John F. Cook, Sr.
Born1810
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died1855 (aged 44–45)
OccupationPresbyterian minister

John Frances Cook Sr. (1810–1855)[1] was an American pastor and educator. He was the first African-American Presbyterian minister in Washington D.C. and the head of the District's Smothers School.[1][2][3][4] John F. Cook School in Washington, D.C., was named in his honor.[2]

Biography

Cook was born in Washington, D.C. He was enslaved until age 16 when his aunt, Alethia Tanner, purchased his freedom.[1]

Cook apprenticed as a shoemaker and became an assistant messenger for the United States Land Commissioner.[4] Cook attended the Smothers School in Washington D.C. In 1834, he succeeded John Prout as head of the Smothers School and renamed it Union Seminary.[4]

In 1835, Cook served as secretary for the fifth Convention for the Improvement of the Free People of Colour in the United States. He left the Seminary for one year and opened a school in Columbia, Pennsylvania. He returned to the Seminary in 1836 and remained there for two decades.[4]

In 1841, Cook was licensed as a preacher by the Presbytery of the District of Columbia. That same year, he co-founded the First Colored Presbyterian Church of Washington, D.C. He was ordained as a pastor in 1843 and served at his congregation until his death in 1855.[1]

Legacy

His son, John F. Cook, Jr., founded a Washington, D.C., school and named it in his honor.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "A monument engraved on hearts - remembering John F. Cook, Sr". Log College Press. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  2. 1 2 3 Preston, Emmett D. (1943). "The Development of Negro Education in the District of Columbia, 1800-1860". The Journal of Negro Education. 12 (2): 189–198. doi:10.2307/2292971. ISSN 0022-2984. JSTOR 2292971.
  3. ↑ Nunley, Tamika Y. (2021-01-29). At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C. UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-1-4696-6223-7.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gatewood, Willard B. (1989). "John Francis Cook, Antebellum Black Presbyterian". American Presbyterians. 67 (3): 221–229. ISSN 0886-5159. JSTOR 23330899.
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