Robert, the son of Samuel and Mary Coppin,
was born on March 18, 1820 in
Castle
Hedingham, Essex, England. He died in Pleasant
Grove, California on May 1, 1897. Robert's father, Samuel, was a farmer in the
Hedingham sub-district, Halstead district, Essex County, England. The cause of Samuel's
death was listed as "Serious Apoplexy, Coma, Certified". The cause of his mother
Mary's death was listed as "Enlarged liver several years, dropsy, certified".
Catherine, the daughter of James and
Catherine Miller, was born on January 18, 1821 in Onger, Essex, England. She died in
Elk Grove, California on January 29, 1905. Her father, James Miller, was a Yeoman
and a farmer. The Millers were friends of the notorious "Tolpuddle
Martyrs" who were Dorset farm laborers accused of forming a trade union.
After
conviction, The Martyrs were sent to the hulks (old woodenwall battleships used as prisons), were
condemned and sent to Australia for life. There was such a public outcry, that they were
given a Royal Pardon and returned to England. The Millers, along with
some of the Martyrs, then emigrated to Canada. James
and Catherine Miller lived near New Market, a hamlet near London, Ontario, Canada. They
are buried in the Mt. Albert Cemetery in York, Ontario, Canada.
Robert and Catherine were married near Toronto, Canada, presumably near
the middle 1840's. Their first three children were born in Canada, Samuel in 1846, Mary in
1848, and Eliza in 1850. Sometime after this they traveled by oxen and covered wagon
toward California. They spent some time in Salt Lake City, Utah during the journey. Their
daughter Emma was born there in 1852. After arriving in California, they settled at Clay
Station, southeast of Sacramento, California. Their last two children were born in
Sacramento, Fanny in 1854, and Lucy in 1857.
Robert followed the cabinet makers trade in Canada, but took up farming
and raising chickens at his new California location. He was said to be rather
unsuccessful. They built their first home of handmade clay and adobe bricks there.
They later moved to Sacramento, a small village, where he operated a
second hand furniture store on I Street, then in the suburbs. Late in life, they moved to
son Samuel's ranch near Pleasant Grove, California, where, in 1897, he died a natural
death. Catherine went to live with her youngest daughter, Lucy Brenton, in Elk Grove,
where she passed away in 1905.
Both Robert and Catherine are buried in the
Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Pleasant Grove, California.
Joseph, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth
Mitchell, was born on January 1, 1826 in Camborne, Cornwall, England. He died in Elk
Grove, California on March 4, 1980. Elizabeth's maiden name could be spelled Stevens
or Stephens.
Jane, the daughter of William and Esther
Kistle, was born in Redruth, Cornwall, England on March 9, 1834. She died in Amador
County, California on July 7, 1908. Other possible spellings of Kistle are: Kissell
or Kissel. Esther's maiden name was Williams.
Joseph and Jane crossed the plains in a covered wagon in 1854, coming
from Illinois. Their second child, Elizabeth Eleanor, was born on the Jackson Ranch at the
North Fork of the Yuba River two days before their wagon train reached its destination at
Nevada City.
They established a residence in Red Dog, Nevada County, where Joseph
worked the mines. After breaking his leg in a mishap, he moved his family to the Elk Grove
area, and went into farming.
Joseph and Jane are buried in the
Odd
Fellows Cemetery in Elk Grove, California.
