Francis Cooke

1578 - 1663  (84 years)

• Name	Francis Cooke  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  Birth	26 Aug 1578	Essex, England   [5]
  Gender	Male
  Special	Mayflower
  FSID	LZ2F-MM7
  _DNA	I-M223 (I-FGC57464)
  Death	17 Apr 1663	Massachusetts, United States   [5, 6, 7]
  Person ID	I127	footsteps | Carroll, Mayflower-FC, Van Loan
  Last Modified	21 Apr 2025

  
  

  Father	Edward Cooke,   b. 1531, Essex, England d. 3 Oct 1579, Essex, England (Age 48 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Alice Caunton,   b. 1548, Essex, England d. 1617, Essex, England (Age 69 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	1550	London, England
  Family ID	F172	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Hester Le Mahieu,   b. 3 Jul 1585, Kentshire, England d. 21 May 1669, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (Age 83 years)
  Marriage	4 Jul 1603	Netherlands
  Children	+ 1. John Cooke,   b. 1 Jan 1607, Netherlands d. 9 Nov 1694, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States (Age 87 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural] + 2. Josiah Cooke, I,   b. 1610, England d. 17 Oct 1673, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States (Age 63 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F115	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Apr 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 26 Aug 1578 - Essex, England Marriage - 4 Jul 1603 - Netherlands Death - 17 Apr 1663 - Massachusetts, United States  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos		Francis Cooke B1578
  		Francis Cooke

  
  

  Documents

  Francis Cooke from the Great Migration series

  
  

• Notes

  MARRIAGE: Hester le Mahieu, 20 July 1603 at Leiden, Holland. DEATH: 17 April 1663 at Plymouth. yDNA HAPLOGROUP: I-M223 (I-FGC57464) Francis Cooke was born about 1583. His origins have not been discovered, but it is probable he was born in England, perhaps from the Canterbury or Norwich areas. He married Hester le Mahieu on 20 July 1603 in Leiden, Holland; she was a French Walloon whose parents had initially fled to Canterbury, England; she left for Leiden sometime before 1603. Francis Cooke and Hester le Mahieu's marriage occurred in Leiden, Holland six years before the Pilgrim church made its move there, so he was living there long before their arrival and must have met up with and joined them afterwards. What brought Francis to Holland in the first place is unknown: religious persecution of Protestants in England did not really begin until after King James took power in 1604. In 1606, the Cookes left Leiden and went to Norwich, co. Norfolk, for a time (for what reason is not known), but returned to have their first son, John, baptized at the French church in Leiden, sometime between January and March, 1607. In Holland, Cooke took up the profession of wool-comber. Francis, and his oldest son John, came on the Mayflower to Plymouth in 1620. He left behind his wife Hester and his other children Jane, Jacob, Elizabeth and Hester. After the Colony was founded and better established, he sent for his wife and children, and they came to Plymouth in 1623 onboard the ship Anne. Francis lived out his life in Plymouth. Although he kept a fairly low profile, he was on a number of minor committees such as the committee to lay out the highways, and received some minor appointments by the Court to survey land. He was a juror on a number of occasions, and was on the coroner's jury that examined the body of Martha Bishop, the 4-year old daughter who was murdered by her mother Alice. He received some modest land grants at various times throughout his life. He lived to be about 80 years old, dying in 1663; his wife Hester survived him by at least three years and perhaps longer.

  
  

• Sources

  [S61] U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, Place: Plymouth, Massachusetts; Year: 1620; Page Number: 47. Record for Francis Cooke [S61] U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, Place: Massachusetts; Year: 1620; Page Number: 184. [S260] Mayflower Births and Deaths, Vol. 1 and 2. Record for Elizabeth Cook [S84] Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775. Record for Robert Brent [S758] Ancestry.com, New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2013;). Record for Francis Cooke [S435] U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, United States; Volume Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. [S435] U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, USA; Volume Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700.