Examination of Richard Cooke

fol. 94r

1956

Richard Cooke Late of Newmarkett in the Countie of Corke gentleman deposeth That hee this deponent haveing beene a souldier ever since hee was eighteen yeres of age & first serving vnder the Erle of Essex in Ireland, & after vnder the Lord Chichester for severall yeres, he at length removed & inhabited within the Countie of Cork aforesaid, where he lived plentifully vntill the begining of the present Rebellion there, when the Rebells robbed him his wife, & eight Children of goods & chattells worth 300 li. or thereabouts & expelled them from his Lands of inheritance worth about 50 li. yerely, & burned one of his howses burne downe to the ground & Laid wast another howse of his, being a large one, together with his orchard & gardens & those barbarous Rebells haveing stript him this deponent & his said wife and children of their cloths they with much difficulty & dangers of their Lives fled to the Cittie of Corke: Where three of his sonns tooke vp Armes & twoe of them were slaine in service against the Irish & knows not whether the third be dead or noe And although hee this Deponent was very old yet hee tooke vp Armes against the Irish Rebells served as Ensigne vnder Captaine Aldworth vntill the Battell betweene Newmarkett & Mallowe, where he was shott in the backe which hath much enfeebled him, And haveing much of his pay in arrere & noe meanes of subsistence Left, hee with his wife & he rest of his children have been forced to flee into England to seek releefe; But meeting with none they are brought to that misery that they may iustly say there is noe greater want then that which they daily suffer:

[mark]
sworne the 7th daye of ffebruary 1652
John Page

fol. 94v

Cork
Ensign Cooke Affidvt: