| Thomas Taplin Cooke | |
|---|---|
 Grave of the Cooke family at Kensal Green | |
| Born | Thomas Taplin Cooke 1782 Warwick, England |
| Died | 1866 |
| Resting place | Kensal Green Cemetery |
| Occupation | Showman |
Thomas Taplin Cooke (1782–1866) was an eminent English showman, born in Warwick, who toured in America as well as his own country. In 1997 Cooke was inducted into the Circus Hall of Fame.
Private life
Cooke was said to have had between thirteen and nineteen children who were mostly circus performers including William Cooke. He and his wife, Mary Anne, had a daughter Rebecca who married James Clements Boswell [it] and their daughter was the equestrian performer Nellie Boswell. Another daughter, Mary Anne (1819-1897), married clown and contortionist William H. Cole; with their son, William Washington "Chilly Billy" Cole, she helped manage their Cole circus. At his death, her son's estate was valued at $5 million.
References
- ^ William L. Slout (1998). Olympians of the Sawdust Circle: A Biographical Dictionary of the Nineteenth Century American Circus. Wildside Press LLC. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-0-8095-1310-9. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- "International Circus Hall of Fame Inductees, Peru Indiana". Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- Turner, John M. (23 September 2004). Boswell [married name Cattle], Nellie [Ellen Clara] (1858/9–1938), equestrian performer. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53838.
- Cole Bros. Circus
 | This English business-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
  | This article about a British entertainer is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |