"Lady Hope" poem by Adolphus Cooke, undated

The Cooke papers are comprised of two series, the Adolphus Cooke papers and the Hammond-Cooke papers. Series I contains four letters addressed to Adolphus Cooke, three of which were written to him by Maria A. Beatty, the mother of a fallen comrade, Edward Beatty. Her letters to Cooke express her deep gratitude for his friendship with her son, and she gives him news of the goings-on at home in Prince George's County, Maryland. In her letter of May 4, 1864, she writes, "When this deplorable strife between brother and brother has ended, I hope we may be permitted to see you."

The remaining letter to Cooke, which is the earliest dated letter in the collection, was written from a fellow soldier aboard the steamer S. R. Spalding, who writes to inform Cooke of the fate of a mutal acquaintance. The envelope that contained the letter is addressed to "Lieut. Adolphus Cooke, Prisoner of War, Johnson's Island, Sandusky, Ohio." Also included in this series is a poem titled "Lady Hope", most likely written by Adolphus Cooke and addressed to Rachel Clarke, his wife-to-be. The final item in this series is an 1880 certificate of membership for Cooke to the Society of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States in the State of Maryland.

Series II, the Hammond-Cooke papers, contains three items. These include an 1898 certificate from the office of the Superintendant of Public Instruction, Baltimore City. Filled out to Miss Grace A. Hammond, the document certifies that Hammond is permitted to teach grammar or primary school within Baltimore. The two additional items in this series relate to the marriage of Grace Hammond and William Clarke Cook, the son of Adolphus Cooke. These materials include a wedding invitation and a "Holy Wedlock" book containing the words of their marriage ceremony that took place on April 14, 1915.