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JOHN F. COOPER
John F. Cooper, who is one of the oldest and best known
citizens of Sacramento, has had a remarkable career since his
arrival in California over fifty years ago, when a boy of twelve
or thirteen years. He has had a taste of seafaring life, learned
the details of the printer's trade and followed that pursuit
for several years, has been to a greater or less extent engaged
in mining and ranching since boyhood, was for many years one
of the leading musicians and a prominent factor in most of the
musical events of that state, for a third of a century conducted
the leading music store of Sacramento, and for the past ten years
has been interested in various important lines of business, being
the proprietor of the Capital Sacramento Transfer, Van and Storage
Company.
Mr. Cooper was born in Lexington, Kentucky, December 17,
1840. His father, Archibald H. Cooper, was of English descent
and of an old Kentucky family, an early member of which had fought
on the side of the colonists in the Revolution. He was a physcian
by profession and died in 1853. His wife was Elizabeth Agnes
(McIntosh) Cooper, a native of Kentucky and likewise of old and
Revolutionary stock, being Scotch-English in descent. Her death
occurred in 1854. Of the children of these parents, one daughter
died recently, a son died while the family were crossing the
plains, and another brother, David M., served in the Civil war
and fought Indians on the coast, and died in Sacramento in 1902,
being buried with Grand Army honors.
John F. Cooper attended school in Kentucky, and in 1852
made the trip across the plains. His father and uncle had come
to California in 1849, and had stores at Mud Spring and Diamond
Spring, to both of which placed they gave the names. In 1852
Archibald Cooper sent his brother-in-law, John McIntosh, who
now lives at Nelson Station, back east to bring the family. The
family and the party of relatives made a large company, occupying
twenty-seven wagons, and the boy John made the long and eventful
journey astride of a little white mule. This trip was made the
more perilous on account of cholera and the Mormons, and they
were three and a half months on the way, arriving in the Golden
state August 27, 1852. Most of the party took up their residence
in Colusa county, but John F. Cooper and his parents practically
made Sacramento their home from the first . The first independent
experience of the former was as a cabin boy on board the clipper
ship Witchcraft, which made a trip around the Horn to New York,
whence he shipped for the return trip on the slipper Swordfish.
On his return he began collecting fares on the old steamer Clinton,
plying between Oakland and San Francisco. In 1854 he went to
Stockton, where he made the acquaintance of W. L. Wright, professor
of mathematics in Yale College, and who had taken up the Rough
and Ready ranch, and on his death he willed young Cooper half
of it. After the death of Professor Wright he attended the Benicia
high school for three years, among his schoolmates being Joseph
McKenna and others since known for their prominence in business
and public life. He then learned the printer's trade, and for
some years worked in all departments of the business, being employed
on the Sacramento Bee and the Sacramento . He then gave up printing
and finished his public school course at Sacramento.
Mr. Cooper took up the study of music with Professor Charles
Winter and Professor Mansfeldt, and became very proficient both
instrumentally and vocally. He took an active part in the organization
of the Philharmonic Society, and at one time was its president;
for eight years was organist in the Methodist church, for twelve
years in the Presbyterian church and for six years in the Jewish
synagogue. In early days he had charge of the music in the public
schools. He organized the Sacramento chorus for the Camilo Ursa
concerts, having one hundred and fifty voices from Sacramento,
and had fifteen hundred voices in the San Francisco chorus, with
Carl Zerahn as leader. At the same time he engaged in selling
musical instruments, principally pianos, and was in that line
of business for thirty-five years, during which time the Cooper
music store sold as many pianos as any other firm in the state.
While in the music business in Sacramento he went to San
Francisco and bought a half interest in the Overland Freight
and Transfer Company. This company collected for the railroads
and shipped to Australia, China, Japan and other points, and
the firm is still in existence, but Mr. cooper sold his interest
after a few years and returned to Sacramento, principally because
the climate did not agree with him.
He gave up the music business in 1893 and began fruit growing.
He bought one hundred and sixty acres on fruit land, and has
bought and sold a number of ranches. While in the music business
he was and still is largely interested in mining in Mexico, California
and Nevada, and he inagurated the system of requiring the buyers
of mining stock to pay the par value of mining stock by an assessment
of a few cents a share each month, the proceeds being devoted
to development. He has placed over half a million shares at a
par value of one dollar each. He has also constructed many quartz
mills in this state and in Mexico. He still retains large holdings
of fruit and farm lands.
In 1899 he incorporated the Capital Sacramento Transfer,
Van and Storage Company, and in 1902 bought out his partner's
interests and now conducts it alone. It has grown to extensive
proportions, and he publishes a weekly paper in connection with
the business, showing all the vacant houses and promoting the
trade in many other ways. He has recently completed a large fireproof
storage warehouse as an adjunct of the business.
As an evidence of Mr. Cooper's influence in business circles
in Sacramento, after he sold his music business the firm incorporated
and continued under the name of the Cooper Music Company, the
name itself being considered one of the valuable assets of the
house.
Mr. Cooper was married in Sacramento, October 19, 1869,
to Miss Joanna Powelson, a native of Philadelphia and a daughter
of a California pioneer. After her father's death her mother
married Captain J. Q. A. Cunningham, a former Mississippi river
captain, and who, until his death, was captain on the Sacramento
river. Mrs. Cooper, who possessed a beautiful soprano voice and
was a pupil under Mulder Fabbri, of world-wide fame, and one
of his most promising students, has been prominent in the musical
circles of the state, and her singing has been praised wherever
she has sang. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have two daughters, Laura and
Ruby, who are themselves accomplished musicians and prominent
in society, the musical, literary, golf, tennis and other club
affairs of the city. Mr. Cooper formerly affiliated with the
Knights of Pythias, the Red Men, the Foresters of America, the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and others, but had to give
up his fraternal relations on account of the press of private
business. He is independent in national matters of issue, and
is not an active partisan, and, althought offered office, has
refused and taken only a good citizen's part in public affairs.
Source: History of the New California Its Resources and
People, Volume I
The Lewis Publishing Company - 1905
Edited by Leigh H. Irvine |
