My great Grandpa,Lycurgus Lafayette Cooley ,
fought in the Civil War. He was in the 69th Infantry Regiment, Union Army. My mom always had great Grandpa's discharge papers, and she told me how she came to have them. When I was 1, she returned to work. She worked at the lunch counter at Woolworth's. One day, a man came in, who was a regular. He said, Say, wasn't your last name Cooley, before you were married? She said it was, and he said, do you have a relative with a strange first name, Ly-Ly... She said, Lycurgus Lafayette? He said, that's it!! I was at an auction the other day, and I bought an old painting. Taped on the back, was this old paper. I paid $3.00 for the painting, if you'll give me half of that, I'll give you this paper.
She always told me that story, whenever we happened across it. I always thought I would have it when she passed, but my younger sister has it. Hopefully, she will send me a picture of it, and I'll post it here.
He married Catharine Mary Woodward 22 July 1870
They had five children, Blanche Cooley , James A. Cooley , Edward Lafayette Cooley .Arthur Cooley and my Grandpa, William Blaine Cooley. My Grandpa and Arthur, were twins. Arthur died, shortly after birth.
Here is a family portrait. I would say it was taken in 1890-1892, as my Grandpa is the smallest boy in the photo. He was born in 1887, and he looks 3-5 years of age in the photo.
My great Grandpa, on my Grandma's side was John Franklin Peck . He married Nannie Belle Leonard
They had four children. Estella May Peck , Ralph Waldo Peck , Eunice Theresa Peck and my Grandma, Mary Lois Peck .
Below is a photo of my Great Grandpa Peck, my great Grandma Peck, her sister, my great Aunt, Eunice (Connie??), and (Connie's??) husband. It was taken in either Rushville or Shelbyville, IN(my mom always said she thought her name was Connie.)
I wanted to add a little information about My mom's Aunt, Eunice Theresea Peck. She went by Theresa. My mom used to always say what a beauty her Aunt Theresa was. She said my sister, Karin, took after great Aunt Theresa. The other day, I was looking through an old advertising booklet and there was a short paragraph which I will copy/paste here:
To Miss Theresa Peck belongs the honor of having been the first Queen of the Free Fair. She was elected to this unique position in 1906 by popular vote,having received 47,307 out of a total of 89, 010 votes cast. The float in which she was conveyed was a masterpiece of decorative art, made possible by the generosity of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, which formed a part of the grandest parade ever witnessed in Eastern Indiana, and the beauty of the queen herself lent charm to the pageant.
I also have a little information about my mom's Uncle Ralph Waldo Peck
From the Lafayette, IN Journal and Courier Newspaper 1937: Lafayette School teachers, especially those at Jefferson High School, fared well in the election of state officers of the Indiana Teacher's Federation at the convention recently in Indianapolis. Left to right: Miss Emma Cook, Spanish instructor at Jeff, elected first vice president of the federation; Prof. J.H. Bachtenkircher, veteran penmanship instructor, elected secretary of handwriting section; Lynn Miller, Jeff Dean of Boys, named President of deans of boys section; R.W. Peck, physics instructor at Jeff, elected president of chemistry and physics section of federation.
