William Cocke was an American lawyer, pioneer, and statesman.
13 Facts About William Cocke
2.
William Cocke has the distinction of having served in the state legislatures of four different states: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and was one of the first two United States senators for Tennessee.
3.
William Cocke was educated at home before reading law, and was admitted to the bar in Virginia.
4.
William Cocke suffered accusations of cowardice following his actions at the Battle of Island Flats that followed him throughout his life.
5.
In 1796, William Cocke was chosen as a delegate to the convention that wrote the first Tennessee Constitution.
6.
William Cocke was appointed a judge of the First Circuit Court of Tennessee.
7.
William Cocke engaged in a limited law practice, and spent more time on the frontier than he did in a law office.
8.
William Cocke was involved in exploration while in the company of Daniel Boone, traveling through much of what was to become eastern Kentucky and East Tennessee.
9.
William Cocke's son, John Alexander Cocke, was a four-term US Representative from Tennessee; his grandson, William Michael Cocke, was a two-term US Representative from Tennessee.
10.
William Cocke was appointed a judge of the First Judicial Circuit of Tennessee in 1809.
11.
William Cocke later resigned this position and moved to Mississippi.
12.
William Cocke briefly returned to military duty, serving under Andrew Jackson in the Creek War.
13.
William Cocke died in Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi, in 1828 and is buried there, in Friendship Cemetery.