Welcome to Darrell's Genealogy Stories

Other than Le Mars, there is probably no location that would invoke long-ago memories for our small Coppock family as would Battle Lake, Minnesota.  Located about 65 miles SE of Fargo, ND, our "summer place" was 250 miles north of Le Mars.  For 20+ summers, beginning in 1953, it was our family getaway. Why Battle Lake?  Well, one of Arnold's cousins (Merlin Zenner) lived in nearby Fergus Falls, MN, and he and his family owned a cottage on Otter Tail Lake.  Grandma and Grandpa would visit them occasionally, and they enjoyed the area.  They loved to fish, and they began searching for a small cottage in and around Fergus Falls.  Ashton and Clyde joined the search, and in 1953, the 3 families purchased 50' of lakefront and a cottage on West Battle Lake (shown above after remodeling).  Oh, the purchase price was a whopping $2,400!!!  (yes, the comma is in the right place - DAC) It was very basic, meaning that it had no indoor plumbing.  Tha...

Note from Darrell:  This story was told several times by my Mother, Helen Kern Coppock.  I will leave it to the reader to determine your belief or interpretation.  In order to make it more interesting, I've taken the liberty to create an imaginary dialogue in Part 1 between Ada and my Mother.  Even so, that "dialogue" remains true to what was told to me over the years. PART I:  The Summer of 1943, Le Mars, Iowa Like all Iowa summers, 1943 was hot and humid.  The world was ravaged by World War II and the Allies were slowly gaining ground on Germany and Japan, but it was long from being over.  The Coppock brothers, Ashton and Clyde, were in the Navy and Army, respectively, a long way from their hometown of Le Mars. Like most weekday mornings, Helen reported to work as Secretary and Receptionist at the Meares Insurance Agency.  Not only the heat was uncomfortable, but she was six months pregnant with her first chil...

The legacy of Arnold and Ethel began with the birth of their two sons Ashton and Clyde, continued with three grandchildren (Darrell, Janice, and Connie), and expanded again during the 1960's.  Their first two great-grandchildren were born in 1964 and 1969; and, lo and behold, they both celebrate wedding anniversaries this week!  Hence, let's introduce  David Alan Coppock and Kim Bates Scott . Our son  David  was born February 4, 1964, in Wayne, Nebraska, while Kathy and I were living in married student housing at Wayne State College.  David attended grade school at Wapsie Valley in Readlyn, Iowa, and then in Indianola, Iowa.  He graduated from Indianola H.S. in 1982, where he played baseball, football and tennis. Attending Buena Vista College from 1982 -1986, he lettered in both football and tennis all 4 years.  He met Julie Lauck in college, and they were married in 1986.  David began a long career as a sales rep and sales manager w...

In previous blogs we learned of Arnold and Ethel's wedding day, their two sons (Ashton and Clyde), and their subsequent marriages in June of 1939 (Dorothy and Helen, respectively).  The history part of the last blog ended with a picture of the entire family in 1949 (below).  Today, we'll explore those "three little ones" in the front row. Darrell Ashton Coppock was 5 years and 11 months old in August of '49.  He was ready to begin 1st grade at Franklin Elementary School in Le Mars.  He went was very active in music and drama in High School, graduating in 1961.  He majored in music education at Wayne State College, fell in love with Kathy Lindsteadt from Norfolk, Nebraska; and they were married on April 13, 1963.  They have one son, David. Janice Kay Coppock (center front in the 1949 photo) was 3 years and 9 months old.  Jan, as she was called for most of her life, had an active high school career as a member of the girls' drill team, a drum...

A plaque with the above quote hangs above a memorable family picture in our bedroom.  It applies to everyone, to all of us, and it will continue to do so for ages to come.  Two people fall in love, marry, have children, and those children have children of their own. In the first blog, we learned about our common ancestors Arnold J. Coppock and Ethel Ferguson Coppock, and the story of their wedding day.  The last blog, on May 23, 2020, we learned more about our family patriarch Arnold. Readers will recall that Arnold and Ethel had two sons, Ashton Horton Coppock and Clyde Ferguson Coppock.  You are a direct ancestor of either Clyde (on the left) or Ashton. After moving from Lake Benton, Minnesota, during the depression, you will recall that the family moved to Le Mars, where the brothers grew up.  They graduated from Le Mars High School in the mid-1930's.  Ashton was an automobile mechanic, working at the Plymouth County Co-op after graduation; and...

.... Arnold J. Coppock was born in Milnerville, in rural Plymouth County, Iowa. on May 23, 1895, to parents Harvey J. and Mary Jane (Horton) Coppock.  The family moved to Sioux City about 1904 and then to Le Mars in 1910.  Arnold was one of 6 children,:  4 sisters and a younger brother.   He met Ethel Ferguson while riding a horse, herding cows to a nearby pasture.  That was a common practice in those years, earning money taking theirs and neighbors' cows to pasture.  They were paid 50 cents per month  per cow!  Ethel was also taking a few cows to the same pasture when they met. During the summer months, he would often go to the Tom Hummel farm near Elk Point, SD, to work in the fields.  His sister Goldie was married to Tom.  Like most teens back then, he quit school after finishing 8th grade.  He would do odd jobs, tend horses, and herd cows to make money. After their marriage in 1914, he finished the harvest season on t...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 2020 Hello Again Everyone, First, a shout-out to all the wonderful Mothers who are reading this.  Happy Mother's Day!! So, how did you all do on my email question that was sent out announcing this Mother's Day blog?  What do the names Ashton, Ferguson and Horton all have in common?  In our family, there are two correct answers.  (Hint:  they definitely have to do with celebrating Mother's Day!) Okay, first, those last names represent the maiden names for 3 of your great-grandmothers:  Elizabeth Ashton, Ethel Ferguson, and Mary Jane Horton.  (note:  Connie and I have 2 great-grandmothers in that list as Ethel is actually our paternal grandmother) Second, and this one is a bit more difficult, those names represent the "middle names" of the first 3 male descendants of Arnold Coppock:  Ashton Horton, Clyde Ferguson, and Darrell Ashton.  Now, let's discover a little more about all three. Elizabeth Ashton ...

"The Shop" is what we called our family's place of business.  Its original name was Grau Company, an automobile and farm implement dealership owned by Clarence Grau of Le Mars.  Arnold Coppock began selling cars and tractors there in 1932.  Originally located in the downtown area, it was moved to a corner location on Highway 75 in 1940.  Ashton Coppock joined his Dad in the business in 1946 as an auto mechanic and salesman after returning from World War II.  Clyde was then working as an auto parts salesman for United Wholesalers, a Sioux City company. In 1948, Clarence offered to sell the business and the buildings to our family. The deal was finalized on November 15, 1948.   Arnold became the general manager, Ashton was in charge of the service department, and Clyde was the salesman. Shown above:  a metallic measuring tape used as a customer giveaway (Circa 1950) Part I:  "The Duppa-Duh" You're right, there is no such word.  It re...

My paternal grandparents, Arnold J Coppock and Ethel (nee Ferguson) Coppock, were married in Dakota City, Nebraska, on the 24th of August, 1914.  The story below is verbatim from Grandma Coppock's written notes.  Thanks to my cousin Connie, these were faithfully typed from the original. In the summer of 1914 Arnold was still at his sister Goldie's and Tom's (Hummel) farm.  He used to get so lonely out there.  One day Goldie and the kids came to visit Grandma Coppock (Mary Jane (Horton) Coppock, and she then came down to visit my mother (Elizabeth Ashton Ferguson).  She asked my mother if I could go home with her for over Sunday.  Mama said, "I'll have to ask her father.  We don't let our children go away from home very much." So Mama asked my father (Michael Ferguson) if it would be okay for me to go, and he said, "Yes, but she can only stay until Monday morning.  So I took my good blue shoes, a housedress, and nightie, so we could go to ...

Hello Everyone, Most of you know that I have been involved in family genealogy research for more than 10 years.  It has been a wonderful journey, I have learned so much, and it will only continue as more and more information becomes available.  I've chosen to focus this blog on the Coppock genealogy. Now, before you hit the Delete Button, thinking that you are going to learn names, dates, and other meaningless trivia, hang on!  This site is named "Darrell's Genealogy Stories" for a reason.  It is my belief that most of you will not only enjoy some of the stories and tales that I recall; but it will also provide a personal glimpse in to the lives of the ancestors you will never personally know.   You have already received an email from me that invited you to this blog site.  If so, you are a direct ancestor of Arnold J Coppock .   Why did I start with Arnold and not my father Clyde?  It's because Arnold (and Ethel) had 3 grandchildren with ...