Cook Family

                                                             Lemuel S. Cook.

Walnut Valley Times, March 22, 1872.
Mr. Cook of the Winfield town company, who has been spend­ing several weeks at Topeka, during the last session of the Legisla­ture, informs us that there is every prospect of the speedy building of this road; that the Kansas Pacific proposes to take hold of the matter in earnest this summer.
      Winfield Courier, July 12, 1877.
L. S. Cook, or as one of the old residents will more readily recognize, “Lem” Cook dropped down upon us last Saturday. Mr. Cook was one of the pioneers of Cowley. He still owns his “claim” down in South Bend.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 25, 1877.
Mr. L. S. Cook, the first white man who ever drove a stake on the townsite of Arkansas City, called on us yesterday, with J. P. Short, another old settler. It was on the 4th day of November, 1869, when Chetopa was camped on the Walnut, and the Indians had full sway. They took their wagon to pieces in order to get over the bluff near Tom Callahan’s. There were no whites in this part of the county then. Soon after Prof. Norton and others came, jumped the claims that had then been abandoned, and started the town.

Lemuel S. Cook, age 45, married Mrs. Annie M. Lilly, age 25. This is in Marriage book B, page 63, and dated September 13, 1878.

Winfield Courier, October 10, 1878.
A correspondent from Pleasant Valley sent the following news to the Winfield paper dated September 26, 1878.
“We held our primary meeting today and did a good job in a harmonious way, by electing delegates to our Representative Convention in the persons of Lem. S. Cook and Mr. Sparks.”
Winfield Courier, Thursday, February 20, 1879. Editorial.
Our friend, Lemuel S. Cook, who for a number of years had been an enterprising merchant of Topeka until he became one of the first settlers in Cowley County, homesteading on a splendid farm of 480 acres in South Bend, had sold his farm to Keck Brothers, late from Martinsville, Indiana, for $4,500 cash. We hope Mr. Cook will invest his money in this county and remain, for he is one of the men we cannot afford to spare.
Arkansas City Traveler, February 26, 1879.
“Lem Cook has sold his farm in South Bend and returned to Shawnee County. Farming was a little too slow for him.”
Winfield Courier, March 13, 1879.
Lem. Cook, one of the “old residenters”  of Cowley County, passed through Winfield on Monday for Topeka, which will be his future home.”

(Note The following claims were filed by the Cook brothers.

Peter Cook  - NE 1/4, Section 31, Township 33, Range 5.
Lemuel Cook - SW 1/4, Section 31, Township 33, Range 5.
Will Cook   - SE 1/4, Section 31, Township 33, Range 5.)

Sally Wilcox’s book entitled “Winfield and the Walnut Valley” states “An early area show place, Magnolia Farm was built in 1883.  The land was originally claimed by three Cook brothers, Pete, Bill, and Lem, sometime before 1869.  They sold their claim to John Keck.” John Keck sold the farm to Colonel Arthur Green of New York City.  He built the Magnolia Ranch.  He sold to Mr. McKowen, who sold to Kent Chesbro, who sold to the McFarlands.

Arkansas City Traveler, September 16, 1880.
Lem Cook, formerly of Pleasant Valley Township in this county; also of the Topeka grocery house of Cook, Clugston & Co., is now the proprietor and landlord of the Leland House in Caldwell.
The Traveler of August 24, 1881, reported that Mrs. L. S. Cook had opened a boarding house in Caldwell.
Winfield Courier, January 19, 1882.
John M. Keck sold his big farm in South Bend to a New York man last week for $9,000. This is the old Lem Cook place, which John paid $4,000 for two years ago.
Winfield Courier, July 6, 1882.
Sealed proposals will be received at Room No. 2, McDonald building, until 6 P. M., July 15th, 1882, for the erection and completion of a two story stone dwelling house and stone barn, on the farm of Arthur H. Greene, nine miles south of Winfield. Bids will be received for the house and barn as a whole, or separately. Plans and specifications to be seen at the above stated office. The right is reserved to reject any or all bids.
                                                ARTHUR GREENE, V. B. Agents.
Arkansas City Traveler, February 4, 1885.
Geo. W. Cunningham received an order from R. H. Vermilye, of the Magnolia Farm, near Winfield, for 105 bushels of orchard grass seed, 30 bushels of blue grass, 2 bushels of timothy, and 7 bushels of clover.