Who Was E.C. Cook, Army Indian Scout, in Winfield?

In the southwest corner of Union-Graham Cemetery is a homemade stone with the words “E.C. Cook, Army Indian Scout” carved in it. It is the gravestone of Edward Corbin Cook.

Edward only lived in Winfield for a few months. He moved there near the end of his life when he was quite sick, presumably to be near his children. When he died of paralysis in 1903, his family had him buried at Union-Graham Cemetery.

Army Indian Scout?

Questions about Edward’s service are not new. People have been trying to figure out exactly how, where, and when he served for over 120 years.

Winfield Daily Courier, Winfield, KS, May 2, 1904

I spoke with distant relatives and other researchers who only had word-of-mouth information about his Army service, but no documentation to confirm it. I also enlisted the help of Gopher Records, who has an office at NARA. They confirmed there are no military records for Edward, and there is no official record of his service as an Army Indian Scout.

Just because Edward’s service as an Army Indian Scout is not verifiable doesn’t mean he didn’t serve in some capacity.

Edward may have scouted out of Fort Riley, which was established to protect settlers from the Native Americans who were defending their encroached lands.

Or perhaps he helped protect stagecoaches and freight wagons on the Butterfield Overland Despatch (BOD) route traveling along the Smoky Hill Trail to Denver, which came through Fort Riley.

Fort Riley was known to be “manned mainly by volunteers rather than professional soldiers.” Legends of America

The 1865 census indicates that Edward was working as a teamster, a common term during the Indian Wars for anyone who drove a team of oxen, mules, or horses pulling a wagon. But an 1865 report of teamsters out of Fort Riley doesn’t include him.

His family claims that while serving as a scout he was shot with a poison arrow and because of that, he suffered from chronic health issues for the rest of his life.

When Edward died, no military service was mentioned in his obituary or death notices, but one of his sons (presumably Joseph or David) carved a special gravestone to honor his service. This gravestone also ensured Edward would be a topic of discussion among curious cemetery explorers for well over a century (and counting).

Study the big Indian campaigns between 1860 and 1878 — Kansas men were the real leaders in every one. Kansans were the keen-eyed followers of the trail; the canny diagnosers of ambuscades; the wise advisors to ward off the duplicity of Indian diplomats; the interpreters at the councils.

In a word, more Kansas men qualified as high-class scouts in the Indian wars — and the position of the scout was often far more important than was the position of the commanding officer himself — than qualified from any other state or territory.

–Some Famous Kansas Frontier Scouts, Paul I. Wellman, August 1932 (Vol. 1, No. 4)

Who Was E.C. Cook?

Edward Corbin Cook was born in Illinois in 1837 to Uriah Cook and Mary Haworth, early settlers in Pottawatomie County, Kansas. You can read more about Uriah here, here, and here.

Edward came to Pottawatomie County in 1857 with his first wife Eliza. He has been credited with being one of the early settlers of Pottawatomie county.

Edward’s land claim in 1857 was through a Military Land Warrant. The land he claimed just south of his father Uriah in Section 8 was owned by a woman named So-Mul-Le, the widow of Hathlan Harjo, a Creek Nation volunteer in the Creek War.

The documents in the land grand file indicate that Edward paid So-Mul-Le $115 for the land, but the only proof of her involvement in the transfer is an X that is said to be her mark of agreement.

According to a supporting document in the land grant file, Edward began his homestead on that land September 1, 1857 by “cutting house logs.” As of the date of his claim (July 15, 1859), he had built a 14’x18′ one-story log house with two doors, one window, a plank floor and a chimney. Edward also had “about thirty acres of land fenced and twenty-five in cultivation, a smokehouse and other improvements.”

This document detailing Edward’s homestead is signed by his father Uriah Cook as witness. Source

Edward’s first home in Westmoreland was completed December 20, 1857. His first wife Eliza “died on his land …[in] his house” on July 24, 1858. She was buried in Cook Cemetery (now Old Westmoreland Cemetery) next to the Cook homesteads.

In 1859 Edward married his late wife’s younger sister Mary O’Daniel, who was just seventeen (or maybe fifteen).

Mary O’Daniel and Edward Corbin Cook. Source

Edward built a substantial home for his second wife Mary and their growing family on his homestead near Westmoreland.

The second house that Edward built in Westmoreland. Source

Edward’s second wife Mary bore at least seven children with Edward before she died in 1877 in the house that he built for her.

Datestone on the E.C. Cook house in Westmoreland. Source

Mary must have been highly thought of in the community. Her funeral was “the largest … attended for many years,” and church was cancelled so people could attend. She was buried in Old Westmoreland Cemetery with Edward’s first wife (her sister Eliza) and two of her children (John and Josiah).

Kansas Reporter, Wamego, KS, Apr 19, 1877

Just a few months after his second wife died, 40-year old Edward married his third (and last) wife, 24-year-old Mary George. Mary birthed at least seven children with Edward, giving him a total of fourteen children.

Edward sold his farm in Westmoreland around 1879 and the family moved to Jackson County, Kansas. After the sale, a portion of the home that he built temporarily served as a school house.

Kansas Reporter, Wamego, KS, Feb 6, 1879

Edward ultimately came to Winfield late in his life because he was dying. His sons Joe and David both lived in Winfield at that time.

E.C. Cook, date unknown. Source

He was only in Winfield for about four months before he died.

Westmoreland Signal, Westmoreland, KS, Jun 19, 1903

E.C. Cook Timeline

1850 census: Edward is living in St. Clair, MO with father Uriah, mother Mary, and siblings William, Mariah Jane, Benjamin, and Rebecca.
- 1856: 19-year-old Edward marries 19-year-old Eliza O’Daniel in Platte, MO.
- 1857: Sister Mariah Jane dies in Westmoreland, buried at Old Westmoreland Cemetery.
- 1858: Wife Eliza dies in Westmoreland, buried at Old Westmoreland Cemetery. Edward signs agreement to purchase land from Sol-Mul-Le. Land records can be downloaded here.
- 1859: 22-year-old Edward marries Mary O’Daniel in Pottawatomie, KS.
1860 census: 22-year-old Edward is farming and living in Westmoreland with second wife, Mary. The census says she’s 16. Mary gives birth this year to their first child, a girl named Amanda.
- 1863: Son Edward Franklin is born in Westmoreland.
- 1864: Father Uriah Cook dies in Westmoreland, buried at Old Westmoreland Cemetery.
1865 census: 28-year-old Edward is working as a teamster and living in Westmoreland with wife Mary and children Amanda and Edward.
- 1866: Son William George is born in Westmoreland.
- 1869: Son John William is born in Westmoreland; he dies 13 days later, buried at Old Westmoreland Cemetery.
1870 census: 33-year-old Edward is farming and living in Westmoreland with wife Mary and children Amanda, Franklin (presumably the Edward from 1865) and William. All of the children are in school.
- 1872: Son Arthur Albert is born in Westmoreland.
1875 census: 37-year-old Edward is living in Westmoreland with wife Mary and children Amanda, Frank, George, Arthur, and a brand new infant, Josiah.
- 1876: Son Josiah dies in Westmoreland, buried at Old Westmoreland Cemetery.
- 1877: Wife Mary dies in Westmoreland, buried at Old Westmoreland Cemetery. The same year, 40-year-old Edward marries 24-year-old Mary Virginia George.
- 1878: Mary Virginia gives birth to her first child with Edward (his seventh) in Westmoreland, a boy named Benjamin.
- 1879: Edward sells his farm in Westmoreland.
1880 census: 43-year-old Edward is farming and living in Soldier, Jackson county, Kansas with his third wife Mary Virginia and children Franklin, William, Arthur, Benjamin, and a new baby, David. Franklin died this year at age 17 and was buried in Soldier.
- 1881: Son Joseph is born (where?).
- 1883: Daughter Anna is born in Soldier.
- 1886: Half-sister Mary and mother Mary both die within days of one another in Westmoreland, both buried at Old Westmoreland Cemetery. His mother’s will indicates Edward lives in Morgan, Kansas. Son Ira Corbin Ralph is born in Chase County, KS.
- 1888: Daughter Anna is accidentally shot by her brother Ben in Garfield, AR, burial location unknown. Another unnamed infant is born and died in Arkansas.
- 1889: Daughter Minnie Rebecca is born in Garfield, Arkansas.
There is no 1890 census. Edward is presumed to be living in Benton county, Arkansas.
- 1893: Son Israel Uriah is born in Garfield, Arkansas.
- 1896: Half-brother Israel dies, buried at Admatha Cemetery in Westmoreland.
1900 census: 63-year-old Edward is farming and living in Douglas county, MO with wife Mary and children Joseph, Ira, Rebecca, and Israel.
- E.C. Cook dies in 1903 in Winfield, KS near his children, buried at Union-Graham Cemetery.

Family Lore about E.C. Cook

Edward’s descendants say he was friends with Wyatt Earp. “Wyatt Earp came through Winfield on his way to Arizona and asked Cook to go with him, but he stayed in Winfield.”
- In reality, Edward only lived in Winfield for four months prior to his death, so Wyatt Earp wouldn’t have come through Winfield to see him. Wyatt Earp went to Arizona in 1879 when Edward was in Westmoreland living with his third wife and raising a family, and Earp wasn’t nearby then.
The family believes he scouted out of Fort Hays.
- Fort Hays is over 200 miles from Westmoreland, where Edward was fathering children every couple of years. It’s more likely he scouted out of Fort Riley. However, there is no evidence of him serving out of Fort Hays or Fort Riley.
Descendants say “he was hit with a poison arrow, which caused chronic health issues.”
- There’s no proof of this, but when he died, it was said that the illness that killed him had been “long and painful.”

Other things I found while researching Edward that I couldn’t quite fit into his story:

The E.C. Cook who had a child wander off in 1885 may have been a different man.
- The incident happened in Phillips county, and I didn’t find this Edward living there. But the story made to Westmoreland newspapers.
Even though Edward did move to Arkansas for a time, the “Col. E.C. Cook” or “Capt. E.C. Cook” in Marion county, AR who had a successful zinc mining operation doesn’t appear to be the same as this E.C. Cook.
- Edward lived in Benton county; Col. E.C. Cook lived in Marion county.
- Edward died in Winfield in 1903; Col. E.C. Cook died in Arkansas in 1905.
- Stories of Col. E.C. Cook also made it to Westmoreland newspapers.