Coppess, Frederick

Posted By: Jane Barr Torres
Date: 24 November 2001

Source: A BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY OHIO, published in Chicago by the Lewis Publishing Company, 1900. p. 513-517

FREDERICK COPPESS

While great credit is justly due to those who have aided in the progress and magnificent development of these latter days, it was upon the pioneers that the greater responsibility was placed; theirs the greater obstacles to overcome; theirs to lay the foundations and to initiate the work whose results have been cumulative and have conserved the material prosperity of our nation. One of the honored pioneers of historic old Darke county is he whose name forms the caption of this article, and it is with much satisfaction that we direct attention to his career in this connection. Mr. Coppess, who can well recall the period when our beautiful and prosperous county was almost a wilderness, has the distinction of being a native son of the county and of being a representative of a pioneer of pioneers. He was born in Richland township on the 27th of June, 1830, being the second in order of birth of the ten children - five sons and five daughters - of Peter Coppess and Mary (Hartle) Coppess. Of the children only three are living at the present time, the following brief record being consistently entered relative to the family: Hiram, who was a soldier in the civil war, is now deceased; Catharine, the widow of D. W. Kersner, is a resident of Dawn, this county, her husband having likewise served in the war of the Rebellion; Frederick, the next in order of birth, is the direct subject of this review; Benton, a resident of the city of Chicago, ranks among the oldest railroad engineers in the Union, his record in this line having been one of much importance and interest, as he has incidentally had intrusted to him many thousands of dollars' worth of property and the safeguarding of many lives, having been employed on the Baltimore & Ohio, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and other leading railway lines, and being still in the harness, as a valued engineer of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; he is married and is comfortably placed in life, being a man of broad experience and knowledge and one who has ever been faithful to the responsible duties committed to him.

Peter Coppess was born in 1801, in North Caroline, and his death occurred in 1879. He was reared upon the farm and received his educational training in the common schools of the place and period. When he was about ten years of age his father Adam Coppess, and his uncle, Peter Coppess, came through from their southern home to Cincinnati, where the two brothers separated, Adam coming to Greene county and locating not far from the present city of Xenia, where he remained two years, within which time the Indiana war of 1812 broke out the settlers were forced to take refuge in the block houses which were erected for protection from the hostile red men. That father of our subject could well remember the incidents of the Indian war and the troubles and privations endured by the hardy pioneers of the Buckeye state. He was about fourteen years of age when his father came to Darke county, which was then a practical wilderness, with here and there the rude cabin of the pioneer of the frontier, and the present attractive city of Greenville, which now has a population of about eight thousand, was then marked by a fort and was known as Fort Greenville, a place of refuge for the settlers when menaced by the crafty Indians, who were far more numerous than the white men throughout this section. Here the family located on a farm in Richland township, the same being a heavily timbered tract, and when danger threatened from the Indians they took refuge in old Fort Briar, which was located on Stillwater creek, in the eastern part of the township. When a little girl the mother of our subject was on one occasion sitting on a stone in the middle of the creek, when an Indiana approached in his canoe and, paddling close to her, gave her a wild duck. She was much frightened but her fears were dispelled by the friendly action of the dusky son of the forest. In her childhood she was often detailed to operate the old "horse fiddle," whose doleful groans were supposed to be efficacious in frightening the crows and squirrels from the little corn patch, which was jealously guarded against the inroads of these pests. Father Coppess killed many deer in this locality in the early days, and our subject himself can recall that in his boyhood bears were still plentiful in this section, and on one occasion he narrowly escaped attack from a savage old she bear, having fortunately found refuge in the home of a neighbor. Father Coppess was one of those sturdy pioneers who gave of brain and brawn to the opening of the wilderness to cultivation, and to such must ever be given tribute of respect and honor for the efforts which led to the magnificent results which the present generations are permitted to enjoy.

Peter Coppess was a Democrat of the true Jacksonian type, was firm in his convictions and was always ready to defend the principles which he advocated. Though he had received but limited educational advantages, he was a man of much intellectual vigor and mature judgment, being always ready to give his support to measures looking to the public good and being a stanch friend of the cause of popular education. His wife, who was a native of Pennsylvania, was a member of the Christian church and was a woman of gentle and winning character and many noble attributes. Her memory is enshrined in the hearts of all who knew her, for her life was filled with kindly words and deeds.

Frederick Coppess, whose name introduces this sketch, has spent almost three-fourths of a century in this, his native county, and here he is held in the highest esteem as an influential citizen and a worthy representative of our best pioneer stock. He received his education in the primitive district schools of the early days, his third teacher being John Bidwell, who afterward was for half a century a resident of California and was nominated for president by the Prohibition party; and his first school days were passed in the little log school house, with its puncheon floor and slab seats and benches, light being admitted through the opening made by leaving a portion of a log out of the north end of the building, while in the winter the cheery fireplace, with its great back-log, made the little room comparatively comfortable for the little band of students. To avoid the winter blasts the window mentioned was covered with greased paper, which served in lieu of glass. In the discipline of the school the birch or hazel switch was brought into frequent requisition - in harmony with the old aphorism: "Spare the rod and spoil the child." Mr. Coppess gives a graphic and interesting account of these good old days when the "young idea" was gaining the seeds of knowledge, and the recounting brings into sharp contrast the superior advantages enjoyed by the youth of today. The amusements provided by the pioneers included the apple-parings, corn-huskings, taffy-pulls and spelling bees, and the homely gatherings were animated by a true social spirit which made each person feel that he was among friends who were close to him in sympathy and personal interest.

Mr. Coppess has known through personal experience what hard work is and he has the greatest respect for the dignity of honest toil. He began as a wage-earner at the early age of sixteen, his daily stipend ranging for twenty-five to fifty cents, and many a day has he assisted in garnering the grain with the old-fashioned four-fingered cradle, and he can recall that the labor was one which was a test of endurance and strength and one in which he was able to make a record for himself. The transition in this line, as in all other phases of industrial and social life, seems almost incredible when we consider that the memory of a living man covers the entire period from the old pioneer days to the present end-of-the-century period.

Mr. Coppess has been twice married, his first wife dying without issue. On May 25, 1890, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Ella (Hartle) Shields, and they are the parents of two sons - Forrest Benton, a bright and ambitious youth, now attending the public schools; and Frederick H., the youngster, who lends brightness and cheer to the home circle. Mrs. Coppess is a daughter of Solomon and Sarah Ann E.(Warvel) Hartle, who were the parents of two sons and two daughters, all of whom are still residents of Darke county. The father was a soldier in the civil war, being a member of Company E. Forty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and he did valiant service at the front, having been taken prisoner and having experienced the horrors of the prison pens of Libby and Andersonville, his death taking place in the former, where his life was sacrificed on the altar of his country. He was a native of Darke county, and was numbered among the pioneers of this section of the state. He was not an ultra-partisan in his political views, and in religion was a member of the Christian church, as was also his wife. By trade he was a blacksmith.

Mrs. Coppess was born in Darke county, February 14, 1854, and here received her education in the public schools. Her first husband was William V. Shields, and of this union, one daughter was born, Josie Ellen, wife of John Hoobler, who is an energetic and prosperous young farmer of the county. They have two daughters, Dora O. and Lottie.

Mr. Coppess' first purchase of land comprised sixty acres, with no improvements. He set himself vigorously to the work of clearing and improving his farm, and his long years of steady and indefatigable industry have brought their reward, and he now has one of the fine farms of this favored section of the great Buckeye state. He has cleared all of his land, has put in about one thousand rods of tiling and has erected excellent buildings, including a commodious and attractive residence. He now owns one hundred and forty acres of rich and productive land, and upon this is no financial incumbrance of any sort, a fact which shows what may be accomplished through diligence and wisely directed industry. Mr. Coppess has been successful in life and has richly merited this success. In all the relations of life he has been honorable and upright, and his character has gained and retained to him the confidence and high regard of those among whom he has lived and labored to such goodly ends. His first presidential vote was cast for Franklin Pierce, but in later years he has given his support to the principles and policies of the Republican party. But he has always been guided by his own judgment, not being bound by partisan ties, and always supporting the men who in his judgement stood for the principles that would benefit the country at large. He is well informed in regard to the political history the country, and his personal recollections touch many of the critical and interesting phases. In the early days Mr. Coppess held distinction among the pioneers by reason of his prowess as a rail-splitter, and his record in the line is one to which he reverts with peculiar satisfaction. He has endured the hardships and deprivations incidental to frontier life, has had his quota of disappointments, but he has maintained an unflinching courage and has shown that true manhood which invariably makes for success and honor. He was chosen a trustee of Richland township at the time of Lincoln's second election, and the war caused great dis-satisfaction in this section, but he was firm in upholding the cause of abolition, casting his vote at the time for Salmon P. Chase as governor of Ohio.

Mr. and Mrs. Coppess are consistent members of the Christian church at Beamsville, and he was a member of the building committee at the time the church edifice was erected, contributing liberally of his time and means to the work. He has aided financially in the building of three churches in his locality, being ever ready to encourage good works and being broad and charitable in his views. Mrs. Coppess is a woman of gentle refinement and true courtesy, presiding with grace and dignity over the home and having the love and esteem of a wide circle of friends. In this compilation, which is to leave a perpetual record of those who have lived and wrought to goodly ends in this beautiful section of the Buckeye state, it is with singular propriety that recognition be given to Mr. and Mrs. Coppess, as among our representative people, and as coming from the worthy pioneer stock which so honored and advanced the county of Darke.

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