Francis Cooke (1577-1663) was born in the parish of Blyth, York Co., England. He immigrated to Amsterdam, Holland in 1608, and later lived in Leyden. He married Hester, a French walloon, 1609. Francis immigrated to Plymouth, Mass. with his oldest son, John on the Mayflower. The rest of the family came over on the ship Ann on July 1623. Francis Cooke died in Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 7, 1663. Descendants live in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.