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WPA Interview: Cooper, Florence Mildred
INTERVIEW, 16 Jul 1940
Interview with Florence Mildred Cooper, daughter of David Cooper and Rebecca Wilson, both early pioneers in Oregon. Miss Cooper lives on a farm about 2 miles north of Albany and on Highway 99E.
My name is Florence Mildred Cooper. I was born in Linn County, 20 March 1891. I am not what you would call a pioneer but my people, both father and mother, were pioneers and I am perhaps the best informed of their descendants to tell you of their lives.
My father was David Marion Cooper and he was born in September 1840. His father died when he was about 5 years old and he was given into the care of his uncle for whom he worked, with but little schooling, until he was about 18 years old.
Father was about 19 years old when he first came to Oregon. He first worked in the Salmon River mines in 1859. Then he went back to the east, to Ohio, and when he again returned to Oregon he brought with him his brother, Hiram Cooper, and his cousin, Thomas Forman.
Dad had but little schooling in the east but after he settled in Oregon he determined to get a better education and to prepare himself for school teaching. He attended the Santiam Academy at Lebanon for a number of winters, working during the summer time to secure additional money for his support. When he finally finished his schoolwork he secured a certificate to teach from Mr. T. J. Stites who was then the Linn County Superintendent of schools.
After beginning to teach father bought and sold land and livestock and in this way accumulated a considerable fortune for those times. He never took up a land claim himself but was content to buy partly improved claims and rent them out, or merely hold them until he could sell at an advanced price.
Father was married on 15 July 1874 to Rebecca Ann Wilson, my mother. Their children were:
After father had accumulated a considerable amount of money, and had married, he built a large house at Halsey and settled down there and quit school teaching. He purchased a large warehouse at Halsey and continued to deal in stock, grain, hay, wool and land. He also opened up a brickyard west of Halsey near what had been known as "Powell's Grove".
My grandfather, my father's father, was Solomon Cooper. His wife, my grandmother, was Jennie Pearl of the pioneer Pearl family who settled near Brownsville. However, neither of these ever came to Oregon as grandfather died when father was about 5 years old and father worked hard and left my grandmother in comfortable circumstances in the east. Several of my father' s uncles, the Pearls, did come to Oregon. Among them was Joseph Pearl whose old house built at a very early date, still stands on the highway between Brownsville and Halsey. The wife of Henry Kirk, also a pioneer who settled between Brownsville and Halsey, was also a Pearl, a sister of my grandmother.
Thomas Cooper, my father's brother, married a daughter of Joseph Pearl of Halsey. His son, Clyde Cooper, lives at Portland. He also has a son named Clyde. This young Clyde is the last male descendant of Solomon Cooper.
The sons and daughters of Solomon Cooper, my father and his brothers and sisters, were:
In closing this account of my father's family and his life, I might add that he was one of the first to try growing flax on a commercial scale in the Willamette Valley.
Now to my mother's family. Mother was Rebecca Ann Wilson. She married my father, David Cooper, on 15 July 1874. She was born 11 Sept 1847, at Hebron, Indiana. Mother's father was James H. Wilson and her mother was Mary Dinwiddie. They were married 8 Sept 1842 in Indiana. The town where they lived was called Hebron. To them the following children were born:
Up to this date the Wilson children had all been born near the town of Hebron, Indiana but in 1853 the family emigrated to Oregon and settled at the old town of Union Point which was situated about 3 miles south of present Brownsville, in Linn County. The trip was made by ox team and the final stages were by way of the difficult Barlow Pass, south of Mount Hood.
The old home place of the Wilsons is south of the present Union Point schoolhouse and just where the county road enters what is now known as "The Big Gap". There is an old stone quarry just at the summit of the hill where the road enters the "gap" and this is on a part of the original Wilson claim. There is also a part of the old orchard still standing-very old apple trees-on the slope beyond the quarry. That old quarry, by the way, supplied most of the rock for the pioneer fireplaces of the first settlers.
It is a soft, easily worked rock, and wonderful for fireplaces and chimneys as it never cracks or crumbles when exposed to fire. The Wilsons also owned other land further south in the hills to the east of the "Big Gap".
Now I should like to give you a little church history which begins back in Indiana, but which is connected with the Pioneer Union Point Church in Oregon.
The Associate Reformed Congregation of Bethlehem, Indiana was organized on 28 July 1838 by Rev. Hannan who later came to Oregon. There were at first 15 members of whom a considerable number were Wilsons and Dinwiddies, relatives of my grandfather and grandmother. In the year 1841 or 1842 the Rev. Wilson Blain became the pastor of this church and he continued to serve in that capacity until 1847 when he was appointed by the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Church as a Missionary to Oregon. The Hebron church in Indiana met first in the house of Thomas Dinwiddie, in a grove, and in schoolhouses. Finally, under Rev. Blain they built a hewn log church about one mile from Hebron. When the first Post Office was established in that region Wilson Blain became the PostMaster. The Post Office was named Hebron and following this the name of the church was changed from "Bethlehem" to Hebron Church.
The wife of Wilson Blain was a sister of my grandfather, James H. Wilson.
When Wilson Blain came to Oregon he was followed by a considerable number of friends and relatives from the old Hebron, Indiana church. Among these was Robert Glass who finally settled at Crawfordsville. His son, Wilson B. Glass, was named for the pioneer preacher. There was also Ira Henderson whose wife was Margaret Wilson. There was Hugh Patterson and John Dinwiddie, and my grandfather, James Wilson whose wife, my grandmother, was a sister of the Dinwiddies. There was also John and Daniel Wilson, who were grandfather's brothers and both of them bachelors. I will tell more about them as individuals later.
When the Dinwiddies, Wilsons, Hendersons, Glass' and Blains reached Oregon they settled in the Union Point neighborhood south of present Brownsville.
Judging from present standards it would seem improbable that a more unsuitable location could be selected for the land was either steep and shallow, or wet and boggy, but it had what all new settlers in Oregon desired most of all, namely, wood, water, grass, and an elevation sufficient to make traveling possible in wet weather when all the valley was a flooded bog. Having staked out their claims they soon got together to organize a church, an Associate Reformed Congregation like their old home church at Hebron, Indiana. Wilson Blaine was, of course, selected as their pastor.
Among others who joined with them in the early days in worship was Josiah Osborn who, with his family had come to Oregon in 1845 and who had narrowly escaped death at the Whitman massacre, John McCoy whose claim was near Crawfordsville, and William T. Templeton who came in 1847. Templeton however, was not truly one of them but withdrew after a few years to assist in organizing the Presbyterian Church at Brownsville. It was this Union Point Church in Linn County which, a few years later, united with the Willamette Congregation church of Oakville, in the same county to become the first United Presbyterian Presbytery of the world.
Now having brought the Hebron Church, or at least a part of it, to Oregon and recorded the organization here in the Union Point Church, I will tell of some of its members. I spoke of Ira Henderson's having come in 1852. This was not strictly true. He came as far as St. Louis or somewhere on the Mississippi River and there he spent the winter. In the spring when he was about ready to start for Oregon he contracted the cholera and died. His widow, Margaret Wilson Henderson brought her family to Oregon. The Henderson claim was near Union Point and Mrs. Henderson raised her family to a large extent by sewing fine shirts for gentlemen. She was an expert needlewoman and especially skillful in making the fine stiff shirt bosoms then in style. Her son, Baxter Henderson, is still remembered for his exquisite taste in dress. His boots were always miraculously clean and shiny when he came to church even though the mud of the roads was knee deep. Women in those days rode sidesaddle with long riding skirts which, when the horse trotted, became spattered thick and heavy as a board with mud, but somehow Baxter Henderson kept his riding boots spotless. Baxter Henderson's son, Raleigh Henderson, is now a barber at Brownsville.
My grandfather's brother, John Wilson, was a gunsmith at Union Point.
Scarcely anyone knew what his name was as he was universally called "Gunder", or Gunster, or Gunger Wilson. As I have said, he was a lifelong bachelor. He was also a very peculiar character. Like most peculiar persons he had a reputation for being a miser. It was said that he had money buried all about his place and that rumor still persists in the Union Point neighborhood. It is a fact that loose money is still sometimes found on his place but whether it is Uncle Gunger's hoard I cannot tell. I can just remember Uncle Gunger as a very old man. After he left Union Point he lived with my grandmother near Halsey, on what was called the Falk place. He was lame and had a crutch and was very cranky, and I remember that I was always afraid to go near him for fear that he would hit me with his crutch.
Wilson Blain founded an Academy at Union Point in the early days. The Oregon Territorial Legislature granted it a charter in the year 1854. It was called "The Union Point Academy" and was under the control of the United Presbyterian Church of Oregon. The board of trustees were Rev. Kendall, Rev. John Miller, Samuel Wilson, William Gray, James A. Dunlap, Robert R. Crawford, John McCoy, John Marks, and William McCormick. The academy started at first in the home of Wilson Blain. Albany College, now at Portland, is really a successor of the old Union Point Academy. Rev. Wm. Monteith, a brother of Thomas and Walter Monteith, the founders of Albany, was among the first teachers at Albany College.
Another school of which little is now known was started in Albany by Rev. J. P. Miller. It was to be a Presbyterian boarding school for girls and was housed in the old octagon shaped house, which formerly stood west of the present Albany business section. The school closed Rev. Miller was killed when a steamboat on which he was a passenger was wrecked at Camenah on 8 Apr 1854 by the explosion of its boilers.
I have said that Mrs. Wilson Blain was my grandfather's sister. A son of Wilson Blain and Elizabeth Wilson was L. E. Blain who for many years was a clothing merchant in Albany.
My grandfather, James H. Wilson owned and operated a store at Peoria, Linn County, at an early date.
There was formerly a United Presbyterian Church at Halsey. My father gave the land on which it was built, as well as the bricks used in its construction. (Probably only for chimney and basement).
That is all that I can think to record about my family history except a more organized account of ancestry by families. As you can see by what I have already told, the Cooper, Dinwiddie, Wilson, Henderson, and Blain family were doubled and twisted together in all their relationships.
My great-grandfather, was Thomas Dinwiddie. This was on my mother's side of the family. He was married on 20 Oct 1808 to Mary Ann Wilson, daughter of Robert and Mary Wilson. The children were:
The next generation runs as follows:
Mary Dinwiddie (In the above list it is Margaret Jane instead of Mary) was married to James H. Wilson on 8 Sept 1842. Their children were:
About this time the Wilson family emigrated to Oregon. The above listed children were born near Hebron, Indiana. The following were born in Linn County, Oregon. The trip to Oregon was in 1853, by ox team, and occupied seven months.
The third generation, bringing the history down to date, runs as follows: My mother, Rebecca Ann Wilson was married to David Marion Cooper in 1874.
Their children were:
People think of airships as being very modern inventions. I have something which I wish to show you, which proves how long ago they were studying on that subject. It is a share of stock in a flying-machine company, dated 28 April 1852.
Aerial Navigation Company.
No 535
Whereas, I Rufus Porter of the city and county of Washington, D. C., have invented an apparatus denominated the AEROPORT for the purpose of aerial navigation and have commenced arrangements for constructing two of such AEROPORTS-the first to be 150 feet in length and capable of carrying five persons, and the other to be 700 feet in length and capable of carrying 150 persons safely at the rate of 90 miles per hour, and whereas J. H. Wilson of Hebron, County of Porter and state of Indiana, has expressed a desire of obtaining an interest in said AEROPORTS: Now this indenture witnesseth, that for a consideration of the sum of 5$ to me in hand, Paid, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, I have assigned and transferred and here-by do assign and transfer to said Wilson, one undivided Three-Thousandth part of said second AEROPORT (that is, the first that shall be constructed 700 feet in length), and said assignee above named or the holder thereof, to be entitled to one Three-Thousandths part of all benefits and demoluments that may arise and occur from the said large AEROPORT for twenty years from the time of said AEROPORT shall have been put in operation. And I hereby covenant with the said assignee that I will proceed forthwith and construct said two AEROPORTS according to my proposition and prospectus published in the National Intelligencer of the 19 March 1852, and to keep the said large AEROPORT in repair for 20 years. And the Master, Clerks and Managers of said AEROPORT are hereby authorized to pay to the holder of this indenture, on the first Monday of each month, during 20 years, three-thousandth part of the earnings of said AEROPORT which shall have accrued during the month previous. In testimony Whereof I have herewith set my hand and affixed my seal on the 28th day of April, 1852."
Witnesses: John T. Goodwin E.L. Porter Rufus Porter Accompanying the above, there is a cut of what might be taken from a very modern dirigible.
Miss Cooper also brought out and exhibited the following pioneer family relics:
DAVID COOPER
David Cooper was born in Ohio, in Sept. 1840; his ancestors were Dutch, Scotch, and Welch, and came to this continent previous to the Revolutionary War. Mr. Cooper lived in Ohio until he grew to manhood. When he was about five years old his father died, and he then went to live with his uncle; while with his uncle he received about 75 days of schooling each year; that is, after he was ? years old.
He remained with his uncle until he was 18 years old, when he started out for himself. His greatest ambition at this time was to provide a home for his mother. To accomplish this noble purpose, he worked with all the energy and perseverance of which he was capable, so that when he went to Oregon he left her well provided with a good home. He then went to work for fifty cents a day through the summer, and attended school during the winter. He then obtained employment as superintendent of a farm, and occupied that position about nine months, when he returned to school, attending about three months.
In the spring of 1859, he bought a farm near Sharon, Ohio, and remained on this farm, part of the time, for about two years. He then got ready for a trip to the Salmon River mines, and started in the spring of 1861, arriving at his destination in September of the same year, having made a very pleasant journey. He remained in the mines about 2 months, working for $1.50 per day. He then went to Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon, and attended school four months, when he commenced teaching. At this period his fortune amounted to $10.00. He taught 3 months, and then he ran a sawmill for 3 months, after which he returned to school, being determined to get an education. In the spring of 1863, Mr. Cooper bought 100 acres of land near Lebanon; though he did not commence farming immediately, but ran a saw-mill at Waterloo, and continued in that business until late in the fall. He then clerked in a store for a while, and then attended school for two months; this was his last term of school, and he then lacked but 14 months of a full course. He had been a thorough and diligent student.
In the spring of 1864 he took a school and taught until the end of the summer, when he sold out his real estate, intending to return to the States; but he did not go, feeling convinced that a new country was the best for a young man of enterprise. Accordingly, he went to work with a full determination to succeed, making school-teaching his principal business, but speculating in livestock and other property, at the same time, and met with good success constantly. In the fall of 1866, he purchased a farm of 120 acres on Albany Prairie, which he rented out. This proved a good investment, for in three years he sold it at a considerable advance. About this time, too, he relinquished teaching, and devoted his whole time to farming and stock speculation. He had now accumulated about two thousand dollars and he was continued his speculation in land and stock, until his estate is now worth twenty thousand dollars. In 1876 he built a fine residence in the village of Halsey, which, when completed, will be one of the best residences in the county. In the fall of 1876, he bought a large warehouse, which he is using for wheat and wood storage. During the year 1877, he handled about 23,000 bushels of grain.
Mr. Cooper is an energetic and successful business man. In 1874 he married Miss Rebecca Wilson, daughter of James Wilson, who came to Oregon in 1852, from Indiana. They are the parents of 3 children, two boys and one girl. The oldest is three years of age. Mr. Cooper is not an active politician, but nevertheless he takes a warm interest in all measures that he thinks are for the public good and improvement.
Copyright © 2000 Patricia Dunn. All rights reserved. This transcription may not be reproduced in any media without the express written permission by the author. Permission has been given by the Transcriber to publish on the LGS web site.
| Owner of original | Transcribed by Patricia Dunn |
| Linked to | WPA Interviews for Linn County Oregon; Living |
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