Civil War in Stephenson County, Illinois

Battle of Fort Donelson

Franklin Boyd

I was recently going through some muster rolls for various Illinois Infantry Regiments and noticed that the bulk of our relatives served in one of two places: in the earlier part of the war, many of the family joined up with Co B, 46th Illinois Infantry. It was a kick-butt regiment that saw a lot of action. It fought at Ft Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, and the Siege of Vicksburg, among other battles.

It was organized in 1861 at Camp Butler, Illinois and mustered out in January 1866 at Baton Rouge, La. The company was discharged two weeks later in early February 1866. The original 3-year enlistment of these men expired in 1864. The government asked them to voluntarily reenlist. It met with great success:

"With the initial three-year enlistment of the Regiment about to expire, the Government issued General Order number 191, relating to the re-enlisting of Veteran Volunteers. This was to be a voluntary re-enlistment, and with the enthusiastic support of the officers and noncoms, three-fourths of the 46th Illinois Volunteer Infantry signed up on January 4, 1864, for another three years or less, depending on how long the war was to last. The re-enlisted Regiment now numbered twenty officers and three hundred and thirty four enlisted men, who were embarked on a steamer headed north. They reached Freeport, Illinois on January 23, where they proudly marched through the town to a hall where the citizens gave them a big reception and dinner. After the festivities ended, they marched out to the fairgrounds west of town, where they were given a 30-day furlough.

Having made a name for itself, the 46th Illinois was able to attract new volunteers to join the ranks. Recruiting offices were set up in Lee, Ogle, Whiteside, and Stephenson counties, hoping to bring the Regiment back to full strength by the end of the leave. On March 2, 1864, the Regiment left Freeport with a total of nine hundred eighty-seven men, heading south." http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/cw46-hist.html

Included in this bevy of soldiers from both the original group and the later additions were the following family members:

• Private Franklin Boyd (married Elizabeth Beams Cooper, youngest daughter of William Lloyd & Elizabeth Beams Cooper)

  

  Capt Robert Cooper

• Private Amos J Cooper (son of John L. Cooper and Asenath Maples)
• Captain Robert F Cooper (son of  Chalkley Jared Cooper and Margaret Thompson)
• Private George Washington Cooper (son of John L Cooper and Asenath Maples)
• Private Jonathan E. Thompson (son of Robert Thompson and Susannah Gourley).
• Private Robert Scott Thompson (son of Robert Thompson and Susannah Gourley. Two of their children married Coopers)
• Private Peter Wagner (son of William Wagner, brother to Mary Waggoner, wife of Peter Smull)
• Private Jacob N Kryder (brother-in-law to Catherine Smull, daughter of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner)
• Private Jacob Lauck (brother-in-law to Emma Meyer Lauck, granddaughter of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner)

Another Thompson, Private John A. "Jack" Thompson, brother to Johnathan E. and Robert Scott Thompson, served in Co A of the 11th Illinois Infantry and died in battle at Fort Donelson in February 1862.

The other Stephenson County-heavy company with several family members, was Company E, 147th Illinois Infantry. It was organized late in the war, at the beginning of February 1865 and was mustered out in late January 1866 They had a brief fighting history and mostly engaged in minor skirmishes and engaged with guerrillas.

Sgt John Smull

• Sgt Johnathan Smull (son of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner)
• Private Samuel Smull (son of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner)
• Private Barton Gourley Cooper (son of Chalkley Jared Cooper & Margaret Thompson)
• Private Alfred Kaup (his daughter Minnie Kaup married Chalkley Jared "Jay" Cooper, Jr.)

John L Cooper's Kids

AMOS COOPER > JOHN L COOPER m Asenath Maples

You ever get the feeling that a family  might be just a little odd? All the fragments and pieces I've put together on the John L Cooper family kind of leaves me with that impression -  just don't ask me what I'm basing it on.

Amos and Hannah Lloyd Cooper, Quakers, moved from Pennsylvania to Crawford, then Clark County, Illinois and later, their children settle primarily in the Stephenson and Winnebago County area. Many then moved on to other parts, including Iowa and Oklahoma.

Their son John L. Cooper, born 28 Feb 1803 in Pennsylvania, married Asenath Maples on 06 Oct 1832 in Clark County, Illinois. She was the daughter of William and Mary Field Maples, born in North Carolina.

The couple had nine known children. One I know nothing about: Clarinda, born 1833 in Clark County.

Alfred James Cooper was born about 1836 and married Marian Angeline "Angie" Williard on 04 Sep 1857 in Will County, Illinois. You can read about the meandering life of Alfred here. Alfred and Angie were the grandparents of noted Oklahoma historian Angie Debo. He was a pioneering spirit and ended up settling at last in Oklahoma. You can learn a little about the dramatic daughter, Bird Cooper, whose fiance was killed in a feud as well. He died in 1928.

Amos J Cooper was born in 1838 in Clark County and died 31 Aug 1867 in Pecatonica, Winnebago County, Illinois. He served in Co B, 46th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. I'm not sure if he ever married or not, but he had no issue I could find. A farmer, he died of Tabes Mesenterica (TB) after being ill for six months.

George Washington Cooper, born 27 Jan 1842 in Stephenson County, married Hannah Phelps in 1893. She hailed from Ohio originally. George served as a private in Company B, Illinois 46th Infantry Regiment and was mustered out in 1866 at Baton Rouge. This regiment was involved in many battles and was well regarded for its bravery and gallantry in the field of battle. George and his wife had two children and also settled in Oklahoma. George died in Pawnee 18 Jan 1931 and Hannah died about 1907 in Blackburn, Oklahoma.

Hannah H. Cooper was born about 1845 in Stephenson County. She resided with her parents well into middle age. When they died, she most likely resided in the same home with her single brothers, though the 1890 Census would have been able to confirm that surmise. In 1891, this article was found in the local paper:

Hannah was "crazy as a hawk"

Hannah lived only two more weeks, dying at the Elgin Asylum on 16 May 1891.

John L. Cooper, Jr., was born 17 Oct 1845, Stephenson County. He died a single man on 16 May 1918 in Rock Run.

DIED SUDDENLY
John Cooper, an elderly resident of Rock Grove township, living with a brother, Morton Cooper, four miles south of Rock City, was found dead in bed this morning. A coroner's jury said it was due to heart disease. He had been in feeble health for several years.
Mr Cooper was 74 years old, never married, and had always lived in Stephenson County. His brother, 72 years old, is also a bachelor.
Morning Star, Rockford, Illinois
Wednesday, May 15, 1918

His brother Morton, born 04 Mar 1849 in Freeport, Stephenson County, also remained single. He moved after brother John's death to yet another brother's home (Aaron) near Geneva, Iowa. I wonder if he had some type of mental disability that had him moving at 70 years old so far from his home to another relative?  After a year with Aaron, he moved to Shell Rock and lived with single brother Abraham. Morton died 16 Mar 1934 in Shell Rock.

Abraham was born in Nov 1851 in Freeport. He moved to Shell Rock, Butler County and in 1919, his brother Morton moved to his home from brother Aaron's home.  Abraham was ill for several years, but did outlive his brother. Though he was too ill to go to brother Morton's funeral, he managed to be the last surviving Cooper child and died at age 87 on 17 May 1939 of complications of age. Nephew Noah Burlin Cooper (son of Aaron and living in Rock Island, Illinois) was in charge of his burial.

Aaron W Cooper was born 08 May 1856 in Illinois and died 17 Sep 1920 in Geneva, Franklin County, Iowa. He married Anna Blasier on 13 Jan 1881 in Waverly, Bremer County, Iowa. They had two children one of whom died in infancy. They divorced about 1904 and he did not remarry. Aaron died in 1920.  She remarried to a gent named Robert A Dennis in 1905. He was a widower with a number of children. He died in 1922. She died in 1955.

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.