John M COOKSON (VETERAN UNION)

PRIVATE
13th Regiment, New York Cavalry
Civil War Union
February 2, 1846 - October 2, 1936

*Obituary
The Benton County Democrat
Thursday, October 15, 1936

AGE VETERAN LAID TO REST WITH MILITARY HONORS

Funeral services for John M. Cookson, aged 90, a native of Maine and a veteran of the federal army in the War Between the States., who died here Friday morning, Oct. 2nd, at the home of his granddaughter, Miss Mabel Hudson, Benton County home demonstration agent, were held here at 2:30 o’clock Sunday afternoon in the chapel of the Burns Funeral Home. The rites were conducted by the Rev. L.C. Tedford, pastor of the Bentonville Baptist Church, assisted by the Rev. R.S. Rushing, pastor of the local Church of the Nazarene. Music was by a quartet from the Baptist Church and was composed of Mrs. Tedford, Mrs. Alvin Seamster, Miss Josephine Sumner, and Miss Mary Seamster; and a solo by Mrs. Tedford. Mrs. E.E. Rogers played the accompaniment. Funeral arrangements were directed by the Burns Funeral Home.

Burial was in the Springdale cemetery, with military honors in charge of the Rice W. Means Camp, Spanish war veterans of which Mr. Cookson was an honorary member.

The flag covered casket was carried from the chapel of the funeral home through lines of Spanish-American and World War veterans, and the pallbearers were T.J. Wood, A.A. Cooper, B.M. Fugate, Arch Law, J.W. Middleton, and J.H. Rakes all Spanish war veterans.

W.L. Brown of Gravette, a commander of the Rice W. Means Camp, had charge of the burial ritual at the cemetery. Buell Spencer of Bentonville and Glenn Juctice of Gravette blew taps at the grave and a firing squad of the Riddle Hutcheson Post of the American Legion, Bentonville which included E.E. Rogers, Everett Russell, Tom Stroud, Brick Carnanhan, Loyd Gordon, Earl Fortune, W.A. Black and William Welburn and which was commanded by Harry Dye of Gravette, member of the Rice W. Means Camp, fired the volley in final tribute to the last member of the Springdale Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. Cookson was born Feb. 2nd 1846, near Linson, Maine, and had lived in Michigan before coming to Arkansas 10 years ago. He was a successful farmer of the Springdale and Fayetteville vicinity and came to Bentonville three years ago.

During the Civil war Mr. Cookson, enlisted and served with the Thirteenth New York Cavalry and the Third Provincial Division. He served in Washington, D.C. and in Virginia before being mustered out of service at Staten Island, N.Y.

He was a charter member of the Rutherford B. Hayes Camp, Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 10, Springdale, and was the last surviving member of that camp. He also was an honorary member of the Rice W. Means Camp, Spanish-American War Veterans, Bentonville, and was a member of the Knights of Pythias and of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Fayetteville.

He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Agnes Hudson, Fort Worth, Texas; a son, S.L. Cookson, who lives near here and seven other grandchildren beside Miss Hudson.

Mr. Cookson was the last survivor of the War Between the States residing in Bentonville, the last of the many local veterans of the Southern Army and those of the Northern Army who had come to the vicinity and lived here for many year having already answered the last roll call.

Source: https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm M551 ROLL 28

Contributed on 9/19/23 by judyfrog
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Record #: 1502174

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