| 8. | John G. Cooper was born on 18 Jul 1845 in Rocky Comfort, Sevier Co, Arkansas (son of John Cooper, (son of who?) and Nancy McClinton); died on 5 Aug 1934 in Little River, Sevier Co, Arkansas; was buried in Cooper Cem, Little River Co, Arkansas. Other Events and Attributes:
- Census: 1900, Caney, Little River Co, Arkansas
- Census: 1910, Caney, Little River Co, Arkansas
Notes:
People and a Person of Oklahoma's Early Years
By Cassidy M. Baugh September 2007
http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/3081716/person/-1628832054/media/4?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7cpgNum
Many people think that Native Americans, especially women, did not go to school and learn to read and write, but this not really true. Before Oklahoma became a state, Presbyterian missionaries established a school for Indian girls in the Choctaw Nation, just west of the town of Idabel, Oklahoma. It was named the Wheelock Academy. There is a small Presbyterian Church on the grounds; it is the oldest church in Oklahoma. The school burned down in 1869. My great-great-great-grandfather, John G. Cooper, lived with his large family just a few feet over the borderline dividing Arkansas and Indian Territory, Choctaw Nation. Mr. Cooper did many things in his lifetime. He was born October 31, 1845, at the family homestead, served in Company C, Arkansas, Confederate States of America during the War Between the States. When he walked home, weary from the War, he set about getting on with his life. He was a "farm boy," but also a circuit-riding preacher, an excellent carpenter, had a general store and even did some "doctoring." There were often no doctors in many remote areas in those days, and he had learned a lot about injuries and first aid in the War. His practice was to do what he could medically and then pray for the patient. My great-grandfather told my great-aunt that a neighbor once brought a man in by "buck-board ambulance" with the calf of his leg nearly cut off from an accident with ax. Medic-Preacher Cooper laid the patient on a table on the front porch, sewed his leg together and prayed for the man who recovered and was still able to walk and get around.
Finally, in 1883, the decision was made to rebuild the Wheelock Academy. Mr. Cooper was a member of the little church by the school. There was a lot of timber for wood in the area. He and other neighbors used their skills to rebuild the school. Years later, two of his granddaughters, Alice and May, worked in the school's kitchen and office.
A workday for a circuit-riding preacher was not sitting in a nice office working on a dynamic sermon or visiting people in an air-conditioned hospital. Mr. Cooper would put a change of clothes, his Bible, a little writing paper and some food in a saddle bag and throw that on his horse and go visit the Indians in the area, as ministering to the Indians was his "calling." He was also a charter member of a chapter of Masons in Little River County, Arkansas. His first wife was Alice Holman. They had 12 children before her death. His second wife was Emma Brown, and they had one son.
The solider, preacher, farmer, carpenter, store-keeper John G. Cooper, died May 8, 1934.
Census:
1900 Caney, Little River Co, Arkansas
Residence 20
Cooper J.G. 54 Oct 1845 head m2 yrs Ark SC SC farmer
Emma 43 1857 KY m2 0 births 0 living KY -- --
Other Dec 1880 20 Ark Ark Ark
Claud Jul 1881 18 Ark Ark Ark
Tucker Jul 1883 16 Ark Ark Ark
Jeff 1885 (no month given) 15 Ark Ark Ark
Lucy (no month given) 1887 12 Ark Ark Ark
Dora (no month given) 1889 11 Ark Ark Ark
Lee Aug 1897 2 Ark Ark Ark
Brown Aug 1898 1 Ark Ark Ark
Note: Alice died June 1897 Lee born Aug 1897. John and Emma say they have been married 2 years (1898). By dates, Brown should be Emma's, and not sure about Lee. But Emma says she has had no children.
Census:
1910 Caney, Little River Co, Arkansas
John G Cooper 64 Ark NC SC
Emma Cooper 53 KY KY KY
Brown Cooper 11
Lee P Cooper 13
Dora Cooper 11
John married Alice E. Holman about 1876. Alice was born on 18 Jan 1855 in Sevier Co, Arkansas; died on 25 Jun 1897 in Caney, Little River Co, Arkansas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
|
1947 - 1997 (49 years)