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Ruth Atwater Cooke
Other Name:
Ruth Atwater
Gender:
Female
Born:
April 11, 1788
Died:
November 2, 1877
Home Town:
Hartford, CT
Later Residences:
Catskill, NY
Marriage(s):
Apollos Cooke (November 22, 1813)
Biographical Notes:
Ruth Atwater Cooke was an early student of Sarah Pierce's Litchfield Female Academy. Born in 1788 to Caleb Atwater and Ruth Wadsworth Atwater of Hartford, Connecticut, she completed her studies at Litchfield in 1793. She later moved to Catskill, New York with her husband Apollos Cooke, whom she married in 1813.
Education
Years at LFA:
1793
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
- Apollos Cooke
Husband - Caleb Atwater
Father - Ruth Wadsworth Atwater
Mother
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation. Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
A silk embroidery titled "The Cottage Girl" was completed by Ruth Atwater Cooke. Several other Female Academy students completely nearly identical embroideries. The Cooke embroidery is currently held in a private collection.
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