William Simpson Cook

William Simpson Cook
Written by Margaret Cook Wilson - daughter

William Simpson Cook

All my ancestors on my father William Simpson Cook's side were Scotch. They lived in the towns of Sauchie, Dollar and Clackmannan in the County of Clackmannan, Scotland.

My grandfather and grandmother, David Cook and Margaret Simpson Cook, who married in the year 1824, made their home in Kingcarden, Perthshire Scotland, where their three sons, James Simpson (11 July 1825), William Simpson-my father (2 February 1827), and David Simpson (19 January 1829), were born.

Margaret Simpson died in 1830 of breast cancer. Grandfather then married Catherine Hunter. They had 6 children. He died 25 March 1844 at the age of 43. As far as I can learn they belonged to the established Church in Scotland and were very religious. They were honest, self-sustaining, peace loving people, mostly owning their own homes. Their occupation was principally coal mining. My father's brother, David Simpson Cook, was the first to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He joined while quite young and was a traveling Elder in his native land until 1850.

When my father was 18 years old he was baptized by his brother David at Liverpool, England, and confirmed by the President of the Liverpool Branch on 27 Feb. 1850, just before sailing on the vessel "Harley" for America and Zion on the 4th of March 1850. They landed in New Orleans on the 2nd of May 1850. He left New Orleans the 16th of May, worked 11 months at the Gravies Coal mines, leaving then on the 16th of April 1851 for Kanesville, arriving on 15 May and staying until 2 July. They started with a 3-horse team in a company of saints for the Great Salt Lake Valley. Owing to high water that season, which turned them 160 miles out of the way, they, with other people, lost their horses. They hunted three days but could not find them. They continued with the company, arriving in Salt Lake City without any more trouble or sickness in the company, on 8 Sept, 1851. He worked in the sixth ward making adobes. He also worked for a number of years in the stone quarries getting out rock to build the Salt Lake Temple and other public buildings.

He was always willing to work no matter what kind of work.

He was married to Christine Bowman 23 July 1854 by President Brigham Young in the Endowment House. In 1854, awaiting the arrival of the army from the east, they moved south, but returned after peace had been restored.

My father was ordained to the office of Priest by Alfred Corden in 1853. Ordained an Elder at the time of his marriage by Heber C. Kimball. Ordained in the 25th Quorum of Seventy 29 Dec., 1854. He was re-baptized 5 March 1857 by Luke Cook, confirmed by John Prekter. In the spring of 1857 he commenced to work in the stone quarry, where he worked until 28 September 1857.

He marched out to Echo Canyon with John S hirsy [sic] in the Mormon Battalion and came back to Salt Lake City, 2 December 1857, having been out 65 days.

He and his wife Christine endured all the hardships of the early days in Utah. He was a great friend of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Jedediah M. Grant and other leading men.

They resided in Salt Lake City until 1864, then moved to South Weber, a small town 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, until 1881 when they moved to South Hooper, now known as Syracuse. He was a good farmer.

He was always a kind and loving husband and father. Always lived an honest, pure, humble life and was always faithful to his church and a good neighbor. He had implicit faith in our Heavenly Father. He loved to go to Sacrament meeting, you would see him going up the road in his buggy almost every Sunday.

He died March 1915 at Syracuse, Davis, Utah, and was buried in Kaysville, Davis, Utah.