Last week I had the opportunity to talk about the history of Cooksville to an eager gathering at a meeting hosted by the Cooksville BIA. After the presentation, I was asked what or who Agnes Street in Cooksville was named for. I had to admit that I did not know. However, a few days later, the likely answer presented itself as I wandered down the proverbial rabbit hole researching what turned out to be a connected topic – or in this case, a family.

Back in 2018, in the early days of this article series, we wrote about the name origin of Ogden Avenue in Lakeview. Ogden Avenue (it was originally called Ogden Road) in Lakeview formally took its name in 1888 when Albert Ogden subdivided his family farm, which had been in his family since 1831 through Albert’s grandfather Joseph Ogden, and Albert’s father, William Jones Ogden. The only thing was that in 1888 there was already another road in historic Mississauga called Ogden. But that did not deter Albert Ogden from naming Ogden Road. However, if you look on a modern street map of Mississauga, you will not find the “other” Ogden. Possibly in order to eliminate confusion over having two roads named Ogden, in 1958 a decision was made by Township Council to eliminate the duplication. Ogden Road in Lakeview became Ogden Avenue, while the “other”, older road, Ogden Street in Cooksville, was renamed Novar Road.

Ogden Street in Cooksville was the older of the two Ogdens, but their origins are connected. Joseph Ogden Jr. (1757-1844) of Lakeview fame, together with his wife Hannah Jones (1765-1865) had at least three children: Samuel Gass Ogden (1799-1874), Anna Ogden (1801-1846) and William Jones Ogden (1803-1888). As we mentioned earlier, the youngest son William followed in his father’s footsteps in Lakeview. The Lakeview branch of the family produced three noted doctors and a respected barrister. Joseph and Hannah’s daughter, Anna, married Jacob Cook Sr. (1796-1873), for whom Cooksville was named in 1836.

However, the origins of Ogden Street in Cooksville connect to Joseph and Hannah’s eldest son, Samuel Gass Ogden. As noted above, Jacob Cook had married Samuel’s younger sister Anna, and Samuel had married Jacob Cook’s younger sister, Sarah Cook (1806-1893). Not only were Jacob Cook and Samuel Ogden brothers-in-law, both families had ties to Pennsylvania. The Cook family hailed from Lancaster County, while the Ogdens had roots in nearby Cumberland County. Both families also had ties to adjacent York County. The intermarriages (also on both sides with the Palmer family of Harrisburg) suggest that there were likely early connections between the Cook and Ogden families in Pennsylvania.

The Ogden family came to the Niagara area of Canada in 1798, where Samuel was born in 1799. The Cook family followed a few years later, with Jacob’s father, Andrew Cook, petitioning for land in Upper Canada in 1806. Jacob himself had been born in 1796 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Some years later, in 1819, Jacob purchased land here in historic Mississauga (at the southwest corner Hurontario Street and Dundas Street), and Jacob married Anna Ogden later that same year. Samuel married Jacob’s sister in 1824, and a year later he followed Jacob, acquiring a Crown Grant on the north side of Dundas Street, west of Hurontario Street – directly north of Jacob’s property. Both Jacob and Samuel had interests other than farming. Beginning in 1835 Samuel began subdividing his property, selling off small building lots. He may have formally created a subdivision survey at that time, although the earliest date reference we currently have for the “Ogden Plan” is 1846. In that plan, Samuel laid out and named five roads: Ogden Street, Cook Street, Agnes Street, Cyrus Street and Milton Street. The name origins of Ogden and Cook are self-explanatory. But, back to the original inspiration for this article, what about Agnes, and for that matter, Cyrus and Milton?

Samuel Gass Ogden and his wife Sarah had eight children: Hannah Agnes Ogden (1825-1907), William Cyrus Ogden (1827-1906), Edwy Joseph Ogden (1829-1910), Eliza Ann Ogden (1833-1919), Milton David Ogden (1836-1898), Marshall Bidwell Ogden (1838-1884), Loretta Jane Ogden (1842-1874) and Georgia Gertrude Ogden (1847-1926). So, if you read that list closely, the secret is revealed! Agnes Street and Cyrus Street were most likely named for the eldest two children, Hannah Agnes and William Cyrus. Milton Street undoubtedly takes its name from another son, Milton David. We do not know why Milton’s older siblings, Edwy and Eliza, are not referenced in Samuel’s survey plan.

Cooksville from 1877 Historical Atlas of Peel County

Unlike Jacob Cook’s family, who established themselves in Cooksville and remained in the community for several generations (Jacob, Anna and several of the their children are buried at Dixie Union Cemetery here in Mississauga), Samuel and Sarah Ogden, together with their children, all moved to Fond du lac, Wisconsin around 1858. By 1865, they were in Winnebago, Illinois. We do not know at present why they moved, but they left a semi-permanent reminder in Mississauga of their time here. While Cook Street and Agnes Street remain, Cyrus Street was formally closed in the 1990s. There are a couple of references to Milton Street being called Melissa Street, which was likely in reference to Melissa Fowle (1831-1856), who had married Jacob Cook’s son Giden Clarke Cook (1831-1861). However, the only formal name for this right-of-way was Milton Street. Milton Street itself may never have been opened – the 1910 fire insurance plan does not show Milton Street, which means that it may only have existed on the survey plan as a right-of-way. On the modern landscape, the south edge of the parking lot at T.L. Kennedy Secondary School partially marks the intended route of Milton Street.

Dr Milton David Ogden, Greenwood Cemetery, Illinois

Samuel Ogden’s survey was formally registered on January 5, 1870 by H.P. Savigny as Plan TOR-12, confirming the original lot and street layout established years earlier by Samuel Ogden – along with confirming Ogden’s choice for street names.

As for the people themselves, here is a brief history.

Hannah Agnes Ogden first married Norredon Bennett, and they had three children: Agnes Gertrude, Edwy Gass, and Fremont Ogden. Hannah’s second husband was Edward Spaulding Starkweather, and in later life the widowed Hannah lived with her brother William Cyrus Ogden in Winnebago, Illinois. Hannah Agnes died in 1907 and is buried in Winnebago, Illinois.

William Cyrus Ogden was a carpenter by trade, and moved with his family to Wisconsin, then to Winnebago, Illinois, and later resided in Chicago, Illinois. He was married to Eliza Lampton, and they had at least one daughter, Fannie. William Cyrus died in 1906 and was buried at Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago.

Ogden Cemetery plot, Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago

Milton David Ogden followed the same path as the rest of family, first moving to Wisconsin, then Winnebago, Illinois by 1863. In 1865 Milton married Arabella Horsman, and they had one child: Arebelle “Belle” Kent Ogden. Milton (he was often listed as Dr. M.D. Ogden) was a physician by profession. Dr. M.D. Ogden was well respected in Rockford and Chicago where he practiced. He was “highly esteemed by a large circle of friends, who knew him as a quiet, unassuming gentleman, of more than ordinary culture.” He died in 1898 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois.

So, there we have it, in brief, how the names for several small streets in the Cooksville area were named, even if only two of the streets (Cook Street and Agnes Street) remain on our landscape today. If anyone knows the name inspiration behind Novar Road (formerly Ogden Street, renamed in 1958) got its name, please let us know! Its origin remains a bit of a mystery!

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