My fourth great grandparents, Jacob Coppenbarger (1769-1841) and Catharine Ann Snavely (1780-1857) had a dozen known children: 7 sons & 5 daughters. Last week, I came across a newspaper article which was published by the Circuit Court and involved the estate of Jacob Coppenbarger. Jacob’s oldest four daughters are listed alongside their husband’s names. His fifth daughter, Emily, was only 15 years old when her father died. Though she wasn’t yet married, she would marry shortly after her 16th birthday.
Circuit Court, May Term, Peter Coppenbarger, Illinois Weekly State Journal, Springfield, Illinoisi,11 Mar 1842, page 4, column 2, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 20 Jan 2016)
Jacob’s son, Peter Coppenbarger (my direct ancestor), is the complainant. The list goes on to list Jacob’s other 11 children, including the daughter’s spouses, and Jacob’s widow, Catharine.
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- John Copenbarger [spelling used in this newspaper clipping]
- Elias Copenbarger
- Jacob Copenbarger
- Joseph Copenbarger
- George Copenbarger
- Elisha Butler, and Mary Ann Butler his wife
- Wyatt Stricklin, and Elizabeth Stricklin his wife [other records show Strickland]
- Obediah Hooper, and Sarah Hooper his wife
- William Hooper, and Catharine Hooper his wife
- Emily Copenbarger
- William Copenbarger
- Catharine Copenbarger, widow of Jacob
Seeing the names listed this way made the two “Hooper” marriages stand out. My first thought was, were Obediah & William Hooper brothers? Then, I came across another online tree showing one of their older brothers, Jacob, was also married to a Hooper! Jacob’s wife is listed as Mary Elizabeth Hooper.
Though I have seen quite a few cases of two siblings of one family marrying two siblings of another family, I’ve never seen 3! Of course, I still have to “prove” that Obediah, William, and Mary Elizabeth Hooper were all siblings. Other trees show they are all children of Obediah Hooper, Sr. and his wife, Downey (Downing) Hooper. So, my search continues!
Do we share common ancestors? I’d love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.
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