Anna Cook1 was born 1800 in New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY1, and died WFT Est. 1845-18951. She married William Mayhew on Abt. 1825 in Prob. New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY, son of Robert Mayhew III and Hannah Marchant.
Notes for Anna Cook: [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree #3481, Date of Import: Sep 29, 2003]
One document, received from relatives, mentioned that Anna Cook was a descendant of Capt. James Cook. Research indicates that Capt. Cook had no direct descendants, so she may have been a great niece. There is other evidence that there may have been a relationship however. There was an heirloom " watchfob" like device, an anchor made of gold and inscribed with the ship's name "Esperance", that was to have been handed down in the Mayhew line. It came with a story about a ship's captain taking the anchor from the crew of a defeated French or Spanish man of war and passing it on to relatives. It is documented (The Life of Captain James Cook, by J. C. Beaglehole, page 19, paragraph 2) that young James Cook, having recently joined the English Navy, and serving as Master's Mate aboard the bark "Eagle" was present at the defeat of the French gun ship "Esperance" in early November 1755, and is said to have taken some 24 prisoners aboard following its sinking. It is reasonable to assume that the Master's Mate would have drawn the duty to take charge of recovered prisoners and to search them and confiscate any weapons or other interesting personal items they might have had, prior to placing them in the ship's brig. The anchor, which is in very good condition, was probably a gift to a newly commissioned officer assigned to the Esperance, perhaps his first vessel, by his family. It is very characteristic of the style of gold jewelry of the mid 1700's, with a braid of human hair encased in the gold channel design. The anchor, now in the posession of Jeffrey P. Mayhew, will one day be passed on to Alan L. Mayhew with the most historically correct version of the story I can recreate.
More About Anna Cook and William Mayhew: Marriage 1: Abt. 1825, Prob. New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY. Marriage 2: WFT Est. 1828-18621
Anna Cook (b. 1800, d. WFT Est. 1845-1895)
Notes for Anna Cook: