... Jay Cooke was a noted 19th century banker, who was interested in the financing of almost every rail road of the country up to 1856. In 1861, he founded the firm of Jay Cooke & Co., of which his brother-in-law, Wm. G. Moorhead, was a partner. He negotiated the Pennsylvania State Loan, which re-established the credit of the State. During the Civil War, Mr. Cooke was appointed the sole subscription agent for the United States Treasury and floated enormous loans for the government. As such, he was on the opposite side of the war to his Confederate brother-in-laws and their sons, which must have caused some bad feelings between Dorothea and her brothers. However, after the War, Jay Cooke literally showered positions and opportunities, loans and gifts upon his family, including his Confederate in-laws.
Jay had met his wife when he stopped at Meadville, Pennsylvania where his brother, Henry D. Cooke, was a student at Allegheny College. Professor R.T.P. Allen was President of institution. His 15 year old
sister, Dorothea Elizabeth Allen, was visiting at the time. After her return to Baltimore and his return to Philadelphia, no great distance separated them until the spring of 1843 when Dorothea went with her
mother and brother to Lexington, Kentucky where her brother was to begin working at Transylvania University.
