William Cook, Russell

In the Christ Church cemetery in Russell one of the graves that caught my attention last time we were there is this one of William Cook and his son Joseph Francis Cook. William who was a shipbuilder/whaler by trade was born in 1790 in Plymouth, England and his father was Henry Cook.  He married "Tiraha" who was known as "Princess of Ngapuhi" (the tribe) from Horeke and also a relative of the chiefs Tamati Waka Nene and Patuone so I'm guessing she was a very well known lady.

On April 29th 1874 William passed away at the grand old age of 84. Looking at his photo above I think he looks like a kind man, it's not often I see people in the Victorian era smiling. 

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