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?

Laura Jane “Jinny” Cooper Dawes (1876-1959)

Laura Jane "Jinny" Cooper 1927. Original from Doris Cooper.

Laura Jane “Aunt Jinny” COOPER was the first and oldest daughter of Alexander Sisson COOPER and Laura Jane BOYD, born in Dublin, Ireland, on 29 Jan 1876. She is my paternal grandfather's (John 
Carrick COOPER) eldest sister. I find a copy of her birth registration from Salt Lake City. The family was living at 18 Leinster Ave. in 1876.

"Ireland Birth and Baptisms, 1620-1881," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FR99M-7JD : accessed 25 May 2005), Laura Jane Cooper, 29 Jan 1876: citing Dublin, Ireland, reference v 2-2  p 580; ; FHL microfilm 255,946.

18 Leinster Ave. 2010

She had 10 siblings with only 5 
surviving. I find her mother in the 1911 Ireland Census stating this fact. 

I find Jinny with her family in the 1901 Dublin Census. She is 24, single, working as a clerk. See census record below. There is a reason Jinny's mother's name is crossed out. I will also cover this in Laura Jane BOYD's future post.

1901 Census of Ireland, County Dublin, unpaginated, household no. 139, Alexander Cooper; digital image, National Archives of Ireland, Census of Ireland 1901/1911 (http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie : accessed 29 Sep 2016)

 http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai003707038/

In 1905, her father and youngest brother, Alex, Jr. sail for the United States. Three years later, on the 6 Mar 1908, Laura follows them across the Atlantic on the S.S. Baltic from Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland. According  to the ship's record, Line 1, she was living with her Aunt Bessie PEARSON (father's sister) in Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland, when she left for America. She paid for her own passage, meeting her father in New York City. Jinny is 5 feet tall with a fresh complexion, fair hair and blue eyes. She arrives in New York the 14 Mar 1908.

 Manifest, SS Baltic, 14 March 1908,  backside of stamped page 32, line 1, Laura Jane Cooper, age 32, Image New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Sep 2016).

Manifest, SS Baltic, 14 March 1908,  stamped page 34, line 1, Laura Jane Cooper, age 32, Image New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Sep 2016).

Two days later, 16 Mar 1908, she married Alexander Chalmers “Uncle Barney” DAWES in Manhattan at City Hall according to marriage registration. Her youngest brother, Alex, Jr. is a witness.

"New York Marriages, 1686-1980," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F648-K2K : accessed    16 March 2017), Alexander Dawes and Laura Jean Cooper, 16 Mar 1908; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 1,452,363.

Barney and Jinny. Original from Doris Cooper.

Alexander Chalmers Dawes

Researching, “Alick,” he is born 19 Aug 1883, to Robert Clement DAWES and Martha COLOHOUN  (several spellings) in Dublin. He sails on the S.S. Etruria from Liverpool on 6 Jul 1907 to meet the same Alexander Cooper, his future father-in-law. Alick was known to family as "Barney." Jinny and Barney knew each other in Dublin. Arrangements were made to send Barney to America first to find a job and a prepare a place for his bride to be. She came six months later. This is why she married two days after her arrival. 

I find the couple in the 1910 census living in the Bronx on East 175th St. Alick is in the Pa “papers” process of Naturalization. His occupation is very general as a “Street Laborer.” Their first son, Robert Clement DAWES, is listed. He is 9 months old. Robert was born on 20 Jul 1909, in Lynhurst, New York.

Four years later on 18 June 1913, Edwin Ashley DAWES was born in Brooklyn, New York.

In the New York 1915 Census, I find this family at 415 Sixteenth St., Kings, New York City. Alick is listed as a Boiler Maker. I find my grandfather, John C. COOPER (Jinny’s younger brother) living with them as a book keeper.

Dawes family 1927. Original from Doris Cooper.

The Dawes family around 1919.
Photo in author's possession.

On January 6, 1920, the DAWES family is living in Brooklyn, New York. Alec DAWES is a boil-maker in a shipyard. His brother-in-law,  Alexander Sisson, Jr., "Alex" COOPER is living with them and is also working in a shipyard as a ship fitter.

He petitions for U.S. Citizenship on 6 April 1920. This document  gives me my first clue for his birthday listed above. He lists his wife’s and two sons’ birth dates and birth locations. His affidavits include Alexander Sisson COOPER his father-in-law and Austin Cooper EDMONDS, his wife’s cousin.

United States. "Selected U.S. Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974," Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 Sept 2016).

In the 1930 Census, the Dawes family is living on 859 Oakwood Ave. in Schenectady, New York. Barney is now a guard for an electric works company. 

By 1940, Jinny is the source for the census taker. Her husband is a “police man” or security guard for an electrical management program. My aunt remembers that Uncle Barney loved being in "uniform." Their sons are now off on their own. 

Original from aunt.

Alexander "Barney" Dawes died in 1944. Jack Cooper comforts his sister at Barney's funeral in above photo.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 29 Sep 2016). memorial page for Laura Jane Dawes (1876-1959), Find A Grave Memorial no. 16914191, citing Parkview Cemetery, Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York; the accompanying photograph by Dawn Sherman is materially informative,

"Jinny" Cooper Dawes died on 31 Aug 1959. They are both buried in Park View Cemetery in Schenectady, New York.

I wish I knew more about their two sons, Robert “Bob” Clement DAWES and Edwin “Ashley” DAWES. 

Aunt Jinny Cooper Dawes. Original from aunt.