Austin Irwin Cooper 1849-1891

The Old Cooper Bible

Austin Irwin COOPER is the only son of Austin COOPER and Mary Agnes IRWIN born 25 March 1849 in Westmeath, Ireland.

I find him mentioned in the Old Cooper Bible after the second marriage of his father to Elizabeth GIBSON in 1851. The Bible records his baptism on 17 April 1849, in Dublin, Ireland.

Cooper,Austin and Elizabeth. Family Bible Records. 1848-1868. The Holy Bible. [Cover page torn out.] Privately held by Mary R. Cooper. San Diego, California. 2005.

My next document for Austin Irwin COOPER is his death registration. He died on 10 April 1891 in his home at 119 Upper Lesson Street in Dublin, Ireland. At the age of 41, he never married. He served as a Captain in the Militia. He suffered from Congestive Bronchitis and died three days later. 

Ireland. Death Records. Austin Irwin Cooper. 10 April 1891. Quarter 2. Volume 2. Page 492. No. 154. Civil Registration Office, Roscommon, Ireland. Accessed 18 April 2009.

I also find Austin Irwin Cooper’s Will in the Ireland Calendar of Wills and Administration Index database.

"Ireland Calendar of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ5C-FLM : 12 December 2014), Austin Irwin Cooper, 10 Apr 1891; citing 00080, 005014905, Principal Probate Registry, Dublin; 100,991. Accessed 28 April 2017.

THE LETTER

After being in contact with my distant cousin, Richard AUSTIN-COOPER, he sent me a copy of a letter written by Austin Irwin Cooper’s younger half-sister, Bessie Cooper PEARSON, to her second cousin (they share Austin Cooper FSA/Sarah Mauvillian Turner Cooper as their great grandparents) Mark Bloxham COOPER, a Dublin barrister. This letter was written 11 days after Austin Irwin Cooper’s death. 

pages 1-2

page 3

Here is transcription of the letter written 21 April 1891.

10 Winton Avenue

Rathgar

21/4/91 [21 April 1891]

My dear Mark,

Thanks for the list.

Jinnie’s [sister Jane Mauvillian Cooper Osborne] address is 806 San Antonia Street, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.

As to rings, as far as I know dear Austin had 4 - — has told me to put on & [m]ind for him & I have written Jinnie about  them & I shall keep them until I hear from her. One was taken out of his room before I came. Then Mrs. McGuire said she could not take charge of anything — the nurse promises to have it found - -the other the nurse handed to me & then I was told that was the ring dear Austin gave her I handed it back at once. 

As to Black Axe it is Sandy’s left to him by dear Papa, & Jinnie had only the loan of it & left it here before she went away and Sandy knows its here, but has not taken it - as he knows it is here, but he has not taken it - as he knows it is safe. 

I should like to see Mrs. McGuire’s bill. I suppose yours will wait until you hear from Jinnie before you bill anything. —-

I enclose lists requested which numbers 13. Why do the debts & costs  not come out the Land or rent on May 1st?

I enclose the Doctor’s  bill for attending dear Austin for two illnesses. he had him for a week about - 3 weeks ago - 

Did you see the portrait  of our great-grandmother? [Austin Cooper FSA’s wife Sarah Mauvillian Turner]. It was Henry’s [another sibling deceased at this time & married to Frances LaTouche] & now belong’s to Mrs. Henry & her son & should be sent to his trustee, J. J. Digges La Touche. Jinnie had a loan of it & I fear she did not return it, however she will write about it. 

I enclose list.

With kind regards to your wife, from your cousin,

Bessie Pearson

Here are some questions and comments I have about the items mentioned in this letter.

1. Four rings - Do these include the two rings handed down to my cousin in Colorado? Bessie brought these rings when she came to visit family in America in 1921 and gave two of them to her nephew, Edwin Irwin COOPER. The other two were accounted for in the letter. 

2) Black Axe - I have a photo of this sent to me by third cousin, 1x removed, Richard Austin-Cooper. It is in possession of a Cooper fifth cousin in England.

3) Portrait of Sarah M. T. Cooper 

I received a very poor computer print out of this photo of the painting portrait from distant cousin, Angela Anderson, a descendant of the Rev. Austin Cooper, grandfather to the barrister Mark Bloxum Cooper & granduncle to Austin Irwin Cooper.

Who now owns this painting of Sarah Mauvillian Turner Cooper? 

I also have a photo copy of another painting of Sarah done at a later time. I do not remember where I got a copy of this one.

This letter was very informative, yet left me with more questions.

Who is Sandy? Is it Samuel Cooper, Bessie’s brother?  How did a descendant of Barrister Mark B. Cooper end up with the axe?

What about sister, Jinnie? I have more answers about her life after she came to the U.S. But no mention of the painting. Check out future blog about Jane Mauvillian Cooper Oswald.

If anyone knows which family member has possession of these family paintings, I would love to find out the answer to this question.

Cousin Richard’s notes on the letter include:

on page 1  - Her bro[ther] Austin died 11 days earlier

        Jenny Cooper = Osborne ?

on page 3 - Bessie Pearson nee Cooper dau[ghter] of Austin & Bessie Gibson having f[???] Captain Austin Irwin Cooper her 1/2 brother who d[ied] 10-4-1891

next to “great-grandmother” - Sarah Turner?

Mary Elizabeth Cooper Edmonds (1853-188?) Part 1

Mary is one of the 14 children of Austin COOPER and Elizabeth GIBSON. See blogpost about Old Cooper Bible. http://familyfilmfabricfood.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-old-cooper-bible.html 
She was born on 20 Aug 1853 in Marlinstown, Westmeath, Ireland. She has an older brother, Henry Cooper, 16 months her senior. She also has a half-brother, Austin Irwin Cooper, who is age 4. Her mother has her hands full with 3 young ones. Her father, Austin, is a station master at the local railroad station in neighboring Mullingar. 

As Mary grew into a young woman, I am sure she was given the many responsibilities of helping with her younger siblings, as being the eldest daughter. She was 18 by the time her youngest sister, Marion Frances COOPER, came along.   

By 1880, her father was working at the railroad station in the town of Cavan, near the Northern Ireland border.

When Mary was 28 (an old-maid during this time period), she met a widower with three young sons: Edgar, 7, Landon, 5, and Henry, 4. John Edgar Edmonds, 5 years her senior, had lost his first wife, Jane Catherine Lennon, in 1880, 24 hours after a miscarriage in Swellan, Cavan Town. Mary and John were married 25 Oct 1881, in Killeshandra, Cavan, Ireland. On the marriage registration, it states that John Edgar Edmonds was also a station master. Austin, her father, is listed as a Gentleman, but he was also a station master. Did she meet John via her father’s co-worker? Listed as the two witnesses are her sister, Jane M. Cooper & father, Austin Cooper. 

Irish Civil Records. Marriage Registration of John E. Edmonds & Mary E. Cooper, 25 October 1881, Drumkeerin Presbyterian Church, Parish of Killeshanndra, County Cavan. Married by John H. Murphy. 1881, Quarter 4,  Vol. 3, page 69, No. 70. Roscommon, Ireland. Accessed November 2008.

Mary gives birth to a daughter, Frances McConnell EDMONDS, 14 Sept 1882, at the railway station. This also states that the dwelling place of the father is the railway station, which means housing was provided by his employee as station master. I also had to order this record from Roscommon, Ireland. This document is presently found online. See below.

Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, "Civil Records," database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/ : accessed 5 Mar 2017), image, birth registration of Francis McConnell Edmonds, (14 September 1882, County Cavan) citing Group Registration ID 11521644; registration filed 12 January 1883 by John Fraser, Assistant register, folio 81, “First page,” stamped no. 02013105, entry 94.

I cannot find Mary after this point in time.

I locate John Edgar Edmunds on a ship to New York with his three sons on the SS Cephalonia from Liverpool arriving on 12 Dec 1883. On Line 1, I find John E. Edmonds, age 30, a Laborer from Ireland, heading to Texas. He is staying in “Fore Steerage” with three pieces of baggage in “Intending Protracted Sojourn.” He had an intention for a long visit to the United States. One Lines 6,7, & 8, I find his three sons - Edgar, Landon and Henry as sons of John with same destination staying in Fore Steerage. Where are Mary and Frances?

"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Mar 2017), Image 712 of 1021, Line 1, John E. Edmonds entry; citing List Number 1568 of National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, Roll 472; Ship Cephalonia out of Liverpool, Henry Walker master, arrived New York on 12 December 1883.

Looking over the pages one by one, on Line 113, I find an Annie Edmonds, a 30 year old matron from Ireland, heading also to Texas, but in “Aft Cabin” with 5 pieces of baggage in “Intending Protracted Sojourn.” But, the Francis, listed below her, is a 10 month old male child? Is this the mother and child I am seeking? Possibly, mis-heard as the ship’s captain or staff entered their names? Did Mary die in Ireland and John remarry a third time before he comes to US? I could not find any reference to a death of a Mary E. Edmonds in Ireland between 1882-1883.

"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Mar 2017), Image 714 of 1021, Line 113, Annie Edmonds entry; citing List Number 1568 of National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, Roll 472; Ship Cephalonia out of Liverpool, Henry Walker master, arrived New York on 12 December 1883.

I connect with someone after posting a public Edmonds Tree on Ancestry.com. She is a descendant of middle son, Landon W. L. Edmonds. She shared with me a transcribed diary of John Edgar Edmonds. It was a fantastic eye-opener for me connecting all the dots to solve this mystery of the “disappearance” of Mary Elizabeth Cooper Edmonds.

To be continued….