Elizabeth Gibson (1832-1905) Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland

Widow Elizabeth Gibson Cooper

Elizabeth GIBSON is my second great grandmother. She was the daughter of Reverend Alexander GIBSON of Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland. Her mother was Jane GIBSON. I have not yet figured out how or if these two GIBSONs are related.

Elizabeth was born on 19 April 1832. She is the second of four daughters. Her father was the minister of the Presbyterian Church of Mullingar. She met her husband, Austin COOPER, a widower, with an infant son, Austin Irwin COOPER. She and Austin were married by license on 14 June 1851 in the Church [of Ireland] of Mullingar by Thomas Woodward. Austin worked for the Ireland Railway. His job located him around the central part of Ireland and parts of England. Austin and Elizabeth had fourteen children. These included:

back of photo 1884
Photo in author's possession

   Henry Cooper (1852-1883)
   Mary 'Minnie' Elizabeth Cooper (1853-1886)
   Alexander Sisson Cooper (1854-1927)
   Arthur Lincoln Cooper (1856-1876)
   Elizabeth 'Bessie' Cooper (1857-1938)
   Edwin Ashley Cooper (1860-1894)
   Samuel Penrose Cooper (1861-1893)
   John Turner Cooper (1862-?)
   Jane 'Jennie' Mauvillian Cooper (1864-1943)
   Water Ernest Cooper (1866-1949)
   Ashley Joseph Cooper (1868-1941)
   James Austin Cooper (1870-1872)
   Sylvester Cooper (1870-?)
   Marian Frances Cooper (1871-1923)



To read more of her detailed life as wife and mother, read blog post about Austin Cooper 1825-1883. 

http://familyfilmfabricfood.blogspot.com/2017/05/austin-cooper-1825-1883.html

Also see blog about The Old COOPER Bible. 

http://familyfilmfabricfood.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-old-cooper-bible.html

Elizabeth was widowed by 1 September 1883. The family was living in Bellananagh, Co. Cavan at the time. She had two teen sons and one 12 year old daughter still at home. 

Widow Elizabeth leaves for the United States in 1884 following her daughter, Mary Elizabeth Cooper EDMONDS who left for Texas the previous year in 1883. 

"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 May 2017), Image 585 of 1096, Line 130, Eliz Cooper entry: citing List Number 697 of National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, Roll 477; Ship City of Rome out of Liverpool, R. D. Manning ? master, arrived New York on 9 June 1884.

Elizabeth is arriving by herself. Why? What about Jane or Jenny/Jennie, her daughter? 

The earliest record I find of Jennie in the United States is her marriage record to John William Oswald on 19 Nov 1891 in Cascade, Montana. 

"Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F37W-L3R : 7 December 2014), John W Oswald and Jane M Cooper, 19 Nov 1891; citing Marriage, Helena, Lewis and Clarke, Montana, county courthouses, Montana; FHL microfilm 1,906,338.

Here also is their marriage announcement in the local paper.

The Helena independent. (Helena, Mont.), 22 Nov. 1891. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. 

 Their only child, son Austin H. Oswald, was born 27 Aug 1892, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the homeland of his father. I find the Oswalds back in Cascade, Montanta, in local newpaper in 1898. Look who is with them!

Hotel Arrivals Date: Friday, April 22, 1898  Paper: Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana)  Volume: IX  Issue: 231  Page: 9  GenealogyBank.com (accessed 11 Oct. 2015).

Two years later, the Oswald family with Elizabeth are in South Dakota. He is a stockman in Fairbanks Township, Sully, South Dakota. According to the US 1900 Census, Elizabeth states her occupation is “making her home here.” 

1900 United States Census, South Dakota, Sully County, population schedule, Fairbanks, enumeration district (ED) 817, Sheet 7-A, Family #84, John W. Oswald household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 May 2017); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication T263, Roll 1554.

Elizabeth Gibson is found visiting her youngest daughter, Marian Frances Cooper GEARHART, of Sedalia, Missouri, in 1905, where she dies of natural causes. Her funeral was at the local Presbyterian church. I will have to contact the church to find out where she was buried. I was so excited when I found her Obituary! This answered so many questions as to what I had about what happened to Elizabeth Gibson Cooper.

Elizabeth Gibson Cooper obituary, The Sedalia Democrat. Tuesday, May 2, 1905. page 3.,  col. 3.  www.newspapers.com. on Ancestry.com :  accessed 12 Feb. 2015. 

What happens to the Oswalds and Gearharts? See future blog posts about their family stories and family connections.

The Old COOPER Bible

Austin COOPER and Elizabeth GIBSON (my second great-grandparents) of Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland, had 14 children after they were married on 24 Jun 1851, in the Church of Ireland. Austin also had a son from a previous marriage to Mary Agnes IRWIN who had died [in childbirth].  The names written on my grandfather’s (John Carrick COOPER, the son of Alexander Sisson COOPER) tree include * -

*Austin Irwin COOPER 

*Henry COOPER

*Alexander Sisson COOPER

 Arthur Lincoln COOPER

*Edwin Ashley COOPER

*Samuel COOPER

*John Turner COOPER

*Walter COOPER

*Ashley J. COOPER

James COOPER

Sylvester COOPER

*Jane "Jenny" M. COOPER

*Bessie COOPER

*Marion Frances COOPER

*Mary "Minnie" E. COOPER

Those highlighted in yellow were included from my (third, 1x removed) cousin’s, Richard Austin Cooper, book, Butterhill & Beyond (on a Chapeau Gules): Illustrated History of the Cooper Family of Byfleet, Killenure Castle, Co. Tipperary and Abbeville House, Co. Dublin. The one highlighted in blue is my find.

In 2006, I discovered Ancestry.com’s Message Boards. I typed in ‘Alexander Sisson Cooper’ in different formats. No show. I continued with his male sibling ‘Arthur Lincoln Cooper’ and up popped a jewel. There he was listed in a query titled ‘Old Cooper Bible’ found in Denver, Colorado, at a boarding house on Speer Blvd. back in 1960. Included was my great-grandfather, Alexander ‘Sissen’ Cooper, with birth date and location of 3 Oct 1854 in ‘Martinstown’‡ of Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland. The author who found this Bible requested that she would like to get this to the Cooper family it belongs to. I e-mailed her and had the family Bible in my own hands days later. What a treasure!

It is small measuring 4”x6”x2.” Sadly, the front title page is torn out, so I do not know when this Bible was published. The back inner cover was transcribed for the query.

“Ashley Joseph Cooper was born 22 August 1868 at Roscommon.

Henry Cooper was born on Monday Morning the 12th of April 1852 at Martinstown.

Mary Elizabeth Cooper was born the 20th of August 1853 at Martinstown.

Alexander Sissen Cooper was born on the 3rd of October 1854 on Tuesday night at half past two at Martinstown. Baptized by his grandfather the 31 of the same month.

Aurthur Linclon Cooper was born on the 20th of January 1856 on Monday at (can't read) at Canterbury Bariack. Baptized by his g Uncle August 1858 in Qubleu.

Elizabeth Cooper was born on Sunday the 31st May 1857 at Faringdon Rvan. Baptized by her grandfather July 1851.”

I turned to the pages between the Testaments and found this.

“Austin & Elizabeth [nee Gibson] Cooper were married on Saturday the 14th of June 1851.

Austin Irwin Cooper was born on Sunday the 25th of March 1849 at 10 o'clock & baptized on Tuesday the 17th of April Dublin.” (Austin Irwin Cooper was the child of Austin Cooper and Mary Irwin. Mary died in 1849, possibly in childbirth.)

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"Henry Cooper was born on Monday the 12th April 1852 at 10 o.ck. noon.

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"Alexander Sisson Cooper was born was born Oct 3 1854

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"Arthur Lincoln Cooper was born January 28 1856

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"Elizabeth Cooper was born May 31 1857”

This is in different handwriting as in the back of the Bible.

Thank you, Karen Greer, for finding this treasure to answer questions of some of Austin and Elizabeth’s children. This Bible added more questions for me to answer. The first one is: How did it end up in Denver, Colorado?

I will write about each child as I find more information about them through research and hopefully cousin contact.

‡There are both a Martinstown and a Marlinstown in Co. Westmeath, Ireland. ‘Martinstown’ is the transcription from the Bible in the query. Marlinstown is the closest to Mullingar. I see Marlinstown on the original Bible page.

I love the Bible notes at the bottom of the second page. 

◬18 parts refer to Election

⧺18 parts refer to Predestination