The building that housed Cooksey Grocery, located at 1801 W. Main Street, was originally purchased from Henry Brown by Joel Minsey Cooksey in 1911. Cooksey held the building for one year and sold it to M.C. Lawrence. Cooksey then repurchased the building in 1926 and operated it as a grocery by himself and then his son Joel Nicholas Cooksey until 1970 when the building and lot was purchased by Derby Refining Co. and served as a Derby service station.

Built shortly after the turn of the century, around 1903 by Henry Brown, it sits at the corner of Main and Carbon Streets where the Marion Gas station now sits in 2013. In its earlier days, it sat across West Main Street from the “Lilley Curve” in the electric Interurban railway which operated between Marion, Herrin and Carterville. For an earlier history on the building and photo, see the biography on Henry Brown, the original owner who also operated a family business in this location.

Joel M. Cooksey, who went by “Minsey”, was born near Pulley’s Mill in Southern Township of Williamson County in September of 1868 to John and Amanda Cooksey, farmers. He married his wife Cora B. Gullege in 1892 and they had one son named Joel Nicholas Cooksey born in Marion on August 26, 1909.

In the 1900 census, Joel and Cora were living in Marion and Joel was working as a teamster. By the 1910 census they were living at 416 S. Court Street and Joel was a self-employed gardener.

When the family started the grocery business on W. Main in the 1920’s they had been living at 910 W. Chestnut St., but after purchasing the business they moved into a home on the west side of the store located at 1801 ½ W.  Main Street.

The son, Joel N. grew up in the store and served as clerk in his youth. He appears to have started operating the store in the 1930’s after his father had reached retirement.

Around 1933, Joel N. Cooksey married Margaret Lewis and they had two children, neither of which lived long lives. Their first was Joel Nicholas Cooksey, named after his dad, born in 1934 and died in 1979. The second was Nancy Lois Cooksey, born in 1938 and died in 1941.

Joel N. Cooksey was called up and served in the U.S. Army during WWII as a private. He operated the business up to 1970 when Derby bought the lot and demolished the building.

Joel N. passed away on May 1, 2002 and his wife Margaret died in May 1999. Joel Minsey Cooksey died in May 1962 and his wife Cora died in May 1956. The entire family is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery.

For more information on the building and its original owner see Henry Brown, click here.

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( Data from Federal Census Records; Marion City Directories; Marion City Cemetery Records; Marion Daily Republican article dated 6/30/1970; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 05/22/2013)