He was born in
Virginia and moved to
Hancock County, Georgia in early life. He was one of the first white settlers in
Clarke County, Georgia. He was self-educated. He served as an Ensign in the Washington County Militia in 1793 and a Captain of the Eleventh Company, Hancock County Militia, in 1796. Cook was member of the
Georgia House of Representatives in 1806, 1807, and again in 1822. He served in the
Georgia Senate 1810–1814, 1823, and 1824. He was elected as a
Republican to the
14th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
Alfred Cuthbert. He was reelected to the
15th Congress and served from December 2, 1816, to March 3, 1819. He retired from public life and settled on his plantation near
Watkinsville, Georgia and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death in 1863. He was buried in Jackson Cemetery, Clarke (now
Oconee) County, Georgia. He was also a slave owner. ==References==