Here is the source for Dorothy Cooley's marriage to Joel Smith and it was in Clay County not Platte. Sorry about that.
Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002; Records for Clay County, page 79 (Database on Ancestry.com)
The marriage is indexed as Joel Smith to Dorothy Hooley. However, even with a very faded copy you can read it as "Cooley". The marriage took place on 12 Feb 1843 and was recorded on 1 Nov 1843.
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From: "ancestr2_at_host187.hostmonster.com" <ancestr2_at_host187.hostmonster.com>
To: John Cooley Mailing List <undisclosed.recipients_at_johncooley.net>
Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2013 11:48 PM
Subject: Cornelius and Dorothy Cooley redux
I hope this hasn't been beaten into the ground, but I think it's worth
a close look.
The evidence that Dorothy married her cousin, Cornelius, is as follows:
A published bio of Mathias Cooley in "Portrait & Biographical Records, of
Willamette Valley Pioneers By Chapman, Chicago, 1904" says that his parents
was Cornelius Cooley and Dolly White. (I have a copy I received from Sandy
Stanton in 2007.) There were four sons. For reasons we can only guess about,
Mathias was placed in the care of a family named Wilson after Cornelius
died. Until recently, the brothers were not known to us.
The 1840 census backs this up, with my guesses following...
p 332 Cornelius Cooley, Fishing River Township
21001-00001
2 males 0-4 John William Cooley (c1838-c1850)
Mathias Cooley (1837-1915)
1 male 5-9 Joseph Cooley (c1835-1863)
1 male 20-29 Cornelius Cooley (1814-1843), son of James
1 female 20-29 wf and cousin Dorothy Cooley
The fourth son, evidently, had not yet been born.
We know that Cornelius died in about 1843 because his indictment for betting
(you might expect that from a son of James's!) was dismissed due to his
death. (From info received from Rick Ernest in 2008.)
Somewhere, Sandy Stanton pointed out this marriage: "Dorothy Cooley married
Joel Smith 12 Feb 1843 Platte County, Missouri," which is found in Dale
Walker's letters. And I see in Arthur Kiergan's letters that *he* was
informed of that fact by Mildred Tallant.
Arthur Kiergan was born in 1848. He names his three half-brothers, Joseph W
Cooley (c1835-1863), John William Cooley (c1838-c1850), and Michael. Last
year, Mary Cooley, found the Kiergan family on the
1850 census:
Brunswick, Chariton Co., MO
12 Nov 1850, pg 227 B
Family 498 (numbers VERY faded):
Benjamin Vergin, 30, male, farmer, Ten
Dorothy Vergin, 35, female, MO, cannot read or write
Joseph Vergin, 15, male, MO
John Vergin, 12, male, MO
Arthur Vergin, 3, male, MO
No wonder it had never been found!
It's interesting that Arthur said nothing about Mathias and (apparently)
visa versa. But it's not surprising. Arthur wasn't born until several years
after Mathias left for Oregon. His mother died when he was three. Obviously,
he never talked about this to his mother, and the three half brothers he
knew died when he was still quite young. Evidently, he just didn't know
about Mathias. That's doubly interesting considering that Mathias and
Arthur were the only two brothers to have survived, the others having died
young.
(Incidentally, Arthur wrote that Michael died fighting in Utah. I think we
commented briefly on it. Has anyone learned more?)
Now, was Dolly a Cooley or a White? Arthur Kiergan clearly states it:
--quote--
My mother's name was Dorothy Cooley. Her father (my grandfather) was John
Cooley and her mother (my grandmother) was Elizabeth White.
--endquote--
He then describes his mother's siblings and writes that his mother died 7
May 1851. He also says that her first husband was a brother of Benjamin
Cooley, who he knew well. He didn't know the name of the first husband but
guessed it to have been John William Cooley. (Ah! That's where that comes
from!)
Here's Dennis's Mildred Tallant archive:
http://www.eskimo.com/~day/cooley/docs/
I've still not given a lot of these letters the close readings they
deserve. One day I'll sit down and transcribe Arthur's letters.
If I've missed anything, please, please clue me in.
-Michael
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Received on Sun Sep 15 2013 - 07:42:20 MDT