From "A History of the County of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia" By John Roy Campbell:
Ephraim Cooke, one of the Committee and the first Registrar of Deeds, is entitled to some notice. He was a seafaring man who had lost one of his legs; and a few still living can recall the days when their childish fancy identified him with the Captain Cook who sailed round the world. He was not one of the first thirteen of 1761; but he was here before any of them; and, as far as we know, he was the first Englishman who set foot on this County. He was the pioneer of the Yarmouth fishing trade, and he knew these shores for seasons before the year of settlement, having been one of those who came to fish and then return to their New England homes at the end of the season. As the youngest of three sons, he was kept at home (Kingston, Mass.), to work on the farm. In 1755 he accompanied his father, who was a Captain of Militia, and, while building a fort, a log fell and broke his leg, necessitating amputation below the knee. He could farm no longer, and afterwards he became a Surveyor. But he preferred the sea; and it is as shoresman and storekeeper in his future father-in-law's fishing vessel that we first meet with him in the spring of 1761, before the arrival of any intending settlers. He first camped on Tinkham's Island; then at Cook's harbour, where he had a better beach to cure the fish. He busied himself at home in Kingston during the winter of 1761 in getting out the frame of a house, which was of oak, part of which can yet be identified. Being lame, he required a horse for drawing the fish to and from the flakes; and as water was distant from his camping place, he procured a stout canoe, in which he fixed a barrel; and by these expedients he supplemented the loss of his limb. He gradually became a man of considerable influence in the Township. He had a vessel of about 35 or 40 tons, all of oak, in the fishing trade, of which we may describe him as the founder. In her he employed seven or eight men, who, on the well now obsolete mode of payment, were " supplied" from his store. We have already noted that he was the first Registrar; afterwards, he was appointed the first Captain of Militia for both sides of tne Chebogue River; in addition to which he held a commission as Justice of the Peace. He died in the year 1821, leaving behind him a good substance, a large family, and a fair fame.
Ephraim Cooke, one of the Committee and the first Registrar of Deeds, is entitled to some notice. He was a seafaring man who had lost one of his legs; and a few still living can recall the days when their childish fancy identified him with the Captain Cook who sailed round the world. He was not one of the first thirteen of 1761; but he was here before any of them; and, as far as we know, he was the first Englishman who set foot on this County. He was the pioneer of the Yarmouth fishing trade, and he knew these shores for seasons before the year of settlement, having been one of those who came to fish and then return to their New England homes at the end of the season. As the youngest of three sons, he was kept at home (Kingston, Mass.), to work on the farm. In 1755 he accompanied his father, who was a Captain of Militia, and, while building a fort, a log fell and broke his leg, necessitating amputation below the knee. He could farm no longer, and afterwards he became a Surveyor. But he preferred the sea; and it is as shoresman and storekeeper in his future father-in-law's fishing vessel that we first meet with him in the spring of 1761, before the arrival of any intending settlers. He first camped on Tinkham's Island; then at Cook's harbour, where he had a better beach to cure the fish. He busied himself at home in Kingston during the winter of 1761 in getting out the frame of a house, which was of oak, part of which can yet be identified. Being lame, he required a horse for drawing the fish to and from the flakes; and as water was distant from his camping place, he procured a stout canoe, in which he fixed a barrel; and by these expedients he supplemented the loss of his limb. He gradually became a man of considerable influence in the Township. He had a vessel of about 35 or 40 tons, all of oak, in the fishing trade, of which we may describe him as the founder. In her he employed seven or eight men, who, on the well now obsolete mode of payment, were " supplied" from his store. We have already noted that he was the first Registrar; afterwards, he was appointed the first Captain of Militia for both sides of tne Chebogue River; in addition to which he held a commission as Justice of the Peace. He died in the year 1821, leaving behind him a good substance, a large family, and a fair fame.
From "A History of the County of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia" By John Roy Campbell:
Ephraim Cooke, one of the Committee and the first Registrar of Deeds, is entitled to some notice. He was a seafaring man who had lost one of his legs; and a few still living can recall the days when their childish fancy identified him with the Captain Cook who sailed round the world. He was not one of the first thirteen of 1761; but he was here before any of them; and, as far as we know, he was the first Englishman who set foot on this County. He was the pioneer of the Yarmouth fishing trade, and he knew these shores for seasons before the year of settlement, having been one of those who came to fish and then return to their New England homes at the end of the season. As the youngest of three sons, he was kept at home (Kingston, Mass.), to work on the farm. In 1755 he accompanied his father, who was a Captain of Militia, and, while building a fort, a log fell and broke his leg, necessitating amputation below the knee. He could farm no longer, and afterwards he became a Surveyor. But he preferred the sea; and it is as shoresman and storekeeper in his future father-in-law's fishing vessel that we first meet with him in the spring of 1761, before the arrival of any intending settlers. He first camped on Tinkham's Island; then at Cook's harbour, where he had a better beach to cure the fish. He busied himself at home in Kingston during the winter of 1761 in getting out the frame of a house, which was of oak, part of which can yet be identified. Being lame, he required a horse for drawing the fish to and from the flakes; and as water was distant from his camping place, he procured a stout canoe, in which he fixed a barrel; and by these expedients he supplemented the loss of his limb. He gradually became a man of considerable influence in the Township. He had a vessel of about 35 or 40 tons, all of oak, in the fishing trade, of which we may describe him as the founder. In her he employed seven or eight men, who, on the well now obsolete mode of payment, were " supplied" from his store. We have already noted that he was the first Registrar; afterwards, he was appointed the first Captain of Militia for both sides of tne Chebogue River; in addition to which he held a commission as Justice of the Peace. He died in the year 1821, leaving behind him a good substance, a large family, and a fair fame.
Ephraim Cooke, one of the Committee and the first Registrar of Deeds, is entitled to some notice. He was a seafaring man who had lost one of his legs; and a few still living can recall the days when their childish fancy identified him with the Captain Cook who sailed round the world. He was not one of the first thirteen of 1761; but he was here before any of them; and, as far as we know, he was the first Englishman who set foot on this County. He was the pioneer of the Yarmouth fishing trade, and he knew these shores for seasons before the year of settlement, having been one of those who came to fish and then return to their New England homes at the end of the season. As the youngest of three sons, he was kept at home (Kingston, Mass.), to work on the farm. In 1755 he accompanied his father, who was a Captain of Militia, and, while building a fort, a log fell and broke his leg, necessitating amputation below the knee. He could farm no longer, and afterwards he became a Surveyor. But he preferred the sea; and it is as shoresman and storekeeper in his future father-in-law's fishing vessel that we first meet with him in the spring of 1761, before the arrival of any intending settlers. He first camped on Tinkham's Island; then at Cook's harbour, where he had a better beach to cure the fish. He busied himself at home in Kingston during the winter of 1761 in getting out the frame of a house, which was of oak, part of which can yet be identified. Being lame, he required a horse for drawing the fish to and from the flakes; and as water was distant from his camping place, he procured a stout canoe, in which he fixed a barrel; and by these expedients he supplemented the loss of his limb. He gradually became a man of considerable influence in the Township. He had a vessel of about 35 or 40 tons, all of oak, in the fishing trade, of which we may describe him as the founder. In her he employed seven or eight men, who, on the well now obsolete mode of payment, were " supplied" from his store. We have already noted that he was the first Registrar; afterwards, he was appointed the first Captain of Militia for both sides of tne Chebogue River; in addition to which he held a commission as Justice of the Peace. He died in the year 1821, leaving behind him a good substance, a large family, and a fair fame.
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