M. Permelia Milke

Notes:

The following is from a letter written by Julie Aveling for a Cook Family Round-robin letter sometime in the 1976. Julie was the daughter of Julia Cook Aveling. Julia was the sister of Ezra Albert Cook, father of Gerhard, father of Alan, father of Andrew, father of Matthew and Mason.

"My mother, Julia Cook Aveling, if she were alive, would be 104 years old in the Centennial Year. She had devotedly loved her grandmother, Pamela Milke Cook, born in 1810 in New York State. Apparently Pamela Cook was an unusual woman who lived a hard life with a great sense of independence, spiced by a lively sense of humor at the same time, maintaining great interest in people and things around her and in the future of the country. My mother's account of Pamela Cook and her stories adds insight to the way of life in the early years of our country. Then life was hard and childhood short. As an older child she tended babies when she was practically a baby herself. When she was 8 years old, she was sent to the far meadow to watch the cattle wallowing in the sharp tall swamp grasses and wandering thru the deep woods. Since this was not considered a demanding task, a tiny brother who had been seriously injured in an accident became her charge. She often sat in the cold raw weather for hours holding him until one day he died in her arms. At 10 she was considered a woman and did a woman's chores. At 12(1822) her parents considered her old enough to become a wage earner and they sent her to the home of a wealthy uncle in upper New York state where she joined a large staff of helpers, some related and some not. Here for the first time she found plenty to eat, plenty of help and a life full of joy and interest without the eternal grinding struggle just to live. A girl married early in these days. If unwed at 16 she was considered an old maid so at 15 grandmother began to feel the weight of her years.

"A young itinerant minister, Ezra Sprague Cook, had come to her church to preach for a 'spell.' He supported himself partly by farming and partly by donations. He was extremely learned and read the Bible straight from the Hebrew. Pamela's tiny form, snappy black eyes and lively ways warmed even his rather chilly blood and he persuaded her to become his wife. As usual with marriage at that time, life immediately became difficult and strenuous. Children came quickly. His salary was $250 a year with an increase of $5 a year as each child was born. One by one, five children came along to fill the tiny house. Even at that time it was hard to provide for 7 people on $275 a year so the church held 'donation' parties which brought them produce and other goods. The only trouble was that usually donations consisted of produce in season, corn in corn harvest time, etc. and carrots and cabbage in plenty while the more desirable produce did not appear among the gifts.

"In addition to being a woman with all the housekeeping chores of that age, bearing and tending five children, tiny little Pamela had a large vegetable garden. With the desire of a young girl for beauty, she edged the garden with flowers. One of the sorrows of her life was that her husband claiming that they could not afford cleared land for flowers, pulled them up, replaced them with onions.

"A friend in the church conceived the idea of helping the pastor's income by making an album quilt. Each lady parishoner embroidered her name on one quilt block and paid a dime to have it included in the quilt. The quilt was given to the pastor together with the proceeds which eased financial pressure briefly. The quilt was one of grandmother's life's treasures since it represented a period of concern for her by others and a brief cessation from grinding poverty.

"By the outbreak of the Civil War, several of her sons were called to the service of their country-- - my father, Ezra Cook, a very young soldier, fought in McClellan's army and was seriously wounded. Pamela went through the eternal travail of women who wait until 1865.

"In middle life, grandmother became a skilled 'Herb Woman' familiar with many kinds of illness and the remedies for them. Several doctors consulted her regularly and the formula for one of her cough medicines was widely used for many years.

"When she was still a young woman her husband died. As was customary in those days as a widow, she came to live with our family, consisting of her son (my father), my mother, and a lively family of ten children. With us she lived out the remainder of her life.

"We truly loved our dear little grandmother who was bright and lively as a cricket. Her fascinating stories spanned the better part of a century from the days of witchcraft and barely missing the invention of the airplane which she had been anticipating momentarily for many years.

"When she first lived with her wealthy uncle (1822), two old women lived in a cottage nearby. One summer his(the uncle's) cattle became sick and died one by one and he therefore consulted a witch doctor. The witch doctor said that this was undoubtedly the work of the two witches who had entered into the cows making them sick. If the witch remained in the cow after sunrise the cow must die and the only remedy was for her uncle to stand over the cow beating it thoroughly til sunrise thus driving the witch out. For the time being the results were satisfactory and the witches were defeated by presently trouble arose again disguised as wild turkeys- - -the two old women often blew over his fields filled with evil intent and planning destruction. The witch doctor said undoubtedly the two old women had taken the form of turkeys and were devastating the farm. With great ceremony the witch doctor needed two silver bullets with which to kill the turkeys. When Pamela's uncle fired the first bullet it struck one of the turkeys in the leg and one of the old ladies was lame ever thereafter in that leg. However the witches found other ways of troubling their good neighbors so the witch doctor came back to attend to things personally. The entire household, family members, and hired help were sent to the big barn where they were told to stand close together within a big circle marked out by the witch doctor. In the middle, he had a big boiling cauldron of weird contents which he treated with spells. At the proper moment, he placed the contents of the cauldron in a large jar which was carefully closed, carried out and placed in a high soft place and all were warned to leave it alone. All was well in the household for some years until a curious man took it down and spilled it causing a loud explosion followed by renewed misfortunes. But grandma was not old fashioned even though she believed in witches till her life's end.

"In her later life she had read Buliver Syston's 'Coming Race' and believed every word of it and every day expected the advent of the airplane- - - indeed she told us and truly believed that one night when she had heard a knocking on the window she went to it and opened it and in flew an old neighbor in his neat little airplane. He had come from California, she said, to persuade her to return to the land of eternal sunshine; he said he would take care of her and she would never put her hands in cold water (the height of luxury in that age), she would always ride in a hack and never walk. She was seriously tempted by the promise of luxury and even more by the ride in the airplane but decided that it was not practical since she was then well over 90 years of age. A short time later she heard a flapping sound beside her bed. She was frightened and disturbed until one of those making the sounds told her they were angels coming to take her home because she had led them toward Heaven many years before. They gave her their names and she recognized them as friends. She then told us about them and said that she had promised to go with them on the morrow which she did quite happily, leaving a great void for those who loved her.

"We missed our little grandmother greatly- - - I can still see her chuckling until the lavender ribbons on her black lace cap bobbed and wiggled. Everyone loved her from her own children down to the great grandchildren who were always cause of confusion with her. Hers was a life full of change and color, including an enormous amount of hard grinding work- - -
even in her greatly advanced age her projects never ceased. She kept her descendants knitted up with stockings and mittens and when they gave out as further prospects, she skipped out of the house in great secrecy to a small nearby dry goods store. On checking, much to our chagrin, we found she was knitting golf stockings for this store so that she would be independent of any help for her small needs. Grandmother was proud of her family- - - one son, Nathaniel Cook, became a minister. My father, Ezra Cook, owned a large stationery store and print business in Chicago. Two daughters, Louisa and Mary, married the Hemingway brothers of Oak park, and her youngest son, David Caleb Cook, became the founder and owner of the well known religious publishing house, David C. Cook of Elgin, Illinois.

"Yes, my grandmother made the history of our country from its early years to the advent of the airplane come alive for us. We loved her stories of the early days of their way of life and of the witches she believed in. As I look back though, she was the nicest, most human, cutest little witch of all, bewitching everyone who knew her."

US Federal Census 1900 - Permelia Cook is living with her son, Ezra Asher Cook and his family.
She is 90 years of age.

Died:
age 91

M. married Rev Ezra Sprague Cook on 16 Jan 1834 in West Fulton,,NY. Rev (son of Nathaniel Cook and Hulda Sprague) was born on 01 May 1811 in West Fulton,Schoharie,NY; died on 15 Jan 1881 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet]

1. Nathaniel Ezra Cook was born on 26 Mar 1836 in West Fulton, Scoharie Co,NY; died on 14 Dec 1901 in Winters,,CA.
2. Louisa Desire Cook was born on 03 Feb 1839 in Coxsackie,Greene Co,NY; died in 1879.
3. Ezra Asher Cook was born on 05 Nov 1841 in New Windsor, Orange, New York, USA; died in Sep 1911 in Wheaton,, IL.
4. Mary Amelia Cook was born on 11 Mar 1844 in Great Barrington,,MA; died in 1927.
5. Ruth Helena Cook was born on 10 Jul 1846 in Windham Center, Greene Co,NY; died on 25 May 1847 in Windham Center, Greene Co,NY.
6. David Caleb Cook was born on 28 Aug 1850 in East Worchester,,NY; died in 1927 in Elgin, IL.
7. Emma R. Cook was born on 11 Jan 1851 in East Worchester,Otsego Co,NY; died on 15 Sep 1858 in Proviso, IL.

Notes:

Source: History and Genealogy of the MILK - MILKS FAMILY, by Grace Croft, Author, Compiler and Editor-in-Chief, 1235 E. Aspen Ave., Provo, Utah. (1952). Book found in the Mormon Library, Salt Lake City, UT.

Chaper VIII: Benjamin Milk (1780)

Benjamin Milk, b. 10 Ocgt. 1780 in Washington Co., NY (son of Benjamin 1750); m. Mary Baker, b. 28 Nov. 1780, dau. of Daniel Baker. Benjamin served in the War of 1812 under Lt. Col. McComb of 3rd Regiment of Artillery. He bought a farm of 108 acres in the Town of Jefferson, Schoharie Co., NY, known as Bruyn Tract, Lot 31, map of 1793. This was sold by Severyn Bruyn, of Kingstown, NY, who was also interested in selling the Reverend Freeborn Garrettson property to Benjamin (1750).

In 1825, Benjamin build, from stones on the farm, a house which is still occupied as the farm home. (A picture of this house appears on p. 123.) He was an expert stone mason and built a gristmill, now abandoned althought some of the walls are still in good condition. He owned and operated sawmills, as did his father. In his household, according to the census of 1825, there were woven during the year previous, 171 yards of cloth from wool and flax produced on the 40 acres of cleared farm land.

Benjamin d. 6 June 1856, and Mary d. 13 June 1844. Both are buried in the field near the stone house. The children of Benjamin and Mary were all born in Jefferson and all but Permelia and David lived most of their lives in this area, as have many of their descendants. Children - 11:

1) Deborah Milk, b. 24 Mar. 1802; m. John Rodman.
2) Stephen Milk, b. 7 Feb. 1804; m. 3 June 1829 Ann Eliza Dibble, dau. of Patrick
Dibble.
3) Betsey Milk, b. 20 Oct. 1805; m. Caleb Dibble.
4) Perlina Milk, b. 10 Jan. 1808; m. Winthrop Dyer.
5) PERMELIA MILK, b. 7 May 1810; m. REV. EZRA COOK.
6) Amanda Milk, b. 14 Apr. 1812, d. 30 May 1814.
7) Janet Milk, b. 1815; m. Redmond Judd.
8) Mary Milk, b. 11 Feb. 1818; unm.
9) David Milk, b. 15 May 1820; m. Lucinda Neer.
10) John Milk, b. 12 July 1822, d. 20 Nov. 1830.
11) Levi Milk, b. 14 Apr. 1825; m. Lemira Fuller. Children - 3:
a) Carrie Milk
b) Ralph Milk, d. 15 Jan 1919.
c) Pearl Milk, m. Mr. Ward of Oneonta,NY.

Benjamin married Mary Baker about 1800. Mary (daughter of Living) was born on 28 Nov 1780 in Washington Co.,,NY; died on 13 Jul 1844 in Jefferson,SchohaireCo,NY. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source: :"History and Genealogy of the Milk-Milks Family", by Grace Croft, Author, Compiler and Editor-in-Chief, 1235 E. Aspen Avenue, Provo, Utah, Publishes in Provo, Utah, 1st edition 1952, 2nd edition, revised, 1956. (Source found in LDS Library, Salt Lake City, Utah).

BONNY _-ADD notes from doc. page 96

Benjamin married Lydia. Lydia was born about 1753 in of Renssalaer and Delaware Co,NY. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Reference source: The History and Genealogy of the MILK - MILKS FAMILY, by Grace Croft, Author, Compiler and Editor-in-Chief, 1235 E. Aspen Ave., Provo, UT. Published 1st edition 1952, 2nd edition 1956. Book was found in the Mormon Family History Library, Salt Lake City.

Chaper V. JONATHAN MILK ( 1728)

Jonathan Milk, b. 9 Mar. 1728, Darmouth, MA (son of Job 1694), may be likened to Joseph of Old, "a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall."...

GENEALOGY OF MERCY TROWBRIDGE

For the interest of the ... descendents, genealogy is here included on the wife of Jonathan Milk, who was MERCY TROWBRIDGE (Strowbridge). (See pedigree chart, p. 65) According to Dartmouth, MA, marriage records: JONATHAN MILK and MERCY STROWBRIDGE of Dartmouth, dau. of Ruth, were married 8 Sep. 1747. TROWBRIDGE GENEALOGY, by Francis Bacon Trowbridge, states that the names of Strowbridge and Trowbridge are the same; it further mentions "John Trowbridge of Sandwich married 3 Feb. 1725-26 in Portsmouth, RI, Ruth Lawton of Dartmouth, MA. Children b. in Newport, RI., Mercy b. 30 Nov. 1726; George b. 25 May 1732."

RI Vital Records, Portsmouth Marriages: RUTH LAWTON and JOHN TROWBRIDGE, 3 Feb. 1725-6. Since later records mention only the name of his wife, RUTH, it is assumed that JOHN TROWBRIDGE either died within a few years or he lived elsewhere. There is no verification of such, but he may have been the John Trowbridge of Newport, RI, mariner, who, having been imprisoned for indebtedness, signed a petition which came before the general assembly of RI in October, 1735. (Petitions to the RI General Assembly - 1728-1733, Vol. II). Evidence that he was a "mariner" with and "indebtedness unto divers persons as well out of the colony as in," would seem to indicate that he had met with a disaster at sea of sufficient magnitude to place him in financial straits.

RUTH LAWTON was the dau. of George and Mary (Dennis) Lawton. Mary Dennis was b. 20 Sep. 1673, Portsmouth, RI, dau. of Robert Dennis and Sarah Howland. Sarah was a dau. of Henry, a brother of John Howland who came on the Mayflower (both sons of Henry Howland, Sr. of Fen Stanton, Huningsdonshire, England.) Henry , Jr. also lived in Plymouth where he was 1624 "owner of the black cow." "He apparently joined (1657) the Friends sect which was just beginning to spread in America and as a result endured for the remainder of his life the various persecutions to which this sect was subjected... Toward the end of his life he became a large possessor of real estate." He d. 17 Jan. 1671. His wife was Mary Newlands, daul of Henry and sister of William, the noted Quaker. (New England Genealogy, Cutter, Vol. IV)

(NOTE-- THERE IS MUCH MORE INFO IN MY FILE ON OTHER ANCESTORS OF JONATHAN MILK.)

Jonathan married Mercy Trowbridge on 08 Sep 1747 in Dartmouth,Bristol,MA. Mercy (daughter of John Trowbridge or Strowbridge and Ruth Lawton) was born on 30 Nov 1726 in Newport,Newport,RI; died before 1793 in Easton, Washington Co,NY. [Group Sheet]