George Grimston Cookman (October 21, 1800 – March 12, 1841) was a Methodist clergyman who served as Chaplain of the Senate.
During his months at sea he read Bishop Watson's Apologies, Mason on Self-Knowledge, Jenyn's Views of the Internal Evidences of Christianity, Lord Lyttleton's Arguments for Christianity, Baxter's Gildas Salvianus and Saint's Rest, and Butler's Analogy, while proselytizing to the seamen on board.
While serving there, he was able to bring about a renewed commitment to Christian faith in future President Franklin Pierce.
Cookman was lost at sea when the steamship SS President (then the largest passenger ship afloat) departed on her third and final westward crossing on March 11, 1841, to England, never to be heard from again.
[3][4] On April 2, 1827, Cookman, who had returned to England, married Mary Barton at Doncaster, Yorkshire; their six children included sons Alfred, George, and John Emory.