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         REV. MARSHALL MYRICK COOPER, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Morning Sun, Iowa, was born in Kane, Greene Co., Ill., July 15, 1838. When two years old, his father died, but just before his death he gave his little son to Jonathan E. Cooper, of Jerseyville, Ill., who took him, and by an act of the Legislature of that State the young lad became his adopted son and legal heir. He was the eldest child of Capt. William Myrick, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, and the grandson of Judge William Myrick, of Vermont, both of whom died in Greene County, Ill. He was reared upon a farm two and a half miles from Jerseyville, Ill., where he remained with his adopted parents until he was of age. His early advantages for an education were somewhat limited, but having a natural thirst for knowledge, he improved every opportunity to the very best advantage. At the age of fourteen years he was converted at a revival held in Jerseyville, Ill., in January, 1853, and at the age of sixteen felt called of God to the work of the Gospel ministry. From that date he had no desire or ambition to follow any other pursuit, and at the age of twenty-two he was licensed to preach. For seven years after finishing his education he devoted himself to the united labors of teaching and preaching, until 1872, when he gave himself entirely to the work to be accomplished for his Master. He bent all his energies to that work, memorizing a large portion of the New Testament while plowing on his father’s farm. This study has been of infinite value to him in his ministerial work. As his mother often said, he was born a preacher, and to obtain the necessary education to fit him for his calling he endured many sacrifices and labored with indefatigable perseverance.

In the winter of 1858 Mr. Cooper’s father gave him his choice of schools. Either he might attend the district school, half a mile away, or the Young Men’s Academy at Jerseyville, Ill., two and a half miles distant. The offer was hardly made before he decided to attend the latter school, being willing to walk two and a half miles in order to secure the better advantages at the academy. The following September, being of age, Mr. Cooper bade good-by forever to the farm, and entered upon the preparation of his life work. He entered Shurtleff college, one of the oldest and most popular institutions in the West. On leaving home he had but a limited wardrobe and $18 in money, but he trusted that He who had called him to his work would provide more when this failed. It was but a few hours after his arrival at the college until had ten cords of wood engaged to saw and split, which provided for his board for ten weeks. When other students were asleep, young Cooper was generally up between 4 and 5 o’clock in the morning, sawing wood until breakfast, and in this manner during the first year he sawed about fifty cords, besides doing a great deal of other work. This life was not a dreaded hardship to him, as he was physically very strong, and very familiar with hardships. He went to college with the avowed determination to obtain an education or die in the attempt. The President of the college, with the faculty, saw the determination of the young student to secure an education, and they obtained for him the second year a most desirable place to work for his board, in the home of Rev. William B. Smith, D. D., pastor of the Baptist church of that city. There he remained three years, having constantly before him the example of a most godly man, and mingling in the most refined society, yet performing enough physical labor to preserve his original health and strength. His college life, with all its hardships and scathing mortifications, was the happiest time of his life. His motto was, “When there is an earnest will for right, God is sure to make a clear way.”

In 1862 Mr. Cooper was united in marriage with Miss Virginia E. Watkins, daughter of William D. and Eliza Watkins, who were natives of Virginia, and came to Illinois about 1842. They have a family of five children: Nellie May, who became . . .

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. . . the wife of Joseph B. Templeton, of Bloomington, Ill, in August, 1882; Mamie Elizabeth, who was united in marriage, Jan. 29, 1888, with Plummer K. Wade; William Carl, Charles Myrick and Hattie Susan, yet at home.