John Williston Cook

Background

John Williston Cook was born on April 20, 1844 near Oneida, New York, United States. His father, Harry Dewitt Cook, decided to seek his fortune in the new state of Illinois upon learning that Congress had authorized the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1851, when John was seven, the family established a home near Bloomington, and his father engaged in the building of bridges for the railroad. When the road was completed, he became a station-master and grain-dealer. Later, he served two terms in the Assembly, was a cavalry officer in the Union army, and at the time of his death in 1873 was chairman of the State Railroad and Warehouse Commission. His various interests were not without formative influence on his son who, outside of school-hours, assisted him in his office work and accompanied him to political meetings. To the companionship of his father and the latter’s numerous acquaintances, John Williston Cook acquired the readiness of address and genial manner which were so characteristic of him in later life. His mother, Joanna Hall Cook, who had been a school-teacher, instilled in him early a love of books and study.

Education

John attended an elementary school and entered the Illinois State Normal University. He graduated from the University in 1865.

Career

In 1865 Cook became principal of tire public school at Brimfield, Illinois. A year later he returned to his alma mater, where he remained for thirty-three years —the first two as instructor in the training department, one as instructor in geography and history, seven as instructor in reading, and fourteen as head of the department of mathematics. In 1890 he became president of the school, and remained in that office until he resigned nine years later.

The period 1866-1899 was crowded with plans and accomplishments. In 1874, Cook purchased an interest in the Illinois Schoolmaster, which he edited for two years in collaboration with Edwin C. Hewett. With the purchase of the Illinois School Journal in 1883, Cook again essayed the role of editor. At the end of the first year, he invited R. R. Reeder to collaborate with him, and this arrangement continued until 1886 when the magazine was sold. Cook was an untiring worker, and the tremendous energy for which he was noted served him in good stead during this period of engrossing activity.

When the Northern Illinois State Normal School (later Northern Illinois University) was established at De Kalb in 1899, Cook was chosen as its organizer and first president. Here he emphasized the training department, and won his reputation as a teacher of teachers. During this period he published his Educational History of Illinois (Chicago, 1912), and collaborated with Miss N. Cropsey in the publication of a series of arithmetics. The varied activities of his earlier years were continued with unabated vigor until his resignation on August 1, 1919.

Achievements

• John Williston Cook won national recognition as an educator with his articles on all phases of educational theory and practice and his numerous addresses in many states. During his presidency in the Northern Illinois University, he emphasized the training department, organized the structure of the school, established a two-year curriculum, and won the reputation as a teacher of teachers.

Works

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  • Educational History of Illinois: Growth and Progress in Educational Affairs of the State, From the Earliest Day to the Present, With Portraits and Biographies (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Educational History of Illinois: Growth and ...)

  • The New Advanced Arithmetic (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The New Advanced Arithmetic A number of cha...)

  • Elementary Arithmetic, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint)

    (No formula should be taught with the thought that it will...)

  • Elementary Arithmetic

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • A History of the Illinois State Normal University, Normal, Illinois (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from A History of the Illinois State Normal Unive...)

  • Methods in Written Arithmetic

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

  • A History of the Illinois State Normal University, Normal, Illinois - Primary Source Edition

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Membership

In 1880 Coook was elected president of the Illinois State Teachers Association; in 1896, president of the Normal Department of the National Education Association; and in 1904, president of the Association.

Connections

On August 26, 1867, Cook married Lydia Farnham Spofiford of North Andover, Massachusetts. The daughter of a schoolmaster, she was quite familiar with her husband’s problems and gave him much intelligent encouragement.

Father:

Harry Dewitt Cook

Mother:

Joanna Hall Cook

Spouse:

Lydia Farnham Spofiford