Mary Elizabeth Cook

30 April 1835–?

Born 30 Apr. 1835 in Lafayette, Onondaga Co., New York.[1] Daughter of William J. Cook and Sophia King.[2] Graduated from New York State Normal School, 10 Feb. 1853, in Albany.[3] Teacher, assistant, and principal in the St. Louis school system, 1864–1867.[4] Moved to Salt Lake City, by 1870.[5] Opened an academy in Salt Lake City, fall 1870.[6] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber J. Richards, 26 Mar. 1871.[7] Principal of the University of Deseret’s model graded school, 1871.[8] Instructor and principal at the University of Deseret, 1871–1891.[9] Placed on the People’s Party ticket as the nominee for Salt Lake Co. superintendent of common schools, July 1874.[10] Visited with EBW on various occasions, 1874–1891.[11] EBW’s daughter Emmeline Whitney Wells taught at her school, 1874.[12] EBW visited her school to review examinations, 1875.[13] Served as first vice president for the Women’s Centennial Territorial Fair, 1876.[14] Managed the grade schools in St. George, Washington Co., Utah Territory, winter 1877–1878.[15] Secretary of the General Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association, 1877–1891.[16] Left Utah Territory to return to the eastern U.S., after 17 June 1892.[17] Moved to Lafayette to care for her aunt, 1900.[18]

 

[1] “Certificate of Baptism Duplicate for H O Office,” CHL (restricted access). “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, 10 Nov. 1872–27 Sept. 1878, p. 261, line 5757, Ida Ione Cook, 30 Aug. 1875, microfilm 183407 (restricted access), FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 10 Feb. 2020), Mary Elizabeth Cook (KZYN-TX6).

[2] 1855 New York State Census, Lafayette, Onondaga Co., p. 152, Mary Cook. “Certificate of Baptism Duplicate for H O Office,” CHL (restricted access). 1880 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, ED 51, p. 173A, Mary E. Cook. “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, 10 Nov. 1872–27 Sept. 1878, p. 261, line 5757, Ida Ione Cook, 30 Aug. 1875, microfilm 183407 (restricted access), FHL.

[3] An Historical Sketch of the State Normal College at Albany, N. Y. and a History of Its Graduates for Fifty Years, 1844–1894 (Albany: Brandow Printing), 144. 

[4] “Academy,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 9 Nov. 1870, 1. Jill Mulvay Derr, “The Two Miss Cooks: Pioneer Professionals for Utah’s Schools,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson ([Provo, UT]: By the author, 1978), 245. Edward W. Tullidge, The Women of Mormondom (New York: By the author, 1877), 524. Edwards’ Annual Director to the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms, etc., etc. in the City of St. Louis for 1864 (St. Louis: Richard Edwards, 1864), 188. Edwards’ Annual Director to the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms, etc., etc. in the City of St. Louis for 1866 (St. Louis: Edwards, Greenough & Deved, 1866), 298. Edwards’ Annual Director to the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms, etc., etc. in the City of St. Louis for 1867 (St. Louis: Edwards, Greenough & Deved, 1867), 267.    

[5] Jill Mulvay Derr, “The Two Miss Cooks: Pioneer Professionals for Utah’s Schools,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson ([Provo, UT]: By the author, 1978), 245. “Academy,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 9 Nov. 1870, 1.

[6] Jill Mulvay Derr, “The Two Miss Cooks: Pioneer Professionals for Utah’s Schools,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson ([Provo, UT]: By the author, 1978), 245. “Academy,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 9 Nov. 1870, 1.  

[7] “Certificate of Baptism Duplicate for H O Office,” CHL (restricted access). Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, 10 Nov. 1872–27 Sept. 1878, p. 261, line 5757, Ida Ione Cook, 30 Aug. 1875, microfilm 183407 (restricted access), FHL.

[8] Jill Mulvay Derr, “The Two Miss Cooks: Pioneer Professionals for Utah’s Schools,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson ([Provo, UT]: By the author, 1978), 246. “Faculty and Board of Instruction, Third Annual Catalogue, Officers and Students, University of Deseret, Academical Year 1870–1871,” database and images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com, accessed 13 Feb. 2020). Ralph Vary Chamberlain, The University of Utah: A History of Its First Hundred Years, 1850–1950 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1960), 69, 88, 96–97, 105. University of Deseret Records, 1 Mar. 1869–4 July 1871, pp. 22–25, MS 4291, box 1, folder 1, images 28–31/33, CHL.

[9] Jill Mulvay Derr, “The Two Miss Cooks: Pioneer Professionals for Utah’s Schools,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson ([Provo, UT]: By the author, 1978), 246–250. University of Deseret Records, 1 Mar. 1869–4 July 1871, pp. 22–25, MS 4291, box 1, folder 1, images 28–31/33, CHL.  

[10] Jill Mulvay Derr, “The Two Miss Cooks: Pioneer Professionals for Utah’s Schools,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson ([Provo, UT]: By the author, 1978), 248. 

[11] EBW, Diary, 29 Aug. 1874; 5 Nov. 1874; 4 May 1875; 1 Apr. 1876; 2 Sept. 1887; 22 Oct. 1890; 4 Apr. 1891; 9 Apr. 1891; 17 June 1892.

[12] EBW, Diary, 2 Sept. 1874.

[13] EBW, Diary, 16 Apr. 1875.

[14] “Women’s Centennial Territorial Fair,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 June 1876, 4.

[15] Jill Mulvay Derr, “The Two Miss Cooks: Pioneer Professionals for Utah’s Schools,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson ([Provo, UT]: By the author, 1978), 250. “Correspondence,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 19 Dec. 1877, 734. Mary E. Cook, St. George, Utah Territory, to John Taylor; John Taylor, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Mary E. Cook, First Presidency Correspondence, CR 1 180, CHL.

[16] Susa Young Gates, History of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1911), 88–89. EBW, Diary, 4 Sept. 1887.

[17] Susa Young Gates, History of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1911), 88–89. EBW, Diary, 17 June 1892.

[18] 1900 U.S. Census, Fayette, Onondaga Co., NY, ED 53, p. 239A, Mary E. Cook. Grace Beauchamp Lodder, Genealogical Records of Families of Lafayette, Onondaga, New York, p. 24, microfilm 1425345, DGS 7857728, FHL.