carolcooperruebermusings: Wm. Walter and Ada May (Staples) Cooper

My grandparents, Wm. Walter Cooper and Ada May (Staples) Cooper met in Sac City, Iowa. My great-grandfather, Wm. Edward, and both of his wives, Rachel Ann Curless and Julia Ann Curless, lived and raised their families mostly in Sac City. Wm. Walter was one of five sons and four daughters (one son and one daughter died in infancy), and he was born in Pittsfield, IL. At four years of age, the family moved to Sac City where for several years they lived on a farm north of the town. He attended public school in Sac City, and at an early age went to work for J.E. Robbins in the grain business and was later taken into partnership.

Wm. Walter was the manager of the grain elevator in Sac City for many years. As he walked to work and home each day, he had somehow managed to tame a crow. That bird would watch and wait until Wm. Walter began to walk home, and would fly down and perch on his shoulder as he walked. My sister, Merry, often said that our grandfather was 'the nicest man,' and I guess if he enjoyed walking with this bird on his shoulder, the crow thought he was nice as well.

Ada May Staples was born in Fredricton, New Brunswick, Canada. She had lived for a time and attended school in Lawrence, Massachusetts after the death of her mother. For that time, she lived with relatives, perhaps members of her father's family. In 1892, she came to Sac City, Iowa, making her home with Professor and Mrs. Gardner. She attended the Baptist College in Sac City at that time.

On October 29, 1893 Ada May and Wm. Walter were married. To this union, there were three children: Robert Wayne (my father), Marion Fern, and Rachel Eloise. I don't have photos of Marion or Rachel as infants.

Robert Wayne as an infant.

Robert Wayne at about 1 year. In the late 1800s, it was common to dress boys in frilly clothes when they were small children. Their hair was also very feminine, but usually by the age of four or five, this fashion abated, and boys were allowed more masculine clothing and hair styles.

Robert Wayne at about 2 years of age.

Wm. Walter shared in the ownership of some cattle in northwestern South Dakota. His partner was a Mr. Patterson. According to family stories, the land near Buffalo, SD was rich with lignite coal, just beneath the surface. (This area of South Dakota is just on the lower edge of the huge Bakken oil field that extends way up into Manitoba, Canada.) Mr. Patterson and his son had gone to their small coal mine to get some coal to use for heat in their home when a horrible accident happened. As they were inside the low mine, the roof collapsed onto them. A beam came to rest just above Mr. Patterson so he was still alive, but his son was killed. In order to get out of the collapsed dirt above him, Mr. Patterson had to use his fingers to dig through the rubble. He did escape, but had scraped all the flesh from his fingers in digging out. He was alive, but unable to work the cattle any longer, so he contacted my grandfather, and asked if he and his family could move to the Buffalo area and set up a homestead, and take charge of the cattle business.

So, the family moved there in 1907, and began to homestead some land about 35 miles southeast of Buffalo, near the present little town of Redig. They drove to South Dakota in a covered wagon, and used that as their home until they could get a sod house constructed into the side of a small hill.

My father told interesting stories about living in that kind of home. They had hung a large canvas around the interior to cover the three dirt walls. The front of the home was made of wood, but the sides were earth, and the roof was sod. Apparently, mice were fond of making their homes in the sod walls, and every so often, my father was able to catch one and chase his sisters about, holding the little mouse by its tail!

When I was in sixth grade, my parents took me to the site where the sod home once stood. Nothing was left there, except a depression in the ground, and a few pieces of china dishes left by someone who had occupied the structure after they left. Most of the land around this home was grass, but there were plenty of snake skeletons and large beetles to make me realize that living out there was quite different from living in central Iowa or in Illinois, where my grandfather had come from.

In those days, although many Native Americans had moved onto reservations, there were still many who roamed in small bands around that part of the country. One day when my grandmother was cooking a pot of stew over the fireplace, she told my father to take his two sisters and 'Buck', the pony, and ride over a nearby hill and stay there until she came to get them. She had spotted three Native Americans coming toward the little house, and was concerned about her family's safety. The kids did as they were told, and hid. The three men came on toward the sod house. They came to the open door, pointed at the stew pot, and rubbed their stomachs. Understanding that they were probably starving (many of those who did not go to the reservations had quite a struggle living on the prairie and wandering around much of the time). She invited them into the little house, pointed at the chairs and table, and motioned for them to sit down. She dished up bowls of the stew, and the hungry men ate ravenously. When they had finished, they stood up, went outside and left. My grandmother walked back to the small hillock where the children had gone to hide, and told them they could return to the house since the men had gone.

During the time the family lived on the homestead (which was composed of the 160 acres the government was offering to homesteaders where they were to live for at least a year to establish ownership of the land), they would take their covered wagon and go to Belle Fourche, SD to wait for a train to arrive which would bring supplies they had ordered from the Sears Roebuck catalog. They would camp near the Belle Fourche River along with other covered wagons who had also come to wait for the train and their supplies. One time when they were camped there, and my aunt Rachel was a baby, several Native Americans came along, pointed at my aunt, and said, "How, how, papoose!" and then turning to my grandmother, asked, "Chew tobac?" She did not have any tobacco to offer them, but they also (being hungry) were looking with interest at a large bone she had hanging on the side of the covered wagon. She had intended to give the bone to the dog, but since the men were obviously needing something to cook and eat, she gave it to them. They accepted it gratefully, and went on their way.

The brand used for the cattle owned jointly by Wm. Walter and Mr. Patterson was 'I C I' which was stamped on the side of each animal. Below is an image of that brand document.