Name/Title
William Bull CocksEntry/Object ID
002655Tags
William Bull CocksScope and Content
William Bull Cocks dies; former Cornwall justice
By AL GREEN
Staff Writer
CORNWALL-ON-HUDSON — Former Town of Cornwall Justice William Bull Cocks, patriarch of the Cocks family in Orange County, died Sunday in Cornwall Hospital after a long illness. He was 94.
Mr. Cocks served as justice of the peace in Cornwall from 1924 to 1963, one of the longest terms in town history. He operated the C.E. Cocks and Sons store in Cornwall, founded by his grandfather in 1850, until his retirement in 1971. He also served for a time as deputy town supervisor.
He was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson on Aug. 10, 1885, the year after the village was incorporated, to Charles Campbell and Keturah Bull Cocks and was married to the former Grace Male, a school teacher who died Feb. 21, 1973. They raised four sons, one of whom survives.
Mr. Cocks was a Quaker and member of the Friends Meeting House in Cornwall, a place where the Cocks family worshipped from its founding in 1790. He was instrumental in raising funds several years ago when the structure was heavily damaged by fire.
In a 1973 interview, Mr. Cocks said his philosophy was to "deal justly with everyone. Walk humbly. Love mercy." In that same interview, conducted a few months after his wife's death, he quoted his favorite poetic passage, written by William Cullen Bryant: "So live, that when thy summons comes, you'll lie down to pleasant dreams."
He lived all his life in Cornwall-on-Hudson, except for a brief period in 1906 when he left the area on an unsuccessful venture selling agricultural newspaper subscriptions to farmers in North Dakota.
Mr. Cocks was an active member of the Cornwall, New Windsor and Monroe Horse Thief Detecting Society, an organization formed in 1805 to combat gangs which stole horses in the region for sale in New York City. The society still holds an annual meeting each year in October.
At the time of his death, Mr. Cocks was living at 54 Clark Ave. with his daughter-in-law, Leona, widow of his late son, Charles.
He is survived by a son, Richard M. Bull Cocks of Yigo, Guam; two half-sisters, Marion Preston and Catherine Vail; 10 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Mr. Cocks donated his body to the Albany Medical College. Cremation will be later with burial in the Friends Cemetery, Cornwall.
A memorial service will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Friends Meeting House, Cornwall.
Perrott's Funeral Home, 1 Grand Ave., Newburgh, is in charge of arrangements.
[Photo Caption] William Bull Cocks dies at 94.