Fortunately for me, it is not Murphy's famous law that has interfered with my posting schedule - it's just school and life. Circumstances being what they are, something had to give. My apologies for those who wait patiently for these posts, but I fear the schedule is going to be erratic until I get to the end of the Fall semester.
But, we're here now, so let's pick up where we left off from last time and press on:
D. Katherine M "Katie" Murphy (1873–1942) was born in May 1873 and lived with her family in Alder Creek, Klickitat County, Washington, in 1880. She married Wilmer Stuart Cooper (1857–1937) in 1897 when she was 24 and he was 40.
Wilmer was a son of Harben Mills Cooper (1829–1904) and Ann Jane Stewart (1831–1919), born in December 1857 in Oregon Territory. His sister, Viola, was the mother of Mabel Grace Sloper (1877–1913), who married Katie's older brother, Omer Murphy, whom you might remember from our last post.
Wilmer and Katie had five sons and a daughter, but they divorced sometime between their appearance on the 1910 Census and Katie's marriage to her second husband. Records are pretty clear that she married Arthur Elmer Fletcher on 20 Sep 1915, in Kalama, Cowlitz County, Washington, but that marriage also did not last very long, and she married again on 7 October 1918 in Vancouver, Clarke County, Washington. This third husband was Austin Graves Stultz (1867–1936).
Austin was born 24 October 1867 to Elijah L Stults (1831–1896) and Philena O Graves (1833–1894) of Licking County, Ohio. He was buried in Hartford Cemetery in Croton, in Licking County, Ohio, after he died on 4 May 1936 in Portland, Oregon. Katie went to live with her eldest son, Oris, and she died in Portland on 28 November 1942. Katie was buried as Kathryn M. Cooper in Rose City Cemetery in Portland.
1. Oris Leo Cooper (1897–1980) was born on 13 September 1897 in The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon. When the United States entered World War I, he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Marine Corps and served from 8 April 1917 through 22 May 1919. After the war, he returned to live with his mother and step-father in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. A few years later, on 1 November 1926, Oris re-enlisted, and in 1930 he was stationed in the Marine barracks at Mare Island, near Vallejo, Solano County, California.
Oris left the military and worked in construction jobs with the Works Progress Administration, living in Clackamas County in 1935 and 1940. With the second World War on the horizon, he enlisted in the National Guard on 15 September 1940. His mother was living with him in those years, until her death in 1942. He remained in the Portland area until his death on 4 April 1980, and he was buried in Willamette National Cemetery.
2. Marshall Blynn Cooper (1899–1971) was born on 25 April 1899 in Goldendale, Klickitat County, Washington. Based on various records, he seems to have been a sailor, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard in the 1920s. He appeared on the 1930 Census as residing on the Coast Guard Base at Neah Bay, Washington, and while that record indicated that he was married in 1922, I have not found a corresponding marriage record and do not know the name of his wife at that time.
He did marry Opal Odelight (Olson) Singer (1908–2003) on 23 February 1937 in Montesano, Grays Harbor, Washington. Opal was born in Chehalis, Lewis County, Washington, on 18 January 1908, the daughter of Ernest Oscar Olson (1874–1967) and Anna Marie Haines (1879–1975). On the 1940 Census, Marshall appeared as a member of the Grays Harbor Coast Guard station, and Opal appeared under the name Opal Cooper in her parents' household in Quinault; both are listed as "married," but considering Opal remarried in 1941, they may have been legally separated at that point.
Marshall married his younger brother's widow, Winnie Florence Boydston (1898–1976), on 15 March 1963 in Kitsap County, Washington, and they seem to have remained together until his death on 4 July 1971 in Grayland, Grays Harbor County. Marshall was buried in Fern Hill Cemetery in Aberdeen, Grays Harbor County. Winnie died in Hoquiam, Grays Harbor, on 26 October 1976, and was buried in Fern Hill Cemetery with Marshall.
3. Cooper (1900) was an unnamed baby girl born in Goldendale, Klickitat County, on 4 August 1900. While I have not found documentation to confirm this, I suspect that she probably died in infancy, considering the short amount of time between her birth and that her older brother, Marshall.
4. Merton D Cooper (1901–1944) was most likely born on 22 May 1901, in Klondike, Sherman County, Oregon - but his military records say he was born on 22 May 1899. Census and other records that give approximate birth dates suggest 1901 is correct, but if he was born in 1901, then he would have only been 17 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 23 October 1917. He was honorably discharged after World War I on 27 June 1919.
On 3 November 1923, he married Winnie Florence Boydston (1898–1976) in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. Winnie was the daughter of Benjamin F Boydston (1844–1933) and Mary Stoker (1871–1954) and she was born in Oregon on 15 February 1898.
Winnie and Merton lived in Vancouver through the 1930s, where they had two daughters and a son. Merton worked as a longshoreman. He died in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, on 4 March 1944, and was buried in the Veteran's Lawn Area of Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland. Winnie married Merton's older brother in 1963, and she died in Hoquiam, Grays Harbor, on 26 October 1976.
5. Milford Roland Cooper (1903–1968) was born on 15 March 1903 in Wasco County, Oregon. He married Agnes Amelia Lundquist (1904–2004), daughter of Petrus Nathan Lundquist (1877–1925) and Amelia Katherine Lundquist (1875–1961), on 4 September 1928. Agnes was born in McPherson County, Kansas, on 6 February 1903. She lived in Kansas until about 1914, when her family relocated to the Portland area.
Milford was a salesman, and the couple lived for a few years in Yakima before settling in Portland, where they lived in 1940. They raised one daughter, who is still living. Milford died in Portland on 28 March 1968 and was buried in Rose City Cemetery there. Agnes died at age 99 in Portland on 14 January 2004 and was buried next to her husband.
They are survived by their daughter, who had two sons and one daughter, as well as two grandsons.
6. Wendell Wright Cooper (1905–1968) was born in Wasco County, Oregon, on 1 September 1905. He grew up living in Independence and, later, in Portland.
He married Hilda Augusta Doering (1907–2000) on 30 May 1925 in Multnomah County, Oregon. Hilda was born on 8 March 1907 in Rosthen, Saskatchewan, Canada, the daughter of David J. Doering (1878–1958) and Katharina Elizabeth Schmidt (1879–1973). Hilda's parents were both German-speaking immigrants from Russia who moved to Canada at the turn of the century, and raised their large family near Saskatoon before moving to the United States in 1923. They came through Blaine, Whatcom County, Washington, and settled in the Portland area, where Hilda met Wendell.
The couple had two children, a daughter and a son. In the early 1930s their family moved to Sacramento, where Wendell worked as a butcher and meat cutter. They resided until after 1953. It may be the case that Wendell and Hilda moved back to Oregon after he retired.
Wendell was 63 years old when he died in Newberg, Yamhill County, Oregon, on 11 May 1968. Hilda died on 23 March 2000 in Douglas County, Washington, at 93 years of age.
a. Wilma Blanche Cooper (1926–1953) was born on 18 December 1926 in Oregon and grew up in Sacramento, California. She became the fourth wife of Harold Frederick Schug (1898–1978) around 1949, and they had a daughter together. Wilma was found unconscious in her bed one Saturday night in June 1953. She died 13 June 1953 in Sacramento and was buried in Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum.
b. Richard Cooper (1929) only appears in one record: the 1930 U.S. Census, which shows his family living in Englewood, Multnomah County, Oregon. He is not listed in the 1940 Census, which places his family in Sacramento, and he is not mentioned in his father's 1968 obituary; presumably, he died young.
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No promises on the regularity of future posts, but I'll do my best. As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.
We now have more ways to reach out:
a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns
...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).
Until next time... Happy Hunting!
Fantastic a always. I wish I had continued with my original research. Many things have occurred that have taken the wind from my sails. The stroke being the prime offender
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