The Cooper Family

Edward E. Cooper born circa ~1785, appears in the 1840 Lost Creek Township Federal Census, with 2 males less than 10 yrs. old, and 1 male less than 20. The ~20 year old male is believed to be his son William. One of the less than 10 yr. old males is believed to be grandson, John Cooper. His location in the census has him as a neighbor to the Artis, Redden Roberts, and Dixon Stewart families, and most likely in the area of the Ft. Harrison - Hunt Road intersection.

Edward was descrived as a man of ability and enterprise, but unscrupulous. Edward became a part of Indiana history, when he was arrested for being a fugitive slave. In 1831 the Indiana General Assembly enacted legislation which declared that any Negro who came into the state without a certificate of freedom should be considered a fugitive slave and turned over to the sheriff to be advertised as a runaway. The law required colored persons who came into the state to post bond of five hundred dollars as a guarantee against becoming a public charge and as a pledge of good behavior. Conviction of a crime or misdemeanor meant forfeiture of the bond.

Although questions as to the wisdom and justice of the law continued to be raised, doubts as to its constitutionality were set aside by the Indiana Supreme Court, which upheld the law on three different occasions. The first of these cases involved a free Negro, Edward Cooper, who had settled in Vigo County following the adoption of the law and had failed to post the required bond. A justice of the peace ordered him to be hired out for six months, but Cooper appealed to the circuit court on the grounds that the law was unconstitutional. The judge of the circuit court who heard the case was Amory Kinney, the same man who years before had acted as attorney for Polly against Hyacinthe Lasselle in the case which resulted in the final extinction of slavery from Indiana. Kinney was of the opinion that the law of 1831 violated rights that were guaranteed by both the Constitutions of the United States and Indiana and ordered Cooper released.

Transcript of proceedings in case of State v. Cooper in Vigo County Circuit Court in Supreme Court Papers, in Archives Division, Indiana State Library, November term, 1839; State v. Cooper, 5 Blackford (Ind.) 258-59.

Edward E. Cooper founded the newspaper "The Freeman" in Indianapolis, which began publication in 1888.

William Cooper was born in Maryland, and is probably one of the sons of Edward. He married Malinda Hill. She was born in Maryland. William Cooper and Malinda Hill had the following child:

John Cooper was born on 10 Jun 1843 in Maryland. He died on 10 Aug 1918 in Terre Haute, Indiana. John is found in the 1870 Clinton, Vermillion County census with wife Sarah J., and 2 children:

Robert, born in about 1864, and
Christian, born in about 1867.
The death certificate for Robert, lists his parents as Altman Manuel and Sarah J. Russell.

Sarah J., the daughter of Brinkley Russell and Martha Capps, was the widow of Altman Manuel, who had been killed in 1865, during the Civil War.

The 1880 Clinton, Vermillion County census shows John widowed, with 3 additional children. Robert had moved out by 1880, and is found in the 1880 Vigo County census, working as a servant.

Kate, born about 1869,
Henry, born in 1873, and
Samuel, born in about 1877.
The death certificate for Kate lists her parents as John Cooper and Sarah J. Russell.

John married Ida M. Jackson on 08 Oct 1887 in Vigo County, Indiana. She was born on 12 Mar 1866 in Illinois. She died on 18 Jun 1948.

John Cooper and Ida M. Jackson had the following children:

Charles Cooper was born on 17 Aug 1891 in Clinton, Vermillion County, Indiana. He died on 29 Oct 1958 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He married (1) Agnes Alsum on 04 Oct 1919 in Vigo County, Indiana. She was born on 24 Feb 1899 in Mount Vernon, Posey County, Indiana. He married (2) Maude E. Gill on 24 Dec 1946 in Vigo County, Indiana. She was born on 23 Jun 1905 in Memphis, Tennessee. He married (3) Maxine Blanche Madison, daughter of Azar Madison and Blanche Walls, on 21 Nov 1953 in Vigo County, Indiana. She was born on 30 Jul 1924 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Charles Cooper and Agnes Alsum had the following children:

Venetta H. Cooper was born on 09 Jul 1923 in Vigo County, Indiana. She married Vernie French on 19 Jul 1945 in Vigo County, Indiana. He was born on 02 Mar 1912 in Mount Vernon, Posey County, Indiana

James Arthur Cooper was born on 14 Mar 1927 in Vigo Cooper, Indiana. He married Mussetta Jacqueline Millikin on 18 Mar 1950 in Vigo County, Indiana. She was born on 06 Jan 1932 in Vigo County, Indiana.

Mabel Louise Cooper was born on 09 Jul 1929 in Terre Haute, Indiana. She married Luther Martin Means on 07 May 1951 in Vigo County, Indiana. He was born on 14 Jul 1926 in Carbondale, Illinois. He died on 22 Dec 1985 in Illinois.

Geneva Cooper was born about 1932 in Indiana.

John Lindsey Cooper was born on 11 Apr 1894 in Lost Creek, Vigo County, Indiana. He died on 17 Jan 1985 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He married (1) Leala Octavia Anderson, daughter of Thaddeus S. Anderson and Gertrude Elizabeth Shepard, on 14 Aug 1919 in Vigo, Indiana. She was born on 07 Jul 1901 in Terre Haute, Indiana. She died on 18 Oct 1988 in Rock Island, Illinois. He married (2) Ruby Elizabeth Shepard, daughter of Charles Frederic Shepard and Luetta M. Roberts, on 21 Feb 1922 in Lost Creek, Vigo County, Indiana. She was born on 19 Apr 1904 in Lost Creek, Vigo County, Indiana. She died on 30 Apr 1999 in Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana. John Lindsey Cooper and Leala Octavia Anderson had the following child:

Ida Lee Cooper was born on 30 Nov 1919 in Terre Haute, Indiana. She died on 26 Jul 1994 in Rock Island, Illinois. She married James Bruce Sanchez Walkup, son of Juan Sanchez and Daisy Odom. He was born on 23 Oct 1915 in St. Augustine, Florida. He died on 24 Jan 1994 in Moline, Rock Island, Illinois.

John Lindsey Cooper and Ruby Elizabeth Shepard had the following children:

Theodore "Pete" Cooper was born on 25 Apr 1921 in Vigo County, Indiana. He died on 18 May 1963 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He married Florence Manuel, daughter of Clyde Manuel Sr and Lettie Bell, on 26 Apr 1941 in Vigo County, Indiana. She was born in 1919 in Mattoon, Illinois.

Idelien May Cooper was born on 18 Jul 1922 in Lost Creek, Vigo County, Indiana. She died on 04 Feb 1956 in Brazil, Clay County, Indiana. She married (1) Arthur E. Kyle, son of Isaac Walter Kyle and Isabel Anderson, on 08 Mar 1947 in Clark County, Indiana. He was born on 12 Apr 1918 in Brazil, Clay County, Indiana. He died on 24 Jan 2006 in Pocatello, Bannock County, Idaho. She married (2) Archer Johnson on 18 Jan 1944 in Vigo County, Indiana. He was born on 26 Oct 1921 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

John Lindsey Cooper Jr. was born on 16 Aug 1923 in Vigo County, Indiana. He died on 06 Apr 1995 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He married (1) Evangeline Ward, daughter of Robert Ward and Mary E Rose, on 13 Dec 1963 in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was born about 1937 in New York. He married (2) Mildred E. Simpson, daughter of Stephen Willard Simpson and Enid Ideal Harris, on 23 Jun 1948 in Vigo County, Indiana. She was born on 09 Jan 1932 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Richard Theron Cooper was born on 03 Dec 1924 in Lost Creek, Vigo County, Indiana. He died on 21 Mar 1992 in Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana, USA. He married Victoria M. Tyler, daughter of Harold R. Tyler and Goldie V. Robinson, on 08 Nov 1946 in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was born on 30 Jun 1929 in Indiana. She died on 20 Apr 1996 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Edith Cooper was born in 1930 in Indiana.

Olga Bonnie Cooper was born on 08 Oct 1931 in Lost Creek, Vigo County, Indiana. She married Amos Hatter, son of Amos Hatter and Mattie Hatter, on 03 Nov 1951 in Vigo County, Indiana. He was born on 09 Nov 1928 in Haynesville, Claiborne County, Louisiana. He died on 15 Jul 2002 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Thelma Irene Cooper was born on 06 Oct 1899 in Indiana. She died on 27 Apr 1919 in Lost Creek, Vigo County, Indiana. She married Ottis Webber Norton, son of George W. Norton and Mahulda J. Walden, on 21 Apr 1917 in Vigo County, Indiana. He was born on 03 May 1894 in Otter Creek, Vigo County, Indiana.Ottis Webber Norton and Thelma Irene Cooper had the following child:

Ida Jane Norton was born on 22 Nov 1917 in Clay County, Indiana. She died on 18 Jun 1948 in Vigo County, Indiana.

Harry Cooper was born on 25 Mar 1905 in Lost Creek, Vigo County, Indiana. He died on 26 Dec 1905 in Vigo County, Indiana.