Family:John Cooper and Sarah Keller (1)

Article from Our Cooper Family

Note - Information beyond the second generation redacted due to reference to living people

John Harrison Cooper was born in Delaware Co. Ohio August 10, 1838 and he married Sarah Elizabeth Keller. I have no idea of who her parents were but she was born January 6, 1845 and passed away August 14, 1927 and was laid to rest in Olive Branch Cemetery at Lawrence Co.,Ill. John was the fourth of James and Lucinda's children. He served in the Civil War and was a prisoner of war and held in Libby Prison where many died of the filth, and vermin infestation of that place, but he survived. They were the parents of ten children. He passed away December 9, 1900 and was also laid to rest in Olive Branch Cemetery at Lawrence Co. Ill., where they lived. The children are:

1. Jacob Sheridan Cooper was born September 4, 1866 and passed away December 25, 1866 and was laid to rest in Old town Cemetery at Hillsboro, In.

2. Sarah Ellen Cooper was born December 31, 1867 and married John Bell on May 15, 1887. She passed away January 12, 1962. He was born January 26, 1867 and they had three children:
a. Gracie Bell.
b. Marion Bell, died in the First World War in 1917
c. Bertha Bell, married Rev.John Linsey and they had two children:

3. Mary Elzetta Cooper was born January 15, 1870. Married Charles Eaton who was born January 15, 1867. She passed away in 1957. They were the parents of two children:
a. Van Eaton
b. Elvis Eaton
c. Omer Eaton; lives in Oregon.(Ed - this is the way it was written)

4. James Frazee Cooper was born February 4, 1872 and married Alzora (Daisy) Woodruff and passed away June 6, 1964. She was born in 1880, and passed away in August of 1937. I assume most of this family lived in Ill., I have since received information on this family and there is much more to be added at this time. I don't know if they were divorced but surely were as from the information that I have received he married 2nd.Florence Marie Lawson, who was born November 3, 1920 and passed away January 30, 1995 and there were several children by both women, James and Daisy were the parents of four children:
a. Bessie Cooper, born October 13, 1907 and passed away September 4, 1982. She was married twice; first to Archie Holscamper and second to Charlie Schmittler. There was no issue.
b. Edria Lavonne Cooper, born February 4, 1911 and married Marion Clarence Preston. She passed away October 3, 1943. They were the parents of:
c. James Frazier Cooper, born February 22, 1923; married Ella Louise Hampton who was born September 29, 1932. He passed away August 27, 1986. There was seven children born to this couple:
d. Robert Eugene Cooper, born September 9, 1925
Children by Florence Marie Lawson:
a. John Richard Cooper
b. William Ray Cooper
c. Linda Sue Cooper, born February 15, 1948 and married Harold Davis (Peewee) Seward, born April 30, 1933 and passed away in 1993. There are two children:
d. Marsha Kay Cooper, born December 17, 1951, married Harvey Eugene Creek, born August 5, 1949. She was killed in an automobile accident January 10, 1976. There are three children:

5. Miles Robert Cooper, born September 12, 1874 and died young.

6. John Alcie Cooper was born February 19, 1876 and according to information I have just received he was married four times. 1st to Florence Prouty, and 2nd to a Lady from Indianapolis, 3rd to Rosa Armstrong and 4th to Mary Ellen Worstell. He passed away October 27, 1952. There were four children.(ed. This is the way it was written)
a. A child either died young or was born dead, Mother Florence Prouty.
These are the children of Rosa Armstrong.
b. Lawrence Bernice Cooper, born August 31, 1916. He married Charity Ann McCulley, born July 22, 1924. He passed away October 13, 1979 and she, on July 6, 1983. There are ten children.
There was one son by Mary Ellen Worstell:
c. Kenneth Cooper but no further info on him other than has no wife or children.

7. Gertridge Linsey Cooper was born April 21, 1878 and married Lettie Snyder. I have that they were married on February 1, 1936 and I don't know if this is right or if this was his death date. He would have been around fifty-eight years old when he married and I doubt this very much, but it's not impossible. Some of my uncles were in their late 30's and 40's and one I believe in his 50's.There were no children that I have any record of, so it is possible that this date is probably right for his marriage date. I have since received information that this is indeed his death date and that Lettie had a son that Gertridge adopted.
a. Roy Snyder Cooper,; no dates and that he never married.

8. Laura Effie Cooper was born in Lawrence Co. Ill. on January 7, 1881 and in 1898 she married Claude Vandermant. After his death she married Quinn Kirkpatrick who was born February 11, 1874 and I believe they lived in Newtown In. “Effie” passed away November 23, 1973 and was laid to rest in Bridgeport, Ill. and I assume that this is where Claude is buried. There was one daughter and some sons but I don't know how many.
The daughter was:
a. Hattie M. Vandermant was born September 17, 1899 in Lawrence Co. Ill. and in April 1919 at Crawfordsville, In. she married Ivan Shobe. She passed away June 17, 1965 and Ivan passed away in 1957 and both were laid to rest in Greenlawn Cemetery at Wingate, In. They had, as far as I know, one son:
i. Claude Shobe died in 1932 and I'm pretty sure he was laid to rest in Greenlawn Cemetery in Wingate also. In fact I'm sure he is. I have visited all of these cemeteries and found most of the graves but didn't take pictures of them all. It would cost a fortune.

9. Ida Charlotte Cooper was born in Lawrence Co. Ill. August 4, 1882 and died September 1, 1927. She married George Tilden Carrie who was born July 21, 1877 and passed away June 7, 1955 and they had three children:
a. William Leroy Carrie, born October 2, 1902 and died October 8, 1902
b. Effie Luella Carrie, born August 7, 1903 and passed away August 9, 1903.
c. Mary Florence Carrie, born February 26, 1905 and passed away April 27, 1939. she married 1st Leo Adair Byrd, born November 25, 1903 and passed away May 25, 1961. She married 2nd Albert Johnson. Her children are:

10. Albert Preston Cooper was born in Ill. July 25, 1884 and married Grace Gilbatt. He passed away January 10, 1945 in Charleston Ill. They had one son that I know of: a. Carl Burton Cooper was born August 10, 1917 and married Ruth Neal. She was born May 7, 1915. They were married June 14, 1936 and are the parents of three children:

11. Joanna Lucinda Cooper was born September 24, 1888 and married Charles Vandement, who was born April 26, 1884 and they were the parents of five sons. She passed away in December 1988 and he, on July 8, 1947
a. John Wiley Vandement, born January 26, 1907 and passed away November 2, 1987. He married Eva Merle Fisher and they are the parents of:
b. Paul Charles Vandament was born December 16, 1908 and died March 26, 1984. He married Stella Rice but there was no issue.
c. Omar Kenneth Vandament, born November 7, 1921 and married Thelma Irene Baily who was born May 7, 1926 and they have

Some of the information on this family was from Marion B. Cooper and Elizabeth Davis Parker. Collateral on the later addition was Joe Cooper, Great Grandson of John H. Cooper. Marion B. Cooper is a descendant of Austin Mann Cooper and Elizabeth Davis Parker was a granddaughter of Elizabeth Cooper Peters. I would like to thank all of them for their contributions. Without all of these people I would never have been able to compile all the information in this book.

1.   Author Unknown. Our Cooper Family. (Genealogy, Unpublished).