The Cooper Family in the Dakotas

The Wm. Walter and Ada May Cooper family moved to South Dakota in 1907. My father, Robert Wayne, would have been 11 years old at this time. According to Wm. Walter's obituary, he was in partnership with Orville Lee in the lumber business, but before then the family lived on a homestead 35 miles south of the small town of Buffalo, South Dakota. The Homestead Act is described below. I don't believe the family lived on the homestead for the full five years, but they could have lived there a shorter time (according to the document), as 'title could also be acquired after only a 6-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre.' I do know that my grandfather established ownership of the land because he eventually sold it back to the government, but retained the mineral rights. The document proving his ownership states that he 'made full payment,' so I assume he bought the property for the $1.25/acre price after living on it for a time. Perhaps the amount due was prorated to the amount of time spent living on the land. The document is dated in 1911 which was 4 years after the family moved to South Dakota. At the end of this post, I have attached the document that claims ownership of the property for Wm. Walter and his heirs, and signed by President William H. Taft.  

The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to “improve” the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land. After 5 years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. Title could also be acquired after only a 6-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre. After the Civil War, Union soldiers could deduct the time they had served from the residency requirements. (from ourdocuments.gov)

Another story my father told about the time they lived on the homestead centered on a trip to pick up their mail which had been dropped at the home of a neighbor. This neighbor lived 10 miles from the Cooper homestead, so it was quite a long trip for my dad, and he was told to ride his pony, Buck. Well, my dad admitted that he got side-tracked on his mission, and spent a long time playing with the children at that neighbor's place. His father got concerned when he didn't return after a period of time, and he rode another of their horses over to see what had happened to my father and the long-awaited mail. When he discovered that 'Wayne' (as my dad was called by nearly everyone who knew him) had spent time playing with the neighbor kids, he was upset. My dad said he was told to 'trot' his pony all the way home. Anyone who has ridden horseback (and probably without a saddle), knows that the trot gait is bouncy and uncomfortable to ride. But, with his father beside him, my dad was forced to endure the continual assault on his backside, and said he eventually had some blisters from that ride which made sitting down uncomfortable for a time to come.

After living on the homestead, the family moved to Bowman, North Dakota (just north of Buffalo, over the border into North Dakota), and there my grandfather helped run the lumber yard. It was also in Bowman that my father attended school, and played baseball (see the photo below, found in a 'centennial book' published by the town of Bowman at the time of that celebration.) 

While living in Bowman, the family took at least one picnic up to what is now Theodore Roosevelt National Park, a 'badlands' area where the former president once had a ranch and spent time there. This home is still in the park, but at the time of the picnic I describe below, President Roosevelt was no longer visiting the ranch.

Apparently, my grandfather and grandmother and their three children found a pleasant spot in this park for their picnic. My father owned a small gun that he was allowed to use for hunting, and he ventured away from the picnic site to look for prairie chickens to shoot. He called out to my Aunt Rachel to come and see what he had found. Aunt Rachel was wearing the typical dress from that time, and had long skirts and under slips, plus most likely had short leather boots for her feet. She walked over to where her brother was standing, and went through a row of wild roses on her way. Just after she stepped through the rose bushes, she stepped into a bed of rattlesnakes. I'm sure she gave a great leap, and if they struck at her, her long skirts and leather boots saved her from harm. Needless to say, Aunt Rachel never had a fondness for snakes of any kind after that experience. (I remember her going after a garter snake in Minnesota many years later, and cutting it in half with some hedge clippers!)

My father had a dry sense of humor. One of his favorite stories of that time in his life when he had his own pistol for hunting goes something like this...

"I saw a jackrabbit a few yards off, and decided to shoot him for our dinner. I pulled the trigger, and ran like the wind to catch him before he went down his burrow, but I ran so fast that I shot myself in the foot!"

More stories to come...stay tuned!

The document showing my grandfather, Walter W. Cooper (this may be a typo, as I always knew my grandfather as William Walter), had made full payment for the homestead land in South Dakota. The date was March 13, 1911, and the document is signed by Wm. H. Taft, the President of the United States (signature by his secretary, W. P. LeRoy)

Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. This park was where the family picnic took place when my Aunt Rachel stepped into a bed of rattlesnakes.

  

 My father with his Bowman High School baseball team. In the caption beneath the photo, they call him 'Zeke' Cooper. I had no idea that was his nickname! He is in the middle row, third from the left, and is wearing a 'catcher's or fielder's mitt.'