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My 2nd Great Grandfather. Johnathan Cooper was the eighth of 12 children born to Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner. He was born in 1834 in Centre County, Pennsyvlania and came to Stephenson County, Illinois with his parents in the 1850s. John married Mary Jane Cooper, daughter of William Lloyd Cooper and Elizabeth Beams, 06 May 1860 in Monroe, Wisconsin, making this the second Cooper/Smull connection. Mary Jane's sister Ann's daughter Lorena Thompson married Samuel Smull, John's brother.
John was a sergeant during the Civil War, serving a year with the 147th Illinois Infantry Regiment. The regiment was organized at Camp Fry, Chicago, for a year on 18 Feb 1865 and were attached to the 1st Brigade, 2nd Separate Division, District of Etowah, Department of the Cumberland to July 1865 and to the Dept of Georgia to January, 1866. They saw service primarily in Georgia, including skirmishes with guerillas and regular soldiers for the next several months. They then returned to Springield, Illinois in January 1866 and John was discharged on 08 Feb 1866. The regiment lost three enlisted to battle/injuries and 31 to disease.
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| Johnathan Smull and Mary Jane Cooper |
Since they had just started their family with two children before he left for war, they continued adding upon his return, adding six more, all born in Stephenson County, except the last three, who were born in Chickasaw County, Iowa. John owned 80 acres in Dakota, Stephenson County in 1866, which he sold prior to leaving for their next adventure. The Smull's moved to Chickasaw County in 1876 to farm in the Bradford area. According to his death record at the Chickasaw County Courthouse, John would die at age 51 on 16 Oct 1885 of a chronic intestinal enlargement of the liver for which he was treated by Dr. J. D. Horton. Dr. Horton indicated the condition was longer in duration than the last treatment period. Mary would move the family into Plainfield in neighboring Bremer County.
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| An older Elizabeth Beams Cooper, mother of Mary Jane Cooper Smull |
She cared for her elderly mother, Elizabeth Beams Cooper until her mother's death in June of 1897 in Plainfield. Mary Jane would die in Plainfield 14 Feb 1905 after a long illness.
The Smulls had eight children, including my great grandmother Katherine Mabel "Kate" Smull. The children of John and Mary Jane would play a significant role in the community and life of the small town of Plainfield for the next hundred years.
Listing the children, who will each be profiled at some point are:
1. Ulyssus: 1863, Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois to bet 1881-1885 in Chickasaw County, Iowa. There are no dates on his grave. He is listed in the 1880 US Census but not the Iowa 1885 Census. There is no death record for him in Chickasaw County.
2. Franklin Sylvester: 06 Mar 1865, Rock Grove to 12 Jul 1904 in Plainfield.
3. Jennie Elnora: 27 Jul 1869, Rock Grove to 09 May 1956 in Iowa. She would also connect withe the Jacob Smith family heretofore mentioned many times.
4. Viola Geneva: 06 Aug 1871, Rock Grove to 21 Nov 1947.
5. Katherine Mabel "Katie: 27 Sep 1873, Rock Grove to 04 Mar 1956, Waverly, Bremer, Iowa. Kate would also marry into the Jacob Smith line.
6. Saidee L.: 11 Jan 1877, Bradford, Chickasaw County, Iowa to 02 May 1962, Denver, Bremer, Iowa.
7. Florence: 20 Jun 1883, Bradford to 19 Aug 1963.
8. Amy: Dates unknown, died as infant/young child.
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| John Smull, Civil War Veteran and wife Mary Jane Cooper Smull Son Ulysses' stone is next to his mother's Greenwood Cemetery, Nashua, Iowa |
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