This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (July 2024) |
William Cocke (1672 – 1720) was an English politician and doctor in the early 1700s. He was among the first university-trained doctors in Colony of Virginia.
William Cocke | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1672 Sudbury, Suffolk, England |
| Died | January 22, 1720 (aged 47–48) |
| Burial place | Bruton Parish Church |
| Education | Queen's College Cambridge University |
| Occupation | Physician |
Early life
editWilliam Cocke was born in Sudbury, Suffolk County, England in 1672. He graduated from Queens’ College, University of Cambridge in 1693.
Career
editCocke arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1710, opening a medical practice[1] and servingas the personal physician of Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood. Cocke quickly became "an important force" in the politics of the Colony of Virginia.[1] On June 10, 1712, Spotswood took advantage of the departure of the former governor Edmund Jenings and made Cocke secretary of the colony. In August 1713, the Virginia leadership appointed Cocke to fill the vacant seat on the Virginia Governor's Council.[2]
In 1714, Cocke was one of three Privy Council members who helped the House of Burgesses draft a bill congratulating the new king George I on gaining the throne of Great Britain. From the summer of 1716 to the spring of 1718, Cocke was London, England, in part to address the Board of Trade on behalf of the colony. On October 22, 1720, Coocke was addressing a session of the General Court in Williamsburg and collapsed onto William Byrd II and died.
Personal life
editCocke's wife, Elisabeth Catesby, was the daughter of English naturalist Mark Catesby.[2] Their daughter Anne Cocke married Major William Woodford in 1722.[2] Their grandson, William Woodford, was a general in the Revolutionary War.
Cocke died on October 22, 1720, in Williamsburg. He was buried under the floor of the Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg. After Cocke's death, his wife eventually married John Holloway, speaker of the House of Burgesses.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Meyers, Amy R. W.; Pritchard, Margaret Beck (2012-12-01). Empire's Nature: Mark Catesby's New World Vision. UNC Press Books. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-8078-3856-3 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Wingfield, Marshall; Wingfield, Edward Maria (1924). A History of Caroline County, Virginia: From Its Formation in 1727 to 1924. Trevvet Christian. p. 184 – via Google Books.
- ^ Rowe, Linda H. "William Cocke (1672–1720)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 2024-07-31.