Henry Christopher McCook (July 3, 1837 – 1911) was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

clergyman, naturalist, and prolific author on religion, history, and nature. He was a member of the celebrated

Fighting McCooks The Fighting McCooks were members of a family of Ohioans who reached prominence as officers in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Two brothers, Daniel and John McCook, and thirteen of their sons were involved in the army, making the fami ...

, a family of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

military officers and volunteers during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Life and work

McCook was born in

New Lisbon, Ohio Lisbon is a village in and the county seat of Columbiana County, Ohio, United States, along the Little Beaver Creek. The population was 2,597 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Salem micropolitan area, southwest of Youngstown and northwe ...

, to Dr.

John McCook John Thomas McCook (born June 20, 1944) is an American actor. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of the character Lance Prentiss on the television soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (from 1975 - 1980)''.'' Since March 1987, he h ...

and Julia Sheldon McCook. He learned the printing trade as a youth, then taught school for several years. attended Jefferson College. He was a member of the Franklin Literary Society and founded the chapter of Theta Delta Chi at Jefferson College. After graduation in 1859, he studied theology privately and in the Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the

41st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment {{Infobox military unit , unit_name= 41st Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry , image=Flag of Illinois.svg , image_size = 100 , caption=Illinois state flag , dates= August 10, 1861, to December 23, 1864 , country= United States , allegiance= Unio ...

as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

with the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

, and helped tend the wounded. As a minister in Clinton, Illinois, St. Louis, and Steubenville, Ohio, McCook became known for his compassion and intellect, and for his leadership in the movement to create

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

s. In 1869, he became pastor of the Seventh Presbyterian church of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life. Henry Christopher McCook

He spent his summers studying the behavior of ants and spiders. He published his observations and discoveries in a number of journals and books, as well as in a series of well-received illustrated children's books that explained the insects characteristics and traits in language and drawings for young minds. Many of McCook's books used illustrations drawn by

Daniel Carter Beard Daniel Carter "Uncle Dan" Beard (June 21, 1850 – June 11, 1941) was an American illustrator, author, youth leader, Georgist and social reformer who founded the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, which Beard later merged with the Boy Scouts of Ameri ...

, the founder of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

. In the summer of 1877, he travelled to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

to study agricultural ants. Two years later, McCook wrote ''The Natural History of the Agricultural Ant of Texas''. In 1889–93, he published his most ambitious work, ''American Spiders and Their Spinning Work'', in three illustrated volumes. He also wrote a book on his ancestors in the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

, and delivered a number of papers on Civil War history at meetings of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

veterans organization. McCook was Vice President of both the

American Entomological Society The American Entomological Society was founded on March 1, 1859. It is the oldest continuously operating entomology society in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the oldest scientific societies in the United States. It is headquartered in Philade ...

and the Academy of Natural Sciences. In 1880, Lafayette College conferred the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

to McCook. In 1895, he designed the official flag of the city of Philadelphia. He again served as an Army Chaplain during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

in 1898.

McCook's works

* ''Object and Outline Teaching'' (1871) * ''The Last Year of Christ's Ministry'' (1871) * ''The Last Days of Jesus'' (1872) * ''The Tercentenary Book'' (1873) * ''Mound-Making Ants of the Alleghenies, Their Architecture and Habits'' (1877) * ''The Natural History of the Agricultural Ant of Texas'' (1879) * ''Historic Ecclesiastical Emblems of Pan-Presbyterianism'' (1880) * ''Honey and Occident Ants'' (1882) * ''Tenants of an Old Farm: Leaves From the Note-book of a Naturalist'' (1884) * ''The Women Friends of Jesus'' (1884) * ''The Gospel in Nature'' (1887) * ''American Spiders and Their Spinning Work'' (1893) * ''Old Farm Fairies: A Summer Campaign Against King Cobweaver's Pixies'' (1895) * '' The Latimers: A Tale of the Western Insurrection of 1794'' (1897) * ''The Senator: A Threnody'' (life of Marcus A. Hanna) (1905)
''Nature's Craftsmen: Popular Studies of Ants and Other Insects''
(1907) * ''Ant Communities and How They Are Governed: A Study in Natural Civics'' (1909) * ''Prisca of Patmos: A Tale of the Days of St. John I'' (1911)

References

* * Whalen, Charles and Barbara, ''The Fighting McCooks: America's Famous Fighting Family'', Westmoreland Press, 2006. *

External links

* *
The Fairy Tale World of Henry McCookHenry C. McCook Illustrations of Insects
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCook, Henry Christopher 1837 births 1911 deaths People from Lisbon, Ohio Union Army chaplains American Presbyterian ministers American biologists American arachnologists People of the Spanish–American War Clergy from Philadelphia People of Ohio in the American Civil War Washington & Jefferson College alumni McCook family