Cooper, Arvazena A., 1845-1929.

Born in Kentucky, Arvazena A. Cooper (1845-1929) spent her formative years in southwestern Missouri. At sixteen, she married Daniel Jackson Cooper. In 1863, Cooper, her husband, father-in-law, and infant set out by wagon for the state of Oregon and settled in the Willamette Valley. Cooper settled near Corvallis, Oregon, and performed the duties expected of mid-nineteenth-century wives and mothers. She bore thirteen children in Oregon (and one en route). Cooper's commitment to child rearing extended beyond her own family. Cooper contributed to the building of Farm Home, a Corvallis receiving home for orphans.

From the description of Arvazena A. Cooper papers [microform], 1845-1900. (Harvard University, Divinity School Library). WorldCat record id: 229669062

From the description of Arvazena A. Cooper papers, 1845-1900. (University of Oregon Libraries). WorldCat record id: 124182648

Born in Kentucky in 1845, Arvazena A. Cooper spent her formative years in southwestern Missouri. At sixteen, she married Daniel Jackson Cooper (May 1861) and eight months later, their first child arrived. Cooper described the violence that plagued them in Missouri during the Civil War and cites this as the reason she and her husband decided to move to the Far West. In 1863, Cooper, her husband, father-in-law, and infant set out by wagon for the state of Oregon. The family settled in the Willamette Valley.

Cooper settled near Corvallis, Oregon, and performed the duties expected of mid-nineteenth-century wives and mothers. She bore thirteen children in Oregon (and one en route). She managed her growing household by caring for and nursing her children and her husband; she prepared their food and made their clothes. Cooper’s commitment to child rearing extended beyond her own family. Cooper contributed to the building of Farm Home, a Corvallis receiving home for orphans. She saw her fifteen children grow to adulthood as well as some of her grandchildren. Cooper died in 1929 and is buried in The Dalles, Oregon.

From the guide to the Arvazena A. Cooper papers, 1845-1900, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)