James Cooper, Livery Man

WILLIAM COOPER > AMOS COOPER > WILLIAM LLOYD COOPER m Elizabeth Beams > JAMES COOPER m Clorinda Evans

You can read a little about the Coopers here.

Clorinda Evans

James Cooper was born in 1839 in Illinois to William Lloyd Cooper and his Kentucky wife, Elizabeth Beams. In 1871, he married Clorinda Evans, whom was called "Aunt Toad." She was born 20 Aug 1847 in York, Clark County, Illinois. Her parents were Willliam and Jane. Jane remarried after her husband's death to a gent name Stuck, who also preceded her in death.

The young couple located from Rock Grove, Stephenson County to Hutsonville, Crawford County for the 1870 census. They moved to Plainfield, Bremer County, then they located to Nashua, Chickasaw County, Iowa, just a few miles from Plainfield. James operated a livery and feed stable in Nashua for many years.

In 1900, the couple had a niece, Saidie Smull, living with them as a servant (Mary Jane and Johnathan Smull's daughter) as well as Clorinda's mother, Jane Stuck, in Nashua. In about 1902, he sold the business which was located in a barn just north of CW Taylor's garage and packed up his household, moving back to Plainfield. In 1905, the folks who purchased the livery auctioned off the livery property and assets. Even in retirement, James made the news:

"James Cooper is chock full of aches and pains today, the result of a little runaway yesterday. He was fitting a new harness onto his team and as the last tug was snapped, as there was nothing to hold them, they started out of the barn as they are in the habit of doing. Mr Cooper grabbed for the reins and caught one near the bit. But, they had started down the incline and pulled them right along until they got into the street when he was thrown down, one of the horses' hoofs striking him on the head and a wheel running over him. The team ran up the street west past the hotel until they reached Mrs Moody's residence, where they again turned, and by a narrow margin missed running into Mr Foster's milk wagon. The lines winding around one of the hubs pulled them down to a walk and Mr Foster captured them."

Nashua Reporter April 2, 1903

James and Clorinda were noted in the local paper as having received many visitors to their home. Sister Ann Cooper Thompson Hardy was a frequent visitor. James died after several years' illness on 08 Oct 1912 in Plainfield.

The couple had no children, but as mentioned in Clorinda's obituary, "She outlived her generation, there being no blood relatives, except perhaps distant cousins, but during her later years, she had had the kind care of those in the community related to her by marriage."

Clorinda died 29 Oct 1932 in Plainfield.

1899 Ad, Nashua Reporter

Trailblazing Women: The First Woman Methodist Minister in Oregon

WILLIAM COOPER > AMOS COOPER > WILLIAM LLOYD COOPER > ANN COOPER m (1) Daniel Thompson (2) Andrew Hardy > ALMEDA  THOMPSON m Francis "Frank" Herbst > REV ALICE HERBST KEATING m JT Keating

Ann Cooper and her first husband Daniel Thompson had seven children before Daniel died in 1864 while they were living in Osage, Iowa. Ann remarried three years later to Andrew Hardy.

Almeda Hannah Thompson was born in Feb 1856 in Osage. She married Franklin "Frank" Herbst, son of Andre and Maria Herbst in 1872. The elder Herbst's had come from Guewenheim, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France originally around 1845 during an influx of German/French immigrants escaping political chaos and conscription in Europe. They first arrived in Wisconsin, then moved to Chickasaw County, Iowa.

Frank in back

Frank and Almeda would move on to Burwell, Nebraska, where a number of Cooper relatives settled, and then moved on to South Dakota. In late 1908, Frank had decided to move on to Oregon, which they did, eventually ending up in Portland. Not long after they got settled in, Frank died at age 56 on 24 Aug 1910.  He left his widow and three daughters.

Garibaldi

Alice Ellen was born 14 Sep 1876 in a log cabin in Bremer County. She married Rev Joseph Thomas "JT" Keating. Alice was very involved in her husband's ministry and was also deeply involved in the Salvation Army and became a captain. In 1919, she then herself became a licensed Methodist minister - the first woman to ever do so in Oregon.

Soon after, she was appointed to her first posting in the Salem district at a new church in the town of Garibaldi, a port town that sprung up out of the lumber industry. Her husband had a church in Bay City, located nearby.

The couple had two daughters:

Almeda E Keating, born 07 Dec 1907 in Nebraska. She married John Klerk of the Netherlands. Almeda worked for many years as a clerk at the Portland Visiting Nurse Association. She died 04 Aug 1992 in San Diego County, California. John died 23 Sep 2000.

Miriam Alice Keating was born 15 Mar 1910 in Seattle. She married Rev Ralph Kleen in Washington in 1932. She graduated from the Cascade Bible College in 1932 and served as organist, pianist, soloist, and as children's choir director and bell choir director in her husband's ministries in Oregon, Arizona, California, and Alaska. One of the churches he served in Oregon was Forest Grove United Methodist Church. She died 27 May 1997 in Los Angeles County. The couple had two children.

They also had a foster son, Rev Walter Stamm, who served in the Salem area.

Walton Ward Fisher, DVM in Seward, Nebraska

WILLIAM COOPER > AMOS COOPER > CHALKLEY JARED COOPER > MARY E COOPER > Joseph Fisher > WALTON WARD FISHER, DVM

Seward Courthouse & Fire Dept 1910

Joseph Fisher was the son of Jacob and Mary Fisher who had come from Berks County, Pennsylvania to Oneco, Stephenson County, Illinois prior to 1850. In about 1860, he married Mary Ellen Cooper, daughter of Chalkley Jared Cooper and his wife Margaret Ann Thompson. Mary Ellen was the second of nine known children, born 19 Mar 1843 in Clark County, Illinois.

Mary Ellen and Joseph had one known surviving son, Walton Ward Fisher, born on 29 Jun 1868, prior to her death in 1873. In 1880, W W Fisher was not living with his father, but with his Grandfather C J Cooper, Great Grandmother Susan Gourley Thompson, and aunt Susan Lavica Cooper. His father died on 22 Sep 1881. Both of his parents were buried in Rock Grove Union Cemetery in Stephenson County.

The next sight of Walton is in 1896 when he's living in Nebraska and has married Ruth Hill. Ruth's family was from Cole County, Illinois and her parents had come to Nebraska when she was seven years old.

Walton Ward Fisher, DVM

In 1900, the couple are living in Madison Township in Fillmore County, Nebraska where they are farming. In 1910 they are living in Seward and Walton is working as a contractor. Seward is located just West of Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1913, most of the town's people were attending "the big ball game" south of town when a tornado decimated over 15 blocks, killing 13. In 1918, a modern high school was built. The population reached nearly 2,000 after the rebuilding.

At some point, he attends college (possible UNL) and receives his veterinary degree. In 1918, he is listed in the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association Journal as practicing n Seward, Nebraska.

Walton Bruce

This also launches him into the "professional" category in town which gave them a higher social standing. Mrs. Fisher was very active in community affairs, but particularly the Order of the Eastern Star. They had three children: Rebecca Louise "Louise", Meda Hill, and Walton Bruce.

In 1927, Walton and his daughters returned to Stephenson County for their first visit since he left for Nebraska to visit a Fisher relative.

The daughters would both become schoolteachers. In 1931, Louise went to Chicago high schools to teach and Meda first went to Idaho, but then also joined Louise in Chicago. Neither would ever marry.

R Louise

Son Walton Bruce "Bud" Fisher married Mary Louise McCreavey and became an insurance salesman and moved to Ft Wayne, Indiana. By the mid-1940s, the growing family would be living in Oak Park, Illinois.

WW and Ruth moved to River Forest, Illinois in about 1940 to be near the rest of the family. WW Fisher died 18 Mar 1953 in Cook County. Ruth would die suddenly on 21 July 1955 while traveling with her daughters in Greeley, Colorado.

All of the children of the Fisher's would eventually end up in Florida. R Louise died 21 Dec 1996 in New Port Richey, Meda Hill died in Dec 1965 in Sarasota, and Walton Bruce 27 Feb 1971 in Brooksville. Walton Bruce and his wife had seven children, One would died at age 9 of illness in Illinois and Walton Thomas "Tom" would die in an auto accident on 24 Mar 1966. He was a junior linebacker for the University of Tennessee who died in a car-semi accident on his way back from Spring Break. Another player was killed and one very gravely injured in the crash. The Tom Fisher Memorial Stadium was built in his honor at Hernando High School, where he attended, in his honor.

Alice Emrick, Grocer

AMOS COOPER >  CHALKELY JARED COOPER > MARGARET COOPER m George Emrick > ALICE EMRICK

Grocery store once operated by Alice Emrick in Glendale

Alice Emrick was born to George Emrick and Margaret Anna Cooper on 03 Oct 1882, according to
family records. The date of the family’s move from Stephenson County, Illinois to Seward County, Nebraska is unknown, but occurred after her birth, but before 1900.

Robert Cooper, profiled previously, lived with the Emrick's in 1910.

Alice’s mother Margaret died in Seward County in 1914. Alice lived with her father, caring for him until sometime in the mid-1920s, when she moved to Glendale, Los Angeles County, California and became a grocer. Sometime during the period in Seward, she married a man named Moler, for whom no further information is available. She was listed as a widow for the 1930 census.

Alice operated a couple of neighborhood markets, one of which was located at 310 E California St in Glendale. The building is still standing and is still being used as a grocery. She had previously been at 471 W Harvard St in Glendale for a few years.

Her father George resided with her until his death in 1933. Brother Bert Cooper Emrick, a salesman, and his wife Lela also resided in Glendale. By 1936, she had retired and she died in 1940 at the age of 57.

SEE THE UPDATE ON THIS STORY HERE.

The Smiths: The Very Best Kind of Day

Yesterday, I drove up to Nashua to meet a cousin on the Smith side, Betty Jane Smith. There with her for the meeting were two of her kids and their spouses. I felt like I had been dropped into my own family, without all the expectations! Very nice, wonderful people. We told stories and shared photos. Betty is 94 years old and I spent time giggling with her - giggling - and laughing and smiling. She shared the most awesome family photos and filled in blanks in my knowledge about her father and mother, Walter Smith & Isabelle Monteith. At the end of the day, we had a piece of homemade pie, made by Betty, who had skipped church in order to provide the delicious treat for me - a virtual stranger. Did I mention how much I love Iowa?

Here is a beautiful photo of Isabelle, from her youth. As you might recall, Isabelle was one of three Monteith sisters who married Smith men. Jessie and Elizabeth married Walter's cousins, Alexander and Jacob.

Betty was adopted by Walter and Isabelle Smith after her birth. They were her biological great grandparents. She lived in the same house since she was born - the house Walter & Isabelle had lived in since they had "moved to town" sometimes around the turn of the 20th century.

The lovely Betty Jane Smith

Betty continued to live there after Walter and Isabelle died. Her adopted sister Maude moved in with her and finished raising her after Isabelle's death. When Betty married widower Leland Hahn, the family of Lee's two kids and their own two kids made the house their home. After Leland died, her second husband also lived in the home. Ninety-four years in the same house!

This is a particularly great photo of the Smith boys Mirt,  Rev Parker, Harland, Edwin, & Walter and sister Dora (Eva and Ella both died in 1924, so I'd put this photo at between 1924-1933):

They were at some kind of picnic - looks like some kind of pavilion behind them - perhaps the Nashua fairgrounds?

This is the boys and their spouses, except Edwin's wife, Kate Smull, This also includes sister Mary Madora "Dora" Smith and her husband BF Lichty, who lived in Waterloo.

Captain Robert T Cooper

WILLIAM COOPER > AMOS COOPER > CHALKELY JARED COOPER > CAPT ROBERT T COOPER m Emma Brenizer

Robert T Cooper was the first-born child of Chalkely Jared Cooper, Sr and Margaret Ann Thompson, in Clark County, Illinois on 24 May 1841. The family removed to Rock Grove, Stephenson Co., Ill., in 1844. As a youth he worked on the family farm in the summer months and attended school during the winter.

He was sworn into the US Army on Sept. 10, 1861. He was mustered into the service as Sergeant of Co. "B," 46th Regiment Illinois Infantry, on Sept. 14, 1861, at Springfield, Illinois, and did camp and drill duty. He fought in the battle of Fort Donelson, Kentucky on Feb. 16, 1862, where his uncle, John A. “Jack” Thompson (son of Susannah Gourley and Robert Thompson) also served.

During the battle of Shiloh, Tenn., on April 6, 1862, he was severely wounded in the left arm and was furloughed home. He returned to his company and regiment at La Grange, Tenn., July 7, 1862. He fought with his company until the close of the war. He received his final promotion to Captain on Dec 23, 1864. He was mustered out at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jan. 20, 1866, and was discharged at Springfield, Illinois, Feb. 2, 1866.

When he arrived back in Stephenson County, the attended college in Peoria, Ill., and graduated in 1866. He went into the mercantile and grain business in Rock City, Illinois until 1869, when he was elected county treasurer. After he served 4 years, he moved to Seward, Nebraska and purchased the Blue Valley flour mill in Holmesville. Brother Joseph L Cooper worked with him in his business interests there.

He ran for and was elected as County Treasurer in 1881 and was considered for State Treasurer at one
point. He served two terms and then served as County Clerk for two years before returning to business pursuits.

He was married to Emma J. Brenizer in 1887. They had two children; the first died in infancy in 1888, their second, Emma, died at age 5 years in 1894. He engaged in farming and stock raising until 1890 when his wife died, three months after Emma’s birth. He then retired from active business at Seward, where he died 12 Sep 1916.

Munsons of New Haven

Enjoy my cousin's post on the Munson family of New Haven. Captain Thomas Munson was the first of the family to come to the US. My cousin and I are part of Clan William.

The Munsons in New Haven, CT

William Clayton Cooper of South Dakota

WILLIAM COOPER > AMOS COOPER > FRANKLIN COOPER > WILLIAM CLAYTON COOPER m Mary Fairy Spaulding

You can read about the various Cooper's here.

Franklin Cooper, born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, came with his parents to Clark County, Illinois in the mid 1820s. He married Jemima Wilson, a much younger woman, on 14 Mar 1850 in Stephenson County, Illinois and they later came to Polk Township, east of Plainfield, in Bremer County, Iowa, where they farmed. Jemima Ann was born 31 Oct 1832 in Kentucky. Franklin died at home in January 1893 and was buried in Horton  Jemima lived on until 1908. They had 10 children, only four of whom survived childhood. Jemima traveled frequently in her last years visiting her children and also was involved in various groups like the GAR auxiliary and the Ladies Aid Society.

1890s Play in Plainfield - Jemima is second row, far right

Son William Clayton was born in March of 1862 in Stephenson County. He married Mary Fairy "Fairy" Spaulding on 10 Oct 1883 in Horton, Iowa. She was born in January 1864 in Iowa. The 1900 census has William listed as a "landlord." Fairy was involved in the Royal Neighbors and can be seen here on this float in 1900.

Plainfield Royal Neighbors, 1900: Fairy Cooper is 4th from left, front row

In 1907, the couple took a leap and left for Fort Pierre, South Dakota, where they would take a land claim. On a visit home, he told everyone about what a great deal it was, "There is plenty of good land around Pierre that anyone can get by remaining on fourteen months and paying 50 center per acre." His four adult daughters lived in either South Dakota or Nebraska with their families.

In 1915, William met with a tragic accident:

"The community was shocked and saddened by the death Saturday morning of Wm C Cooper, a well known resident of our town. Mr Cooper was assisting his son-in-law on a farm near Carpenter, Friday evening when he threw his fork down from the stack and immediately sprang down. The fork stuck in the ground, the handle standing upright and Mr Cooper was impaled on the handle. He was taken at once to the Watertown hospital, but died the next morning at 8 o'clock. He leaves a wife and three married daughters as well as a number of grandchildren to whom their grandfather was an especially dear playfellow and friend. Funeral services were held at Carpenter Monday afternoon."
Huron Weekly State Spirit
Thursday, August 26, 1915, Huron, South Dakota

Her daughter Edith Cooper Zwanziger lived in Huron near her mother and in 1930, her grandson, Lawrence Zwanziger lived with his grandmother. Mary died in a Huron, South Dakota hospital 01 Apr 1948. 

Meet the Coopers: Amos & Hannah Lloyd Cooper

The Cooper side of the family is large and complex. I've had an opportunity to speak with a few of the descendants over the past few years and through them I learned that Amos, who I consider our family head, had a father named William according to his marriage record. I have not delved into this information to any degree because it would require a trip East to Montgomery and Bucks Counties, Pennsylvania and that is not in the cards right now.

Amos was born in about 1772 in Montgomery County,  Pennsylvania. The Coopers were Quakers and attended the Horsham Monthly Meeting in Bucks County. In 1794, Amos and his intended bride, Hannah Lloyd appeared with their parents in front of several monthly meetings to state their intention to marry. On 12 Dec 1794, they married at the Haddonfield Monthly Meeting. The Coopers farmed in Northampton, Bucks County for several years quite successfully. In 1801, he was farming 73 acres with a value of about $1,000. His brothers also farmed near him. The couple had at least nine children, not all of them surviving to adulthood. In about 1806, the couple moved to Delaware for unknown reasons, but remained there only about two years before returning to Bucks County. Son William Lloyd Cooper was the only child born in Delaware.

1794 Wedding and its Witnesses

In July of 1825, the Cooper's appeared before the Quaker Monthly Meeting and requested they be allowed to remove themselves from their congregation so they could be the first pioneers in the family and head West. This was granted to the couple and their children.

Quaker Request for Removal

So, with that, the family made up of Amos, Hannah, George, John, Sarah, William LLoyd (my 3rd GG), Amos, Chalkley, and  Franklin departed for Illinois.

There was a large Quaker settlement near York, near the Crawford County, Illinois line. The family settled in first in Crawford, then in Clark County, Illinois according to the 1830 census. I found one little reference to Amos possibly being a justice of the peace in 1830. Beyond that, I don't know much about the couple once they got to Clark County. Amos and Hannah seemed both to have died about 1835.

The children thrived in the area and many went on to other parts of Illinois and my 3rd GG William Lloyd Cooper and his wife  Elizabeth Beams moved on to Stephenson County. After William's death, his wife Elizabeth would live with her daughter's family in Bremer County, Iowa. She would be buried in Stephenson County.

Bad, Bad Henry Burton

JACOB SMITH > JAMES SMITH > JOHN R SMITH > NANCY SMITH m (1) George Royce (2) Henry Wallace Burton

Click image to increase size

When John R Smith married Nancy "Nannie" Baker, little did the family know the name "Nannie" would carry on through three generations. You can read a little about John and his daughter Harriet here and about daughter Ollie here and son Alfred here.

The 2nd Nannie: Nancy Smith
Royce Burton

John and Nancy had daughter Nancy "Nannie" Smith on 13 Dec 1877 in Nebraska. She would marry George Royce, originally of Iowa, on 19 Mar 1896 in Garretson, Minnehaha County, South Dakota. George was born 18 Jan 1872.

Nannie's parents and some of her siblings moved along with the Royce's to California. While living in San Joaquin County, California. George made his living as a carpenter. By 1900, Stockton, which is located in the "Central Valley" of California and highly agricultural, had become an industrial city with streetcars, banks, hotels, and theatres. Main Street was its major commercial area. They would have nine children together before George died on 03 Aug 1915 in Stockton,

About the time of George's death, Henry Wallace Burton was just finishing his second term at San Quentin. This time for an unnamed felony. His career of crime might be quite lengthy, but all I have to go on is the two times he was incarcerated in San Quentin and his time at the Tulare County jail.

He was born in Greene County, Iowa 11 Jan 1884 to James O. Burton and Caroline "Carrie" Utter. The family moved West from Iowa to Tulare county before 1900. In 1908, Henry was a butcher and 20 years old. He was also on his way to prison for assault with intent to murder. He was sentenced to six years and was out in slightly over four years in December 1912. His second term for the "felony" started in late 1914 and he was in prison for 10 months, getting out in later 1915.

His 1908 and 1914 intake photos from San Quentin

Detailed description of his body at San Quentin

On 16 Jan 1920, he married Nancy "Nannie" Smith Royce and they lived in Stockton. He was some years younger than her. If his life of crime wasn't over, he didn't go back to the penitentiary. He was a dairy farmer and most of the Royce children resided with the couple on the 1920 census. Henry wouldn't make it to the 1930 census. He died on 06 Jun 1929 at the age of  45. He and Nannie would have one daughter, Nancy "Nannie" Violet Burton. Nannie would not remarry.

Nancy Smith Royce Burton died 09 Jan 1946 in French Camp in San Joaquin County.

Nancy Burton married William John Sohriakoff, born in San Francisco to Russian immigrant parents on 23 Oct 1924. Nannie would die on 13 Dec 1976. The couple had four children. William died 25 Jun 2003 in Grass Valley, California.

The Double Tragedy of the Alfred Smith Family of South Dakota

JACOB SMITH > JAMES SMITH > JOHN R SMITH > ALFRED SMITH m Maggie R Johnson

Click on image to enlarge

You can read about John R Smith and his daughter Harriet here and about his daughter Ollie here.

Alfred Smith was born 16 May 1867 while his parents lived in Iowa. They moved on eventually to South Dakota. His parents then moved on to Ripon, San Joaquin County, California, but some of the children remained in the Midwest including Alfred.

He met Maggie R. Johnson, who was born in 1874 in New York and married her on 15 Dec 1892. The couple would have eight children; one died in infancy, one died in a tragic accident that would make headlines for days, one would be the victim of another accident during a snowstorm.

Mabel Smith was born in 1909. Her family lived in Mitchell, Davison County, South Dakota. She was your typical 10-year-old who one Saturday afternoon set out to visit friends. When she hadn't arrived home by supper, her parents began to worry. They set about searching for her to no avail. Several hours later, the sheriff was notified and Al Scott's bloodhounds spent hours searching for the girl. Early on, they had some hints that she had been in the area near her parents' home, but as nothing turned up, they turned to other sources who had purportedly seen the girl and headed down to the railroad yard. The trail was cold there. They gave up in the early hours in the morning with intent to start again later that morning.

Reportedly, the girl had been seen speaking to a "strange Negro man," earlier in the day. The only negros in the area were two laborers who had been rooming in the area while they worked on the road gang. The sheriff was quick to point out that they were well-known in town and were also not in the area on the day of the disappearance. Talk of the "strange negro," died out.

Common old house porch cistern trap door

On the 21st of October, three days later, her body was discovered in the cistern under the porch of the home of the C. E. Thompson's, a short distance from her home. She had drowned. Cisterns in old homes were not uncommon. They typically used the roof as a rain collection surface, gutters and downspouts delivering the water into the cistern. They were often built under porches, with a trap door over the entrance to avoid accidents. The vault below held the water which was typically accessed  by a pump in the house and used for laundry and cleaning rather than drinking.  In the Thompson home, the cistern door was not near the back porch entry, where the child had entered, so it was unclear why she had raised the cistern door and gone in if it weren't at someone else's hands.

Her mother believes she was murdered. This article, which was newswired to nearby Aberdeen, makes clear that it was a mystery that would have no clear solution, despite the fact the coroner's inquest came back with a ruling of accidental and not homicidal causes. No suspect was ever located.

Just three years later, young Archie Alfred Smith, on his way home from work with his coworker, Orvis Yahne, would walk the tracks in a blinding snowstorm and be hit and killed by the train snow shovel. He was 21 years old.

Alfred died 03 Apr 1936 in Davison County and Maggie died in Stellacoom, Pierce County, Washington on 25 Nov 1951.

Florence Newcomb & L. Arthur Larson: The Perfect Match

JACOB SMITH > JAMES SMITH > JOHN R SMITH > OLLIE B. SMITH m Robert Kingsbury Newcomb > FLORENCE SMITH m Lewis Arthur Larson

Click image to increase size

You can read about Ollie's family here.

Florence, 1935

Florence Faye Newcomb was born 24 Apr 1909 in Lake County, South Dakota. There was always something that shined about Florence. From an early age she was interested in performing and winning. She attended Easter State Normal School and was a charter member of the Theta Chapter of Pi Kappa Delta, which got its charter at the school in 1930. Florence thrived and excelled in forensics, especially extemporaneous speaking. She also participated heavily in theatre arts, performing in student plays throughout her time on campus. She was also May Queen in her senior year.

In 1930, the school got its first shot at attending the national Pi Kappa Delta convention and tournament. Florence took top prize in women's extemporaneous speaking. This is the same year that L. Arthur Larson of Augustana College took second place in the men's competition. Reportedly, they had met previously while in high school and he lost to her in a debate on the "independence for the Philippines."

L. Arthur Larson

L Arthur Larson was born 04 Jul 1910 in Pennington, South Dakota to municipal court Judge Lewis Larson and Annie Bertia Huseboe. He excelled in school and graduated from Augustana as valedictorian. He won a Rhodes Scholarship and in 1931, left for London and Oxford to study. He secured four degrees while there, including one in civil jurisprudence.

In the meantime, young Florence had secured her first teaching post at Freeman High School in Huron, teaching English and Speech at a salary of $1,350 per year. In her second year of teaching, her drama students participated in a dramatic contest conducted by the University of South Dakota and took first place performing, "The Variant," a play about the last hours of a condemned man.

After traveling to London, where she graduated with special credit from the Royal Academy of
Dramatic Arts, she returned to South Dakota. In 1934, she continued to seek the limelight and won  the local challenge in a nationwide  radio contest sponsored by Columbia to find its next radio star to co-star with actor Dick Powell in a new radio program called, "Hollywood Hotel." She did get an expense-paid trip to New York, but did not win the national competition.

In July 1935, she would marry L. Arthur Larson. He got a job at the famous firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who specialized in insurance law, Quarles, Spence & Quarles in 1935, but found himself laid off in 1939. He then went to University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville. It was there he and Florence had their two children, a boy and a girl.

President Dwight D Eishenhower

From there, he went to Washington DC during the war years where he served at the Office of Price Administration and as the Chief, Scandinavian Branch of the Foreign Economic Administration.In 1945, he was appointed assistant law professor at Cornell School of Law in Ithaca, New York. It was during his time there, he became a respected expert on worker's compensation law. He authored a 11-volume treatise on the subject in 1952, just before being heading to London as a Fulbright Fellow at the School of Economics. He was appointed as Dean of the Pittsburgh School of Law in Pennsylvania in 1953. During that time I found one reference to Florence's continuing involvement in theatre, when she was in a play there that made the news.

Always a registered Republican, he was of a centrist viewpoint, which appealed to President Dwight D. Eishenhower, who had read Larson's book, "A Republican Looks at His Party," and agreed with the tenets he espoused. Eisenhower had him come aboard as an Undersecretary of Labor in 1954. He then went on to serve briefly as the head of the US Office of Information Agency, and then as Eisenhower's chief speechwriter. He then spent a year in 1958 as Knapp Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin School of Law.

Rule of Law Research Center, 1960

Larson moved on to Duke University as the a law professor and later as director of the Rule of Law Research Center at Duke, a position he held for many years until his retirement in 1980. In 1975, he was named the James B. Duke Professor of Law. He also continued to dip into politics and foreign policy and consulted with President Lyndon Johnson, the US State Department, and the United Nations. He was cited as a champion for peace.  He wrote several more books, including in 1968, "Eisenhower: The President Nobody Knew."

In the Duke Law School Review: A Tribute to L. Arthur Larson, one of those providing tribute indicated that Florence had developed a reputation as a sculptor.

He remained the country's leading expert on worker's comp law and his books were the standard reference in the field. And, he was considered a leading expert in foreign affairs, disarmament, and arms control. In 1960, he won the World Peace Award of the American Freedom Association.

After he retired, he continued to write. The couple were married for 55 years when Florence died 02 Mar 1991 and Arthur died 27 Mar 1993, both in Durham, North Carolina.