From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: John Cooper Manning

This very cute photo was found in the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. I looked up Cooper Manning and found several throughout the United States, but decided that this is probably John Cooper Manning who was born in Ringgold. Louisiana in 1916. One or both of Cooper's parents and Marguerite's parents may have been friends or very likely cousins. 

Cooper was the son of Simon Leon Manning and Mary Irene Conly. Cooper's father had an older brother, John Cooper Manning, who was born in 1867 and died at age 18 in 1885. It can be presumed that Cooper was named for his father's brother. Cooper's grandfather, Benjamin Manning, was a friend of my great-grandfather, Terrell Bryan. 

View at Newspapers.com

An article in the Ruston Daily Leader shows that John Cooper Manning graduated from Ruston High School in 1934.  Several articles about him were found in the years 1933 to 1934 and he was always referred to as Cooper.  

Cooper attended Louisiana Polytechnic Institute and married Flora Mae Davis. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps in the 71st Fighter Squadron. 

On February 5, 1960, Cooper's life came to a tragic end. Cooper, Flora, and their young son, Johnnie, died in a plane crash in Bolivia. They were on the way back to their home in Ruston.

Diana

© 2015




Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Ruston Leader (Ruston, Louisiana). 11 February 1960 • Page 1 http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1872279/john_cooper_manning_and_family_funeral/ 

The Ruston Daily Leader (Ruston, Louisiana) 10 May 1934 • Page 7
http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1872285/cooper_manning_graduated_from_ruston/