"...finding some better words to help tell the story." You're off to a
great start, Jim!
I've been reading up on the Big Y. It seems that some testers have been
able to identify SNPs down to their surname, immigrant ancestors, and to
the present. It seems increasingly likely, however, that ours is a
relatively rare breed no matter where John was born. One thing I'm
confident about is that future DNA tests will tell us the degree of
relatedness to the Pennsylvania-born Cooleys of our clan.
Family stories about my line go back only to my grandfather, who fought
alongside his brother in the first World War. His brother, William, didn't
return home to Missouri. I've had to unearth the rest of it. I'd sure like
to have the stories about my Edward, John's son. I think his involvement
in the Methodist church, the fact that neither he nor his father owned
slaves, and that he relocated in a place in Indiana that was to become a
main artery of the Underground Railroad suggests that he may have been an
early abolitionist--at least a sympathizer of the movement. But that's all
speculation and wishful thinking.
Hopefully, we'll continue to to unearth details and put more flesh on
these people. It's by thus doing that we derive real pleasure. Drawing out
lineages is fun, even obsessive, but the details about the past and our
ancestors tells us something about ourselves. It turns out, I believe,
that it's our own hearts, souls and minds we're desiring to unearth.
Happy New Year, Jim and all!
On Fri, January 2, 2015 15:27, lvcooley5 wrote:
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
>
>
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> charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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>
> As I begin this new year, 7 years into my earnest search for the origins
> =
> of my Cooley family, I am reminded of my humble beginning: A hand =
> written note by my dad=E2=80=99s younger sister, (kept in =E2=80=9Cthe =
> family bible=E2=80=9D) listing their father=E2=80=99s parents names and =
> the names and birthdates of my grandpa and his siblings. Above all of =
> this were the names of my grandpa Luster=E2=80=99s parents: Addison =
> (English) and Cooley (Irish) implying that my great grandmother Malinda =
> Frances Addison was of English descent and her husband, yet another John
> =
> Cooley, was Irish. From what I=E2=80=99ve been able to gather on the =
> Addison side, the English descent seems rock solid. But as you all =
> know, not so much on the Cooley/Irish side.
>
> Yet, there seems to also be a recurring thread in some of our family =
> stories of an Irish origin, even though there is little evidence to show =
> for it. The tumultuous history of the British Isles has stirred the =
> crystal ball sufficiently enough that we may never know exactly where =
> OUR John Cooley was born, not to mention his parents and so on. And =
> though we do have written histories of John=E2=80=99s descendants that =
> suggest a somewhat equally murky English descent, I=E2=80=99m also =
> reminded that John=E2=80=99s 5th grandfather could have called anywhere =
> from Western Ireland to Southwestern Norway =E2=80=9Chome=E2=80=9D. Or
> =
> maybe that man=E2=80=99s 15th grandfather. The Scottish tartan, the =
> Norse blood line, all ebb and flow into the water-road of our journey to
> =
> America. =20
>
>
> But maybe there is some truth to the Irish Cooley. What I do know, 7 =
> years later, is that I come from a long line of farmers and laborers, =
> most of whom signed their names with an X. And while I certainly =
> wouldn=E2=80=99t ascribe any amount of =E2=80=9CLuck=E2=80=9D to them, =
> the fact that I am here, over 250 years after John first laid eyes on =
> America, gives me an overwhelming feeling of awe and gratitude and, yes,
> =
> Luck. The hardship and struggles, the tragedies and early ends of our =
> Cooleys make me feel privileged to be alive. My three sons and, with =
> any luck, their children and grandchildren, inspire me to keep digging, =
> turning over old & new rocks and continuing to ask (sometimes =
> roll-your-eyes, unbearably dumb) old & new questions. =20
>
> Before there was the written word, We told stories. In my family, where
> =
> written words were seldom used, there is a story to be told. Could the =
> idea of our Cooleys being Irish be an ancient memory, passed down =
> through the generations, across national and physical borders, across =
> seas, across time? =20
>
> Whenever I=E2=80=99ve got a spare minute or two in this new year, I hope
> =
> to be thinking about this question and finding some better words to help =
> tell the story.
>
> Best of Luck to all of you,
>
>
> Jim Cooley
> Las Vegas, NV
> ------=_NextPart_000_00A1_01D02698.467A2980
> Content-Type: text/html;
> charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
>
> <HTML><HEAD></HEAD>
> <BODY dir=3Dltr>
> <DIV dir=3Dltr>
> <DIV style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
> <DIV>As I begin this new year, 7 years into my earnest search for the =
> origins of=20 my Cooley family, I am reminded of my humble beginning:
> A hand =
> written=20 note by my dad=E2=80=99s younger sister, (kept in =E2=80=9Cthe
> family = bible=E2=80=9D) listing their=20 father=E2=80=99s parents names
> and the names and birthdates of my = grandpa and his=20 siblings.
> Above all of this were the names of my grandpa =
> Luster=E2=80=99s parents:=20
> Addison (English) and Cooley (Irish) implying that my great grandmother =
> Malinda=20
> Frances Addison was of English descent and her husband, yet another John =
> Cooley,=20
> was Irish. From what I=E2=80=99ve been able to gather on the =
> Addison side,=20
> the English descent seems rock solid. But as you all know, not so =
> much on=20 the Cooley/Irish side.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>Yet, there seems to also be a recurring thread in some of our =
> family=20 stories of an Irish origin, even though there is little evidence
> to show = for=20 it. The tumultuous history of the British Isles has
> stirred the = crystal=20 ball sufficiently enough that we may never know
> exactly where OUR John = Cooley=20
> was born, not to mention his parents and so on. And though we do =
> have=20 written histories of John=E2=80=99s descendants that suggest a
> somewhat = equally murky=20 English descent, I=E2=80=99m also reminded that
> John=E2=80=99s 5th =
> grandfather could have called=20 anywhere from Western Ireland to
> Southwestern Norway =
> =E2=80=9Chome=E2=80=9D. Or maybe that=20
> man=E2=80=99s 15th grandfather. The Scottish tartan, the Norse =
> blood line, all ebb=20 and flow into the water-road of our journey to
> America. </DIV>
> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>But maybe there is some truth to the Irish Cooley. What I do =
> know, 7=20 years later, is that I come from a long line of farmers and
> laborers, = most of=20 whom signed their names with an X. And while I
> certainly = wouldn=E2=80=99t ascribe=20 any amount of
> =E2=80=9CLuck=E2=80=9D to them, the fact that I am here, =
> over 250 years after John=20 first laid eyes on America, gives me an
> overwhelming feeling of awe and=20 gratitude and, yes, Luck. The
> hardship and struggles, the = tragedies and=20 early ends of our Cooleys
> make me feel privileged to be alive. My = three=20 sons and, with any
> luck, their children and grandchildren, inspire me to = keep=20 digging,
> turning over old & new rocks and continuing to ask = (sometimes=20
> roll-your-eyes, unbearably dumb) old & new questions. </DIV>
> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>Before there was the written word, We told stories. In my =
> family,=20 where written words were seldom used, there is a story to be
> told. = Could=20
> the idea of our Cooleys being Irish be an ancient memory, passed down =
> through=20 the generations, across national and physical borders, across
> seas, = across=20 time? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>Whenever I=E2=80=99ve got a spare minute or two in this new year, I =
> hope to be=20 thinking about this question and finding some better words
> to help tell = the=20 story.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>Best of Luck to all of you,</DIV>
> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>Jim Cooley</DIV>
> <DIV>Las Vegas, NV</DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>
>
>
> ------=_NextPart_000_00A1_01D02698.467A2980--
>
>
> --
> <a href="http://newsummer.com/distlist">distlist 0.9b</a>
> See http://johncooley.net/list for list information.
>
>
--
Administrator, the Akins DNA Project
Administrator, the Ashenhurst DNA Project
Administrator, the Bishop DNA Project
Administrator, the Eldridge DNA Project
Administrator, the Fisk DNA Project
Administrator, the alt-McDowell DNA Project
Co-Administrator, the Cooley DNA Project
Co-Administrator, the McDougall DNA Project
Co-Administrator, the Pickens DNA Project
Co-Administrator, the Strother DNA Project
Instructor, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)
B.A. Humboldt State University, History
Received on Fri Jan 02 2015 - 19:36:05 CST