Raven Cousins: Bella Cooke, 1821 - 1908

Most helpful to my research on the Smawfield family has been a book found during a Google search, called "Rifted Clouds, or The Life Story of Bella Cooke."    Bella was the author, and the book was first published in 1885 in New York.

Bella Cooke was the daughter of John Beeton and Elizabeth Smawfield, and she was the niece of my 5th great-grandmother, Ann Smawfield.

Bella Beeton was born on 13 July 1821 in Hull in Yorkshire, and was baptised in the Holy Trinity Church in Waltham Street on 11 October 1821.  It was a Methodist Church, and her devotion to the faith was evident throughout Bella's life.

Bella married Joseph Cooke in Sheffield in Yorkshire on 7 October 1840, and they emigrated to New York in 1847 with their 3 daughters. 

Her husband died in 1849 and her sisters and friends stepped in to provide for Bella and her small children.  Bella then began an active ministry, soliciting funds on behalf of the poor, as well as visiting them to distribute money and goods, and to provide spiritual guidance.

Bella had spinal issues from young, which she attributed to being dropped as a baby.  By 1855, when she was about 34, she was confined to her bed. People in need came directly to Bella's home where she continued to dispense assistance and instruction. The level of Bella's ministry grew and only ceased when she was close to death in 1908. 

The book devotes a considerable number of words to Bella's ongoing health issues. Sponsers and friends included some of the more well-known families in New York society, and visits and contributions were recorded.  Also included are valuable snippets of family information which provide details of the Smawfield family members and activities. 

Bella describes a life of much suffering and her determination to count her blessings, with the overwhelming themes being faith and service.  

Title pages: "Rifted Clouds,The Life Story of Bella Cooke." Author- Bella Cooke, 1885 New York

A digital copy of the book can be read via this link: 

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=aeu.ark:/13960/t5k943k79&view=1up&seq=1

Excerpts from the book are included below. They illustrate the family information gleaned from Bella's life story, and the extent of the families involvement with Methodism -

"Father, John Beeton, was born in Norfolk in August 1772."  

"Mother, Elizabeth Smawfield, was born December 2nd, 1776 in Epworth, home of the Wesleys."  

"Grandfather (Jeremiah Smawfield) was in the shoe business, and the Wesley's traded with him."

"Grandmother Smawfield (Hannah Robinson) was a devoted follower of Christ, and died when mother was 21."

"Mother (Elizabeth Smawfield)...met a young soldier in the British Army, (John Beeton) who was a tall and imposing figure..he was not a "member of society" - that is, a professor of religion and a Methodist...she loved him and they married. This was against the rules of the society..she was expelled from membership. ... During a short term of peace, when their first child was about 3 years old, father bought his discharge from the service. They went to Hull and settled there. My dear Mother again joined the Wesleyan Society and my father...gave his heart to God...They had 9 children, of whom I was the youngest and the household pet."   

"(Bella) was married in Sheffield, and one of the first stipulations of Mr Cook, her husband, was that their house should be the "Preachers Home," whenever the men of God came that way."

Details of the voyage to New York are described with both despair and gratitude. The Captain had intervened and provided a first class cabin without charge, after saying that "they would never live to get to New York." Bella wrote - "There were 350 Romanists in the steerage, most of them of the lowest class...how to live in that place we knew not...for to say nothing of the dirt, it was a constant uproar of fiddling and dancing, cursing and swearing, and sometimes fighting."  

November 1862 - "a young man called...George Addy, son of Rev. J Addy of Newfoundland ..son of my dear cousin, who left England twenty-seven years ago as a minister to those wilds in North America...He is attending lectures at the medical college in this City..."

On vaccinations and isolation, in 1871- "..my precious Annie (daughter) is very low with small-pox...(her husband brought their baby to Bella to be cared for away from Annie)...Dr. Sabine wants me to be vaccinated .."

On the extent of her missionary work, 14 January 1878 - "The past year...I had 2894 visitors besides visits of my poor, and I received and gave away $2024, all the recipients coming to me personally in order that I might know them well...I also gave nearly 300 new garments..."

"great-grandmother Smawfield (Elizabeth Brown c1718-1769) ..in the earliest days of Methodism received stripes for Christ's sake...My grandmother with a neighbour had been attending religious meetings, although their husbands, who were farmers, were godless men.  The farmers talked it over, and decided that their wives should not disgrace them by attending the meetings; so they agreed that if they went again, they should be horse-whipped...she went...On her return her sturdy husband met her with the greeting, "Now, Betsy, you have had your way, I will have mine." He whipped her until he was weary, if not ashamed... He begged her to forgive him..he became an earnest Christian for the rest of his life." p288.

Bella recounts the death of her husband, births, deaths and marriages of her children, grandchildren and siblings, which is all very useful for filling in the family tree. However the additional and very personal details about the lives of family members in the 1700's and 1800's  make it worth wading through the somewhat repetitive content of the book.  

Having read the book and gleaned an understanding of the family and community in which Bella lived, I wonder if the 3 men that her aunt and my 5th gt-grandmother, Ann Smawfield married, were part of "The Society" and therefore acceptable to her family.

A relationship chart shows my connection to  Bella Cooke, who is my 1st cousin, 6 times removed.

Possible DNA matches with American cousins were investigated.

My father, his brother and their 1st cousin share  DNA with several descendants of Bella Cooke. The amounts are small, and I hope to use other methods to validate them.

"Thrulines" from Ancestry (included below), illustrates the DNA matches.

Thrulines from AncestryDNA