Home > United States of America > Kansas > Shawnee County > Topeka > Mount Hope Cemetery > John W. Cook

John W. Cook

Birth	:	20 Dec 1866 Rock Creek, Jefferson County, Kansas, USA
Death	:	1923 Lander, Fremont County, Wyoming, USA
Burial	:	Mount Hope Cemetery, Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate	:	39.0367393, -95.7386703
Plot	:	Memorial Circle XVI
Description	:	John W. Cook was born on 20 December 1866 in Rock Creek, Jefferson County, Kansas, (or Kansas City, MO) to William Marion Cook (b. 3 MARCH 1836 • La Porte County, IN; d. 25 SEP 1903 • Kansas City, Jackson, MO) and Frances Pennick (b. 1841 • Pettis, Platte, MO; d. 8 NOV 1930 • Los Angeles, CA) John W. Cook was the grandson of George Cook, one of the original settlers of Rock Creek Township, Jefferson County, KS, along with George's brother Aaron. George and Aaron fought in the conflict known as Bleeding Kansas against raids by Missouri... Read More	John W. Cook was born on 20 December 1866 in Rock Creek, Jefferson County, Kansas, (or Kansas City, MO) to William Marion Cook (b. 3 MARCH 1836 • La Porte County, IN; d. 25 SEP 1903 • Kansas City, Jackson, MO) and Frances Pennick (b. 1841 • Pettis, Platte, MO; d. 8 NOV 1930 • Los Angeles, CA) John W. Cook was the grandson of George Cook, one of the original settlers of Rock Creek Township, Jefferson County, KS, along with George's brother Aaron. George and Aaron fought in the conflict known as Bleeding Kansas against raids by Missouri Border Ruffians. George died in 1859, and Aaron was shot dead by Missouri Confederates after he surrendered in 1863 during the last Confederate push into Kansas from Missouri. John Cook was educated and intelligent. By the 1880s he was working as both an attorney and as a Regional Superintendent of the Rocky Mountain Detective Association. He worked under his uncle, David J. Cook, Major General of the Colorado State Militia, famous Sheriff of Arapahoe County, City Marshal and later Chief of Police of Denver, and legendary Detective who founded and headed the Rocky Mountain Detective Assn. Under David Cook's tutelage and leadership, John Cook made a name as a skilled detective in his own right, as well as holding the post of in- house counsel, the man who handled the RMDA's legal affairs. John Cook married Anna Laura Martin in Kansas in 1897, and moved to Denver CO with his growing family around 1898. Later, his Uncle David turned over the helm of the RMDA to him after his masterful handling of a spectacular case that made headlines across the West. Governor Otero of New Mexico was informed of a plot to frame Thomas B. Catron for conspiring to murder political opponents with the intent to ruin his political career. (Catron later went on to play a central role in New Mexico statehood and served as one of that State's first U.S. Senators) The Governor called General Cook for help, and he sent his shrewdest investigator to Santa Fe to get to the bottom of it- John W. Cook. The investigation resulted in the arrest of the Warden, his son and the Captain of the NM Penitentiary on charges of conspiracy, and Cook's interrogation of the informant who had been engaged to make the false claim turned up murders in Missouri that the informant had been a party to. There were several arrests and convictions based on John Cook's work. It was the last great case undertaken by the RMDA. By 1900 the Rocky Mountain Detective Association was winding down, having been obviated by more efficient City and State police forces in the West. David Cook saw that his association, once the scourge of crime in the West and the only multi-State/Territorial law enforcement effort functioning west of the Mississippi was no longer needed in the new 20th Century as it had been in the 19th. With his Uncle David's death in 1907, the Rocky Mountain Detective Association quietly dissolved, and John W. Cook left the law enforcement and detective business for good. By 1902, John Cook and his family had moved to Crestone, Saguache County CO, and the 1910 US Census found them in Lander, WY, where John W. Cook was the Owner, Editor & Manager of the Wyoming State Journal, a leading newspaper in that state, a post he would hold for the remainder of his life, except during his recovery from severe injuries. During the late 1910's, John Cook was involved in a near fatal automobile accident in Yellowstone National Park, when the touring car in which he, his wife and another couple were riding went over an embankment and overturned. He and the other passengers recovered from their injuries. John W. Cook died in 1923 from complications that developed after surgery. He passed away at home in Lander WY, and was buried back in the family plot in Topeka KS. John W. Cook was a successful attorney, detective and newspaper man. His was an interesting and useful life, and he knew and worked around several famous characters in the Old West in its final days. As the last General Superintendent of the Rocky Mountain Detective Association he was at the helm of a nationwide network of lawmen and detectives with people in every major US city- An efficient and far reaching body of professionals that would not be eclipsed until the rise of the FBI in later decades. The Denver newspapers, on the occasion of his elevation to the post of General Superintendent called him a "Worthy Son of General David J. Cook" and opined that the RMDA was in good hands.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is John W. Cook's memorial?
John W. Cook's memorial is located at: Mount Hope Cemetery, Topeka, Shawnee County, USA.
When did John W. Cook death?
John W. Cook death on 1923 in Lander, Fremont County, Wyoming, USA
Where are the coordinates of the John W. Cook's memorial?
Latitude: 39.0367393
Longitude: -95.7386703

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

Anna Laura Martin Cook

(1879 - 1974)

Siblings

Children

Eugene Cook

(1897 - 1979)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Mount Hope Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0367393, -95.7386703

2. Saint Davids Episcopal Church Columbarium
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0369860, -95.7259480

3. Mount Calvary Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0532990, -95.7360992

4. Memorial Park Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0619011, -95.7221985

5. Westminster Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0430400, -95.7021700

6. Carnegie Hall
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0350600, -95.6999100

7. Ritchie Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0228010, -95.7027530

8. Security Benefit Association Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0630989, -95.7606583

9. Abram Burnett Burial Site
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0102997, -95.7685776

10. Topeka State Hospital Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0671005, -95.7080994

11. Mission Center Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0145493, -95.7819290

12. Grace Episcopal Cathedral Columbarium
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0511284, -95.6843719

13. Grace Episcopal Cathedral Sanctuary
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0506925, -95.6839273

14. Foster Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9942017, -95.7061005

15. Elevation Cemetery
Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9832993, -95.7613983

16. West Lawn Memorial Gardens
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0518112, -95.8167419

17. Topeka Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0388985, -95.6528015

18. Curtis Family Cemetery
North Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0792870, -95.6702270

19. Mount Auburn Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0393982, -95.6500015

20. Prairie Home Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.1077118, -95.7482910

21. Bennie Lee Graham Memorial Cemetery
Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.1020584, -95.6836472

22. Rochester Cemetery
Topeka, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.1044006, -95.6800003

23. Lynn Creek Cemetery
Berryton, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9575005, -95.6408005

24. Valencia Cemetery
Valencia, Shawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0586014, -95.8806000