View source for Eli Cook

{{Short description|American politician}}
{{For|the American musician|Eli Cook (musician)}}
{{Infobox politician
|name = Eli Cook
|image =
|caption =
|birth_date = January 23, 1814
|birth_place = [[Palatine Bridge, New York]]
|residence =
|death_date = {{death date and age|1865|02|25|1814|01|23}}
|death_place = [[Buffalo, New York]]
|order =
|office = 23rd [[List of mayors of Buffalo, New York|Mayor of Buffalo]]
|term = 1853, 1854–1855
|predecessor = [[Hiram Barton]]
|successor = [[Frederick P. Stevens]]
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
|religion =
|spouse = married twice
|children = no children
|website =
|footnotes =<ref>{{cite book|last=Rizzo|first=Michael|title=Through the Mayors' Eyes|year=2005|publisher=Lulu|isbn=978-1-4116-3757-3|pages=424}}</ref>
}}
'''Eli Cook''' (1814–1865) was Mayor of the City of [[Buffalo, New York]], serving in 1853 and from 1854 to 1855. He was born in [[Palatine Bridge, New York]] on January 23, 1814. He took up law in 1830, passed the bar exam, and in 1837 he practiced in Tennessee and Mississippi with rebel General [[Simon B. Buckner]]. In 1838, he moved to Buffalo where he became one of the leading criminal lawyers. He married around 1838, but his wife died soon after; he re-married in 1843, to Sarah L. He was appointed city attorney in 1845, and again in 1851.<ref name="bflo">{{cite web|url=http://www.buffalonian.com/history/industry/mayors/Cook.htm|title=Eli Cook|date=2009-05-27|work=Through the Mayor's Eyes – The Only Complete History of the Mayor's of Buffalo, New York|author=Michael Rizzo|publisher=The Buffalonian is produced by The Peoples History Union}}</ref>
He was elected mayor on March 1, 1853, as the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate. During his term, the city charter was revised to make the mayor's term two years and the Common Council would elect its own presiding officer; the mayor would no longer be president. Additionally, many of the city offices that were filled by Council appointment were now to be elective.  The charter also annexed Black Rock into the city of Buffalo.  He was reelected for a second term on November 8, 1853, as the first two-year Buffalo mayor, and the first mayor to serve consecutive terms.<ref name="bflo"/>
After serving as mayor he returned to his law practice. He died on February 25, 1865, and was buried in [[Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo|Forest Lawn Cemetery]].<ref name="bflo"/>
==References==
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{{succession box | title=[[List of mayors of Buffalo, New York|Mayor of Buffalo, NY]] | before=[[Hiram Barton]] | after=[[Frederick P. Stevens]] | years=1853–1855}}
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{{BuffaloMayors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Eli}}
[[Category:1814 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:Mayors of Buffalo, New York]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo)]]
[[Category:People from Palatine Bridge, New York]]
[[Category:New York (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:19th-century mayors of places in New York (state)]]
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