*History of North Idaho, 1903 – Richard P. Cooper has resided in Idaho county for nearly a quarter of a century and much earlier than that did he first come to this favored section, and he should surely be classed with the building of the county and its wealth.  He was born in Kentucky on April 15, 1841, the son Covington and Cynthia (Moupin) Cooper, natives of Kentucky and born in 1805 and 1810, respectively.  The father came to Missouri in 1843 and farmed there until his death in 1850.  The mother died in California in 1890.  Our subject was educated in the public schools and in 1854 crossed the plains to California, the family all coming then.  The next year he started the battle of life for himself and continued to work for wages until he was twenty.  Then he took up stock raising and in 1862, he came to Florence, it being the time of the gold excitement.  Returning to California he took a pre-emption and raised sheep until 1880, when he sold out and came thence to Camas prairie.  July 17, of that year he landed here and bought a quarter section north of Crooks street.  He sold to Seth Jones in 1885 and removed north of Keuterville, and spent the summers there but the winters on the Salmon.  Finally he bought his present place, one mile northwest from Keuterville.  Mr. Cooper had two hundred and eighty acres of land and he does a general farming business and raises stock.  He makes a specialty of sheep and has some fine specimens, especially of the Rambouillet breed.  He has two rams of this well known breed that are as fine as any in this section of the country and he takes great pains to raise the best of animals and is successful in his efforts.  Mr. Cooper has the following brothers and sisters: John, George, Robert, deceased, Joseph, Mary Silvers, James, Adam.

On August 7, 1888, Mr. Cooper married Miss Lodema, daughter of Gabriel and Mary G. (Brown) Church, born in Wilkes county, North Carolina, in 1823 and 1825, respectively.  They were farmers in that state and the father died in 1885 and the mother on February 10, 1881.  Mrs. Cooper was born in Wilkes county, North Carolina, on July 7, 1855, and has the following brothers and sisters: Martha Brown, Levy A., Mary J. Vanoy, Alzina Eller, Ely, Emeline.  Six children were born to this union: Mathilda A., born February 26, 1867; Mary E. Rogge, born January 10, 1870; Benjamin R., born July 6, 1875; Ida B., born April 6, 1877 and died in October, 1883; Peter R., born October 6, 1879; Matie D. Andrews, born February 11, 1881.  Mr. Cooper and his wife are strong Republicans and he is a member of the I. O. O. F.

“Pioneer Days in Idaho County”, Volume I, by Sister M. Alfreda Elsensohn:  “ An excerpt from the Nuxoll Letters, [July 25, 1886]: Our neighbor Mr. Cooper, received $600 cash for wool yesterday.  In a month, he will shear his flock again.  He has a thousand sheep of his own, and takes care of another thousand for Mr. Brown, receiving half in payment.  It is only two years since he entered the sheep industry and he has already cleared $1500 this fall.  That certainly is making good money.

  It might be remarked here that the Cooper family had lived in the county for some time.  Dick Cooper moved to the present Charles Poxleitner place, northwest of Keuterville, about 1885, and was prominent in Keuterville history for many years.  His sons, Ben and Dick Cooper, are also frequently mentioned in the annals of the community.”

“  [April, 1887]  ….Our neighbor, Mr. Cooper, did not feed his sheep at all and did not lose even eight per cent.  He has 300 spring lambs in his flock now.”  (Referring to the type of winter they endured) pages 491-492.

  “Pioneer Days in Idaho County”, Volume II, page 110: “Grave Creek rises on the south slope of Cottonwood Butte from a spring on the Poxleitner place, about a half mile from the Keuterville church.  Richard Cooper settled at Keuterville in 1883 and is responsible for the name Grave Creek.  He named it from the fact that a miner was buried about fifty feet from the first Catholic church, not far from the head of the creek.  The miner was frozen to death and his two companions had their feet frozen, but they did not die from the effects.  They were taken to Lewiston where they had their feet amputated and each was thereafter know as “Peg”.

  About 1946, in digging on his land at Keuterville, Henry Uhlenkott thought he had located the remains of this deceased miner.  It was approximately 1920 when C. J. Poxleitner and family bought the Cooper place northwest of Keuterville from Mr. Tallman.  On a previous occasion Tallman had tried to sell the place and had failed because the wife of the prospective buyer objected to the cemetery on the property.  He, Tallman, had burned the little white fences around each grave.  The graves are about a quarter of a mile away from the site of the former Helm sawmill, on the hillside.  Bark from the early sawmill operations was still evident on the sawmill site in 1942.

  When the Poxleitners came into possession of the place in 1920 they placed a fence around the cemetery.  Mrs. Dick Cooper gave Mr. Poxleitner the names of most of the thirteen buried there: Albert Rogge, Mrs. Jogan, Dan Denham, Mrs. Dick Cooper, Sr., a daughter of Ben Cooper, a son of R. P. Cooper, two Stonestreet children, Myrtle Chase, Baby Rogge, and Ned White.”

Mary E. Cooper married Fred W. Rogge 24 November 1885, Idaho County; #70422, v1p38.

Matie D. (Della) married Eugene Andrews 28 November 1900 at Keuterville; #70886, v2p155.

Benjamin R. Cooper married Frances G. Church 12 March 1903 at Keutervile; #71726, v2p249.

Peter Richard Cooper married Edith Wright 15 December 1909 at Grangeville; #72738, v2p584

According to information I located at Online Washington Deaths, 1907-1960,  Richard P. (Pierce) Cooper died at Goldendale Klickitat, WA ,  05 February 1932 at the age of 90 years, nine months and 21 days.

Lodema Cooper, died 05 December 1940 at Goldendale, Klickitat, WA at the age of 85 years, four months and 28 days.   

ICFP, Thusday, March 7, 1946:  P. Richard Cooper, Victim of Influenza

 Peter Richard Cooper, who entered General hospital last Friday, March 1, suffering from influenza pneumonia, passed away the following morning, March 2.

  He was born October 6, 1879 in Cloverland, Calif., and came to Idaho, with his parents when one year old.  The family located on Grave creek, south of Cottonwood where they operated a stock ranch.

  On December 15, 1909, he was married to Miss Edith Wright in Grangeville.  They moved to Keuterville to make their home where Mr. Cooper carried the mail for several years.  In 1929 they moved to Stites where they had since made their home.

  In addition to his widow, he is survived by one son, Virgil Cooper, of Stites, one daughter, Mrs. Jessie Lynn, Harpster; one sister Mrs. Ella Bennett, Lebanon, Oregon and two grandchildren, Dorothy Lucile and Clarence Cooper of Stites.