Charles Cooper, now living retired but formerly connected with the
commercial interests of Nilwood, was born in this village on the 10th of
October, 1853, his parents being Henry and Mary (Murphy) Cooper, the
father a native of England and the mother of Ireland. Their biographical
sketch appears on another page of this volume.
Reared in
Macoupin county, Charles Cooper acquired his preliminary education in
the public schools of Nilwood following which he attended Blackburn
University at Carlinville for a time. In 1873 he abandoned his studies
and began his commercial career with his father who was engaged in the
grain and coal business, which thereafter was conducted under the firm
name of Henry Cooper & Son. Charles Cooper continued to be identified
with this enterprise until 1898 when he withdrew and removed to
Jacksonville, Illinois, where he engaged in the coal and ice business.
This venture was operated under the name of C. Cooper until 1902, when
he took C. H. Gillman into the business, which was thereafter conducted
under the firm name of Cooper & Gillman. At the end of three years Mr.
Cooper sold his interest to his partner and in 1906 returned to Nilwood
and took charge of the business and property of his father, who passed
away in November of the same year. He was subsequently appointed
executor of the estate to the management of which he has ever since
directed his entire attention.
Mr. Cooper was married in
Nilwood, March 10, 1875, to Miss Lucy Moore, a native of Greene county,
Illinois, and a daughter of Langston and Sarah (Melton) Moore, both of
whom were natives of Tennessee. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Cooper, in order of birth as follows: James Henry, who married Mary
Duffner and died in 1907, being survived by his wife, two sons and two
daughters; Frank C., who was married August 27, 1911, to Dessy Schaefer,
of Frederick, Oklahoma, and resides in St. Louis, Missouri; Mabel, at
home with her parents; and Wade M, who has the management of the store
of Cooper Brothers at Nilwood.
Fraternally Mr. Cooper is a
member of Jacksonville Lodge, No. 4, I. O. O. F., and also belongs to
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of Jacksonville. He votes with
the democrats, and has been collector of Nilwood, township clerk,
trustee of the village, clerk of the village board, which office he held
when the new charter was adopted, and president of the village. The
Cooper family has been prominently identified with the commercial and
political as well as social life of Nilwood for over a half a century,
the third generation being connected with the business interests of the
town in the person of Mr. Cooper’s youngest son, Wade M.
Extracted 18 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 658-659.
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