Also born and living in Melbourne at the same time as Cook's family, were my 3x great grandparents George and Anne Tivey. An incident in Anne's life, a generation before Thomas Cook was born, would bring Anne, in her later years, into the Temperance movement, Anne knew too well the perils drunkenness could bring. Anne and George's marriage was a short one, the entry in the Melbourne burial register explains why:
“George Tivey was kill’d by a fall in ye belfry, being taken up by ye rope as he was ringing. He languishe’d about 30 hours after ye accident. N.B. He was in Liquor.”
There is no other written evidence regarding George's accident, therefore we can only speculate whether or not he was a serious drinker or how it affected Anne and their marriage. George would have certainly died at home, leaving her a widow at twenty-five and a baby to bring up, however, what would keep Anne going was her religion.
Most of the movement's main supporters would have been women who were opposed to the domestic violence associated with alcohol abuse, and the large share of household income it could consume, which was especially burdensome to the low-income working class. Anne remarried, and she went on to have six children with her second husband John Calow.
As if to prove her commitment to their religion, six days before they were married, Anne and John were baptised at their local Baptist church.