Month: January 2020

Copples in the News — Benjamin G Copple accused of attempted murder

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In October 1924, a teen-aged Benjamin Garl Copple (c 1906-1986) was accused of attempted murder of a young woman and man, while he was under the influence of liquor. Ben was married at the time, to a Bernice Amott his “child bride”, who was only 15 at the time of the article in February 1925.  Ben had reportedly been working for the sheriff until the day before, under an assumed name (not given in the article) and an assumed age (22).  His father, A. M. Copple [Alpheus Marvin] testified on his behalf.

Ben Garl Copple was born sometime between 1903 and 1907 probably in Colorado to Alpheus Marvin Copple (1881 – 1944) and Lucinda Mary Whitlock (1884 – 1978), both natives of North Carolina.  The family was living in Las Animas County, Colorado in 1910, and in Salt Lake City in 1920.  

After the shooting incident in October 1924, Ben married Bernice Amott (who was with him on the day of the shooting, per the article below) on 26 January 1925.  The article states Bernice was filing for an annulment of the marriage and that must have gone through, as Ben married Edith Olga Shafer on 27 June 1925.

The 1930 census found Ben and Edith, with their daughter Joyce, in Salt Lake City, and Ben worked as a laborer.  In 1940, they were in the Los Angeles area, where Ben worked as a truck driver.

Benjamin Garl’s paternal grandfather shared the same name as my 3rd great grandfather: Benjamin Franklin Copple, but that Ben Copple lived his entire life in North Carolina.  Ben Franklin Copple’s parents were Henry and Frances “Franky” (Miller) Copple.  Henry’s parents are unknown; however Frances Miller’s father Isaac Miller lived in the vicinity with 3 Copple households in Davidson County, NC, which I’ve traced as my kin.  It is possible — but not certain — that Henry’s parents were Jacob Copple and Delilah Plummer.

If so, these Salt Lake City Copples are distant cousins to me.

Benjamin Garl Copple attempted murder

“Got Liquor as Undercover Man,” Salt Lake Telegram (Salt Lake City, Utah), 18 Feb 1925, pg 2, col 8; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 January 2020).

 

 

 

 

 

Copples in the News – Glenn Copple appointed deputy DA

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Glenn Copple (1888 – 1965) was appointed Deputy to Yuma County (Arizona) District Attorney Henry C. Kelly.

Glenn was born in Nov 1888 in Centralia, Illinois to Silas Bryan & Julia (Roper) Copple, who married in 1884.  He was their second son.  Silas Bryan Copple’s paternal great-grandparents were Jacob [Peter] Copple and [Mary] Elizabeth Garren [Pfoutz?], who are my 6th great-grandparents.

Glenn was in the military from Aug 1917 to July 1919, and after arriving home back in Centralia, was a lawyer.  He moved to Yuma, Arizona prior to January 1925, which is when he became the assistant District Attorney.

He married Janet Anne Burnell in 1934 in Phoenix, Maricopa County, and they had a son Gordon Burnell in April 1936 in Los Angeles County, California.  The family was back in Yuma County, Arizona as of the 1940 census.  Glenn died in Oct 1965, presumably in Arizona, but is buried in San Diego County, California.  His widow died in 1982, and his son Gordon died in 1987 at the age of 51.

Glenn was my 3rd cousin 4 times removed.

Glenn Copple Promoted to Asst DA

 

“Attorney Glen Copple is Named,” The Morning Sun (Yuma, Arizona), 2 Jan 1925, pg 1, col 6; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 January 2020).

 

 

 

Looking forward to #SLIG2020

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Have you ever attended a genealogical institute?

I am a genealogical institute newbie!  (I did sign up for IGHR for 2019, but then withdrew due to other commitments — a new job, actually.) So, when I did withdraw, I decided I absolutely would sign up for January 2020 SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy) — it’s just too easy for me to slide into “bad habits” (searching instead of researching, mindlessly clicking on Ancestry tree hints, etc. ) unless I give myself regular doses of high-quality learning.

So, here I am back in Salt Lake City for the first time since 1994!  (I can’t believe it’s been that long.)  And it’s snowing, woo-hoo!  (At least it was when I arrived.)  Not a huge change for me, though, even given I’m arriving from Texas, as we had — surprise! — flurries, sleet and a light dusting of snow just yesterday!  

IMG_20200112_162040

The view from my window

So, this is my first time at a genealogical institute AND my first SLIG.  I’m signed up for Richard and Pamela Sayre’s “Advanced Research Tools: Land Records” class.  While I’ve used Deed Mapper, the BLM site for my ancestors in federal land states (esp. California, Missouri and Indiana), the land tract books on FamilySearch.org, I’m hoping this class will help me get the most out of land records in general and help clue me in on evidence I might be missing.  

I’ve heard nothing but positive things about the Sayres, although I have never attended a lecture or class presented by them before, so I’m looking forward to it.  They lead the class, but there will be other instructors assisting.  

Orientation starts shortly; I hope to meet up with some of my classmates from the BU Genealogical Certificate course I took in 2018 if not tonight, then sometime during #SLIG2020!

 

 

Copples in the News – James Copple came to Logansport, Indiana

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James Garfield Copple may be my 3rd cousin 5 times removed.   He was born either in Sep 1882 (according to the 1900 census) or on 8 Sep 1883 (according to the Draft Registration he filled out for World War I) or on 8 Sep 1884 (according to the Draft Registration he filled out for WWII).  

His parents were Lemon Copple (c 1837 – c 1888) and Elizabeth (Daniels) Copple, who married in 1865 in Douglas County, Kansas.  He married Jeanette Thomassen by 1916, when they were both living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  (The article below references the fact that he was a Tulsa businessman.)  By 1920, he and his wife had 2 children, and were living in Indiana.  As of 1930, when this article was published and during the census enumeration, the family was living in Cass County, Indiana, which is where Logansport is.  Some time after 1942, he and his wife had moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he died in 1949.

James’ father, Lemon, was likely the son of Jacob Copple and Malinda Everman.  After that, it gets unclear.  There are numerous Jacob Copples and John Copples (the possible grandfather of Lemon) which are not clearly sorted out by most Ancestry.com users.  But many Ancestry trees have Lemon in Illinois or Indiana, whereas he was clearly — at least according to the Federal Census records — in Kansas.

James G Copple in LogansportIndiana

 

“How Did you Happen to Come to Logansport,” Logansport Pharos-Tribune (Logansport, Indiana), 9 May 1930, pg 4, col 4; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 Dec 2019).

F is for Future Research Plans: Blalock/Blaylock

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Margaret [J?] (Blalock) Copple (b. ca 1810 in Kentucky – d. 1892 in Newton County, Missouri) was one of my 4th-great grandmothers, and is a “dead end” ancestor.  I do not know her parents, but I do have some leads.  I really need to make finding her parents one of my future research goals – and the “future” is arriving now, in 2020.

What do I know about her right now?  And what leads do I have?

The Basics, Documented (in my Ancestry tree)

  • Born in Kentucky (per her responses on census records) – where exactly I don’t know.
  • Was in Washington County, Indiana by December 1827, when she married Jacob Copple on 6 December
  • Not (yet) found in the 1830 census. Presumably in Indiana.
  • Was in Vigo County, Indiana at the 1840 census
  • Was in Newton County, Missouri at the 1850 census
  • Was in Newton County, Missouri at the 1860 census
  • Not found in 1870 census for either Newton or Jasper counties
  • In Newton County, Missouri in 1871, as administrator of her late husband’s estate
  • Reportedly died in 1892 in Newton (or Jasper) County, Missouri
  • Is buried in Jasper County, Missouri

Other Clues

  • Two men, a Jeremiah Blalock and a Thomas Blalock, both old enough to be Margaret’s father, were in Washington County, Indiana in 1830.  They lived next to each other.
  • A Jeremiah Blalock married a Louisa Dosier in 1835 in Vigo County, Indiana — the same county Margaret lived in at the 1840 census.
  • A “Jer [for Jeremiah?] Blalock” lived in Lancaster, Garrard County, Kentucky in 1810.  A female < 9 years old resided in the household.  Could this be Margaret?  A “Jer Blalock” lived in Rockcastle County, Kentucky in 1820.  In that household was a female 0-9 years, and a female 10-15.  Could the 10-15 year old female be Margaret?
  • A David M Blalock married Lucy Carey in Washington County, Indiana in 1831.  Lucy Carey and David have at least 4 children before Lucy dies ca. 1840.
  • Lucy Carey was the daughter of John Carey and Polly Hungate.
  • David M Blalock married Mary “Polly” Norton in 1841.  They had a daughter Margaret Jane.  All are on the 1850 census.  David was of an age to be a possible brother of Margaret (Blalock) Copple.
  • David apparently died ca. 1853 because Polly (Norton) (Blalock) marries again ca. 1854.
  • Andrew J Blalock, son of David and Lucy and possible nephew of Margaret (Blalock) Copple, lived in a Hungate household in 1860 in Washington County, Indiana.
  • The youngest son of David M Blalock, his namesake, born ca. 1850, was married in 1879 in Jasper County, Missouri.  What brought him south to Missouri?  Could it have been a family connection to a paternal aunt and cousins?

DNA Clues

Through DNA clustering tools, I’ve been able to determine that Mom (and I) have segments on chr 9 and chr 13 which are almost certainly inherited from Margaret (Blalock) Copple rather than her husband Jacob.  There is also a third Blalock segment which shows up in clustering tools

Numerous DNA matches of Mom have Blalock/Blaylock in their trees (where trees exist), but there is no consistency in the names and locations, as there was for my Copple line.

Some DNA matches of Mom have Hungates in their trees, and some of those have Hungates living in Washington County, Indiana at the same time Margaret’s family lived there.

A fairly large number of Mom’s DNA matches which cluster in the “Blalock” cluster have a shared common ancestral couple: Thomas Hemphill and Mary Mackie.  Other matches share a common ancestral couple who are Thomas Hemphill’s parents.  If the ages in the trees are to be believed, these couples would be of an age to be Margaret’s grandparents or great-grandparents.  The DNA link may not be with the Hemphill line at all, but without further investigation on my part, I cannot rule it out.

Next Steps
Research all of the Blalocks living in Washington County as of 1830, including census, marriage, land deeds, court records, etc., in particular both Jeremiah and Thomas Blalock.
Continue to attempt to sub-cluster Mom’s matches by Blalock common ancestor, if there is one, focusing particularly on Blalock connections in southern Indiana, and Kentucky.

 

2020: a Look Ahead

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Happy New Year!  2020 is here, and I’d like to use this post to jot down a few of my genealogy plans for this year (although in general I tend to steer away from resolutions and rigid adherence to goals).   

First — yay! — I am going to SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy) for the first time.  It’s in January, and I will be taking a week of courses focusing on land records and deeds.  I’m psyched — and I hope also to spend some time at Family History Library, which I last visited in 1994.

The next item on my list for 2020 is participating in a National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) / Mastering Genealogical Proof (MGP) Study Group that will meet once monthly on Tuesday evenings, led by Cari Taplin, CG, of Genealogy Pants.  The Tuesday evening group is full, but there is still availability in one of the other slots.  Click here for more info.

I’m also considering attending Jill Morelli’s Certification Discussion Group.  I had signed up for it last year, but then got a new job, so cancelled. 

My research focus will continue to my Copple / Wright (and related) lines in southern Indiana, and western North Carolina.

Finally, I’m hoping to write at least 50 posts to this blog in the coming year, completing two “A through Z” series.

With all that said, here’s the itemization from the beginning of 2019, and what I did (or did not) do.  Life zig-zags, and you just keep up as best you can.

Here’s a look back at my genealogy goals for 2019, made when I had just completed the BU genealogy course, and was still between bill-paying jobs.

Education and DevelopmentCommentsWhat were my Results?
IGHR (Athens, GA)week of July 21, 2019Signed up, then had to withdraw.  Signed up for SLIG 2020
Texas Institute of Genealogical Research 2019week of June 9, 2019Skipped this entirely; too busy at my bill-paying job.
Legacy Tree webinarsfocus on BCG-sponsoredAm a subscriber to FamilyTreeWebinars; watch these regularly.
Community and Colleagues  
join Assn of Professional Genealogists Renewed, but not actively involved in chapters, etc.
renew Indiana Genealogical Society membership Renewed, but not actively involved in chapters, etc.
renew NGS membershipdone — 2 year renewalcurrent through Nov 2020
join Texas State Genealogical Society Joined, but not active
start attending DGS meetings and get more involved in DGSattend meetings regularly in 2019Am currently the E-Newsletter Editor, and am a life member, but don’t attend meetings regularly.
DNA SIG meetings Have attended DNA SIG meetings occasionally but I generally use Facebook groups and Blaine Bettinger’s DNA-Central as my “SIG”
Writing (high-level)  
Evaluate: what do I know and how do I know it?for key (aka “brick wall”) ancestorsin process
Formulate a research question and a research plan for each of the “brick wall” ancestors (above) in process
Write up GPS proof summaries (or narratives) for each research question I’ve asked (and think I’ve answered) re: my ancestors’ lives on hold
DNA   
Continue mapping my chromosomesmy favorite thing!ongoing
Copple (family line) project on hold
Ask other cousins if they will consider testing  
Long-Range  
submit my lineage to Sonoma County Genealogical Society for a certificate (if approved)by the end of 2019maybe next year — not a priority right now
submit an article to NGSQthis is at least a year away 
get my CG designation — or my AG designationthis is at least a year away 
apply to and complete Pro Gen study coursetypically a 6 month wait list, after you apply.  Offered 3 x a yearOn the waiting list since February 2.

Happy New Year to you and yours!