Marriage of Helen Cook & Frank R. Laughlin


The April 30, 1904 issue of the Paducah Sun newspaper reported the following wedding of Helen Cook and Frank Laughlin [1].


"Mr. [sic] Helen Cook, the oldest daughter of Mr. Frank W. Cook of the Cook Brewing Company of Evansville and Mr. Frank Laughlin, also of Evansville, were married Tuesday afternoon in Evansville. Miss Mary Lee Clarke of this city attended the wedding."


As reported in the announcement, Ms. Cook was the eldest daughter of Frederick Washington Cook (1832-1913) [2], a prominent businessman in Evansville and head of the Cook Brewing Company and a former Evansville councilman. A nice overview of Mr. Cook's background appears in the books History of the City of Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana [3] and Evansville and its Men of Mark [4], both available in their entirety for free at Google Books. Record of Helen & Frank's marriage appears in Ancestry's Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941 [5].


In 1910, Helen & Frank still reside in Evansville with Helen's father at 1002 Fulton Avenue and the couple have had son Frank Jr. Frank Sr.'s occupation is listed as Real Estate Agent. By 1920, the couple are living on their own as Helen's father has died by now, though, Helen's brother Albert lives only a few doors away. By 1930, the family has moved to Chicago, Illinois where Frank's occupation is now listed as a securities buyer. The family eventually ended up in Memphis; a search of the Browning Database reveals that Frank died there July 2, 1953 and Helen died there April 20, 1969 [6].


I'm sure there must have been a much more extensive write-up of the couple's wedding in the Evansville papers, but even this would likely make a nice addition to any Cook family descendant researcher for their family history.



Sources
1) "Untitled." Paducah Sun [Paducah, KY] 30 Apr. 1904. Library of Congress Chronicling America.
2) Frederick W. Cook: FindAGrave.
3) Gilbert, Frank M. History of the City of Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana. Chicago: Pioneer Pub. Co, 1910.
4) White, Edward, and Robert Dale Owen. Evansville and Its Men of Mark. Evansville, Ind: Historical Pub. Co, 1873.
5) Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941. Ancestry.
6) Browning Genealogy: Evansville, IN Area Obituary Search.

Back in March, we shared a link to a site that provides details about Evansville's brewing history from the Brewer's Guild of Indiana .

- Submitted by Taneya Koonce

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

My Great Uncle Ellis

(1900-1984)

"The Arthur Ellis Wood Family"

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

The photo above reminds me of the "Ozzie & Harriett" TV show back in the 1950's, except Uncle Ellis and Aunt Pearl had 2 daughters instead of sons. (L to R): Betty Wood, Francis Wood, Aunt Pearl & seated is my Uncle Ellis. Betty graduated from Evansville College about 1950 and was an Art Teacher at Daniel Wertz Elementary School on the West Side of Evansville. Both daughters never married and both died somewhat young - Francis was 33 and Betty was 40 when they died... both are buried with their Mother in Alexander Memorial Park Cemetery. They were Methodist, while Uncle Ellis was Catholic and is buried in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery adjoining the cemetery where his wife and daughters are buried. Uncle Ellis was my mother's mother's (Grandma) brother. He began work at Mead Johnson at about age 17 and quickly rose to the position of Supervisor over the Pablum Baby Formula Department. He worked at Mead Johnson for over 40 years, his only place of employment, and was a supervisor for over 30 years! Aunt Pearl was the Democrat Precinct Committee person in Howell for many years. Uncle Ellis and his family lived in the Howell Neighborhood of the West Side of Evansville.

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Uncle Ellis at the Annual Mead Johnson Family Picnic. Since he did not drink beer, he was assigned in the beer hut. If you read yesterday's "Evansville Brewing History," you will note the Cook & Sterling labels on the beer cases. This photo was probably taken in the mid-1930's.

Photos & captions submitted by JGWest

“Evansville, Indiana Brewing History”

100 Years Ago (1909)

(This article quote from Courier and Press)

"'In less than five years, there will not be a legalized brewery or saloon in Vanderburgh County,' said William B. Holmes, a Tennessee evangelist and saloon fighter at the Y.M.C.A. big meeting in Evans Hall yesterday afternoon. The remark was received by loud and prolonged hand clapping.”

*******************
Here is a great web site with the history of Evansville's Brewing Industry: http://www.brewersofindianaguild.com/History/IndianaHistoryEvansville.html This history features the F.W. Cook, Sterling, Evansville Brewing and Wittekindt Breweries and a listing of other breweries in Evansville.

The Evansville Race Riot of 1903
by Kenneth P. McCutchan
Race Riot starts over a 5 cent glass of beer!
http://www.evansville.net/user/boneyard/mccutc59.htm

This information compiled and submitted by Don Counts