The Coopers of Long Hill

Elden Cooper 1896–1981

Catalog ID p.33 · Cite this page: njcoopers.com/p/33/

Elden Cooper was born on 6 Nov 1896, the son of Charles Franklin Cooper and Catherine Jeanette (Wiley) Cooper. He married Kathyren L. Niedens (1922). He died on 14 Jul 1981 and was buried at Loveland Burial Park, Loveland, Larimer Co., Colorado - Blk 45, Lot 212, Grave 4. One child is recorded.

Facts

EventDatePlace / detailCertaintySources
birth 6 Nov 1896 certain G.603, D.263
residence 1910 Salt Creek Twp, Reno Co., KS certain D.769
residence 1915 Salt Creek Twp, Reno Co., KS certain E.32
residence 1 Jan 1920 Sherman East, Hutchinson Ward 4, Reno Co., Kansas probable D.813
residence 5 Apr 1930 104 East [17th?], Hutchinson, Reno Co., KS certain D.773
residence 1 Apr 1935 104 East 16th, Hutchinson City, Reno Co., Kansas certain D.806
residence 1 Apr 1940 104 East 16th, Hutchinson City, Reno Co., Kansas certain D.806
education 1940 Highest grade completed: High school, 4th year (H-4) certain D.806
residence 1942 764 So. Gaylord, Denver, Colo. certain B.128
residence 1 Apr 1950 1569 [Dallas?], Aurora City, Adams Co., Colorado certain D.807
residence 1978 Loveland, Colo. certain J.445
occupation 1 Jan 1920 candy maker probable D.813
occupation 1930 Traffic manager, candy company certain D.773
occupation 1940 Traffic Manager certain D.806
occupation 1942 Self-employed - Ben Franklin Variety Store, 1019 So. Gaylord, Denver, Colo. certain B.128
death 14 Jul 1981 certain G.603
burial Loveland Burial Park, Loveland, Larimer Co., Colorado - Blk 45, Lot 212, Grave 4 certain G.603

Family

Parents

Spouses

Siblings

Children

  1. Eldin Loron Cooper 1923–2008 J.449, D.773

Family tree

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

Kathyren L. (Niedens) CooperKathyren L. (Niedens) C…1897Elden CooperElden Cooper1896–1981Charles Franklin CooperCharles Franklin Cooper1861–1938Lewis Sanford CooperLewis Sanford Cooper1825–1905Mary Jane (Jones) CooperMary Jane (Jones) Cooper1827–1880Catherine Jeanette (Wiley) CooperCatherine Jeanette (Wil…1867–1908George G. Wiley1841–1884Charlottie Ann (Carlile…1844–1930Eldin Loron CooperEldin Loron Cooper1923–2008

In the documents

Every published document that names Elden Cooper, in date order, with what that document itself records.

DateDocumentRoleWhat it records
7 May 1910 D.769 census population 1910
1910 U.S. census, Salt Creek Township, Reno Co., Kansas, E.D. 155, sheet 7A, lines 10-18
 child
as "Eldin, 13"
1 Mar 1915 E.32 census state kansas 1915
1915 Kansas state census, Population Schedule 1, Salt Creek Township, Reno Co., page 4 (left-hand page), lines 1-12
 member
as "Eldon Cooper, 18"
1920 D.813 federal census
1920 US Federal Census - Hutchinson Ward 4, Reno Co., Kansas, ED 175, sheet 5A, lines 11-12 (Elsie A. Tiffany household, dwelling 405, family 119), Sherman East
 lodger
as "Cooper, Elden"
residence: 1 Jan 1920, Sherman East, Hutchinson Ward 4, Reno Co., Kansas
occupation: 1 Jan 1920, candy maker
5 Apr 1930 D.773 census population 1930
1930 U.S. census, Hutchinson City, Reno Co., Kansas, Election Precinct 7, E.D. 78-23, sheet 6A, lines 12-14
 head
as "Cooper, Eldin L, 34"
residence: 5 Apr 1930, 104 East [17th?], Hutchinson, Reno Co., Kansas
occupation: Traffic mgr., Candy Co.

6 further documents not published (they may name living people).

Still unknown, and where we have looked

Searches recorded

ancestry all 2026-10-16 · HIS WWI SERVICE, in two collections, run to TEST the age of 26 on his newly-found 1920 census row [D.813]. (a) 'Kansas, U.S., Enrollment...
Searched for: HIS WWI SERVICE, in two collections, run to TEST the age of 26 on his newly-found 1920 census row [D.813]. (a) 'Kansas, U.S., Enrollment of World War I Veterans, 1930' (coll. 2955) - his record reached from the suggestion panel on [D.813]. (b) 'U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918' (coll. 6482): first El*n Cooper, b. 1896 +/-3, residence Kansas - which returned 4 rows from MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, MAINE and MISSOURI because the birth= parameter silently drops the residence filter; then THE PLACE RECIPE, surname Cooper, NO given name, NO birth year, residence RENO, KANSAS, which returns the complete county list of 15 Cooper registrants.
Result: (a) FOUND, INDEX ONLY, AND IT ADDS HIS RANK: 'Eldin L Cooper', residence Hutchinson, Reno; BRANCH OF SERVICE ARMY; RANK AT DISCHARGE SERGEANT MAJOR (Ancestry renders it 'Sergaent Major'); Volume 27: Reno, Republic, Rice; Kansas State Historical Society, 1930 Enrollment of World War Veterans. NO BIRTH DATE in the index, so it does NOT answer the age question. The 1930 census already flagged him 'veteran (WW)' [D.773]; the rank and branch are new. (b) NULL - HE IS NOT AMONG THE 15 RENO COUNTY COOPER REGISTRANTS. That is not a surprise and it is not evidence against him: MEN ALREADY IN MILITARY SERVICE DID NOT REGISTER, and a man who reached Sergeant Major had very likely enlisted rather than waited to be drafted. He was also only 20 at the 5 June 1917 first registration (ages 21-31), so the only window that would have caught him is the third registration of 12 September 1918 - by which time he may already have been in uniform. The record that WOULD settle his birth date is his enrolment CARD at the Kansas State Historical Society (Volume 27), of which Ancestry holds only the index; or a VA Master Index / BIRLS entry. By-catch worth having: the 15-man list contained Charles Levitt Cooper Charles Levitt Cooper (b. 22 May 1890, card already held as [B.120]), Ernest F Cooper Ernest F Cooper (b. 21 Aug 1887, [B.127]) and Ward Walcott Cooper Ward Walcott Cooper, WHOSE CARD THE CATALOG DID NOT HAVE - now [B.131], with his exact birth date, his birth town of Sylvia, Kansas, and his signature.
ancestry all 2026-10-16 · HIS 1920 CENSUS - THE SAME PLACE SEARCH AS BEFORE, BUT FINISHED. 1920 US Federal Census (coll. 6061), surname Cooper, NO given name, NO...
Searched for: HIS 1920 CENSUS - THE SAME PLACE SEARCH AS BEFORE, BUT FINISHED. 1920 US Federal Census (coll. 6061), surname Cooper, NO given name, NO birth year, residence RENO, KANSAS (exact), 50 per page. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE FROM THE TWO EARLIER RUNS (2026-10-15 and 2026-10-16) IS THAT PAGE 2 WAS READ. Both earlier runs stopped at page 1 and both this file and Charles Franklin Cooper recorded the result as "the complete Reno County Cooper list". It was not: page 1 ends in Salt Creek Twp and HUTCHINSON, the county's largest town and the town he lived in from 1930, begins on page 2.
Result: FOUND -> [D.813]. "Cooper, Elden - Lodger - M - W - 26 - S - candy maker - candy c[o] - 454", line 11, sheet 5A, ED 175, Hutchinson Ward 4, Sherman East, in ELSIE A. TIFFANY's household (dwelling 405, family 119) - and on line 12, "- , Ivan - Lodger - candy maker - candy co - 454", the same employer. THE OCCUPATION IS WHAT IDENTIFIES HIM, not the name: he is traffic manager of a candy company in Hutchinson in 1930 [D.773] and 1940 [D.806]. Ancestry's own suggestion panel on this row attaches it to Eldin L Cooper's 1930, 1940 and 1950 censuses (the 1950 one indexed 'Eldin L COPPER' = [D.807]), his Kansas WWI veterans enrolment, his marriage index row and his SSDI entry. GRADED PROBABLE ON THE AGE - the sheet says 26 where he should be 23; see [D.813]. TWO SEARCH LESSONS WORTH MORE THAN THE RECORD, both now in the entry: (1) THE &page=2 URL PARAMETER IS SILENTLY IGNORED by this search form - it re-serves page 1, byte for byte, so a URL built by hand looks like it paged and did not. The paginator control has to be used. (2) A "complete county list" claim must say HOW MANY PAGES were read; this one was recorded twice as complete on the strength of its first fifty rows. PAGE 3 WAS ALSO READ, SO THE LIST IS NOW GENUINELY FINISHED: page 3 has left Reno County (Leavenworth, Shawnee, Cowley, Johnson, Labette) and its only Reno rows are fuzzy SURNAME matches - Compos, Copas, Capper, Vankiper, Keefer. ⇒ The Reno County Cooper list ends partway through page 2 at about 96 rows. He is on it; his father Charles Franklin Cooper is not.
ancestry all 2026-10-16 · HIS 1920 CENSUS AGAIN, with the surname his 1950 household is actually indexed under: surname COPPER, no given name, no birth year,...
Searched for: HIS 1920 CENSUS AGAIN, with the surname his 1950 household is actually indexed under: surname COPPER, no given name, no birth year, residence RENO, KANSAS (exact) - the whole county rather than Salt Creek Twp alone. [D.807] has him as 'Copper' in 1950, so a mis-spelt surname is a documented habit of this family's records and worth one deliberate test.
Result: THE TEST COULD NOT BE MADE: ANCESTRY FOLDS 'Copper' INTO 'Cooper' in this collection and returned Coopers only. Recorded so nobody repeats it expecting otherwise - a surname-variant hypothesis cannot be tested by typing the variant into this engine. What it did produce is the complete RENO COUNTY Cooper list for 1920 (page 1 of 50, covering Clay, Nickerson, Sumner, Plevna and Salt Creek), which extends the earlier Salt Creek TOWNSHIP null to the whole COUNTY. He is not in it, and neither is his father Charles Franklin Cooper. AND THERE IS A TRAP IN IT: an 'Eldin Cooper, abt 1915' DOES appear at Salt Creek - he is the son of Levett Charles Levitt Cooper and Lillian Lillian May (Stuart) Cooper, not this man, who was born in 1896. Two Eldins in one township in one year; do not conflate them. NEXT: he was 23 in 1920, married about May 1922 [J.554], and his father's household cannot be found either - so an ED image browse of Salt Creek Twp is the route for both of them at once. Full detail of the county null at Charles Franklin Cooper.
findagrave 2026-10-10 · Find a Grave: Cooper, Eldin / Elden, b. 1896 +/- 2.
Searched for: Find a Grave: Cooper, Eldin / Elden, b. 1896 +/- 2.
Result: Memorial 150351258, Loveland Burial Park -> [G.603].
newspapers com 2026-10-10 · SIGNED IN. Eldin Cooper, Colorado, 14-31 Jul 1981 (0); Eldin Cooper, all regions, 14 Jul - 10 Aug 1981 (225, first page all English papers).
Searched for: SIGNED IN. Eldin Cooper, Colorado, 14-31 Jul 1981 (0); Eldin Cooper, all regions, 14 Jul - 10 Aug 1981 (225, first page all English papers).
Result: No obituary found; the Loveland Reporter-Herald for 1981 not confirmed on newspapers.com.
familysearch tree 2026-10-10 · Profile KVW5-B29 Eldin L. Cooper, seen as a child of KV75-JZL.
Searched for: Profile KVW5-B29 Eldin L. Cooper, seen as a child of KV75-JZL.
Result: b. 6 Nov 1896 Nickerson; d. July 1981 Loveland. Leads only.
familysearch tree 2026-10-07 · Elden Cooper, b. 1885-1901, father Charles Cooper, mother Nettie; then Eldin Loran Cooper; then children of Eldin Cooper b. 1940-1970
Searched for: Elden Cooper, b. 1885-1901, father Charles Cooper, mother Nettie; then Eldin Loran Cooper; then children of Eldin Cooper b. 1940-1970
Result: KVW5-B29 Eldin L. Cooper, 6 Nov 1896 Nickerson - Jul 1981 Loveland CO, wife Kathryn Niedens, son Eldin Loran (GTS5-CM3, 1923-2008 Brush CO); no grandchildren on the tree.
genealogybank 2026-10-07 · SIGNED IN (chris_2535). Eldin Cooper (all papers); Eldin Cooper, keyword Brush
Searched for: SIGNED IN (chris_2535). Eldin Cooper (all papers); Eldin Cooper, keyword Brush
Result: No obituary; 6 newspaper-archive hits, none in Kansas or Colorado papers.
newspapers com 2026-10-07 · Via Ancestry's Newspapers.com obituary index: Eldin Cooper, d. 2008
Searched for: Via Ancestry's Newspapers.com obituary index: Eldin Cooper, d. 2008
Result: No match.
ancestry all 2026-10-16 · SIGNED IN. THE STANDING ALL-COLLECTIONS SEARCH, run for the first time with his MIDDLE INITIAL: 'Eldin L Cooper', b. 1893-1899,...
Searched for: SIGNED IN. THE STANDING ALL-COLLECTIONS SEARCH, run for the first time with his MIDDLE INITIAL: 'Eldin L Cooper', b. 1893-1899, birthplace Kansas. 2,777 ranked results; page 1 read.
Result: FOUND -> [B.128], image downloaded and filed: his 1942 WWII draft card, 764 So. Gaylord, DENVER, Colorado, self-employed at a Ben Franklin Variety Store - the earliest Colorado record for this family, closing the Kansas-to-Colorado window from ten years to two. It also yields his SIGNATURE, cropped into images/signatures/, which is the first likeness-or-hand of any kind on this file. Also surfaced, all index-only and NOT yet opened: U.S. Veterans Administration Master Index 1917-1940 (b. 6 Nov 1896, residence Hutchinson, Kansas), VA BIRLS Death File (b. 6 Nov 1896, d. 14 Jul 1981), and the SSDI (residence before 1951: Kansas). An Ancestry 'Redding Family Tree' names him with spouse Kathyren, parents Charles Franklin Cooper and Catherine Jeanette Wiley, child Eldin Loron, and a 1935 residence of Hutchinson - a LEAD only, per [[feedback_ancestry_family_trees_low_certainty]], though it agrees with the catalog at every point. The Newspapers.com Marriage Index row seen on the [D.806] suggested panel does NOT appear in this result set and is still owed.
ancestry all 2026-10-16 · SIGNED IN. HIS 1920, 1940 AND 1950 CENSUS GAPS, none of which had a search recorded. 1920 (coll. 6061): 'Eldin Cooper' b. Kansas...
Searched for: SIGNED IN. HIS 1920, 1940 AND 1950 CENSUS GAPS, none of which had a search recorded. 1920 (coll. 6061): 'Eldin Cooper' b. Kansas 1894-1898, no place (93 rows, page 1 read) -> NULL; and surname Cooper with residence Salt Creek, Reno, Kansas (exact), no given name - the COMPLETE list of indexed Coopers in that township in 1920. 1940 (coll. 2442): 'Eldin Cooper' b. Kansas 1893-1899 (68) -> NULL; then surname Cooper, residence Hutchinson, Reno, Kansas (exact), no given name.
Result: 1940 FOUND -> [D.806], image downloaded and filed: Hutchinson City, ED 78-17A, sheet 9A, household 218 at 104 East 16th, enumerated 15 Apr 1940 - Eldon 43, Kathyren 43, Loron 17, and a NEPHEW, Leon Rein, 21. THE INDEX GARBLES ALL THREE GIVEN NAMES ('Eldon', 'Kathepren', 'Lloron'), which is exactly why the name searches failed and why the place recipe is the one to use on this family. 1920 NULL: the complete Salt Creek Cooper list for 1920 is three households - Levitt Charles Levitt Cooper, Ward Ward Walcott Cooper and an unrelated Leslie Cooper - plus Ernest Ernest F Cooper; neither Eldin nor his father Charles Franklin Cooper is in it. He was 23 and may have been enumerated elsewhere or under a garbled surname.

Documents