Cooper/Mikeman Cemetery
Mikeman Cemetery Notes
AKA Cooper cemetery

<mailto:Blwineg@aol.com>B.L.  Winegar's  GGrandfather   Harmon   Mikeman
deeded the cemetary plot over to the Baptist church for their use on the
condition that the church maintain  the  grounds  &  graves.  There  are
family  and  non-family  members  buried  there,  the  oldest  headstone
belonging to W.H. & Betsy Cooper (not related to Perry  Cooper,  husband
of Flora Mikeman); this may account for it sometimes being  referred  to
as the Cooper cemetary.

Barry County,  MoGenWeb  Researcher  Penny  Bailey  <pwbailey@sound.net>
passes on this information for us all to enjoy.

"My info on the cemetery name came from  talking  with  my  Mother  (Ida
Cooper) and other Shell Knob natives.

My Mother has lived in the area all of her 83+ years. She is  still  the
clerk of the Painter Cemetery.  My  Dad  (Arl  Cooper)  mowed  both  the
Painter and the Mikeman (Cooper) for years. The cemetery in question was
taken over by the Baptist Church 60 to 70 years ago because  of  a  feud
between my branch of the Coopers (not the ones  buried  their)  and  the
Mikemans. (a feud had been going on for years then a  Cooper  married  a
Mikeman ended up dieing and was buried in the Cemetery. Trouble  started
up again so the Church took over <or so the  story  goes>.  After  Shell
Knob started growing so fast the little cemetery  was  almost  forgotten
(it is a long way from the old Baptist Church and even more from the new
one ) But the natives noticed a new gate was donated this  year  by  the
Mikeman family and it was brought to the attention of the Baptist Church
that the cemetery was their responsibility."

July 24, 1997 -----January 2002 note from Penny: "I  have  been  reading
the old minutes from the Baptist Church here in Shell Knob.  I  found  a
entry on April 16, 1922. It reads: It was made public that  a  deed  had
been secured to the cemetery on Mr. Mikeman's farm."


© 1999 Susan Tortorelli All Rights Reserved