John James McCook (1806 – October 11, 1865), was a patriarch of the Fighting McCooks, one of the most prolific families in United States Army history. Five of his sons became prominent soldiers, chaplains, or sailors, as well as eight of his nephews.
McCook was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, to George and Mary McCormack McCook. He attended Jefferson College's medical school. His older brother Daniel, a local attorney, moved to eastern Ohio in 1826, settling in Carrollton. Not long afterward, John McCook also moved to the Buckeye State and established a practice in New Lisbon and later in Steubenville. He was married to Catherine Julia Sheldon, a native of Hartford, Connecticut. He was superintendent for several years of the Sunday School of the First Church of Steubenville.
He served as a volunteer surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War. He died just after its close at the headquarters of his son, General Anson G. McCook, in Washington, D. C., during a visit. McCook was buried at Steubenville beside his wife, who had preceded him in death by just six months.
Famous quotes containing the words john and/or cook:
“Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.”
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 3:4.
“The Indian remarked as before, “Must have hard wood to cook moose-meat,” as if that were a maxim, and proceeded to get it. My companion cooked some in California fashion, winding a long string of the meat round a stick and slowly turning it in his hand before the fire. It was very good. But the Indian, not approving of the mode, or because he was not allowed to cook it his own way, would not taste it.”
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