--- Jetrbabe2@aol.com wrote: > In my lineage, I have one Josiah Cooke, that was > born 1645 in Plymouth, MA, wed to Deborah Hopkins > (whom I have no information about). Is this person > related to Francis Cooke, and if so, how? Please > help. I look forward to hearing from everyone, and > againI apologize if this is a terribly dumb > question. This is by no means a dumb question, and Dale Cook, who apparently never sleeps, has answered it. [Also see MD 3:97 for Bowman's seemingly airtight case that Josiah was not the son of Francis.] However, while this is certainly not a dumb question, it reminds the Genferret of what some might think of as the dumbest genealogical proof evere offered. The Genferret, however, takes a broader and more elevated view, and sees this proof as in the noblest tradition of America, the freedom to believe according to one's own light, no matter how feeble and flickering that light might be. From Annie Anoux Haxtun,_Signers of the Mayflower Compact_ (rpt. Genealogical Publishing, 1998) "Historians differ in opinion as to the children of Franscis Cooke, the Pilgrim. Granting this, I must, from my own judgment, as I peruse the records, assimilate convictions and search for the truth in all directions; take Josias, not only as a son, but a strong power in the family, inheriting the qualities of the Pilgrim, prosperous, and of good repute. Savage does not allow us Josias, and record-seekers love to pin their faith on him; still, he would be only human to occasionally pass by the possibilities from which facts grow. The argument now is founded not upon what was said, but what was not. Certainty is self-evident, requires no assertion, so it seems to me it was not necessary to mention Josias as a son." p. 54 So Annie Anoux Haxton, having exalted herself as a seeker of truth, apparently having taken Josias in holy matrimony, and trashing Savage, goes on to posit the proposition that IF THERE ARE NO RECORDS TO THE CONTRARY, WE CAN BELIEVE WHATEVER WE BLOODY WELL WANT!!! The Genferret reveres Ms Haxtun as a model for all freedom loving genealogists. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/