Life After College
Life After College:
After his father passed away, John Francis Cook Jr. returned home where he and his brother taught at the institution that their father created, Union Seminary. He taught for many years before relocating to New Orleans, where he continued to teach until the start of the Civil War. He then went back to Washington, D.C., where he started working at the Union Seminary once more. In 1867, the school closed.
The women in the Cook family were active in the life of the Black community and many were teachers. John F. Cook, Jr.’s wife, Helen Appo Cook (notable Black American Women, Book II), was the founder of the National Association of Colored Women League and publicly attacked Susan. B Anthony’s speech to the House of Representatives for not backing universal suffrage unequivocally. The Appo family was a very prestigious family from Philadelphia.
Cook's Legacy
After the closure of Union Seminary, he moved on to working in the public sector as a clerk for the tax collector of Washington D.C. Cook became an important figure in Washington Politics within the Republican party, and in 1874 President Ulysses S Grant appointed him as a district tax collector. He held that position until the Democratic party took control of the House of Representatives and the Presidency. He then went on to work at Howard University which is one of the most well-known Black colleges where he was a member of the Board of Trustees.
Cook took part in emancipation celebrations in 1863. He took part in the sermons and the city tour, which included private and public entertainment provided by friends and former political comrades at each stop. The celebration was on the grounds south of the presidential mansion and was a grand affair and there were many people who showed up. At the ceremony, there was a portrait of our president which the inscription "Malice to None" and "Charity to all." There were speeches and afterward there was music and singing by the Sabbath school Children.
Sources: Liberator newspaper and the National Republic newspaper
Bibliography:
Smith, Jessie Carney. Notable black american women. New York: Gale Research, 1996.