Burton Chauncey Cook (May 11, 1819 – August 18, 1894) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Biography

He was born in

Pittsford, New York Pittsford is an incorporated town in Monroe County, New York. A suburb of Rochester, its population was 30,617 at the time of the 2020 census. Formerly part of the town of Northfield, Pittsford was settled in 1789 and incorporated in 1796. T ...

on May 11, 1819. Cook attended the Collegiate Institute,

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. He studied law, and in 1835, he moved to

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...

, where he commenced the practice of law in 1840. In 1846, Cook was elected by the legislature to the position of

State's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for the ninth judicial district for two years. He was reelected by the people in 1848 for four years. He served as member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

1852–1860. He served as delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

in 1860 and 1864. He served as member of the peace convention of 1861 held in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war. Cook was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1865, to August 26, 1871, when he resigned. He served as chairman of the

Committee on Roads and Canals A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

(

Fortieth Congress The 40th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867, ...

), and the Committee on District of Columbia ( Forty-first Congress). He resumed the practice of his profession in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, and died there August 18, 1894. He was interred in Oakwood Cemetery,

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Burton C. 1819 births 1894 deaths Republican Party Illinois state senators District attorneys in Illinois Illinois lawyers People from Pittsford, New York People from Ottawa, Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly