COOPER, MRS. EMMA BURCHFIELD -- An admirable example of California womanhood, a worthy representative of other worthy Americans, long influential in the communities in which they lived and amid the civilization they helped to guide and develop, is Mrs. Emma Burchfield Cooper, who has long been successfully interested in horticulture in Orange County and is now the owner of a fine ten-acre ranch at Hemet, devoted to apricots and walnuts. Pennsylvania was Mrs. Cooper's native state, her birthplace being near Meadville, in Crawford County. She came of an old family of that vicinity, her parents, David and Elsie (Scowden) Burchfield, both having been born there. Grandfather Burchfield was a native of Ireland, but came to Crawford County, Pa., in the early days and engaged in agriculture there, residing there until his death. Mrs. Cooper's maternal grandfather, David Scowden, was also of an old Pennsylvania family and spent his whole life there.
After farming in Pennsylvania for a number of years, David Burchfield brought his family to Illinois, settling in De Kalb County, and was there engaged in agriculture until a short time before he passed away, his death occurring at his old home in Pennsylvania, whither he had gone on a visit. Mrs. Burchfield survived her husband for some years, spending her last days in Iowa in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Cooper. The youngest of a family of ten children, only two of whom are now living, Mrs. Emma Burchfield Cooper came to Illinois with her parents at the age of nine years and was reared on the home farm in De Kalb County, receiving a good education in the public schools there. On reaching young womanhood she was united in marriage with Oliver Cooper, who was born near Belfast, Ireland, his father being a minister of the Presbyterian faith. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper decided to locate in Iowa, and they became pioneer settlers of Story County; here they homesteaded 160 acres of raw land, putting the first plow in the virgin prairie soil, and improved and built up a nice home. Like the pioneers of every age and country, their task was far from being an easy one, but with youth, strength and ambition on their side, they were happy and successful in their undertaking.
After some years, however, Mr. Cooper's health failed and they decided to seek a milder climate; as a result they came to California, settling in Orange County. Pleased with the prospect of spending the coming years in this balmy climate, with its beautiful surroundings, they purchased a ranch at Villa park, disposing of their holdings in Iowa. There was twenty acres in their Villa Park place, and through their care and cultivation it became one of the finest orange groves in that locality. The responsibility of its care became too heavy, however, on account of Mr. Cooper's continued ill health, so they sold it and removed to East Palm Avenue, Orange. Mr. Cooper then carried out a long-cherished desire to visit his old home in Ireland, and three months after he arrived there he passed away and was laid to rest beside his father and mother.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Cooper continued to be actively interested in horticulture, purchasing a ten-acre ranch at Olive, which she later traded for a ranch at Hemet, which is devoted to apricots and walnuts. This she still owns and superintends most capably, as her many years of experience have given her a thorough knowledge of the varied branches of horticulture.
Mrs. Cooper is the mother of six children: William, who was born in Illinois, died in Iowa at the age of six years; James is a farmer near Des Moines, Iowa; Ralph is also engaged in farming at Springville, Iowa; Lettie is Mrs. Williams of Orange; Bertha, Mrs. Ferguson, resides with her mother; and Maude, now deceased, was the wife of Warren Fletcher. Mrs. Cooper still makes her home at 641 East Palm Avenue, Orange, and takes an active interest in all that concerns the welfare of the community. A firm believer in the future greatness of Orange County, she has, herself, done her full share toward its horticultural development. She has reared and educated her family, giving them every advantage possible, and has lived a useful and self-sacrificing life, and her influence has ever been on the side of good. A member of the Mennonite Church at Orange, Mrs. Cooper is active in its work; politically she is a stanch Republican and a firm believer in the principles of that party.
