Eli Cook (1814–1865) was Mayor of the City of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, serving in 1853 and from 1854 to 1855. He was born in Palatine Bridge, New York on January 23, 1814. He took up law in 1830, passed the bar exam, and in 1837 he practiced in Tennessee and Mississippi with rebel General Simon B. Buckner. In 1838, he moved to Buffalo where he became one of the leading criminal lawyers. He married around 1838, but his wife died soon after; he re-married in 1843, to Sarah L. He was appointed city attorney in 1845, and again in 1851. He was elected mayor on March 1, 1853, as the Democratic candidate. During his term, the city charter was revised to make the mayor's term two years and the Common Council would elect its own presiding officer; the mayor would no longer be president. Additionally, many of the city offices that were filled by Council appointment were now to be elective. The charter also annexed Black Rock into the city of Buffalo. He was reelected for a second term on November 8, 1853, as the first two-year Buffalo mayor, and the first mayor to serve consecutive terms. After serving as mayor he returned to his law practice. He died on February 25, 1865, and was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

References

1814 births 1865 deaths Mayors of Buffalo, New York Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo) People from Palatine Bridge, New York New York (state) Democrats 19th-century American politicians {{BuffaloNY-stub