv S Servant Mich. Verm. Mich.
1900 Census Cohoctah, Livingston, Michigan, ED 63 Sheet 11A Line 35
Mont Year Mar Yrs | Place of Birth |
Name Relat Race Sex Born Born Age Sta Mar |Self Father Mother| Occupation
McCOOK Robert Head W M Jul 1852 47 M 19 Mich. Ire. Ire. Farm Laborer
" Anna Wife W F Sep 1853 46 M 19 Mich. N. Y. N. Y. ----------
" Robert Son W M May 1882 18 S --- Mich. Mich. Mich. Salesman Gro
" Roy W Son W M Mar 1884 16 S --- Mich. Mich. Mich. At School
" Retta M Dau W F Jul 1886 13 S --- Mich. Mich. Mich. At School
" Grace L Dau W F Mar 1888 12 S --- Mich. Mich. Mich. At School
Anna Mother of 4 Children 4 Living
1910 Census Cohoctah, Livingston, Michigan, ED 98 Sheet 21B Line 63
Marr Yrs. | Place of Birth |
Name Relation Sex Race Age Stat Marr |Self Father Mother| Occupation
McCOOK Robert Head M W 56 M 35 Mich. Ire. Ire. Laborer
" Anna P. Wife F W 56 M 35 Mich. N. Y. Mich. none
Anna P. Mother of 4 Children 4 Living
1920 Census Brighton, Livingston, Michigan, ED 139 Sheet 5B Line 99
Marr | Place of Birth |
Name Relation Sex Race Age Stat |Self Father Mother| Occupation
McCOOK Robert Head M W 66 M Mich. Ire. Ire. Laborer General
" Anna Wife F W 66 M Mich. Mich. Mich. none
James Waite McCOOK's earliest recollection of Robert was about 1920. He bought me an ice cream cone at Dick Hale's meat market in Oak Grove, Michigan. Robert was a small man, about 5 feet 4 inches, weighing about 140 pounds. He was bald and had a large mustache. He worked in the market some at that time.
A woman came in the market to buy meat one day and complained about the amount of fat and bone on some meat she had bought earlier. Robert, who was a real wit said, "Lady we've got just the thing for you"!, and got out a big chunk of liver.
Robert's brother Alexander was in the Civil War and died at New Orleans of Tyfus Marlaria. Robert was a bitter foe of the South all his life, as a result of his brother's death, and in politics he was a Democrat. The reason James W McCOOK knew this was that when he lived with them on the farm, he and his father, who was a Republican, and a great student of the Civil War, argued politics and people some.
Robert farmed before he came to Livingston County. He must have left Tecumseh to come to Oak Grove around 1894. James W. says he thinks his dad said "that he was twelve years old at the time they moved". Robert A. was the oldest of four children, two boys and two girls, each just two years apart. Robert Avery, Roy Waite, Rhita MaryAvery, and Grace Louise, in that order.
Robert McCOOK had an auction sale and mada a down payment on a farm near Rose City, Michigan, then proceeded to drink up the rest or the money from the sale. I suppose when he sobered up, he decided he'd beter get busy and start supporting his family so he came to Oak Grove and went to work on the Ann Arbor railroad section gang for his brother-in-law, Alf WAITE, who was foreman of one of the two gangs out of Oak Grove at that time. The other gang was run by Charles MORGAN.
Robert was about 30 when he married in 1881, and came to Oak Grove in 1894. He aquired a house with a barn across the street, where he kept his horse Pedro and his farming tools. He also bought the island in the mill pond, about 7 acres or so, and a 5 acre piece of muck ground below the mill dam that we referred to as the flats where he raised garden stuff such as beans, corn, cabbage, and onions. James W. remembers helping him top onions in the fall one time. JAMES W. got a dime for helping. James W. did about a peck while cousin Earnie JUBB did a bushel or more, so Robert had a poor opinion of me as a hired hand. James W was about 6 at the time, and Earnie 10, or there abouts. Earnie lived on a farm about 5 miles away near Cohoctah and just came to visit from time to time. This placed him much more in favor with ROBERT since we lived just one house away and were some what of a nuisance to the old man. James W. can still rememmber going with him to the flats sonetimes and seeng those rows of vegetable, all straight with no weeds and the black soil between the rows. It makes a real picture in his mind.
Robert McCOOK was very praticular about his work. Everything was just so! All his tools were bright, shiny and sharp. Most of them were old, but good. You could almost see your face in the shovel blades and the mole board plow. He had one horse; Old Pedro He was a Bay with a white face and white feet. James W. thought Robert was quite rough on him the way he jerked the lines and hit him now and then, but later on he guesses he was worse.
There were two ways to get to the flats. One was around by the road and accross the mill dam. The other was by a footpath with a log for a bridge across the creek. He always cautioned his grand children not to look down at the water when they crossed, But, of course, James W. looked down at the water and fell in. The water was only about a foot and a half deep but he got good and wet and was scolded for not following instructions. Robert wasn't mean, he just didn't have a lot of time for small boys!
In the winter time he walked across the mill pond to cut wood on the island. James W. can still see him walkng along. He had a slight limp from a broken leg he got while working in a lumber camp near Petoski, Michigan. He had a habit of talking to himself out loud and would even stop walking and wave his arms for emphasis! One expression he used was "I, says I" "He says he" in repeating a conversation. He had a habit of cussing quite a bit which got him in bad with Earnie JUBB, aunt Rhita's husband. Uncle Earnie never swore and wouldn't allow it in his house so when Robert went to live with them after his wife died, he didn't stay long!
Anna Phenice WAITE was quite a large woman - taller than Robert and 50 pounds heavier. She seemed to be inclined to cry rather than fight with Robert. He seemed to enjoy these spats and would chuckle to himself about it. He would say something mean to her and she would say "Now! Rob!" and then start to cry. She had no teeth and her facial expressions were facinating as she puckered up to shed tears.
Robert McCOOK had a chair behind the kitchen stove where he smoked his pipe and looked out a window into the back yard and across the mill pond. From there he could watch the neighbors go by on the path outside, on their way to Myron TINDAL's. He had the only well on that side of the street for several houses. Myron also kept a cow and sold milk by the quart, at least to Robert's family and probably to others.
Robert McCOOK went to live with his son Robert A. the Winter of 1925. He liked sheep and we had a few, but he had a stroke that spring and died. He went down to work a small patch below the orchard by the river, and when he didn't come home to dinner, Robert A. and James went looking for him. They found him under an apple tree. Myron TINDAL was the mail carrier then and he drove his car down to where Robert McCOOK was and they brought him to the house where he died two days later. He was 73 years and 11 Months old, and buried at Stanford Cemetery near Oak Grove on Case Lake Road.
Bride or Groom Spouse Vol. Page Year McCOOK, Grace Louise Charles READER 4 246 1908 McCOOK, Rhita Mary Henery Ernest JUBB 4 246 1908
LAST FIRST NAME NAME VOL. PAGE McCOOK Robert 2 359
LAST FIRST CEMETERY PAGE VOLUME NAME NAME NAME # # McCOOK Anna SANFORD 100 III McCOOK Robert SANFORD 100 III
CHILDREN of Robert McCOOK and Anna Phenice WAITE:
+ 51. 1. ROBERT AVERY b: 11 May 1882; Clinton Twp., Lenawee,
Michigan.
md. 1 Jun 1910; Eva ELWOOD.
d: 26 Aug 1962; Howell, Livingston,
Michigan.
+ 52. 2. ROY WAITE b: 15 Mar 1884; Saline, Washtenaw,
Michigan.
md: 21 Nov 1909; Windsor, Essex,
Ontario, Canada.
Evangeline Rachel
HOUGHTALING.
d: 15 Dec 1946, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo,
Michigan.
+ 53. 3. RHITA MARY b: 15 Jul 1886; Saline, Washtenaw,
Michigan.
md: 15 Jul 1908; Oak Grove, Livingston,
Michigan.
Henry Earnest JUBB.
d: Jan 1981; Howell Livingston,
Michigan.
+ 54. 4. GRACE LOUISE b: 15 Mar 1888; Saline, Washtenaw,
Michigan.
md: 15 Jul 1908; Oak Grove, Livingston,
Michigan.
Charles H. READER.
d: 17 Nov 1951; Oak Grove, Livingston,
Michigan.
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Information for 1st Generation from the following sources:
I. Census records:
A. 1850: Tecumseh, Lenawee, Michigan.
B. 1860: Clinton, Lenawee, Michigan.
C. 1860: London Twp., Monroe, Michigan.
D. 1860: Tecumseh, Lenawee, Michigan.
E. 1870: Clinton, Lenawee, Michigan.
F. 1870: London Twp., Monroe, Michigan.
G. 1870: Raisin Twp. Lenawee, Michigan.
H. 1880: Clinton, Lenawee, Michigan.
I. 1880: Framklin Twp., Lenawee, Michigan.
J. 1880: London Twp., Monroe, Michigan.
K. 1880: Raisin Twp. Lenawee, Michigan.
L. 1900: Clinton, Lenawee, Michigan.
M. 1900: Cohoctah, Livingston, Michigan.
N. 1900: Raisin Twp. Lenawee, Michigan.
O. 1900: Saint Johns, Clinton, Michigan.
P. 1910: Adrian, Lenawee, Michigan.
Q. 1910: Clinton, Lenawee, Michigan.
R. 1910: Cohoctah, Livingston, Michigan.
S. 1910: Coldwater, Branch, Michigan.
T. 1910: Tecumseh, Lenawee, Michigan.
U. 1920, Adrian, Lenawee, Michigan.
V. 1920: Cohoctah, Livingston, Michigan.
W. 1920: Coldwater, Branch, Michigan.
X. 1920: Tecumseh, Lenawee, Michigan.
II. Churh records:
A. First Presbyterian Church of Tecumseh, Michigan.
III. INFORMATION from:
A. ROBIN GAE RICHARD FORREST, II
34 East 1000 South, Orem,
Utah, 84057
B. SHARON LEE (FORREST) BOUNDS,
801 Reed St.
Sedro-Wooley, Washington,
C. JAMES McCOOK, Deceased
D. RHITA MARY McCOOK, Deceased.
E. HATTIE O'HARA, Deceased.
F. OCELLA (OEA) WILKINS, Deceased.
G. MARILYN JEAN CAMPBELL
Sarasota, Florida
IV. Military Records: (Civil War)
A. Civil War Records: Alexander McCook.
B. Pension Records: for Mother's Pension from
son Alexander's Civil War Service.
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