Misplaced Pages

Sam C. Cook (July 13, 1855 – February 15, 1924) was a judge and state legislator in Mississippi. He served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1912 to 1921.

Early life

Sam C. Cook was born on July 13, 1855, in Oxford, Mississippi. He was the son of Milas J. Cook and Martha (Bumpass) Cook. Cook attended the public schools of Oxford, and graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1878. He then began practicing law in Holmes County, Mississippi, before moving to Batesville, Mississippi, in 1880, and continuing to practice law there.

Career

In 1885, Cook was elected to represent Panola County as a Democrat in the Mississippi House of Representatives and served in the 1886 session. In 1888, he moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi. Cook represented Coahoma County in the House in the 1890, 1892, and 1894 sessions. He was appointed attorney for the Yazoo Mississippi delta levee board in 1900 and served two years. He was appointed circuit Judge of the Eleventh district by former Governor Andrew H. Longino in 1902 and was reappointed by Governors James K. Vardaman Jr. and Edmond Noel.

He was appointed to Mississippi's supreme court by Mississippi governor Earl L. Brewer in 1912 after serving in the state legislature and for two terms as a circuit judge. In 1920, Brewer was challenged in his bid for reelection by William Dozier Anderson. In the closing days of the election, Anderson accused Cook of having become lazy and careless in his opinion writing, and defeated Cook in the primary.

Personal life

Cook was a Methodist. He married Elizabeth Murphy on October 25, 1882, and they had four children, named Charles, Edwin, Marjorie, and Sam Jr.

See also

• List of justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi

References

1. ^ Leslie Southwick, Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996, 18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998).
2. ^ Rowland, Dunbar (1912). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. pp. 335–336.
3. "Judge Sam C. Cook", The Chattanooga News (February 15, 1924), p. 2.

This article about a Mississippi politician is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

This biography of a state judge in Mississippi is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• 1855 births
• 1924 deaths
• Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives
• Mississippi circuit court judges
• Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court
• People from Clarksdale, Mississippi
• Mississippi lawyers
• 19th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature
• Mississippi politician stubs
• Mississippi state court judge stubs