William Cook was a Civil War era merchant in Marion and served as a City Trustee after the Civil War yet only a small amount of information could be found about him. He appears to have been born in Southern Illinois in 1825. In the 1850 census, William was found living with the William R. Gregg family near Equality, Illinois in Gallatin County. He was listed as being 26 years old, a farmer, and had real estate estimated at $600, which was doing quite well for that time.
On January 22, 1852, William married Margaret Gillett in Gallatin County and by the 1860 federal census were found to be living in Marion. William was listed as 36 and his wife Margaret as 33. They had three children, Cynthia age 7, Margaret V. age 4, William R. age 4 months. A single female named Mary J. Reynolds, aged 22, was living with them. All were noted to have been born in Illinois. William was a merchant and had real estate valued at $800 and a personal estate valued at $9,400.
It is known that there was a store in Marion in 1859 called Westbrook and Cook’s Dry Goods on the south side of the square. The Westbrook was F.M. Westbrook, an early Marion merchant. It is also known that F.M. Westbrook and William Cook, signed off together on three Guardian bonds together from 1860-1869, so it’s likely that they were business partners.
In 1863, Williams Civil War draft registration listed him as 38 years old and a merchant. When the Methodist Evangelical church was formed in Marion on Sept. 17, 1864, his wife Margaret was one of the founding members. The church would later become the Methodist Church South and even later the Aldersgate Methodist Church.
In 1866, following the Civil War, General John A. Logan, turned to politics and was quickly charged with being a conspirator to the Confederacy in Marion back in 1861 when secession papers were drawn up. A number of Marion prominent businessmen came to his defense and disputed the claim against Logan. One of those businessmen listed as defending Logan was William Cook.
William served as City Trustee for the city of Marion in the years 1866, 1867 and 1868. This was when city elections were held each year and before the city took on the Alderman form of city government.
William’s tax bill in 1868, indicated he had real estate taxed at a value of $700. His personal property assessment showed he owned one horse, one pig, one cow and had one clock in his house. You were obviously taxed on clocks in those days.
By the 1870 federal census, the family was living in East Marion Township, using the Crab Orchard Post Office. William was listed as 44 years old, his wife Margaret as 43. Their children were noted as Cynthia age 17, Margaret Vina age 14, William R. age 12 and Nora B. aged 8 months. Mary J. Reynolds is still living with them at age 28 and is listed as a domestic servant. William was a store clerk and estimated his real estate at $1,100.
William’s life turned out to be a short one, though no obit or definite death info could be found, he is thought to have died prior to 1874 and is buried in the old Aikman Cemetery, sometimes known as the old Marion Cemetery. His wife Margaret, also died not long after him. She passed away on December 30, 1879 at age 52 of phthisis pulmonalis, a wasting disease of the lungs. She was interred in the Marion Cemetery.
(Sources: Federal Census Records, Marion Monitor & The Egyptian Press newspapers; compiled by Sam Lattuca 7/27/2023)