Joel Cook (March 20, 1842December 15, 1910) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for

Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district Pennsylvania's second congressional district includes all of Northeast Philadelphia and parts of North Philadelphia east of Broad Street, as well as portions of Philadelphia's River Wards. It has been represented by Democrat Brendan Boyle since 2 ...

from 1907 to 1910.

Biography

Joel Cook was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

. He graduated from Central High School in 1859. He studied law with William B. Reed and at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1863. He practiced law for a few years but left the profession to become a journalist. 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 ...

, Cook was a correspondent in Washington, D.C., and with the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

for

the Philadelphia Press ''The Philadelphia Press'' (or ''The Press'') is a defunct newspaper that was published from August 1, 1857, to October 1, 1920. The paper was founded by John Weiss Forney. Charles Emory Smith was editor and owned a stake in the paper from 1880 un ...

. He was on the editorial staff of the ''

Philadelphia Public Ledger The ''Public Ledger'' was a daily newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, published from March 25, 1836, to January 1942. Its motto was "Virtue Liberty and Independence". For a time, it was Philadelphia's most popular newspaper, but circulation de ...

'' from 1865 to 1882, and the financial editor from 1883 to 1907. He also worked as the chief American correspondent for the

London Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (f ...

. He was president of the board of wardens for the port of Philadelphia (1891–1907). He also served as president of the board of trade and of the Vessel Owners and Captains’ Association and as member of the

Union League of Philadelphia The Union League of Philadelphia is a private club founded in 1862 by the Old Philadelphians as a patriotic society to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln. As of 2022, the club has over 4,000 members. Its main building was built in 1865 and ...

He was elected to Congress as a Republican to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

John E. Reyburn John Edgar Reyburn (February 7, 1845 – January 4, 1914) was an American politician from Ohio who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district from 1890 to 1897, Pennsylvania' ...

. He was reelected to the

61st United States Congress The 61st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1909, to ...

and served from 1907 until his death in Philadelphia. He was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in Philadelphia.

Legacy

The Cook-Wissahickon School in Philadelphia is named in his honor.

Bibliography

England, Picturesque and Descriptive
Philadelphia, Porter and Coates, 1882
A Holiday Tour in Europe
Philadelphia, David McKay, Publisher, 1889
An Eastern Tour at Home
Philadelphia, David McKay, Publisher, 1889
America, Picturesque and Descriptive - Volume 1
Philadelphia, Henry T. Coates & Co., 1900
The Philadelphia National Bank - A Century's Record 1803-1903
Philadelphia, Wm.F. Fell Company, 1903
Switzerland, Picturesque and Descriptive
Philadlephia, Henry T. Coates & Co., 1904
America and Her Insular Possessions - Volume 2
Philadelphia, The John C. Winston Co., 1906
Eastern Countries
Philadelphia, The John C. Winston Co., 1910

Citations

Sources

Retrieved on 2009-04-25
The Political Graveyard

External links