HENRY COOK IV

2. Henry IV                  

         Clinton, New York

         Voice of Hannah Benham Cook

         As told in 1794: 100 years after Henry I and Judith

         My name is Hannah and I married Henry Cook on Saturday November 27, 1745 in Wallingford, New Haven County, Commonwealth of Connecticut. Actually he is Henry Cook the fourth. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather are all named Henry. I think there was a Henry Cook in England too. We did not name one of our sons Henry! Henry IV was born August 17, 1723 in Wallingford. I was born Hannah Benham in 1726 in Wallingford and my parents are Nathan Benham and Mary Smith Benham.  Henry died September 6, 1771 when he was only forty-eight. That was twenty-three years ago. When he died we were left in depressed circumstances, but through it all I managed to keep our family together. Our youngest child, Mary, was nine when her father died.  As their mother, I became the guardian for True, Lemuel and Mary. Thankful was twenty-six. Selah was only sixteen but was able to take care of him self and he contributed a lot to the well being of our family. I stayed on the farm in Connecticut until after the big war with England.  In 1788 I moved with my sons Selah and True to Clinton, New York. I am living with Selah, Lucy and their sons. I am sixty-nine years old and don’t expect to live much longer. Life is so short. I want to share some of my experiences and thoughts.

         Sometimes I think life is not fair. Parents are not supposed to watch their children die. I think God meant for children to outlive their parents. But in my life that has not been true. Henry and I had nine children, all born in Northbury, Connecticut – Thankful (1746), Mary (1748), Sarah (1749), Zuba (1751), Lemuel (1754), Selah (1756), True Worthy (1758), Lemuel (1759), and Mary (1762). When I write the names down it looks like we named some of the children the same name as their brother or sister. In a way we did, but it was because we were so sad and we love our children so much. Back in the late spring of 1759 there was a terrible measles epidemic which went through the town of Plymouth and really throughout New England. We lost three of our six young children to the measles that year. First, Sarah got sick. She was ten when she died on June 15^th. Then seven year old Zuba died on the 17^th. It was a heartbreaking time. Lemuel was only five years old when he died on June 24. We lost three children in ten days. Too often some illness strikes and then many people get sick. Sometimes it is measles and sometimes influenza, or whooping cough, or diphtheria, or smallpox. When that happens we don’t know what to do. They call these childhood diseases. I pray that some day someone will figure it all out and let us know what to do to keep our children from getting sick and dying. Some day there will be something the doctor can give us but that time is not now and my little ones died. Our new baby boy was born in September of that same year so we named him Lemuel. Then, our thirteen year old daughter Mary died in 1761, so when our next little girl was born that year we called her Mary. I think one of the highest compliments is to name someone after you.

         The five children who have lived are strong, healthy, married and have families of their own. I am so proud of them. Thankful married Elijah Weed; Selah married Lucy Beckwith and has three sons – Reuben, Beckwith, and Almon; True Worthy married Freelove Dodge; Lemuel married Hannah Curtis; and Mary married John Camp. The men are all veterans of the Revolutionary War.

         So many things have happened in our lives since Henry IV died twenty-three years ago. Henry did not see his children grow up. He didn’t know his grandchildren. I am sure that he would be proud of them all, and especially his sons Selah, True and Lemuel for their service to this new country in the 2^nd Connecticut Regiment during the Revolutionary War. I know that he would be as proud of all of his children as I am.

         My children have asked many questions about our family, so now I want to tell you about some of your ancestors. I only knew my husband Henry IV and his father Henry III., but I have heard stories about the other Henry Cooks.