Ira Cocke was born in Bainbridge, Illinois west of Marion on October 18, 1879 to David B. Cocke and Mary Hannah White. This is also where the 1880 federal census located his family. His 30 year old father, David was 30 and his mother Mary was 29. The parental couple were farm workers and had 3 children in the census, John 6, Robert 3 and infant Ira at 8 months of age.
On May 16, 1898, Ira married Miriam Etta Kimmel in Franklin County at the age of 19. Her parents were Joseph Priestly Kimmel and Mary Ann Kimmel. When the 1900 census was taken, the young couple were living in Tate Township in Saline County and had no children yet. They were living in a home that they owned free of mortgage and Ira was working as a sawmill laborer.
By 1907, Ira and Etta had moved to Marion and according to a street directory were living in a rental at 1009 W. Cherry St. with Ira working as a carpenter. When the 1910 census was taken, the couple were still living at the same address but now owned the home free of mortgage. They also had 3 children in the home, Edith 9, Vida E. 6 and David K. 3. They indicated that they had birthed 3 children and all 3 were living. Ira was listed as a carpenter/builder.
In 1916, Ira was elected as city alderman under Mayor Dausa D. Hartwell. In the next year, 1917, when he went to fill out his WWI draft card he was 38 years old and living at 918 W. Chestnut, the last home he would live in. He was working as a top boss at the Slogo Coal Mine in Marion and was physically described as medium height, medium build, with blue eyes and gray hair.
In the 1920 census, 40 year old Ira and 40 year old Etta were living at 918 W. Chestnut St. Ira was listed as a coal mine carpenter and the 3 children in the home were daughters Edith 18 and Vida 16 and their son David aged 13. A 1922 street directory confirmed their home at 918 W. Chestnut St. with Ira working as a coal mine boss.
When the 1930 census was taken, 50 year old Ira and Etta were still in their Chestnut Street home which they valued at $2,500. Children in the home were Edith 29 and David 23. Ira was working as a construction carpenter while his daughter Edith had begun teaching in the local high school.
In the 1940 census, 60 year old Ira and Etta were still in their Chestnut Street home which they now valued at $2,000. Ira was working as a self-employed construction carpenter and noted that he had worked only 20 hours in the week prior to the census. He also noted that he had only worked 25 weeks out of the past year, 1939. Ira’s education level was noted to be the 6th grade, while his wife had completed all 4 years of high school. Living with the couple was a 5 year old granddaughter named B. Anne.
Ira’s WWII draft record indicated that he was 62 years old when he filled it out and still living at 918 W. Chestnut Street. At that time, he was working at the Illinois Ordnance Plant (Ordill) employed by a construction company called Boyle & Healey out of Carbondale, Illinois. His physical description was 5’ 9” in height, 145 lbs., blue eyes, grey hair and a light complexion.
When the 1950 census was taken, the couple had reached 70 years of age, were still living on Chestnut Street and Ira was still working as a construction carpenter.
Ira’s wife, Miriam Etta Cocke, died on August 3, 1964 in Marion and was buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Marion.
Ira Cocke passed away in Marion at his home on September 18, 1968. A retired carpenter, he was a member of the Carpenter’s Union in Marion for 67 years. He was a member of the Aldersgate Methodist Church and the Modern Woodmen. His son David died in 1963 and his wife Etta in 1964. He left daughters, Mrs. Thomas (Vida) Bean and Mrs. Edith Hintzman both of Marion, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Notes on Children:
Edith H. Cocke Hintzman, born March 29, 1901, married William Hintzman in 1939 who died in 1945. She died October 9, 1994 at Shawnee Christian Center in Herrin. She was a retired teacher and librarian in Marion, SIUC, Carterville and Creal Springs.
Vida Esther Cocke Bean, born July 30, 1903, married Thomas Bean in May 1923, died June 21, 2000 in nursing home in Carbondale, Illinois. Burial in Pleasant Grove Memorial Park in Murphysboro.
David Kimmel Cocke, born December 26, 1906, married Delpha G., worked as a steelworker in Gary, Indiana. Died December 1, 1963 in Gary, In. of myocardial infarction.
(Sources: Federal census records, WWI and WWII Draft records, Social Security death records, FindaGrave.com, Marion street directories, Marion Daily Republican, Southern Illinoisan, Franklin County Marriage records. Compiled by Sam Lattuca on May 4, 2024)