The Coopers of Long Hill

May Laverne (Cooper) Stephens 1922–1992

Catalog ID p.2389 · Cite this page: njcoopers.com/p/2389/

May Laverne (Cooper) Stephens was born on 31 Jul 1922 in Amarillo, Texas, the daughter of Thomas H. Cooper. She married twice: George H Martin (1939) and probably Joe. She died on 1 Oct 1992 in Jackson Co., Oregon and was buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park, Medford, Jackson Co., Oregon.

Also recorded as: Mae Laverne Martin N.64; May Laverne Anderson N.64; May Laverne Stephens N.64; La Verne Cooper D.782; Mrs. LaVern Martin J.491

Facts

EventDatePlace / detailCertaintySources
birth 31 Jul 1922 Amarillo, Texas certain N.64, G.668
residence 1930 Texas certain D.782
residence Nov 1939 Ashland, Oregon certain C.147
residence 1959 Grants Pass, Oregon certain J.491
death 1 Oct 1992 Jackson Co., Oregon certain N.64, G.668
burial Hillcrest Memorial Park, Medford, Jackson Co., Oregon certain G.668

Family

Parents

Spouses

  • George H Martin
    married 23 Nov 1939, Ashland, Jackson Co., Oregon
    C.147, N.64
  • Joe probable N.64

Siblings

Children

None recorded.

Family tree

Solid lines and outlines: certain. Dashed: probable or weaker. Open the full tree (four generations)

George H MartinGeorge H MartinJoeJoeMay Laverne (Cooper) StephensMay Laverne (Cooper) St…1922–1992Thomas H. CooperThomas H. Cooper1902William G CooperWilliam G Cooper1875–1925

Still unknown, and where we have looked

Searches recorded

ancestry all 2026-10-22 · HER 1940 CENSUS, searched under the surname MARTIN and not Cooper. [C.147], the Jackson Co., Oregon return of marriage, marries George...
Searched for: HER 1940 CENSUS, searched under the surname MARTIN and not Cooper. [C.147], the Jackson Co., Oregon return of marriage, marries George H. Martin to May LaVerne Cooper in NOVEMBER 1939 - five months before census day - so by 1 April 1940 she was a Martin in her own household, which is also why she is absent from [D.783], her mother Thora's 1940 household (Thora and two daughters only). Ancestry coll. 2442, four passes: (a) ?name=May_Martin&birth=1922&birth_x=1-0-0&name_x=1_1 exact given AND surname - 77 rows, BOTH PAGES READ. (b) ?name=Laverne_Martin&birth=1922&birth_x=1-0-0 - 668 rows over 14 pages, page 1 read and ABANDONED: the engine fuzzes Laverne into Larrence, Lawane, Haverne and Lauerne, so the list is not a list of Lavernes. (c) the surname-only recipe bounded to her own county: ?name=_Martin&birth=1922&birth_x=1-0-0&residence=_jackson-oregon-usa_1479&residence_x=1-0-0_1-0 - 8 rows, ALL READ. (d) the husband, same bound: ?name=George_Martin&residence=_jackson-oregon-usa_1479&residence_x=1-0-0_1-0 - 8 rows, ALL READ.
Result: NULL. No May or LaVerne Martin born about 1922 appears in Jackson Co., Oregon in 1940, and none of the eight George Martins in the county is married to a woman of her age. The bounded passes are answering rather than failing - each returned 8 rows, and the same URL without the birth year returns the whole county - so the zero is about the world. WHAT IS NOT EXCLUDED: that they left Oregon between November 1939 and April 1940; that the marriage did not last the five months; or that she is indexed under a mangled form of LaVerne, which pass (b) shows this index does freely. She later appears as Mrs LaVern Martin of Ashland in 1959 [J.491], so Jackson County is where she ended up - but that says nothing about April 1940. NEXT: her husband's own records, or the 1940 census of an adjoining county, or an ED-level browse of Ashland.
ancestry all 2026-10-14 · Oregon State Marriages 1906-1971 (61677): May La Verne Cooper (results: the 1939 Martin marriage, twice; no Anderson or Stephens...
Searched for: Oregon State Marriages 1906-1971 (61677): May La Verne Cooper (results: the 1939 Martin marriage, twice; no Anderson or Stephens marriage under Cooper).
Result: 1939 return downloaded and read -> [C.147]. Then Laverne Martin, marriage Jackson Co.; May Martin, b. 1922 +/-2, spouse surname Anderson: NULL - no Anderson marriage of hers indexed in Oregon 1946-1971.
ancestry all 2026-10-14 · Ancestry SSACI search Laverne Cooper, b. 1922 +/-2 (no clear hit); then SSACI father Thomas Cooper + mother Thora Owens.
Searched for: Ancestry SSACI search Laverne Cooper, b. 1922 +/-2 (no clear hit); then SSACI father Thomas Cooper + mother Thora Owens.
Result: FOUND SSACI 'Mae Laverne Martin', b. 31 Jul 1922 Amarillo, parents Thomas H Cooper and Thora B Owens -> [N.64]; suggested records opened: Oregon marriage 1939, Oregon death index 1992, Find a Grave index.
findagrave 2026-10-14 · Find a Grave: Martin, middle name Laverne, b. 1922 +/-2, d. 1992 +/-1, Oregon (none); Martin, May, b. 1922 +/-2, d. 1992 +/-2 (24, not...
Searched for: Find a Grave: Martin, middle name Laverne, b. 1922 +/-2, d. 1992 +/-1, Oregon (none); Martin, May, b. 1922 +/-2, d. 1992 +/-2 (24, not her); then memorial 133939664 via Ancestry's Find a Grave index.
Result: FOUND 'May LaVerne Stephens' -> [G.668].

Documents