- Joseph Platt Cooke
Joseph Platt Cooke (
January 4 ,1730 -February 3 ,1816 ) was an American military officer in the Revolutionary War, aConnecticut politician , and twice a delegate to theCongress of the Confederation . He was born inStratford, Connecticut and graduated from Yale College in 1750. He died inDanbury, Connecticut .In 1771 he was appointed colonel of the Sixteenth Regiment of the Connecticut militia, and during the Revolutionary War he accompanied General Wolcott's forces to
New York in 1776. He was in command of the state forces when the British burned Danbury onApril 26 andApril 27 1777 . His own home, which he had built at 342 Main Street in 1770, was partially destroyed by fire. He resigned his colonelcy early in 1778. In 1781 his home served as a meeting place forGeorge Washington and the French military leaders, theComte de Rochambeau and theMarquis de la Fayette .Before, during, and after the Revolutionary War, Cooke played an active role in the political and judicial aspects of local government. He settled in Danbury and from 1763 to 1783 represented the town in about thirty sessions of the general assembly. He was
justice of the peace in 1764, served as judge of the probate court for Danbury district 1776 to 1813, was a member of the council of safety in 1778, and was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1776, 1778, 1780–1782, and 1784. He represented Connecticut in theCongress of the Confederation during its sixth session (November 1 ,1784 –December 24 , 1784 inTrenton, New Jersey , andJanuary 11 ,1785 –November 4 , 1785 inNew York, New York ) and its ninth session (November 5 ,1787 –October 21 ,1788 in New York, New York). He served on the Connecticut Governor's Council in 1803He was interred in Danbury at the North Main Street Cemetery.
References
* [http://www.nynjctbotany.org/lgtofc/hstdanbry.html "A Very Brief History of Danbury"] , NY-NJ-CT Botany Online. (Retrieved September 8, 2006)
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000733 "COOKE, Joseph Platt, (1730 - 1816)"] , "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress", U.S. Congress. (Retrieved September 8, 2006)External links
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000733 "COOKE, Joseph Platt, (1730 - 1816)"] , "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress", U.S. Congress
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