#598 Richard Coulter "Dick" Copeland ( Charles Daniel Copeland◊ • William Jenkins Copeland◊ • James Copeland◊ • John Copeland◊ • William Copeland◊ )
Dick was born 1903 in Pennsylvania. He died 29 Mar 1962 in Yosemite Park, California. He was buried in Our Mother of Sorrow, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada.
He is living at home in Greensburg, Pennsylvania on the 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses. In 1930, he is an aviator with Main Aero Co.
He and his sister appear on a 1938 passenger list for the ship Monarch of Bermuda. He is living in Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania at the time.
On the 1940 Census, Richard's birthplace is suddenly shown as Arizona. Since this is inconsistent with other records and his family, I'm assuming that it was his place of residence rather than birth. He's a Regional Manager for the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Authority, earning $5000+ per year.
Richard served in the Navy as a pilot. The family story is that he learned to land on aircraft carriers...in the Midwest. Since options for training on actual ships was limited, the image of a carrier deck was painted on the ground and the pilots learned to put their airplanes down into that space.
His sister-in-law, Ruth Copeland, remembered him passing away Abt 1972 in Yosemite Park, California. The date is inconsistent by 10 years with the headstone request mentioned below and the memory of his granddaughter. So far, I haven't found a death record. There is a Richard C. Copeland, born 1903, living in Hawthorne, California at some point. However, this entry is in an index of public records and gives no date or original source for the information.
In fact, Richard is somewhat elusive after the 1940 Census. There is a Richard C. Copeland, born 1903, who appears in various records in North Carolina but this is probably Richard Carroll Copeland, son of Alexander Copeland.
A better bet may be from a request for a military headstone in the name of Richard C. Copeland executed in 1962 in Reno, Nevada. The application was signed by his wife, Mrs. R. C. Copeland. If copy of Hermine's signature can be found at some point, perhaps the handwriting will tell us if this is the same individual. The Social Security Death Index indicates that this Richard's SSN was issued in Hawaii in 1951, and Hermine and their daughter are known to have gone there in 1946. He is listed as a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve. The birth date is slightly off from the 1903 usually given or calculated: the original date entered was 15 Oct 1904 and it is hand-edited to 14 Oct 1902, which matches the SSDI. The burial was in the Veterans Plot of Our Mother of Sorrow, Reno, Nevada.
∞ Dick married #599 Hermine Haverkamp McBee.
Marriage notes |
They married 25 Jun 1939 in Leflore Co., Mississippi. In 1939, Richard and Hermine appear on the passenger list of the ship Queen of Bermuda, arriving in New York on 8 Jul. This was probably their honeymoon. |
Other names for Hermine: Hermine McBee Copeland.
Hermine was born 28 Jan 1913 in Mississippi. She died Jun 1986 in Greenwood, Leflore Co., Mississippi.
She is the daughter of Richard & Hermine McBee. She lived in Greenwood, Leflore Co., Mississipi from at least age 6 to her marriage. However, since her parents are living in Lexington, Holmes Co., Mississippi on the 1910 Census, it's uncertain where she was born.
On the 1920 and 1930 Censuses, she is living with her parents in Greenwood.
In 1935 she appears on the passenger list of the ship Morazon, arriving from Vera Cruz, Mexico.
In 1942, she is listed in the city directory of Pensacola, Florida, married to Richard who was serving in the navy.
On the 1945 Census in Pinellas Co., Florida, she and her daughter are shown but Richard is not. She is listed as "Mrs. H. Copeland". Hermine and her daughter appear on the passenger lists for Pan American Airways for a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1946. Their stay was for four months, so it's possible that Richard was stationed there during the war.
Children of this relationship:
| #602 | F | i | Hermine McBee Copeland | (14 Aug 1940–1 Jun 2014) |
1910 U.S. Census, Greensburg Ward 3, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.. Roll: T624_1429; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0129; FHL microfilm: 1375442
1920 U.S. Census, Greensburg Ward 2, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Roll: T625_1665; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 104; Image: 643
1920 U.S. Census, Greenwood, Leflore Co., Mississippi, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Roll: T625_883; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 86; Image: 748
1930 U.S. Census, Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.. Roll: 2156; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 34; Image: 60.0; FHL microfilm: 2341890
1930 U.S. Census, Greenwood, Leflore Co., Mississippi, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.. Roll: 1156; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 6; Image: 19.0; FHL microfilm: 2340891
1940 U.S. Census, Buckhead, Fulton Co., Georgia, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.. Roll: T627_675; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 60-25A;
Copeland-McBee marriage record, Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Florida State Census, 1867-1945, Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008..
Hermine Copeland, Number: 427-72-0357; Issue State: Mississippi; Issue Date: 1955., Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA. Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration..
Hermine Peel, email to Tad Deffler. Dated: 4 Sep 2017
Hermine Welch, obituary, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi, 3 Jun 2014.
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Year: 1938; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 6199; Line: 7; Page Number: 171
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Year: 1939; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 6361; Line: 14; Page Number: 131
Pan American Airways Passenger List, Ancestry.com. Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Honolulu, Hawaii, August 1912-November 1954
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1903-1945, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006. Publication: T905; Roll #: 154
Richard C. Copeland military headstone application, Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. National Archives Microfilm Publication: A1, 2110-C; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General; Record Group Number: 92
U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2, Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010..
Line Generation: 6
Relationship: Grand-Uncle