Tuesday, November 28, 2017

World War II Letters - 11 August 1943 - Written by Stan Cooper


Stan's new nephew, baby Jack, held by grand aunt, Piedad Piña Pape, 

with father, Bud, watching on in the background.

Stan writes home in answer to a family letter filling them in on how he is recovering from A.W.O.L. from his last visit home. He wishes he could join in the upcoming Family Reunion. He is thrilled for his sister's great birthday celebration. He also misses his new nephew and wishes for photos to witness his quick growth changes until Uncle Stan can cuddle the baby again. The above photo is later sent to Stan of "Jack, Jr." during the family reunion held on 29 August in Mt. Vernon, New York.

Stan also mentions his goal to be attending the U. S. Naval Academy within the year.











Tuesday, October 31, 2017

World War II Letters - 8 July 1943 - Written by Stan Cooper


Stan was thankful for another visit home the end of June. He was able to see and hold his nephew (brother's son) for the first time. 

He gave his family details of his trip back to base in Norfolk, Virginia, from Queens Village, New York. He ended up in A.O.L. He shares with his family his hopeful plans for when he is finished with his schooling. 



Stanley Cooper June 1943






























Elizabeth “Bessie” Cooper Pearson (1857-1938) Part 3

Death Certificate

I have been recently informed that the General Register Office for England and Wales has a new online ordering system. I immediately pulled out my indexed record for Aunt Bessie who I wrote about earlier and concluded that I had yet to find her birth and death registrations as she was born and died in England; yet, lived most of her life in Ireland. Bessie had one older brother, also born in England; Arthur Lincoln Cooper, which I ordered his birth record from London, England, a few years back by postal mail. 




England, Civil Registration, Manchester South District, Manchester County, 1838 Deaths,, No. 232 death record (PDF) for Elizabeth Pearson, died 22 October 1938; digital image, General Register Office, Southport, England, General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/: accessed and downloaded 19 October 2017).
Transcription

Registration District - Manchester South
No. 232
When and Where Died - Twenty-second October 1938
Sandown 22 Goulden Road 25 Palantine Road Withington UD
Name and Surname: Elizabeth Pearson
Sex: Female
Age: 80 years
Rank or Profession: of 22 Goulden Road Withington UD
Widow of John Pearson Bank Manager (Retired)
Cause of Death: 1(a) Cardiac Muscle failure (b) Myocardial Degeneration (c) Senility Certified by W. Johnson M.B.
Signature, Description, and Residence of Informant:
James Barlow Present at Death 22 Goulden Road Withington
When Registered: Twenty-fourth October 1938
Signature of Registrar: L. Worswick

Fifteen years earlier, in 1922, Bessie took a trip to the United States. The ship record stated she was living with a Mrs. Barlow. I concluded in another blog post that Mrs. Barlow was her niece, Hannah Jane Cooper, the daughter of Henry Cooper, Bessie's eldest brother. I see here that Mr. James Barlow, her nephew-in-law was present at her death. 



Her location of death is crossed out with another address added. James Barlow's address is the crossed out address. So which is the address she lived at and/or died at. Which one was her address and which one was her niece's address? As seen in the map above, the two addresses were only a walking distance apart from one another. 

Postscript

Bessie's birth record is a challenge as so far in my research for her birth location; I have come across three locations. Faringdon (family Bible), Aldershot (ship record) and London (1911 Irish Census). Looking in the Birth Index for her birth year of 1857, I am having a difficult time with finding an Elizabeth Cooper born in or near these three locations.
My conclusion in Aunt Bessie's first post was Faringdon with documents of father's work location at the time. 

I will have to order several Elizabeth Cooper birth records to hopefully find the right daughter of Austin Cooper and Elizabeth Gibson. 

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

World War II Letters - 30 April 1943 - Written by Stan Cooper




 
Stan is home in the States


Stan sends a telegram to his parents to let them know that he is in San Francisco, California, on his way to Norfolk, Virginia. 




He is on his way to the Naval Preparatory College in Annapolis to finish his high school studies from 1941. He is also excited about the certain possibility of being reunited with his family that he has not seen in over a year. 

Stan sends another telegram, on May 10, letting his parents know that he made it safely to Virginia and is so excited about seeing his loved ones soon!

He comes home on Sunday, May 23 (1AM) with an "eleven-day break after his exams in Norfolk" as handwritten by his thankful mother on the telegram. 



The following Saturday, May 29, Mom had a huge family dinner to welcome him home.



On the back of this photo, Honey (mom) wrote "May 29, 1943. Stanley back from Solomon's." Uncle Ray Piña, Uncle Fred Piña, Stan, and with brother Bud Cooper. Ray and Fred are Honey's brothers. Fred is checking out the camera held in his hands ready to take more pictures!







































Sunday, October 15, 2017

Arthur Lincoln Cooper 1856-1876


Arthur Lincoln Cooper was the fourth child and third son of Austin Cooper and Elizabeth Gibson. born 20 Jan 1856, in the Canterbury Barracks.


Cooper, Arthur Lincoln. Family Bible Records. 1848-1868. The Holy Bible. [Cover page torn out.] Privately held by Mary R. Cooper. San Diego, California. 2005.
Above is a copy of the Cooper family Bible stating Arthur’s birth date and location. This location led me to search birth records from England. Arthur and his younger sister, Elizabeth “Bessie,” were the only two of the thirteen children of Austin and Elizabeth born in England.

I found his name in the BMD website and ordered a copy of the birth registration from www.freebmd.org.uk



FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915

A few weeks later, I receive a copy of Arthur’s birth registration from the United Kingdom's General Registration Office.




Cooper, Arthur Lincoln. Vol. 2a. Page 557. No. 481. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth, 1837-1915. General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. London, England: General Register Office. © Crown copyright. Accessed 3 Sep 2008. 
A closer up view of the document.



This gives a few more details of the family situation. Arthur is born at 8:30 AM in the Northgate Barracks in Canterbury. Why in the barracks? His father, Austin, is serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal North Lincoln Militia. See Austin Cooper blogpost to read more about Austin’s time in England. 

Two years later, the family is back in Ireland for Arthur to be baptized by his G[rand] Uncle in August 1858. This grand uncle is his father’s uncle, the Rev. Austin Cooper, younger brother to his grandfather, Samuel Cooper.

Sadly, I know nothing more about the short lifetime of Arthur Lincoln Cooper. He died twenty years later, 9 Feb 1876, of consumption or pulmonary tuberculosis struggling with for the last four years of his life. His father was present at death. He died in Riversdale, a part of the village of Finglas Bridge, of Glasnevin in Dublin North. Interesting to see another Cooper in my family as a telegraph clerk. 

Is this where Arthur lived and died in Dublin? He was the fifth adult child of Austin and Elizabeth Cooper. His three older brothers were also living and working in Dublin. Was his father visiting because of his son's illness? Austin had nine other children at home with his wife in Co. Galway or was it Co. Cavan in 1876?


Ireland. Death Records. Arthur Lincoln Cooper. 9 February 1876. Volume 2. Page 573. No. 247. Accessed from the Civil Registration Office, Roscommon, Ireland,  24 July 2017.


Map found on Ordinance Survey Ireland www.osi.ie website. Map dated around 1900.

In searching for the Riversdale House in Finglas Bridge, I found the Glasnevin Heritage Page on Facebook. They were very helpful with helping me find exactly where Arthur Lincoln Cooper died. This map drawn around 1900 shows the location of the Riversdale House in the central area. 

This house, along with Tolka Lodge and Rivermount House, were demolished many years ago with the updating of Ballyboggan Road with new housing currently in this  location.



Sunday, October 8, 2017

World War II Letters - 29 Mar 1943 - Written by Stan Cooper

Dear Tarmey, (Stan's mom's nickname for her son)

Stan received a V-Mail from his parents dated March 29, 1943. His anxious mother is waiting to hear more from her son as if he passed his exam for the Naval Preparatory College as stated in Stan's previous posted letter dated February 15, 1943. 

Since Stan did not finish high school when he joined the Navy two years earlier, he is now considering the US Navy as a full time career. He now knows to finish this schooling goal.  

His mother fills Stan in with current family news. His Aunt "Pete", is his mother's sister, Piedad Piña Pape. Ed is also his uncle, Pete's and his mother's youngest brother.

His parents dig up a V-Garden in their back yard. Mom was upset as her flowers were thrown aside.

Wibert is Stan's cousin, son of mom's brother, Fred Pina. Wilbert was 4 years older than Stan. Wilbert served in the Coast Guard during WWII.

His Dad fills in "Two Lines" at the bottom of the card.


































Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Daisy's Quilts


I have many genealogy friends I have met through the years with my involvement with several genealogical societies. There is one friend I consider very special. Darlene Sampley and I met back in 2005. She found out that I was and am an avid quilter. Darlene is not, but she had an unique inheritance that she kept through the past decades, not knowing quite what to do with them.

One day, back in 2008, she came to visit me with two large plastic bags. Inside these containers were about fifteen hand sewn quilt tops along with other fabric treasures. She gave them to me to help preserve them along with their stories. 

Here are some of the quilts that were in one of the bags.




















One of them caught my eye and I had to finish it. I loved the prairie point border added to the top. There was included a matching bubblegum pink fabric in the bag with it. 

In 2010, I took this treasure to a local long arm quilter and friend, Michaelee Sloan, to quilt it for me and I hand stitched the back fabric to the back of the quilt prairie points. Isn’t she a beauty. I named her “Bubble Gum Blues” with a proper label on the back. 







The quilter is Daisy Maud Eales Noyes, Darlene's maternal grandmother. She is of no relation to me; yet, I have to share her beautiful hand work and her story. Darlene has provided her grandmother’s story for me to share. I will present her story bit by bit as I share her quilts. 

Mr. and Mrs. William Henry and Daisy Noyes
12 February 1896 in Hebron, Wisconsin

I have yet to find the name of this quilt block pattern. If any of my quilting friends recognize this beauty, I would appreciate your input. 

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Samuel Penrose Cooper (1861-1893) Part 3


I did find Samuel COOPER and a Mary BUNWORTH listed together on a family tree on Ancestry.com. I contacted Ashley Brown, who I discover is my third cousin. We were both excited to find each other. We scheduled a Skype conversation which lasted ninety minutes. He answered many questions for me about his grandmother, Mary Elizabeth or 'Lily' COOPER, the only daughter of Sam and Mary Bunworth Cooper. Mary and young Lily returned to Ireland after the death of Samuel. Lily was born in Chicago, Illinois. 

I found Mary and Lily back home living with Mary's mother, Elizabeth BUNWORTH, in the 1901 Ireland census in Co. Cork, on Baldwin Street in Mitchelstown.



1901 Census of Ireland, County Cork, Mitchelstown District Electoral Division (DED), unpaginated, Baldwin Street, household no. 5, Elizabeth Bunworth; digital image, National Archives of Ireland, Census of Ireland 1901/1911 (http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie : accessed 29 June 2017).
Widow Mary would travel to various post offices to teach Morse Code as her livelihood. This is possibly how Mary met
Thomas Henry BROWN, a fellow postmaster. They were married on 29 April 1903, in Rossmine church of County Waterford.
Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, "Civil Records," database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/ : accessed 8 Aug 2017), image, marriage registration of Thomas Henry Brown and Mary Rebecca Cooper Bunworth (29 April 1903, Rossmine Church, Rossmine Parish, County of Waterford) citing Group Registration ID 1908479; registration filed 30 June 1903  by Edward James Staunton, Clergyman, in Waterford, unidentified register, folio 343, “First page,” stamped no. 05726717, entry 10.




Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, "Civil Records," database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/ : accessed 23 Sept 2016), image, death registration of Mary Rebecca Brown (23 April 1912, Main Street, Macroom), citing Group Registration ID 5240291; registration filed 21 May 1912 by R. Donohue, in Macroom Registration District, Co. Cork, undignified register, folio 284, "Second Page," stamped number 04494808, entry 337.
Mary Bunworth Cooper Brown died in 1912 of Bright’s disease or chronic inflammation of the kidneys. 
The following year, on 23 June 1913, Lily married her stepfather's younger brother, George Jason BROWN in Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford, Ireland. Cousin Ashley sent me a picture of their wedding day. I love her bouquet. 


George Brown and Lily Cooper on their wedding day.
Photo in possession of Ashley Brown.



Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, "Civil Records," database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/ : accessed 25 Sept 2016), image, marriage registration of George Jason Brown and Mary Elizabeth Cooper (23 June 1913, The Abbey Church Parish of Kilculliheen, Country Waterford), citing Group Registration ID 1734012; registration filed 1 July 1913 by William Rutherford, Rector of Abbey Church, folio number 383, "First Page," stamped number 05590971, entry 43.
I find it interesting to see Mary or Lily's father, Samuel Cooper (coal merchant) assuming to be alive. Most deceased fathers are listed as deceased.

George and Lily had four children named Joseph, Mary, Thomas and Sarah. Three of the children are pictured below.

Lily and George with their first three children, Joseph, Mary and Tom. 
Photo in possession of Ashley Brown.
Their eldest son, Joseph, died at the age of six of diptheria and heart failure according to his death registration. He died on 2 July 1921. Joseph Samuel Brown (named after both grandfathers) was born on 15 Sept 1914 in Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford. 

Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, "Civil Records," database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/ : accessed 30 Sept 2017), image, death registration of Joseph Samuel Brown (2 July 1921, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford), citing Group Registration ID 3340568; registration filed 21 January 1922 by Thomas Power, in           Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford undignified register, folio 360, “Second Page,” stamped no. 04394662, entry 352.














Thursday, September 28, 2017

My Quilting History



Mary and Eleanor at the Temecula Outdoor Quilt Show in 2008.
It all started with Eleanor….Eleanor Burns that is. Happy 40th Anniversary El! Ten years later, I remember turning on my local San Diego PBS station one Saturday morning to find this crazy humorous lady teaching practical sewing skills for “quickly” making a quilt. I was mesmerized. l also discovered that she had a local quilt shop not too far from my location. I called and discovered they gave classes. I asked for a catalogue to be mailed to me. I was amazed by my choices. I decided to make Christmas gifts for my two nieces. I started with the Log Cabin during the summer of 1987…30 years ago for me.

My first class was a weekend class starting on a Friday afternoon and ending on a Sunday afternoon for 48 hours non-stop! Almost a “quilt in a day!”

I remember walking into the front door of the small fabric shop. The rest of the building was a huge warehouse area with long tables set up for sewing machines. I brought my mother’s Sears Kenmore machine. I also purchased my first cutting board, a ruler and a cutting tool that looked like a pizza cutter.

I bought my fabric. I also learned how to choose colors that worked well together and the different tones and patterns of the same colors. Eleanor was not the teacher, which was OK with me as I was sewing again since the late 60s in junior high school. 

Here are my color choices for The Log Cabin pasted on a page in the book so I could see how they all worked together.

The Log Cabin block

I was taught how to iron, fold and cut fabric in a new way that was quicker from my earlier experience. I also learned a faster way to sew the strips together. Wow!

The twin size top was completed by late Saturday night. I also learned a rare way putting the quilt together using her ‘birthing’ method rolling the quilt with the batting, a unique experience. Eleanor calls it her Quick Turn Method. The quilt was finished with the tying the layers together.

I had so much fun, I decided to make another quilt, yet more challenging…The May Basket. I signed up for another weekend class a few weeks later.

I found the receipts. Fabric was $4 to $5 A YARD! 

The May Basket block

Both quilts and matching pillow shams were completed by the fall. 




The twin size quilts were displayed on a full size bed for photo purposes only. They were not made for this bed.

My nieces, Lola and Sara, were so excited to receive homemade quilts from their Auntie Mary at Christmas. My brother knew about the packages and took these photos as the girls opened their gifts. 


My brother even sent me these pics of the girls faking their sleep in bed with their school clothes on one morning!



                                 Sleeping Beauties!




Now 30 years later, my nieces tell me that one quilt was loved “to death” and the other quilt was loved to preservation. I love both reasons. 

I did not sew again until 2000. A dear friend, who was a quilter also, took me on a quilt run, visiting all the local quilt shops in our area. I found Quilt In A Day again. The store had grown and I loved its new look. I have not stopped SINCE. I now have many more finished and unfinished projects to share.

I have had the opportunity to meet Eleanor several times at many quilt shows and guilds. 


Happy Anniversary and Thank you, Eleanor!