From
his birth at Center Grove near Dubuque on January 29, 1863, to his death in
Hollywood in 1941, Thomas F. Cooke lived a full and vibrant life in his 78
years. Born while the Civil War was
raging, he would never get to know his father, David Grant Cooke, who was
killed in battle near Cottage Grove, Tennessee in December of 1864, at the age
of 30. Raised by his widowed mother,
Thomas grew to manhood.
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| From the Upper Des Moines Republican September 28, 1904 |
It
is not known exactly when Cooke came to Algona, but as a young man he entered
into the land business in the area. By
1888 he had joined A.D. Clarke who had been in various aspects of real estate
and insurance business since 1870 in Algona.
An article which ran in the Algona Republican on June 6, 1888 described
the A D. Clarke & Co. partnership as follows: “The
present firm, consisting of Hon. A. D. Clarke and Thos. F. Cooke was organized
in 1870 although Mr. Clarke has been in business here since 1866. Their office is on Dodge street between State
and Call streets and is nicely fitted up.
They do a general land business and have 50,000 acres on their lists,
mostly in this county. They can sell
wild land at from $7 to $14 per acre, and improved farms at from $16 to $40 per
acre. They also have a complete set of
abstracts to the lands of the county, pay taxes for non-residents, make real
estate loans on long time at low rates of interest. They are also large dealers of land on their
own account. Mr. Clarke was a member of
the assembly from Kossuth County last winter, and has a large acquaintance in
this section of the state. The firm
represents the German-American, Continental and Queen Insurance companies and
do a large business in that line.”
NEW HOME
With business success came the need for a home large enough to entertain. In June of 1886, Cooke purchased two lots from J. B. Jones for the erection of a new residence prior to winter. They were located at 302 East Call. Local contractor Sam Plumley began the construction in July. By late fall, the house was ready for occupancy. Cooke continued to improve the look of his stately home, grading the lots and landscaping and in 1894 he installed concrete walks. The residence was later featured in the book “Picturesque Algona.”
COMPANY F, IOWA NATIONAL GUARD
In the spring of 1889 A.D. Clarke was notified that there was a vacancy in the Sixth regiment, Iowa National Guard. The letter inquired as to whether or not Algona would like to become its home base. Clarke passed the correspondence to Thomas Cooke who quickly organized a group of young men to join the proposed company. A short time later, members of the group gathered in the G.A.R. Hall and were reviewed by Col. L. B. Raymond of Hampton who found favor and recommended acceptance.
A
muster of Company F took place on the evening of July 2, 1889 in the courthouse
hall. The forty-nine men present took
the oath “to support the constitution of the United States and of the state of
Iowa and to obey the orders of the commander-in-chief and of such officers as
may be placed over you.” The fiftieth
man—Will Naudain—was unable to attend the muster and took the oath on his own
three days later, bringing the total membership to an even fifty.
An
election immediately followed the muster and Thomas F. Cooke was elected
Captain by the men. The recruits were
required to purchase their own uniforms which consisted of a helmet; dark blue,
single-breasted frock coat, piped with white; and sky blue trousers. A fatigue cap could be worn in place of a
helmet for drills and fatigue duty. It
wasn’t until the next year that the citizens of Algona joined together to raise
money for the purchase of working uniforms consisting of blouses and leggings
and to buy equipment for the rifle range.
The men were quite thankful to have working uniforms so that they no
longer needed to wear their dress uniforms for drills and policing.
At
the time of the muster the annual encampment was only six weeks away. Most of the recruits had no formal military
training so there was much to do. Lieutenant
Benjamin Haggard, who had been a member of the state university battalion,
became the instructor in the manual of arms.
The group drilled almost every evening and was pleased to be second only
to Company H of Sioux City when judged at the encampment. Early in 1890, Sergeant Stahl of Second U.S.
Infantry from Fort Omaha came to Algona and conducted a month-long special
drill. At the end of the month, Company
F performed an exhibition drill in the courthouse which old timers declared had
never been equaled in Algona. Their
drilling exhibitions were also well received at the Kossuth County Fair each
year.
Captain
Cooke must have been very good with firearms both in uniform and out. He was an avid hunter who often traveled to
Union Slough or other area hunting areas along with friends Otto Falkenhainer,
Edgar Butler and Harry Wilson in search of game. In 1892, Governor Boles appointed him general
inspector of small arms practice for the state and his rank increased to lieutenant
colonel. Cooke would go on to hold this
position for about ten years.
CAPTAIN COOKE MARRIES
By
the time he reached his thirtieth birthday in 1893, Cooke was established in a
profitable career, had built a beautiful home and was climbing the ranks of the
National Guard. The next year he erected
a small two room cottage for use as a summer residence at Arnold’s Park. The only thing that seemed to be missing was
someone with whom he could share his life.
Once again his partner, A.D. Clarke, perhaps inadvertently, provided the
answer. Nellie Elizabeth Ford, a
long-time friend of the Clarkes, came for a visit in 1894. Was she invited specifically to meet Clarke’s
young partner? Or did Thomas hear of a
delightful young female guest at the Clarke home and invite himself over for
dinner? We will never know, but Nellie
and Thomas were eventually married on March 27, 1895 in her hometown of Whitewater,
Wisconsin. They settled into life in the
house at 302 East Call where they would add a son, Edwin, and a daughter,
Elizabeth, to their family.
With
the outbreak of the Spanish American War, Company F was called to serve. They were ordered to Camp Geo. H. Thomas at
Chickamauga in Walker County, Georgia. They
would never be called to actual battle, but one of their own, Edgar Winkel,
died of illness while stationed there. Colonel
Cooke himself almost lost his life to typhoid fever while stationed at
Chickamauga. It took several years for
him to fully recover.
Cooke
was a very active volunteer in the community.
One project near and dear to his heart was the establishment of a free
public library. His wife served as
president of the Algona Women’s Library Aid Society and he himself spent more
than seven years as president of the Algona library board. He worked diligently on the committee for the
erection of a Carnegie Library in the city.
Without his guidance, it is likely that Algona would not be the home of
a Carnegie library building. He continued
to build his business interests as well.
Cooke organized the Algona Deposit & Loan Association serving as its
president, and also helped to organize the Algona State Bank, Burt National
Bank, and the Whittemore, Lone Rock and Fenton state banks.
LEAVING ALGONA
In
1902 Col. Cooke purchased a half interest in the Benham Garment Company which
was located at Sixth Avenue and Center Street in Des Moines. The family initially rented a home in Des
Moines, but traveled back and forth to Algona frequently. Elected Lieutenant Colonel of the 56th
Regiment, Iowa National Guard in 1904, the family then permanently moved to Des
Moines, selling their home in Algona to Professor Benjamin for $3,000. One thousand dollars from the sale was
donated to the library association for the new library.
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| House site in 2017 |
By
1907, Nellie Cooke’s asthma caused the family to seek residence in a better
climate. They moved to Hollywood,
California. Cooke headed several banks
and also served as a Captain in France during World War I. He was a member of the Hollywood Board of
Trade which later became the Chamber of Commerce when Hollywood became a part
of the city of Los Angeles.
The
Colonel evidently had friends in the movie industry as he was accompanied by a
film crew when he took a trip around the world in 1927. It is said that the entire trip was recorded
on “many reels of film.” Wouldn’t it be delightful
to view some of that footage?
He
gained notoriety in 1928 as the foreman of a one of the most famous grand
juries in the history of Los Angeles.
Under his guidance, indictments were brought against several prominent
businessmen for bribery. Cooke himself
was described as “cool, courageous and determined to fight for honor in
government.” He was then elected to
public office himself, serving as city councilman from the Hollywood district
1929-1931.
Colonel
Thomas F. Cooke passed away May 14, 1941, and was buried at Hollywood Forever
Cemetery. His wife, Nellie, survived him
by 32 years, dying at the age of 99. She
is buried beside him.
From
the Carnegie library building still standing today to bringing the National
Guard to Algona in 1889, Cooke left his imprint on Algona. A full and vibrant life indeed.
Until
next time,
Jean
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