Person:Richard Cocke (1)

Richard Cocke (1597 – 1665) was a prominent colonial Virginia planter and politician. He established a politically and social dynasty that firmly seated itself as among the most prominent in Virginia. Among his more prominent descendants are U.S. presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush and descendants closely connected with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Richard Cocke.

Records in Henrico County, Virginia

RICHARD COCKE, 3,000 acs., Henrico Co., March 6, 1636/7, Page 413. Easterly upon land granted to John Price, now in the tenure of ROBERT HALLUM, Westerly upon land of Thomas Harris & Southerly upon the main river. Due for the trans. of 3 score pers: (All named). [Ibid., p. 54] & [Meyer & Dorman. Adventures of Purse and Person, p. 89]. {NOTE: A repatent of 2,000 acres of this tract, issued 1 March 1639/40, named the three plantations identified with the Cocke family: "Bremo," "Malvern Hill," and Curles." Richard Cocke was the grandfather of Elizabeth Cocke, who married Lancelot Woodward, ca. 1705. Robert Hallom was the father of Sarah Hallom, who married Samuel Woodward, son of Christopher Woodward (1594-1650). There was an Alice Harris, widow of Thomas Harris, who sued the estate of the late George Woodward, during the 1670's, in James City County.}. [Source: http://www.woodwardsof17thcenturyvirginia.info/index/VIRGINIA_(1635-1653)]

Will of Richard Cocke

[Transcript Source: http://www.virginians.com/redirect.htm?topics&6868]

4 October 1663
In the name of God Amen I Richard Cocke Sen’r being at present in perfect health & memorie for which I render hearty thanks to Almighty God my Creator Yet Considering the uncertainty of this transitory life have therefore for the peaceable settling the little Estate God in his Goodness hath given me made and ordained this my last will and testament hereby reversing all former wills at any time made by me. Imprimis I bequeath my Soule to God that gave it trusting in the merits of my Redeemer to obtain a joyfull Ressurection & my bodie to the grave to be Interred in my Orchard near my first Wife decently according to the Usual solumnities of the Church of England & my estate I dispose as followeth. It. After my debts are paid I give & bequeath the one third of all my estate whether in land or Chattels to my loving wife Mary Cocke. The sd third of the land to be held by her for her natural life & no longer & it is hereby declared that my will is that she lay no Claime to any part of that land formerly given by me to my sons Thomas & Richard Cocke but that they enjoy the same entirely to them and their heirs according to a deed of gift thereof recorded in the Henrico Court.

It. I give & bequeath to my sons William & John the residue of that dividend of land not disposed of by the aforesaid deed of gift & the will always excepting in the gift the 640 a. called Bremo to be held to them & their heirs forever to be equally divided between them when the come of age. I give and bequeath the afore excepted 640 a. of land to my Eldest Son Richard Cocke, the heir males of his body lawfully begotten, for want of such I give to my son Thomas Cocke & the Heir males of his body lawfully begotton, for want of such issue to my son William Cocke & the heir males of his body lawfully begotten, & for want of such heir males, to the heir males of John Cocke, & for want of such to the heir males of Richard Cocke, My Youngest Son, provided always that my first named son Richard if Live to inherit it or any other of my sons or their heirs, that after my decease first possess the sd land, shall pay to my daughter Elizabeth Cocke for her portion one hundred pounds sterling & if he & they shall resist payment or fail of making good payment of the said Sum to the sd. Elizabeth when she attained the age of Seaventeen years or at the day of her Marriage, which shall first happen, then the sd land to be extended to the use of the sd Eliz: until the said Sum by the Annuall value of the land shall be accomplished in the Case the sd Elizabeth should die before either of the sd terms of 17 years of age or Marriage, then my will is that the sd hundred pounds be paid to my other children by my now wife, equal portion as they shall attain lawful age.

It. I give & bequeath to my now youngest son Richard Cocke & his heirs seaven hundred and fifty acres of Land out of the pattent of land taken up jointly between Mr. John Beauchamp & my self of which seaventeen hundred and fifty acres belong to me, the residue of which seaventeen hundred & fifty I have already given & hereby Confirm to my sons Thomas Cocke & Richard Cocke the older & their heirs. And for my personall Estate I do hereby acknowledge that all the Cattle of my older Son Richard & the hogs being of a distinct rank & all known by my Cozen Daniell & confirm they being never by me refuted as any part of my proper Estate. As for the rest of my Estate my wifes third being deducted I give to be equally divided between my Children by my present wife Mary Cocke, willing that the Mares & Stock of Cattle & Sheep run in Common for their joint benefit & as any of my said Children come of Age, that they receive their equall portion of the female Stock then in being & all the males Tawear [?] to the Guardian of my children.

It. I give & bequeath to my Couzen Daniell Jordan as much manored land as he & his hands shall be able & well manned & with a Hoame during his life or abode in this Country provided he accept the same upon these Tuwear [?] Vizt. to employ himself & one Hand more my Son finding home & Seede & all houseing & taccling belonging to it & one hand more & to have my said Cozen the third part of this ___din of all ___ labours.

Item. My will is that in Case my Son Thomas Cocke will looke to the Mill for the use of my other Children until they come of Age, that then he shall have for his paines & care the grinding of his Corn to be free & three thousand p’dd of Tobacco & C to come out of the profits my wife’s Children’s estate ….

It. I make my loving Wife Mary Cocke & my Sons Thomas & Richard Cocke to be my Executors of this my will, appointing my wife the Guardian for all my Young Children born of her until they come of age & in Case of her decease then my said Sons Thomas & Richard. It. I desire & request the justices of the County of Henrico in whose fatherly Care & integrity towards the Widow and fatherless Ine___se much Confidence to bee my Overseers of this my last will & Testament & to take Care that it be performed according to the true Intent & meaning thereof. Dated under my hand and Seale this fourth day of October 1665.

Rich’d Cocke Senr.

1. ↑ Baptism Record for Richard Cocke, in 1597, Sidbury Parish Register, P61/A/1.

   The year of our Lord God 1597. Richard Cocke the son of Thomas Cocke was baptized the thirteenth day of December.
   -----
   [source = OLT, record not verified. Possibly located in “The Parish Registers of Stottesdon, Shropshire, 1565-1712”, Transcribed and Indexed by CFR Potter, 2005]

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Richard Cocke, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.

   The first Virginia record of Richard Cocke is of December 24, 1627, when he appeared at the court in Jamestown to give testimony as the purser of the Thomas and John that four men of Mr. Sharples had run away while being transported to Virginia.[2] Cocke again appeared on February 10, 1629 as Patrick Canada’s attorney and ordered to take custody of Thomas Hunter’s estate on behalf of Patrick Canada.[2]
   
   [2] McCartney, Martha W. (Apr 30, 2007). Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 214.

3.   William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. (Omohundro Institute).

   Vol V (1897), pp 159-164.
   GENEALOGY OF THE ADAMS FAMILY OF NEW KENT AND HENRICO COUNTIES, VA.
   Compiled by C.W. Coleman.
   
   II. EBENEZAR ADAMS ... married about 1718, Tabitha, daughter of Richard Cocke, "the younger of Bremo" (Richard, of Bremo, Lt. Col. Richard, of Bremo and Malvern Hill, the emigrant)
   -----
   [cos1776 Note of Caution: it appears that there is an error in this article re: the father of Richard Cocke.]

4.   Richard Cocke of Henrico, Virginia By Steven R. Day, in Unknown Source.

   [possibly from Magazine of Virginia Genealogy 45 (3)]
   
   Richard Cocke of Henrico, Virginia By Steven R. Day
   November 1, 2007
   
   English Origins
   
   The Parish of Stottesdon lies in Shropshire, England. (Another name for Shropshire is Salop). In the late 1500s, the Parish of Stottesdon consisted of about sixteen small communities including Pickthorn, Walfurlong, the Heath, Walton, and Stottesdon. Most of these communities had between three and ten families. Stottesdon had about twenty families. This was the time of Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare.
   
   Pickthorn dates back to a bit before 1165. In 1582, Pickthorn belonged to John Purslow who leased the land to about four families. William Cocke and his brother, Thomas Cocke, headed two of these families. Other members of the Cocke family lived nearby in Walfurlong and the Heath. William and Elizabeth Cocke had sons named Richard, Thomas, William, John, a daughter named Margery all of whom were unmarried in November of 1582. They also had a daughter who married Thomas Deuxhill. William and Elizabeth may have also had a son, Robert. It was in 1582 that William (the father) died at Pickthorn.[i][1]
   
   In the winter of 1596, Elizabeth Cocke was living in the parish of Stottesdon (probably in Walton) at the home of her son-in-law, Thomas Deuxhill.[ii][2] She was very ill. Elizabeth’s granddaughters, Mary and Joyce Deuxhill, had spent three nights watching over Elizabeth. In the early hours of Christmas morning, Elizabeth realized that death would soon claim her. She asked Mary to call her son, John Cocke, who was sleeping in another room of the house. That same morning, Roger Deuxhill (brother of Mary and Joyce), arose early and set out from his home for a trip to Bewdley Market. On his way, he stopped to check on his grandmother, Elizabeth. It was about the break of day when Roger entered the house and found Mary and Joyce (his sisters) with John Cocke (his uncle) gathered to hear the last will and testament of Elizabeth. Elizabeth directed that all debts due from her son, Thomas, should be forgiven. All the rest of her tangible possessions were to be given to Elizabeth’s son, John. Elizabeth lived another three days.
   
   Thomas Cocke (son of William and Elizabeth) married and had a daughter, Eleanor, who was baptized in the Parish of Stottesdon.[iii][3] Thomas also had a son, Richard Cocke, who was baptized on December 13, 1597 in the Parish of Sidbury, which is just over one mile to the northeast of Pickthorn.[iv][4] On this cold winter day, the choice of the Parish of Sidbury was about 1/4 mile closer than the Parish of Stottesdon. It was this Richard Cocke of Pickthorn who would later travel to Virginia.
   
   
   Settlement in Jamestown
   
   Three ships carrying the first 105 settlers sailed from London in December of 1606. In May of 1607, they arrived at what would become Jamestown, Virginia. The first supply ship returned with 100 to 120 additional settlers in January of 1608 to find only 38 survivors of the original settlers. By the end of 1609, a total of between 500 to 735 people had come to Jamestown. In May of 1610, another ship arrived and found only 60 survivors. Ninety percent of the colonists had died during the first three years due to starvation, disease, and Indian attacks.
   
   In August of 1610, the Swan arrived at Jamestown from London. The Swan was about the seventeenth ship to bring settlers to Jamestown, Virginia. A young girl named Cecily was one of the passengers. She was about ten years old. When Cecily was about 16 years old, she married a man named Baley. They had a daughter named Temperance Baley near 1617. Cecily’s husband died within the next few years.
   
   Life in early Jamestown was harsh. As previously mentioned, many colonists died from starvation, disease, or Indian attacks. Any woman needed a husband to provide protection and food. Cecily married for a second time to Samuel Jordan. It was in 1620 that Samuel was recognized for 10 years and Cecily was recognized for nine years in Virginia. Cecily was about 20 years old. This would have been young in England, but was not young in Jamestown. Any person who had lived 10 years in Jamestown had survived through difficult trials. Both Samuel and Cecily were given the titles of “Ancient Planters” and granted land. Samuel was granted 450 acres of land and Cecily was granted 100 acres of land.[v][5] This was just outside of Jamestown at the confluence of the James and Appotomattox Rivers. Samuel named his land “Jordan’s Journey”.
   
   The document that granted land to Samuel and Cecily Jordan (in 1620) noted that it was adjacent to land owned by Temperance Baley (Cecily’s daughter) who would have been only 3 years old at the time. Temperance had inherited her land from her father. On March 22, 1622, the Pohatan Indians launched a massacre killing 347 of the settlers at and near Jamestown. One survivor rowed out to Jordan’s Journey providing a warning that the Indians were coming. This gave time to prepare and few lives were lost at Jordan’s Journey. It seems a horrible reality that if Cecily’s first husband had not died, it is likely that Cicely and Temperance would not have survived the Indian massacre.
   
   Temperance Baley married John Browne when she was about 13 years old. They had two children. John died after they had been married only two years.
   
   By 1632, Richard Cocke had come from Pickthorn, England to Virginia. He married John Browne’s widow, Temperance Baley, and provided 6,397 pounds of tobacco to pay for the debts of John Browne. Richard Cocke was extremely successful in Virginia. In 1636, Richard Cocke received 3000 acres of land for the transportation of 60 people to Virginia.[vi][6] Richard Cocke and Temperance had two children. Their first son, Thomas, was named after Richard’s father. Their second son was named Richard. Temperance died rather young.
   
   In 1639, Virginia was realizing that they needed to control the quality and quantity of tobacco that they were growing in order to keep prices up. The General Assembly mandated the destruction and burning of excess and low quality tobacco. No more than twelve hundred thousand pounds was to be grown for the year and for the next two years. Fourteen viewers were appointed for Henrico County. Richard Cocke and two others were appointed for Curles, Bremo, and Turkey Island.[vii][7]
   
   Richard Cocke later married Mary Aston. Richard and Mary had five children. Their first son, William, was named after Richard’s uncle and grandfather. Their second son, John, was named after Richard’s uncle. Their third son was named Richard. To differentiate the two sons named Richard, the son by Richard’s first wife, Temperance, was called Richard the Elder. The son by Richard’s second wife, Mary, was called Richard the Younger. Richard and Mary had a third child, Elizabeth, named after Richard’s grandmother. Richard and Mary also had a fifth child, Edward who was born shortly after Richard’s death.
   
   Over the years, Richard Cocke continued to build his plantations. He owned three plantations named Curles, Bremo, and Malvern Hills. These totaled over 7,000 acres of land. These plantations that Richard Cocke had built would remain in the family for generations.
   
   When Richard Cocke wrote his last will and testament in 1665, he asked to be buried in his orchard near his first wife (Temperance). Richard was 68 years old when he was buried at Bremo, but only his two oldest sons had reached the age of majority. Richard asked his oldest son, Thomas, to operate his mill to provide for the rest of the children until they should come of age.
   
   
   
   [i][1] Last Will and Testament of William Cocke of Pickthorn, 1582, Hereford Record Office Probate Records, 13/2/45
   [ii][2] Cocke vs. Cocke – 1597, Transcription by CFR Potter, 2006
   [iii][3] “The Parish Registers of Stottesdon, Shropshire, 1565-1712”, Transcribed and Indexed by CFR Potter, 2005
   [iv][4] Baptism Record for Richard Cocke, 1597, Sidbury Parish Register, P61/A/1
   [v][5] Virginia State Land Office Patents No. 8, 1689-1695, p. 125 & 126 (Reel 8), The Library of Virginia
   [vi][6] Virginia State Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643, Vol. 1 & 2, p. 413 (Reel 1), The Library of Virginia
   [vii][7] Acts of the General Assembly, Jan. 6, 1639-40, William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, 2nd Series, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1924, pp. 16-35.

5.   Unknown source.

   12. RICHARD4 COCKE (THOMAS3, WILLIAM2, COCKE1) was born 1597 in Stottesdon, Shropshire, England (Source: Parish Register of Sidbury, Shropshire, England, The year of our Lord God 1597. Richard Cocke the son of Thomas Cocke was baptized the thirteenth day of December.), and died 1665 in Bremo, Henrico County, Virginia. He married (1) TEMPERANCE BALEY Bef. June 5, 1632, daughter of BALEY and CECILY. She was born Abt. 1617 in Jamestown, Virginia, and died Unknown. He married (2) MARY ASTON Aft. 1639. She died Unknown.
   
   Children of RICHARD COCKE and TEMPERANCE BALEY are:
   13.i. THOMAS5 COCKE, b. Abt. 1639, Bremo, Henrico County, Virginia; d. December 10, 1696, Malvern Hills, Henrico County, Virginia.
   
   ii. RICHARD COCKE, b. December 10, 1639, Virginia (Source: Wm. & Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, 2nd Series, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 133-136, HERE LYES INTERRED THE BO[DY OF] RICHARD COCKE [S]ON OF RICHARD COCKE OF B[REMO] HE WAS BORN THE 10th DA[Y OF D]ECEMBER 1639 AND D[E]PARTE[D L]IFE THE 20th OF NOVEMBER 17[06].); d. November 20, 1706, Bremo, Henrico, Virginia.
   
   Children of RICHARD COCKE and MARY ASTON are:
   iii. WILLIAM5 COCKE, d. Unknown.
   iv. JOHN COCKE, d. Unknown.
   v. RICHARD COCKE, b. Virginia; d. Unknown, Virginia.
   vi. ELIZABETH COCKE (Source: Last will and testament of Richard Cocke - October 4, 1665, Names all children except Edward (not yet born). Then names wife, Mary, and sons, Thos & Richard Cocke Senr., as executors. Appoints "... my Wife the Guardian for all my Younger Children born of her -- until they come to age...". No other arrangements are made for the guardianship of his minor daughter, Elizabeth.), b. Aft. 1648 (Source: Last will and testament of Richard Cocke - October 4, 1665, Refers to daughter "... Elizabeth when she attains the age of Seaveneteen years..."); d. Aft. 1678.
   vii. EDWARD COCKE, b. Abt. 1666; d. Unknown.