McCook was born in
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of an Irish revolutionary, George McCook, who had fled to the
United States about 1780. He graduated from
Jefferson College. On August 28, 1817, he married Martha Latimer; they would have twelve children (nine boys and three girls). In 1826, the family moved to
New Lisbon, Ohio, then to
Carrollton, where McCook practiced law. He became an elder in the
Presbyterian church and was a pioneer in the regional
Sunday School movement. He was an elder at
John McMillan's church. With the outbreak of the Civil War, McCook, although 63 years old, volunteered his services to the
Union. He was commissioned as a
major and paymaster. When
Confederate Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan led his troops through southern Ohio during
Morgan's Raid, Major McCook joined in the advance of the Union pursuit. Early in the morning of July 19, 1863, Federal troops attacked Morgan at
Buffington Island, where the Confederates were planning to cross the
Ohio River back into
Western Virginia. McCook was shot and mortally wounded. He died two days later, and his body was buried with full military honors in
Spring Grove Cemetery in
Cincinnati, Ohio. The
Daniel McCook House in Carrollton has been restored and was listed in 1970 as a
National Historic Place. ==References==