The Life of Thomas 'Cabbage' Cooke - Georgian Miser and Confidence Trickster

#miser #georgianhistory #ebenezerscrooge
Thomas 'Cabbage' Cook was a Georgian sugar producer and a very nasty man. Born in poverty, he conned a poor widow into marrying him by threatening to ruin her and through that made himself very wealthy. He neglected her, providing her with only a diet of cabbages and rotten meat, while he dined at the tables of the wealthy. The cabbages he grew himself, even going as far as manuring them himself with his own faeces. He died as rich as Croesus and unlamented, the women of Islington throwing rotten cabbage stalks on his coffin - but in an odd twist to the tale he left £30,0000 to charity to support widows and orphans. Did he have a change of heart in his last days?
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[@JayGideon-7]

When I was in grade-school I knew of a miser who was the financial equal to Cooke. Our public bus would stop occasionally at his brick mansion which was not on the actual route of any bus. The man boarding was by all appearances an impoverished hobo. His hair and fingernails were long and his clothes were a collage of styles and colors. He seemed unacquainted with soap. Amazingly he was on the board of our three historical banks and was one of the largest landowners of our county. I got this info from my father who told me to always be nice to him!

[@TerryC69]

Hi Allan! The most curious aspect of this story, to my mind, is why a man, with so many sociopathic tendencies, would ultimately leave behind such a massive sum of money for charitable efforts. Did he feel guilty? Was he afraid of hell? Perhaps he did have a pathological fear of poverty. So much so, that he was willing to do anything to avoid it. A remarkably interesting character study indeed.

[@annettewillis2797]

What a fascinating tale with twists and turns and cabbages! Every age has its misers but perhaps not many leave such stories behind. Fear of hell and retribution may have been forefront in his mind in the end. But the people of Islington, casting their cabbages onto his coffin, had the last laugh. Thanks so much Allan and very best wishes for the festive season to you and your family.

[@ludovica8221]

There are much worse people around (and running things) today

[@danielkarmy4893]

He gave plenty of his fortune to charitable causes, of that there can be no doubt - that he deliberately waited until it would cost him absolutely nothing to do so, surely is beyond doubt also...

[@whiteflower5603]

Hurrah! I have always loved "A Christmas Carol" and been fascinated with the various characters in it. This presentation of certain people of that time, who may have contributed to those characters, is both educational and a bit humorous! Your channel is an utter delight, and I thank you for it.

[@jackripper190]

Fascinating thanks for sharing.

[@webrarian]

Great story. The burial register for St Mary, Islington, says he was buried in the choir vault. So that would have been inside the church - I wonder if there's a ledger stone to mark it? His will specifies that he wanted to be buried next "Doctor Sherley". That seems to be the Thomas Shirley, aged 74, buried in the choir vault on 22 Oct 1805. It makes me wonder about the story of people throwing cabbage stalks, though.

[@xlerb2286]

There's something to that fear of poverty idea. That type of thing leaves scars. My parents were of an age where they and their friends were growing during the great depression. As a group they certainly weren't misers but they all that the same trait of not spending money needlessly - even the ones to whom life had been good and they had no financial worries. Thrifty, or frugal, would be terms that could be applied to them all. And then there was my grandmother who was bringing up a family during the depression that wouldn't make a baked potato because spending "all that money" to heat up the oven for one person was wasteful.

[@chriscaughey1103]

In our life times we could always find a man like Thomas Cooke I am sure! This was a good tale!

[@davidmclaughlin2796]

Oh my days! What a great story Barton! Thank you. David

[@malverdeislove]

I don't know if this guy inspired Ebeneezer Scrooge, but some of his antics were so cartoony he may as well have inspired Mr. Krabs. 🦀

[@jilltagmorris]

I guess this type always has and always will be around. Thanks again for a rather unusual episode. Not sure how long it will take me to eat cabbage again!!!!! Happy Christmas Allan.

[@lli747]

I was waiting for a Thomas Cook travel connection. p.s. - we are having cabbage for lunch tomorrow, I might put out an extra plate, just in case.

[@ilikesandwiches292]

Bravo!

[@petrikokko1441]

Do not disregard that misery may be pathological in nature.

[@stepps511]

Thank you, and a very Happy Christmas to you! Your channel is a wonderful source of information and entertainment.

[@marypalmer1062]

Love these. Wish you had my professor. Brilliant.

[@deborahmorgan6848]

A real Dickensian tale with cabbages thrown in for good measure. So interesting.

[@carolburns8667]

What an interesting story🇨🇦

[@stevestuart6099]

Been a sub for awhile now, Eloquent, Educational & Beautifully presented, Thank you & Merry Christmas to you & yours.

[@edwardsfamilychannel5807]

Thank you for another wonderfully interesting biography.

[@kentuckylady2990]

Very interesting

[@alexandertroup851]

Great story

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!

[@conemadam]

Another incredible story. Thank you!

[@bethena1855]

Fascinating story, well told, a complex character indeed.

[@David.M.]

Thanks Allen, another great video!

[@marthavanbeek-putters]

Wow just an another amazing and fascinating story!

[@davidd6171]

Wonderful story telling Allan!

[@nickimontie]

What an evil man!

[@spuddy4845]

I feel bad now, I'm not mean by any stretch but I manured by own tomatoes when I lived in a caravan with no toilet, LOL what fun teenage years they were

[@allanbarton]

😂

[@cherylschantz9893]

What a horrible, horrible man.

[@allanbarton]

He wasn't pleasant at all.

[@dianetheisen8664]

He was a very cruel man to his poor wife, to whom he lied in order to get her money 💰. I don't think giving money 💰 to charities quite makes up for that.

[@VincentGroenewold]

Super interesting. I also think it's partly the context of society back then, people were even more stressed to find ways to have a bit of money without much of help from a government. Combine that with one of the many psychological issues people always have and you get Cooke. :)

[@educanassa100]

Merry christmas Allan

[@jjudy5869]

Being related to some miserly individuals, there is no accounting for some of their behavior. In one instance, the price of black pepper went up. That individual decided that they were not going to spend that much on black pepper, so the household never had black pepper again. You and I would wince at the price tag, buy it, and be more sparing in its use if we were truly short on funds. Starving your spouse is unconscionable.

[@pjk1714]

Happy holidays!

[@deniseatkins9407]

What a strange man

[@ceciliajones7816]

His death-philanthropy seems like an old miser trying to buy his way into heaven. Hope it didn’t work!

[@Bus_Driver_Jay]

Wow this is amazing. I hope some day to be remembered as a miser too! Need to get more tight fisted first though 🤔 😂

[@Bus_Driver_Jay]

On a less jovial point, I’m curious. Is it known who inherited his mill? I’m going to go out on a wild limb and assume that he didn’t have any children?

[@jeannelynskey6946]

Pooping on the cabbages.

[@morgs456]

Weyyy no2

[@pjk1714]

Just fascinating. I'm certain there were others like him as now we see some sowing good deeds. Paying forward at death or paying forward while still profiting after causing death or hardships won't send us where we want to end up. Thank you for sharing this morsel of history.

[@THINKincessantly]

OT--Has Bolingbroke’s tomb ever been examined? Happy Christmas 🎄 from East Texas!

[@charliesmith_]

He was on his own sent to school as Labour and chose to save money to learn. That's self sufficiency. Nobody's going to do that for you. You learn from the ground up. What you learn others don't. *Anyone* is fair game for a narcissist. Remember that when you feel romantic.

[@kathywolfe6606]

Great story telling!