JOHN COOKE FIRST SETTLER OF WYOMING COUNTY

     
According to the "History of the Cooke Family", John Cooke was 
born in London, England, in 1752.  In 1770 or 1772, he and his 
financee were taken to Virginia as indentured servants of a planter.
After they served their time, they were married.  They settled 
in Giles County, Virginia, and raised a family of four sons and 
one daughter.  They were Thomas, John, Jr., William, and James.  
The name of the daughter is not known and whatever happened to 
her is a mystery.
     
John Cooke's first public service was enlisting in the army during 
the Revolutionary War.  He also fought in the Dunmore War.
     
On May 27, 1779, while serving with the Virginia Rangers at Fort 
Lee, Va., Thomas and Peter Huff and John Cooke chased Indians who 
had stolen some of their horses.  While on the chase, they 
passed through a valley known today as Oceana.  Peter Huff was 
killed and buried on Huff Mountain, which is known by his name.  
These three are the first white men known to set foot in the 
Oceana area.
     
After John Cooke was discharged from the army, he returned home 
and moved his family to his new farm at New River, Va., 25 miles 
from what is now the West Virginia state line.  In 1797 he built 
a log cabin at the mouth of Laurel Fork.  He planted crops and 
left the care of the land in the hands of a man known only as 
"Milam" to return to New River for his family.  Thus he became 
the first permanent settler in Montgomery County, Virginia, 
now Wyoming County, West Virginia.
     
Most of the Wyoming Cooks are descendants of the first settler.  
Through the years, the "e" has been dropped from the name of most 
of them.
     
A historical marker honoring John Cooke, Wyoming County's first 
settler, was dedicated on February 21, 1964, by the Future 
Homemakers Chapter of Oceana High School in the school 
auditorium.  The marker, prepared by the West Virginia Historical 
Commision, has been erected in Laurel Park, which is located on 
part of a land grant given to John Cooke in lieu of pay for his 
service in the American Revolution.  The marker reads as follows:

                                                                          JOHN COOKE
                                                       
First settler of Wyoming County.  He was
born in London, 1752, and kidnapped and
sold to Virginia planter as an indentured
servant.  He was a revolutionary soldier
and fought in battles of Point Pleasant,
Monmouth, and Stony Point.  In lieu of
army pay, he was given grant of land in
Montgomery County, Virginia, located 
on "Little Laurel", on which he and two
sons settled, 1799.  He is buried here
in the Delilah Chapel graveyard.

From Beckley Post-Herald,  Beckley, West Virginia.  February 4, 
1964.Reprinted in Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly, V. 
II, number 3 (01-JUL-1964), pgs. 44-45.