Aaron Cook was born about 1820 in Ohio or Indiana and died, I believe, in the late 1860’s in Jefferson County, Kansas. He married Lydia Roberts on 28 Dec 1842 in Buchanan County, Missouri.

What I know about him comes from Connie Tierney verified by Census listings.

Census Listings 1820-1860. He would be with his parents in 1820 (if he was born in time), 1830 and most likely 1840. But unfortunately, I don’t have much of a clue as to his father’s name. I have found him as head of household in 1850 and 1860 but not thereafter. .

1840. Aaron is about 20 not yet married, so typically he would not yet be found as head of household but instead would still be living with his parents. In Jefferson County, Missouri, I found an Aaron Cook but he has too many young children to be the Aaron of interest. A neighbor, though, is Henry Cook and a member of his household is a male age 15-20 that could possibly be the Aaron of interest. Henry’s household includes both a male and female 40-50 and a male and female age 70-80. My guess would be that the male 40-50 is Henry and the older couple is either he or his wife’s parents. But Henry could be the older male, too.

1850. Aaron Cook, age 30, a farmer, lives in Centre Township, Buchanan County, Missouri He says he was born in Indiana. He lives with wife Lydia, age 21. She says she was born in Missouri. They have a son whose name is somewhat hard to make out but has been indexed as James age 6 born in Missouri and a daughter Sarah age 3 also born in Missouri. I believe that James is really Hiram. He may have been Hiram James or James Hiram but elsewhere I have his middle name as Albert. I believe the Census taker simply got confused on the name.

1860. Aaron Cook, age 41, a farmer, lives in Rock Creek Township, Jefferson County, Missouri. I believe this place will soon be part of the new state of Kansas. He says he was born in Ohio. He lives with wife Lydia, age 32. She says she was born in Kentucky. Both answers are of course inconsistent with what was said in 1850. They have a son Hiram age 16 born in Missouri. There is no sign of daughter Sarah who I guess has died young.

The Cooks have an interesting migratory pattern. Whether Aaron was born in Ohio or Indiana, I don’t know for sure. But he eventually moved to Missouri and was living in (or near) Buchanan County by 1842 when he met his bride Lydia. I have found a copy of their marriage certificate. He stays in Missouri for some years but then moves on in about 1855 to Rock Creek Township, Jefferson County, Kansas (became State of Kansas in 1861).

He is there at the time of the 1860 Census then disappears as does his wife. I believe Aaron and Lydia both died in the 1860’s – at a fairly young age – but as they had a daughter born in 1865, their death must have occurred in the late 1860’s. Their son Hiram leaves Kansas and moves to Tama County, Iowa by 1870 then by 1880 he has returned to Buchanan County, MO (where his grandparents still live) and finally by 1885 he has returned to Rock Creek, Kansas. There must be an interesting story here, but I don’t know what it is.

The 1840 Census may provide a clue to the name of Aaron’s father, whom I cannot identify. I thought I’d look for Aaron, though I didn’t expect to find him since he was not yet married. In Jefferson County, I found an Aaron Cook -- but not the right one (he is married and has quite a number of children). But Aaron’s neighbor is Henry Cook, head of a household with a male 40-50, another 70-80 and one more the right age to be Aaron. This now is total speculation – but it is possible, let’s say, that the older male is Aaron and that he lives with his son Henry and a neighbor is another son Aaron. Henry names a son Aaron too, who in 1840 is living with his father but soon will marry Lydia.

I tried to pursue this lead though by looking for Henry in the 1820 and 1830 Censuses but couldn’t get anywhere. There is too little information and too many men named Henry Cook. Should I look in Ohio or Indiana in 1820 since Aaron claimed each as his birth state? There were three Henry’s in Ohio (one in Xenia, curiously – where Edward Goodner MacLennan was supposedly born). Was Aaron born just before or just after the time of the 1820 Census, should he be present or not? Two of the Henry’s had a son under five, the Xenia Henry did not. Where might they be in 1830? There are four Henry’s in Ohio, one in Indiana and one in Jefferson County, Missouri. So this whole pursuit of Henry was nothing but a wild goose chase.

On the Jefferson County, Kansas genealogical website, there is a published book on the history of the county. It says that the earliest permanent settlers in Rock Creek Township came in January, 1855 and consisted of Aaron Cook, George Cook, A Pearsall and James Dempsey. The article refers to Black Hawk County, Iowa but it is not clear if only one of the party or all of then came from there. Black Hawk County is just north of Tama County (where Hiram lives in 1870) and Tama County in turn is just East of Marshall County (where Georgia is born in 1868).

The appearance of the name George Cook is, of course, very interesting. It could be Aaron’s father, or perhaps a brother. I have looked for George Cook in Jefferson County, Kansas in the 1860 Census but he is not there – he has died or moved on. In any event, I believe it may be a clue to the source of Georgia’s name for which I have no other basis.

2015 UPDATE
More on this family is found on find-a-grave based on newspaper articles at the time.