Terrell-Burke-Lee County GaArchives Biographies.....Cocke, John F. 1857 - living in 1913 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 November 1, 2004, 11:02 am Author: William Harden p. 1040-1041 JOHN F. COCKE. A well-known and highly esteemed resident of Dawson, Terrell county, John F. Cocke is distinguished both for his own life and work and for the honored ancestry from which he traces his descent. The member of a Georgia family that dates back to colonial times, he was born June 16, 1857, on a plantation in Lee county, Georgia. He is a descendant in the fifth generation from Caleb Cocke, the immigrant ancestor, his lineage being thus traced: Caleb,[1] Zebulon, [2] John, [3] Isaac Perry, [4] and John F. [5] Caleb [1] Cocke, said to have been a lineal descendant of Lord High Admiral Cocke, of France, immigrated to America from England about 1710, settling in North Carolina. It is said that he was a very large man, and was called the "Great Hunter." Zebulon [2] Cocke was born and bred in North Carolina. Coming from there to Georgia in 1764, he located in Burke county on a two-hundred-acre tract of land granted him by King George. During the Revolution he fought with the colonists in their struggle for independence. At the opening of that war he had upwards of five hundred head of cattle on his farm, and at its close he had but one ox left with which to do his farm work, all of the other cattle having been taken by the British. He was one of the very first Baptists in the state, and a charter member of the Back Camp Baptist church, which was organized in 1788, and to which he donated four acres of land. He was twice married, his second wife, great grandmother of Mr. Cocke, having been Mrs. Sarah Field, nee Perry. John [3] Cocke was born on the parental homestead, in Burke county, Georgia, September 4, 1784. Inheriting the patriotic ardor of his father, he served as a soldier in the War of 1812. About 1828 he removed to Lee county, Georgia, where he bought land that was in its pristine wildness, and with the aid of his slaves cleared and improved a fine plantation, on which he spent the remainder of his life. The maiden name of his wife was Lydia Davis. She was a daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Daniel) Davis, and a granddaughter on the paternal side of Rev. Elnathan Davis, a noted Baptist preacher of Virginia. On the maternal side, she was also of honored ancestry, her Grandfather Daniel having been governor of the Carolinas before they were divided, and afterwards governor of South Carolina. All of her grandparents spent the closing years of their lives in Lee county, Georgia. Isaac Perry [4] Cocke was born in Burke county, Georgia, and subsequently went with the family to Lee county. There he began life for himself, working as a farm laborer at low wages. Industrious and economical, he accumulated quite a sum of money, which he invested in land, later buying slaves with which to work his property. During his earlier, life in Lee county deer and other kinds of wild game were abundant, and often did much damage to the growing crops. There being no railways in the state, he used to team his cotton to Macon, one hundred miles distant, the trip being a long and tedious one. He did not depend entirely upon cotton as a crop, but raised various other things, including cattle, hogs and poultry. He was very successful in his operations, and as his means allowed invested in other tracts of land, at his death having title to five thousand acres of choice land. His home plantation, located eight miles west of Liberty, was furnished with substantial buildings, and well stocked. He maintained a summer home at Griffin, but otherwise lived on his home farm until his death, in 1863. Isaac Perry [4] Cocke married Almeda Griffin, who was born in Henry county, Georgia, where her parents, William and Martha (Barnett) Griffin, were, as far as known, life-long residents. She survived her husband, and married a second time. By her first marriage she reared three children, namely: John Franklin, the special subject of this brief biographical review; Almira Florine; and Isaac Perry, Jr. John F. [5] Cocke obtained his rudimentary education in the public schools of Carterville, later attending Bowdon College, in Bowdon, Georgia. Completing his studies, he settled in Lee county on land that had come to him by inheritance, and was there extensively and profitably engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1899. In order that his children might have better educational advantages, Mr. Cocke then rented his large plantation, and settled in Dawson, buying an estate of four acres, with good buildings thereon, in the village. He still lives on that place, but has since bought another plantation, consisting of two hundred and fifty acres of highly productive land, in Terrell county. Mr. Cocke married, in 1877, Annie Eliza Moreland. She was born in Lee county, a daughter of John and Eliza (Sikes) Moreland, natives of Baker county, and life-long residents of Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Cocke are the parents of five children, namely: Annie Elouise; Charles Dudley; Stephen Moreland; and John Edwin and Julian Franklin, twins. Annie E., wife of James Bascom Hoyle, has three children, Annie Elouise, Mary Elizabeth, and Myra. Mr. and Mrs. Cocke are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally Mr. Cocke belongs to P. T. Schley Lodge, No. 229, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons. Additional Comments: From: A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA BY WILLIAM HARDEN VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1913 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/terrell/bios/gbs506cocke.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb