Daniel McCook, Senior
Major, Paymaster
United States Army
Daniel McCook, the second son of George and Mary McCormack McCook, was born on 20 June 1798, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He attended Jefferson College (later renamed Washington and Jefferson College); however, it’s unknown if he graduated.
On 28 August 1817, he married Martha Latimer. From this marriage, they had 12 children (nine boys and three girls). In 1826 the family moved to New Lisbon and later to Carrollton, Ohio where he engaged in the practice of law. Daniel was an active member and an elder for many years of the Presbyterian Church of Carrollton, organizing and conducting as superintendent the first Sunday School of that church.
In Washington, D.C. at the outbreak of the Civil War, Daniel at once tendered his services to President Lincoln and was commissioned a major and Paymaster. Each of his eight living sons, also promptly responded to the call of the President for troops. On 19 July 1863 at approximately 6:00 a.m., sixty-five year old Daniel joined an advance party to oppose Confederate General John Morgan’s raid into Ohio at Buffington Island on the Ohio River. During this battle, Daniel was mortally wounded and died on 21 July 1863.
Daniel was preceded in death by one son John James and one daughter Catherine McCook.
He was survived by his wife; eight sons Latimer Abraham, George Wythe, Robert Latimer, Alexander McDowell, Daniel, Edwin Stanton, Charles Morris, and John James McCook; and two daughters Mary Jane Guard and Martha McCook.
Major Daniel McCook was buried with full military honors in Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery.
Historical Landmarks:
McCook Monument; located two miles west of Portland and five hundred yards west of Buffington Island, on State Route 124, in Meigs County, Ohio. This roadside monument marks the area where Major Daniel McCook died during the battle of Buffington Island.
Buffington Island State Monument; located 20 miles west of Pomeroy on State Route 124, in Meigs County, Ohio. Buffington Island commemorates the only significant Civil War battle that took place on Ohio soil.
McCook House; located on the west side of the public square in Carrollton, Ohio. This large brick house is a memorial to the "Fighting McCooks," a nickname given to the family because of their military service during the Civil War.
Source of Information:
1. Biographies of Notable Americans, 1904 [database online]. Orem, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc., 1997. Original data: Johnson, Rossiter, ed. Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Volumes I-X. Boston, MA: The Biographical Society, 1904 (www.ancestry.com).
2. Brief History of the Battle of Buffington Island (http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/1570/buffhist.html).
3. Historical Collections of Ohio by Henry Howe, Volume 1, page 366. (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~henryhowesbook/carroll.html).
4. Hamilton County, Ohio History [database online]. Orem, UT: Ancestry.com, Inc., 1997. Original data: Ford, Henry A., and Kate B. Ford. History of Hamilton County. Cleveland, OH: L.A. Williams 1881 (www.ancestry.com).