John F. Cook Sr.

[1] Cook apprenticed as a shoemaker and became an assistant messenger for the United States Land Commissioner.

In 1834, he succeeded John Prout as head of the Smothers School and renamed it Union Seminary.

[4] In 1835, Cook served as secretary for the fifth Convention for the Improvement of the Free People of Colour in the United States.

[4] In 1838, Cook helped establish Union Bethel Church in D.C. His aunt, Alethia Tanner, was a member there until her death.

[1] His son, John F. Cook, Jr., founded a Washington, D.C., school and named it in his honor.