Christopher Cocke was born c1536, probably in Norfolk, England and was buried at St. Mary Coslany Church, Norwich, Norfolk, England on 7 May 1610. He married twice. His first wife was Ellen Wigman, who he married at St. John Timberhill, Norwich, Norfolk, England on 27 April 1567. Christopher married (2) Margaret (MNU), widow of John Allen on 25 January 1579/80.
Margaret was buried on 2 March 1620/21, also at St. Mary Coslany Church.
Church records noted that 1579 was a year of great plague and Christopher and Margaret each had small children from their first marriages when their spouses died.
Christopher and Ellen were the parents of three known and one possible child:
- Thomas, baptized 7 September 1571
- Elizabeth, baptized 7 July 1574
- Anne, baptized 14 April 1577
- Ellen (possibly), who died after 1575
Christopher and Margaret appear to have had just one surviving child together:
- Bridget, born c1582 (perhaps the daughter baptized between May and 8 September 1582); died before 3 July 1660, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; married Nicholas Busby, c1608, probably in Norfolk, England.
There is a clue as to the names of Christopher Cocke’s parents and on sibling. The Cocke and Busby families were mostly worsted weavers.
City records of Norwich that include the families of John and Margaret Allen and Christopher and Ellen Cocke in 1570 also include a John Cocke and wife Margaret, both aged 60, and one William Cocke, aged 36. They are the only other people with the surname Cocke in Norwich and both John and William were worsted weavers.
Thus, it is likely that these people are Christopher’s parents and an older brother.