Our earliest known Cooper was Jesse Cooper born about 1780 in either Mason or Fleming County, Kentucky. His wife was Mary. Jesse and Mary had five children: Jessie James, Nancy Ann, Basil, Ellen and Eli/Elias, all born in Maysville, Mason, Kentucky. By 1830 the family had moved to Dearborn County, Indiana. Most of this Cooper family stayed in Indiana.

     My great-great grandfather was Jessie James Cooper. He was born in 1819. 18 Aug 1839 he married Mary French in Dearborn County, Indiana. By 1840 he was living in Fort Madison, Lee, Iowa. He and Mary had three children before she died in 1849.

     After her death he married Lavinia Ann Collier 21 Sep 1851. Jessie and Lavinia had six children. Jessie's occupation was a cooper, or a maker of barrels.

     At the war's end, Jessie returned to Iowa from Texas by train on the Burlington Railroad. He liked the land he saw north of Fort Worth and decided some time he would return to live there.

     Jessie and his family left Iowa about 1868 with several pure-blooded Morgan horses. At first the family lived in Dallas, soon moved to Wise County on the waters of the western fork of the Trinity River about two miles northeast of Paradise.

     Mary Elizabeth Cooper, Jessie's daughter said this was a beautiful place just covered with spring wild flowers of every color.

     The Cooper family went to work clearing land and building a two room log house. Jessie continued making barrels and casks, which were a necessity in every home for hauling and storing water and food.

     Jessie Cooper died in 1887 from pneumonia, complicated by some trouble of the urinary apparatus, albuminism, probably Bright's disease.

     Lavina became an invalid and lived with Fred and Mary Elizabeth Harms, her son-in-law and daughter. Her granddaughter Jimmie Gibson remembers Lavina making her fill and start her clay pipe smoking for her. When she would not do this to suit her, she would give her a backhand.

     Jessie and Lavina Cooper are buried on the south central side of Paradise Cemetery. To view the Paradise Cemetery website, click here.

Allied Families

Collier
French