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After serving in the Black
Hawk wars as a private in the P. Butler Company, this Dutch, Baptist farmer and his wife came over the land
from Pennsylvania to Mercer County, Illinois.
It was here that he met his wife, Sarah Caroline Palmer an Indiana native and
married her.
They spent a few years in Illinois and the family as a whole
(Gearshum's siblings, etc. ) really made a name for the themselves. There
is a town named Vanatta, etc. But soon enough it was time to move
on. In 1854, they next moved on to Oregon via covered wagon.
Like so many before and after them they traveled along the Oregon
trail. The train they were on was known as the Macy Train finally came to
a stop in Linn County. Again they owned land in Linn
County.
Their final residence was in
the city of Brush Prairie, Clark County, Washington. In Brush
Prairie they again owned land and finished raising their
children. Here they helped start the Brush Prairie Baptist Church and
donated the land that the
Brush Prairie Cemetery
now on resides. This is where Gearshum and Caroline are laid to rest.
Gearshum and Caroline Vanatta are the mother and father to my great-great grandmother
Mary Vanatta who was married to Essalum Monroe Hall. Mary and Essalum had
several children one of which was named Daisy Viola Hall. Daisy married
Thomas Willard Coop, and they had Earl... my loving, beloved grandfather:
Earl Coop.
These pictures from left to right:
The first picture the group setting is as follows: Upper right, Daisy Viola Hall
(my great grandmother), The male in company there is Marcus Coop (my great
grandfathers youngest brother) , Lower right, Florence Bodi (a friend) and last
but not least, Effie (Hall) Coop (my great grandmothers youngest sister). See
the a picture of the Willard Coop/Daisy Hall marriage.
Picture #2: That cute little boy is Charles Coop, my
grandfather's brother.
Picture #3: Another Coop family picture this one taken around
1915. The young man to the left is Charles Coop (my grandfathers grandfathers
older brother), the girl is Bernice Coop Mosher, the lady is my great
grandmother, Daisy Hall Coop, and the fatherly figure in the picture is Thomas
Willard Coop, my great grandfather.
Picture #4: Look at that car! This picture was taken around 1912
or 1913, at 82nd and N.E. Thompson Street in Portland, Oregon in front of the
home of Thomas Willard Coop and Daisy Viola Hall Coop. The car is a Dureau
and is said to be one of our oldest. This was one of Lyman's first delivery
trucks. In the front seat: Thomas Willard Coop, Daisy Viola Hall Coop, and
Eunice Olive Coop (2 years old). In the Back seat: Ardith Odessa Coop (5
yrs. old), Thelma Viola Coop (9 years old) and Bernice Charlotte Coop (7 yrs.
old).
Far Right, Picture #5,: Thomas Willard Coop (my great-grandpa)
Remember you can click on thumbnails above to get bigger
pictures!!
June 07, 2000: I am celebrating today because I
have found two cousins that I never knew existed. The internet is indeed
making this world smaller and bringing us humans together in often very
meaningful ways. My goal is to get a few pictures up every day until I run
out and then to go back and start getting my paper records in electronic form to
share. Today's goal is to share some of the pictures that my new found
cousins might enjoy or at least want to see. I hope!!! So here they
are, I'm adding them onto the page I already started two days ago when I
realized what a help the internet could be for me in my goal of finding my
ancestors.
Remember you can click on these
pictures to get bigger versions of each.
From left to right:
Picture #1: This picture was taken in 1886 or 87. It is a four
generation photo. To the far left, Elizabeth Vanatta Clark.
In the middle Sarah Palmer Vanatta. To the right, Martha Clark Lyman and
daughter Marjorie (sp?) Gillis.
Picture #2: Rear, Left to right, Clara (Hall) Matson, Mary
(Mollie Hall) Richie, Otho Hall, Daisy (Hall) Coop, Susan (Hall) Campbell.
Front: Mary (Vanatta) Hall. Mary Vanatta Hall is my great-great
grandmother. She was 14 when she came to Oregon in the covered wagon.
These are all Mary's children, 5 of the 11. Except for the man back by the
house in the background. He is my great great grandfather, Charles Coop
(btw, I copy what is written on the back of the photos, and I only change the
"you" and "yours" to "my" so you will understand
better). I used to have a copy of a diary that Mary kept as she crossed
over in that wagon. My life has been turbulent to say the least. I am
unsure if I have it anymore. And the font it was typed in was very hard to
read. Today's Xerox's would probably be of a much better quality. I
would talk to the Daughters of the Pioneer's of Washington to get that stuff.
Picture #4: This is the same image as on top of
the page of Gearshum and Sarah Vanatta. What I wanted to show here by
scanning it differently was that this portrait is in a frame. I've never
seen it in person, I can only assume it is a painting. Just thought I'd
share.
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Peggy
Rowe's
Early
Pioneers of Brush Prairie, Washington