Murder of Marsh Cook

F. M. B. "Marsh" Cook was a political candidate in Mississippi who was murdered by white supremacists for campaigning for a seat at Mississippi's 1890 Constitutional Convention. A Republican, he was campaigning in Jasper County, Mississippi.[1][2] He was ambushed by six men and shot 27 times. A historical marker commemorates his death. He was white.[3][4]

Murder of Marsh Cook
LocationJasper County, Mississippi
Date1890
TargetMarsh Cook
Attack type
Murder by shooting
WeaponsGuns
VictimsMarsh Cook
PerpetratorsWhite supremacists
Assailants6

Mississippi's 1890 Constitutional Convention was organized to disenfranchise African American voters. Cook was an 1888 candidate for a seat in the U.S. Congress. Democrats had retaken control of Mississippi after the Reconstruction era. He was assassinated as he approached a log schoolhouse in a rural area. His body was found hours later by a woman. His murder received national news coverage. No one was ever prosecuted for it.[5]

Previous election campaign

He contested his election loss to Chapman L. Anderson.[6] Anderson recorded about five times as many votes as Cook in the November 1889 election.[7]

References
  1. The Negro in Mississippi 1865-1890 by Vernon Lane Wharton pages 210 and 211
  2. Clarion Ledger Jackson, Mississippi July 31, 1890
  3. "July 23, 1890: F. M. B. "Marsh" Cook Killed". Zinn Education Project.
  4. "Assassination of F.M.B. 'Marsh' Cook Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
  5. Cresswell, Stephen (February 5, 1995). Multiparty Politics in Mississippi, 1877-1902. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781617034367 – via Google Books.
  6. "Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States House of Representatives, 1789-1946: (Record Group 233)". 1941.
  7. "United States Congressional Serial Set". 1891.
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