Joseph Platt COOKE, Congress, CT (1730-1816)

COOKE, Joseph Platt, a Delegate from Connecticut; born in Stratford (now Bridgeport), Conn., on January 4, 1730; was graduated from Yale College in 1750; from 1763 to 1783 he represented the town in about thirty sessions of the general assembly; justice of the peace in 1764; appointed colonel of the Sixteenth Regiment of Militia in 1771; during the Revolutionary War accompanied General Wolcott's forces to New York in 1776; was in command of Continental forces when the British burned Danbury on April 26 and 27, 1777; resigned his colonelcy early in 1778; member of the council of safety in 1778; member of the State house of representatives in 1776, 1778, 1780-1782, and 1784; Member of the Continental Congress 1784-1785 and 1787-1788; judge of the probate court for Danbury district 1776-1813; served as one of the Governor's council in 1803; died in Danbury, Conn., on February 3, 1816; interment in North Main Street Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present