Frank R. Cock Biography


	This biography appears on pages 152-153 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				FRANK R. COCK.  

	Frank R. Cock is a prominent rancher living at Belle Fourche and 
has made a most creditable record as a state official, serving as a 
member of the South Dakota live-stock sanitary board. Perhaps no 
resident of the state is better qualified for this office and none 
could display greater loyalty in the discharge of duty. He was born in 
Davenport, Iowa, April 30, 1867. His father, Charles C. Cock, was a 
native of Ohio, and in 1862 removed westward to Iowa, where he turned 
his attention to the manufacture of farm implements for a time and 
later to the sale of implements, remaining actively and successfully in 
that business until his death, which occurred in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 
1899. He took an active and helpful interest in local affairs and was 
for many years a member of the city council of Davenport during his 
residence there. He married Rebecca Raff, a native of Ohio, who still 
survives and makes her home in St. Joseph, Missouri. She is of Holland 
Dutch ancestry, tracing her lineage back to the settlement of New 
Amsterdam. The ancestors of the Cock family were associates of William 
Penn in the early settlement of Pennsylvania and were devout adherents 
of the Quaker faith.  

	Frank R. Cock was the second in a family of four children and 
spending his youthful days in Davenport, Iowa, he pursued his education 
in its public schools, passing through consecutive grades to the high 
school. In 1884 he went to Central City, Nebraska, and there had his 
first experience in the live-stock business as an employee on his 
uncle's ranch. At the end of a year he removed to Lincoln county, 
Nebraska, where he began ranching on his own account and in 1889 he 
came to South Dakota, settling in Belle Fourche valley, where he has 
since been largely interested in the conduct of a ranch, meeting with 
excellent success in his undertakings. At the present time he is 
operating a ranch of twelve hundred acres in Butte county, employing 
the latest improved and approved methods in the conduct of his 
business. He teas been for many years a persistent and discriminating 
student of the diseases of farm animals and their eradication, or 
better still, their prevention, and his valuable work in that direction 
made him one of the logical appointees when the state department of 
live-stock sanitation was created in 1909. He has served continuously 
since on the live-stock sanitary board, also acting as its secretary. 
In 1913 when the department was thoroughly reorganized he was the only 
member reappointed, a fact which is highly complimentary and indicates 
in no uncertain terms the ability which he displayed and the fidelity 
with which he discharged the duties devolving upon him. The 
administration of his duties has been marked by an intelligent, earnest 
zeal in behalf of the stock-growing interests of the state and his 
activities have proven a distinct asset to the industry. Largely 
through his efforts the department has been brought to a high working 
efficiency and has eliminated the hardship of frequent federal 
quarantines characteristic of the earlier days.  

	Mr. Cock was married April 17, 1895, to Miss Louise C. Teall, a 
daughter of B. F. and Julia Phelps (Van Cleef) Teall, of Eau Claire, 
Wisconsin. They have had two children but the son, Charles C., is 
deceased. The only living child is Dorothy G.  

	The family attend the Congregational church and Mr. Cock holds 
membership in the Masonic fraternity. In politics he has always been a 
stalwart republican but not an office seeker in the usually accepted 
sense of the term. He served for a number of years as a member of the 
Belle Fourche school board and for several years was its president, 
wisely directing the interests of the schools along the lines of 
progress, making the system one of thorough preparation for life's 
practical and responsible duties. He finds his recreation in big game 
hunting and has secured various trophies of the chase.