#595 Anna May White◊ ( James White◊ • Andrew White◊ • James White◊ • Andrew White◊ )
Other names for Anna: Anna White Copeland◊.
Anna was born 23 Aug 1874 in Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania. She died 23 Apr 1952 in Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania from pneumonia. She was buried 26 May 1952 in St. Clair Cemetery, Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania.
Her death certificate gives her birth year as 1873 while her gravestone gives is at 1874. The census records tend to back the gravestone.
She appears on the 1880 Federal Census of Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania with her parents.
She was salutatorian of her Greensburg High School class. The following appeared in the Greensburg Daily Tribune for May 28, 1891:
Commencement DayThe salutatory, subject, "One Niche the Highest," was delivered by Miss Annie M. White, and it being first upon the program, it devolved upon her to bid all welcome and so well did she perform that interesting part that those who were somewhat skeptical upon the subject were made to feel at home and the doubts that had heretofore flitted across their minds were dispelled like the mist before the morning sun.In her brief address, she admonished one and all not to rest satisfied with present attainments, but to press onward and upward, one niche at a time, until they had ultimately surmounted every obstacle and had carved their names high upon the temple of fame. As a speaker she is pleasing and very entertaining and her manner would clearly indicate that she, for one, will not rest satisfied with present achievements, but will persevere in her efforts to carve her name at least "One Niche the Highest" on the pillar of fame.
Anna and Charles were living with her parents at the time of the 1900 Federal Census of Greensburg. On the 1910 Federal Census, 1920 Federal Census and the 1930 Federal Census they are still in Greensburg.
On the 1940 Federal Census Anna, now a widow, appears in Greensburg. She is living next door to the David Sturgeon family, perhaps relatives of her son-in-law, Paul Sturgeon.
Her proximate cause of death was pneumonia but her death certificate indicates she was in decline for quite a while.
∞ Anna married #594 Charles Daniel Copeland◊. He is the son of William Jenkins & Caroline (Rosensteel) Copeland. He is an ancestor in the Copeland Line.
Marriage notes |
They married 17 Aug 1899.
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Charles was born 24 Jul 1871 in Penn Twp., Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania. He died 27 Oct 1937 in Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania from metastatic prostate cancer. He was buried 29 Oct 1937 in St. Clair Cemetery, Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania.
His family was not comfortable financially, and Charles started work at the age of seven as a trapper boy in the coal mines. Traps are canvas flaps that are used to control the air flow, the trapper opened the trap so that trams of coal could pass through, then they immediately closed it again when the trams had passed through the trap. Without them, the ventilation of the mine did not work properly and dangerous gases would build up. He made 55¢ a day at this job. After two years of this, he wanted a position which paid more and took on the job of driving the mules for two years. Shortly after his eleventh birthday he became a full-fledged digger. He appears on the 1880 Federal Census with his parents.
At the age of 13, the family broke up due to financial difficulties and he bound himself out to John Robb, a farmer, in West Newton. He worked for the farmer from 4 o'clock until 9 o'clock in the morning, and from 3 o'clock in the afternoon until dark. During the period in the middle of the day he was allowed to attend school. This was his first schooling in his life, started shortly after his thirteenth birthday. He attended Derry Township School No. 12.
He later went on to Franklin & Marshall College, but did not graduate. To pay for his education, he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad on school breaks as a surveyor starting at age 17. However, the money he earned could not cover his costs and at age 20, he took a permanent job with the Pennsylvania Railroad where was promoted to assistant engineer in 1892, and was placed in charge of the construction of the Peters Creek Branch of the Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston Railroad. He completed that task in 1893 and resigned.
In October, 1893 he began to study law in Greensburg under D. S. Atkinson and J. M. Peoples. On 18 April 1896, he passed the bar. He worked for a while in Philadelphia before returning to Greensburg, Pennsylvaniato join the firm of J. J. Johnston & W. C. Peoples, the latter being the county District Attorney. Charles served as Assistant District Attorney.
Charles played football with the Greensburg Athletic Association, one of the many such organizations in southwest Pennsylvania. It started as a purely amateur organization and enjoyed a fierce rivalry with the Latrobe Athletic Organization. In 1894 it was found out that the G.A.A. was paying one of their players and the various teams quickly followed suit so that, by 1895, the teams were semi-professional. Greensburg's team lasted until 1900 when financial support dried up. Charles played tackle for the team, as he had a Franklin & Marshall, and newspapers cited him several times as one of the outstanding players. There is an original print of this picture somewhere in the family but I haven't, yet, located it to get a scan. This copy is taken from Wikipedia Commons.
When the United States declared war on Spain, Charles was a private in the Pennsylvania National Guard, Company I, 2nd Batallion, 10th Regiment. When the regiment was mustered to active duty as the United States Volunteers, he was sent to the Philippines on 21 July 1898. His service, which was to have been for a duration of 2 years, was cut short to a period of 6 months due to an injury he sustained while building trenches. He slipped and fell and tore all the ligaments in his right leg, from the ankle to the base of the spine. He was returned to the States as permanently disabled. His discharge on 4 November 1898, which was for "service, honest and faithful," lists the reason as severe varicose veins.
The exact date of the injury is not known. However, photographs exist of him in Manila. Based on that, he was in the Philippines on July 31, 1898, when the 2/10th Pennsylvania became the first American troops to receive enemy fire in the Philippines. This took place at the 10th Pennsylvania's entrenchments on the road between Cavite and Manila, near Malate. The regiment expended 39,000 rounds during the battle, using the single-fire rifles of the day. From a history of the 10th Pennsylvania:
During that memorable night of battle a terrible typhoon was raging. The rain fell in torrents, the night was very dark and the actual sight of the enemy in his advance was only secured by the continued flashes of lightning. The men were thoroughly deluged with water, many rifles became clogged and parts failed to work by being covered with sand from the rifle-pit. In many instances men were seen immersing the rifle bodily in water, thus cleaning out the sand, and then proceeded with their firing."
He had operations upon his leg in Pittsburgh shortly after his return. He married Anna White at this time. Using money he had saved from his $60.00 a month salary as Assistant District Attorney, he opened a private practice with Richard Coulter, his Second Lieutenant in the 10th Pennsylvania (later to become General Coulter while serving in World War I).
On the 1900 Federal Census he and Anna are living with her parents in Greensburg.
In 1900 and 1909 he was the Chairman of the Democratic Party for Greensburg. On the 1910 Federal Census of Greensburg, he was an attorney in general practice. He was elected to the bench of the Orphan's Court on January 6, 1911 over the incumbent, Judge John D. Steel. He was 38 and the youngest person ever elected as judge in Pennsylvania.
In 1919 he was elected to the bench of the Common Pleas Court as a non-partisan candidate of both the Republicans and the Democrats and we see him on the 1920 Federal Census.
In the 1929 election, his supporters in the official parties proposed another candidate, so he ran as an independent. In the primaries, he "gave the most severe political drubbing ever given by an independent. He got more than 40,000 votes on both the Democratic and Republican tickets for the nomination--the greatest number of votes ever cast for a judge in Westmoreland county's history." He was reelected. According to the September 18, 1929 Monessen Daily Independent:
Scottdale, Sept. 18--Judge Charles D. Copeland won on both the Republican and Democratic tickets here, with 584 votes on the Republican ballot and 230 on the Democratic...Ewing--Figures available at 1:30 this afternoon gave Judge Charles D. Copeland a lead of over 8,000 over Robert W. Smith, who was second in the fight for the Republican nomination for Judge of the Common Pleas Court...
Monessen--Copeland had a veritable landslide in Monessen as elsewhere over the county...
He was a popular judge, much in demand, and often sat cases in Alleghany, Philadelphia and Erie Counties.
On the 1930 Federal Census of Greensburg his property is valued at $18,000 and he owns a radio set. He is shown as 57 years old, which would put his birth date in 1872 instead of 1871. Anna and the three children are listed.
He ran, unsuccessfully, for governor of Pennsylvania in 1934.
Prior to his death he had been ill for a year. Against doctors wishes, he insisted on sitting on the bench. Colleagues felt that this aggravated his illness and may have caused his death.
He was a member of the Greensburg Elks and the First Presbyterian Church.
He is said to have been 6'½" tall, with brown hair, slate eyes and a fair complexion.
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Children of this relationship:
| #5 | M | i | Charles Daniel Copeland◊ | (9 Aug 1900–23 Nov 1977) |
| #598 | M | ii | Richard Coulter "Dick" Copeland | (1903–29 Mar 1962) |
| #40372 | U | iii | «Unknown» Copeland | (Aft 1900–Bef 1910) |
| #600 | F | iv | Mary Caroline Copeland | (1907–1986) |
1880 U.S. Census, Cokeville, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Roll: 1204; Family History Film: 1255204; Enumeration District: 114; p.136D
1900 U.S. Census, Greensburg Ward 4, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Roll: 1497; Page: 25A; Enumeration District: 0101; FHL microfilm: 1241497
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
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
1940 U.S. Census, Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.. Roll: T627_3630; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 65-48
Anna May White Copeland, cemetery notes, www.findagrave.com, #81057773.
Anna White Copeland death certificate, no. 48102, registered no. 275 (24 May 1952), Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health, Pennsylvania.
Capt. Fenwick Y. Hedley, Old And New Westmoreland, Vols. III-IV, (New York: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1918). Ref. as [Hedley] Vol. IV, p. 865
Charles D. Copeland death certificate, no. 95543, registered no. 550 (29 Oct 1937), Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health, Pennsylvania.
Charles Daniel Copeland, Sr, cemetery notes, www.findagrave.com, #81057749.
Frank Marshall Eastman, Courts and lawyers of Pennsylvania: a history, 1623-1923, Volume 3, (New York: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1922). p. 656
Personal recollection of Alice Ann (Copeland) Deffler as related to Tad Deffler.
Robert B. Van Atta, "The Early Years of Pro Football in Southwest Pennsylvania ", The Coffin Corner, annual, vol. 3 (1981).
Line Generation: 5
Relationship: Great-Grandmother