In summary, this is what we believe Cornelius's family looks like. I have
notes at
http://ancestraldata.com/ahnentafel/256/lineages/johncooley-desc.html .
This is based on Arthur Kiergan's letters (he was the son of Dorothy and
her second--perhaps third--husband), on the 1840 census for Cornelius, and
with Arthur's story backed up by the 1850 census for Benjamin Kiergan. We
believe the idea that Cornelius's wife was Dolly White was the result of
two things: Dolly is a nickname for Dorothy, and someone mixed up Dolly
with her mother, Elizabeth White--a very, very common error, I'm finding,
in family tales.
Cornelius Cooley (1814-1843 MO) m Dorothy Cooley
..Joseph Cooley (c1835-1863)
..Michael Cooley
..John William Cooley (c1838-c1850)
..Mathias Cooley (1837-1915) m Wilhemina Smith
Arthur said that he had his mother's family bible. I think he had a
daughter. I wonder if it's still out there somewhere.
-Michael
Received on Fri Jun 22 2012 - 20:04:12 MDT