Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Peregrine Cook - The Inventor "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore Since I was quite young I had heard the story told over many times that Peregrine Cook of Turkey had invented a steam automobile in the 1880s and that it might have been the first automobile made in North Carolina. Recently a book has been written and published by Robert Ireland which states that this was likely the first automoble built in North Carolina. Peregrine Cook, Jr., came from a pioneer colonial family which received land grants on Six Runs in Sampson County. He was born in 1826 and was the son of Peregrine Cook Sr., who owned a plantation three miles south of Turkey on Stewart's Branch and Six Runs, near the crossing of the New Hope Church Road and the Union School Road. His brothers and sisters were (listed in a will probated in 1852): Charles, William R., Matilda, Harriet, Mrs. Polly Vann, Mrs. Eliza Boon, Mrs. Nancy Stevens, and Mrs. Sarah Ezzell. He married to Margaret Heath of Magnolia and built the house which was later known as the Lewis King home. of Peregrine Cook, Sr., who owned a plantation three miles south of Turkey on Stewart's Branch and Six Runs, near the crossing of the New Hope Church Road and the Union School Road. His brothers and sisters were listed in a will probated in 1852: Charles, William R., Matilda, Harriet, Mrs. Polly Vann, Mrs. Eliza Boon, Mrs. Nancy Stevens and Mrs. Sarah Ezzell. He married Margaret Heath of Magnolia and built the house which was later known as the Lewis King home. Peregrine Cook must have served on apprenticeship under some local craftsman because he became a blacksmith, a wheelwright, and a carpenter. He designed and improved the wooden bean iron plow which was the forerunner of the Dixie cotton plow. When the War Between the States needed men so badly, he enlisted in the Confederate Army on June 8, 1864, and was sent to Camp Holmes on Smith's Island, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. He was assigned to Co. I of the 7th N.C. Regiment. There was such a dire need for farm implements that he was sent home before the end of the War. He built a watermill on Stewart's Branch near his home and probably ground both wheat and corn and may have had a waterpowered saw mill. The old mill dam may still be seen, but the mill house is gone. Around 1880, Peregrine Cook ordered an eight-horse steam engine from Hamlin and Sons Company of Greenville, Pennsylvania. The idea of building a horseless steam buggy was taken lightly by his neighbors. He made most of the parts for his machine in his own shop, including the wagon wheels which he used. Mr. Cook had probably heard of the steam wagon which was brought to North Carolina by rail in 1874. He completed his steam buggy in the 1880s and it ran successfully but it frightened horses and mules nearly to death. I have known a number of persons who well remembered seeing Mr. Cook's steam buggy. It was noisy and difficult to steer. According to tradition, Mr. Cook ran into several bee gums and as a result was badly stung. The vehicle was placed under a shelter and the steam engine was used for some other project. Mr. Cook made many farm implements in his shop and he made some furniture. In my "Cabin Museum" I have on loan from my cousin, Harold Cook, a great-grandson of Peregrine Cook, the crankshaft and the steam boiler from the steam buggy. We also have some wagon wheels and a chair which he made. Mr. and Mrs. Cook had the following children: Casius Cook, Oakley Cook, Mrs. Fanny Cook King, Mrs. Julia Torrans, Mrs. Olivia Woodcock, and Mrs. Helen Alderman and all are now deceased. The Cooks were members of Old New Hope Baptist Church, organized in 1818, near their home. He died on December 6, 1907. Mr. Cook did not have the necessary financial backing nor tools to develop the steam automobile. Late in life he invented a veneering machine "to veneer crate baskets, widely used in this berry producing section, and fashioned a machine to cut cups to hold berries." Sources: Harold C. Cook of Cook Machine Company, Oscar Bizzell, Historian and Writer of Newton Grove. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. 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