San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MRS. MARIE OTT COOPER
An honored pioneer resident of San
Joaquin County, Mrs. Marie Ott Cooper has been privileged to see and have part
in the development that has come about in the past half century, making this
one of the progressive and prosperous sections of the Golden State. She was born near the River Neckar, Wurttemberg,
Germany, January 23, 1858, the daughter of Frederick and Barbara (Trick) Wille, both natives of that place and well-to-do farmers;
the father was born on December 26, 1833, and the mother on December 6, 1835,
and they resided in their native land until 1878, when they came to
America. They were the parents of four
children, of whom three now survive:
Mrs. Anne Schneider of Stockton; Mrs. Marie Ott Cooper of this sketch;
and Mrs. Barbara Gasser of Eureka, California.
Mrs. Cooper was educated in a
private school at Reutlingen, Germany, and on August 7, 1875, she was married
to Martin Ott, who was one of San Joaquin County’s early settlers. He was born in Wurttemberg, Germany, February
8, 1837, and in 1853 came with his father and brother to America, settling in
Detroit, Michigan, where Martin Ott clerked in a mercantile establishment until
1858. Starting to California by way of
the Isthmus of Panama, he arrived at San Francisco in June, 1858, and remained
there for nine months, when he went to Tuolumne County, where he engaged in
mining until 1867. He then came to San
Joaquin County and bought 200 acres of land on the San Joaquin River and farmed
for a time, but on account of ill health he removed to San Francisco. After two years he returned to his farm where
he began cultivating the virgin soil and became extensively interested in
raising chicory, and with Carl Dangers established the San Joaquin Chicory
Factory on the San Joaquin River, being engaged in this business for
twenty-seven years. He made his home on
the ranch until his death on January 11, 1897, passing away at the age of
sixty, a man of sterling worth, beloved and esteemed by all who knew him. April 4, 1875, he started back to his old home
in Wurttemberg and there, as stated above he was married in 1875 and then
returned to California with his bride.
Mr. and Mrs. Ott became the parents of four children: Minna, a graduate nurse, resides at Stockton
with her mother; Fred W., a rancher and deputy county assessor, is represented
elsewhere in this work; Emma, who graduated as a nurse at Mt. Zion Hospital in
1903, resides at home; Leonore married H. Barstow, they have a daughter and
reside in Berkeley.
Mrs. Ott’s
second marriage united her with A. D. M. Cooper of San Francisco and San Jose,
the noted artist and authority on the American Indian who is well known on both
sides of the Atlantic. About fifteen
years ago Mrs. Cooper built a commodious residence at 127 West Willow Street,
Stockton, and here are to be found some of Mr. Cooper’s finest canvases and
many Indian curios of great value. A
member of the Lutheran Church since her early girlhood, Mrs. Cooper gives much
time to its activities and is a generous contributor to its benevolences.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
856. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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