William Mordecai Cooke Sr. (December 11, 1823 – April 14, 1863) was a prominent

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

politician.

Biography

William Mordecai Cooke was born in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

on December 11, 1823. He earned a law degree at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1843, and later moved to

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, where he briefly served as a judge. He married Elise von Phul in St. Louis on November 17, 1846, and they had seven children. He represented the state in the

Provisional Confederate Congress The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing body ...

in 1861 to 1862, and in the First Confederate Congress from 1862 to 1863. He died in office, in Petersburg, Virginia on April 14, 1863.

References

1823 births 1863 deaths Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Missouri 19th-century American politicians Politicians from Portsmouth, Virginia {{Missouri-politician-stub