William Michael Cocke

William Michael Cocke (July 16, 1815 – February 6, 1896) was an American politician who represented Tennessee's second district in the United States House of Representatives.

William Michael Cocke
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1845  March 3, 1849
Preceded byWilliam Tandy Senter
Succeeded byAlbert Galiton Watkins
Personal details
Born(1815-07-16)July 16, 1815
Rutledge, Tennessee
DiedFebruary 6, 1896(1896-02-06) (aged 80)
Nashville, Tennessee
Political partyWhig
SpouseSarah Frances Cocke

Amanda Grigsby Cocke

Noel Cocke
ChildrenWilliam Michael Cocke, Jr.

Elisabeth T. Cocke

Charles Cocke

Sarah Frances Cocke

Emma Cocke

Ellis Cocke

Mary B. Cocke
Alma materEast Tennessee College
Professionlawyer

Clerk

politician

Biography

Cocke was born in Rutledge, Tennessee on July 16, 1815. He pursued classical studies and graduated from East Tennessee College at Knoxville, Tennessee. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Rutledge and Nashville. Cocke was Clerk of Grainger County Circuit Court from 1840-1845. He served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives.[1]

On January 15, 1835, he married his first cousin, Sarah Frances Cocke, daughter of Willis and Margaret E. Rogers Cocke. They had seven children. There were no children by his second marriage to Amanda Grigsby, nor his third to Noel.[2]

Career

Cocke was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses. He served from March 4, 1845 to March 3, 1849.[3] During the Thirtieth Congress, he was chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1848.

Elected to the State Senate, Cocke served from 1855 to 1857. Cocke served in the 31st General Assembly in the second session of 1855-1896, replacing Christopher Hitch, who had resigned; representing Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, and Grainger counties as a Democrat. His uncle, John Cocke, also served as a member of the Tennessee general Assembly. From 1859 to 1865, he resided in Asheville, North Carolina. in about 1872, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky, and from there to Nashville, in Davidson County, Tennessee.

Death

Cocke died in Nashville on February 6, 1896 (age 80 years, 205 days). He is interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery. He was the grandson of William Cocke and the nephew of John Alexander Cocke.[4]

References

  1. "William Michael Cocke". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  2. "William Michael Cocke". Grainger County Genealogy & History. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  3. "William Michael Cocke". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  4. "William Michael Cocke". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 13 March 2013.


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