The Cooke House

Francis Cooke arrived on the Mayflower with his son, John. His wife, Hester, who is a Walloon (Belgian) Protestant, followed in 1623 with the rest of the family.

Hollands	Deutsche	Italiano	Español	Français

Francis Cooke was born in England ca1583 and died in Plymouth April 7, 1663. In 1603, he married Hester Mahieu of Canterbury in Leiden. They had five children, and according to Bradford's 1650 account, he "hath seen his children’s children have children."

Hester (Mahieu) Cooke has been identified as a Walloon from the Lille area, although she gave her place of origin as Canterbury in the Leiden marriage records. She and three children emigrated to Plymouth Colony in 1623. She and Francis had one more daughter born to them in Plymouth, and Hester died sometime after June 8, 1666.