In 1811, sixteen- or seventeen-year-old Eliza Cooke married Thomas Cooke, a circuit riding Methodist preacher in Georgia. In 1813, they moved to North Carolina, and "though, before the world, seemingly kind," he was always mean and abusive. In 1843, Thomas began to drink heavily, flying into fits of anger and rage, and forcing her to flee from the house. On one occasion he threatened to kill her with a knife, and she escaped harm only when a black woman and several of her children intervened. She asks for a divorce and alimony.
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Repository: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina
