Early Life
Francis is described in Leiden Walloon church marriage records dating from 1603 as a "woolcomber out of (uyt) England", however his exact origin is unknown.
In Leiden, sometime after July 20, 1603, as Franchoys Couck, he married Hester le Mahieu, born in Lille, the daughter of Protestant refugees from England.
While in Leiden, Francis and Hester were members of the Walloon church. In 1606, they left Leiden briefly for Norwich, England, where they joined another Walloon church, returning to Leiden in 1607, possibly for religious reasons. Between 1611 and 1618, the Cookes were members of the Separatist congregation in Leiden.
Read more about this topic: Francis Cooke
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)