Letters of Rev. Joseph W. Cook, Missionary to Cheyenne, to Rt. Rev. R.H. Clarkson, D.D., Rt. Rev. Geo. M. Randall, D.D., together with extracts from Mr. Cook’s Diary, kindly furnished by his daughter Miss Charlotte Everett Cook, April 12th, 1916

Summary

Creator: Cook, Joseph Witherspoon, 1836-1902
Date(s): 1868-1869
Call Number: MSS 0097, Item 0016
Language: Materials entirely in English.
Abstract: A typed transcript of letters written and journal kept by Reverend Joseph Witherspoon Cook during part of his time as a missionary to Cheyenne, Dakota Territory, 1868-1869. The letters describe his journey from Philadelphia to Cheyenne, the process of setting up a mission in the settlement, the inhabitants of Cheyenne, and the living conditions in the area.
Physical Description: 1 volume (116 pages) 29 cm
Source: Purchase, 1960.
Processing: Processed and encoded by Evan Echols, January 2009. Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Biographical and Historical Notes

Reverend Joseph Witherspoon Cook was born February 2, 1836 in Bethel, Vermont. He attended Greenway Boarding School in Springfield, Ohio, and Kenyon College in Gambia, Ohio, from which he graduated, class of 1860. Cook also attended General Theological School, New York. He married Ellen Everett Hicks on July 9, 1878 in Grace Church, Brooklyn, New York with whom he had a daughter, Charlotte Everett Cook.

Cook traveled from Philadelphia to Cheyenne, Dakota Territory, in January 1868 to serve as the first resident Episcopal missionary in the settlement. In 1870, he established St. Paul's Mission at the Yankton Sioux agency, South Dakota. Cook translated religious texts into the Dakota language and served as missionary to the Sioux until his death in 1902.

Sources

2006. Indian Missions of the Interior States. http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/mission/interiorstates.htm (accessed July 2, 2007).

2007. The Hicks/Hix Database - Northeast Connections. http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=j-m-hicks&id=I08198 (accessed July 2, 2007).

Project Canterbury. Diary and Letters of the Reverend Joseph W. Cook, Missionary to Cheyenne, Arranged by the Rt. Rev. N. S. Thomas, S.T.D. http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/thomas_cook1919.html (accessed July 2, 2007).

Scope and Content Note

A typed transcript of letters written and journal kept by Reverend Joseph Witherspoon Cook during part of his time as a missionary to Cheyenne, Dakota Territory, 1868-1869. The letters describe his journey from Philadelphia to Cheyenne, the process of setting up a mission in the settlement, the inhabitants of Cheyenne, and the living conditions in the area.

There is one bound volume containing the letters written by Cook. They are addressed to Rev. R.H. Clarkson and Rev. Geo M. Randall, are punctuated by selected entries from Cook's diary. The letters describe his journey from Philadelphia to Cheyenne, the process of setting up a mission in the settlement, the inhabitants of Cheyenne, and the living conditions in the area.

Three lithographs of contemporary scenes laid into the volume: Crossing the Platte Mouth of Deer Creek, Fort Laramie, and Scene in the Black Hills. Each bears the credit "Ackerman, Lith 379 Broadway, N.Y."

Using these materials

Shelving Summary

  • Item 0016: Shelved in SPEC MSS 0097

Access Information

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

MSS 0097, Item 0016, Letters of Rev. Joseph W. Cook, Missionary to Cheyenne, to Rt. Rev. R.H. Clarkson, D.D., Rt. Rev. Geo. M. Randall, D.D., together with extracts from Mr. Cook’s Diary, kindly furnished by his daughter Miss Charlotte Everett Cook, April 12th, 1916, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Related Materials in other Repositories

Cook, Joseph Witherspoon, 1836-1902. Papers. 1868-1902. Augustana College, Center for Western Studies, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Joseph Witherspoon Cook Diary and Letters. Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Libarry, Yale University. New Haven, Connecticut.

Related Materials in this Repository

This item forms part of MSS 0097 Diaries, Journals, and Ships' Logs collection.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/

Container List

Letters of Rev. Joseph W. Cook, Missionary to Cheyenne, to Rt. Rev. R.H. Clarkson, D.D., Rt. Rev. Geo. M. Randall, D.D., together with extracts from Mr. Cook’s Diary, kindly furnished by his daughter Miss Charlotte Everett Cook, April 12th, 1916, 1868-1869 1 volume Item 0016

Names & Subjects

Names

Subjects

Locations

Formats