Guide to the Cooney Family Collection (1890s – 1930s)

The Cooney family of Santa Cruz lived on Ocean Street and were “among one of the early families to build a mountain cottage” in Brookdale (S.C Sentinel 5/24/1944). John G. Cooney and Margaret Cooney, the heads of the family, had several daughters, among them were: Agnes C. Cooney, Mary E. Cooney, Martha Cooney, Emma Cooney, Julie Cooney (Mrs. Frank E. Baker), and Mrs. Daniel A. Ryan of San Francisco. The Cooney sisters were lauded for their contributions in teaching children of Santa Cruz County. The most information available about the Cooney sisters is regarding Agnes Cooney and Martha Cooney. Agnes Cooney was a second grade teacher for the Branciforte school district and during her time there was praised for leading her pupils in songs presented at the Branciforte P.T.A. gatherings (S.C. Sentinel “P.T.A. Notes”10/23/1937 pg.3). Martha Cooney taught at the Bay View School after graduating from Santa Cruz High School and San Jose State, where she prepared to become a teacher. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Martha taught at most of the local schools in Santa Cruz County and was much loved by her pupils. At Bay View School Martha would lead National Music Week where pupils would showcase their musical talents and be granted merit rewards or certificates for their participation (S.C. Sentinel “School Children Presenting Programs…” 5/5/1938 pg.3). Martha Cooney was active in the Catholic community as well, and her and her sisters would often showcase their talents as musicians for the Holy Cross Church. Until she passed away in 1944, Martha Cooney was still actively teaching. In 1944, Martha was taken ill after attending a party for a fellow teacher. The illness required an emergency operation from which Martha did not recover. Her funeral was held at Holy Cross Cemetery and she was survived by five of her sisters (Source: S.C. Sentinel “Martha Cooney of Prominent S.C. Family Dies…” 5/24/1944 pg.8).

SERIES I. PHOTOS (1890s – 1930s)

SUBSERIES I.A. PLACES (1900s – 1930s)
SUBSERIES I.B. PEOPLE (1890s – 1930s)
SUBSERIES I.C. TIN TYPE (1890s – 1900s)

SERIES III.POSTCARDS (1900s)

SERIES III. YALE BINDER SCRAPBOOK (1890s – 1900s)

SERIES I. PHOTOS (1890s – 1930s)

Three (3) Folders

Series Scope and Content Summary: This series consists of three (3) folders of approx. fifteen (15) photos of people, houses and nature. Items in this series include: a 7×9” photo of what is likely the Cooney family home on Ocean St, Santa Cruz, taken by McKean & Ort of Pacific Ave.; a smaller photo of the same home, a photo that may be of Santa Clara University; 1919 photo of a waterfall in Yosemite valley; a tin type of a group of individuals posing in a beach-themed studio scene and much more. These items are placed in 12×8” or 7×3” envelopes being called “folders” for this Series.

This series is divided into the following subseries:

Subseries I.A. Places
Subseries I.B. People
Subseries I.C. Tin Type

 SUBSERIES I.A. PLACES (1900s – 1930s)

One (1) Folder, seven (7) photos

Subseries Scope and Content Summary: This subseries consists of approx. seven (7) black and white photos ranging in size from 3×3” to 7×9” in size. These photos are of various places and houses such as: a 5×3” photo of a waterfall identified as Yosemite Valley taken in June of 1919; 3×5” photo of a woman in a garden identified as the “pond in front of the Tropical Gardens, San Diego Exposition June 1936”; 3×3” photo tentatively identified as Santa Clara University (no date),3×3” photo of an unidentified building; 5×3” photo of an unidentified city street with horse carriages with J.P. Murphy Painter & Decorator storefront clearly visible suggesting the city may be San Francisco; two photos-one small 3×3” and the other 7×9” of the same home, identified as “Ocean St.” which is likely the Cooney Family home. The larger photo was taken by McKean & Ort of 123 ½ Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, CA, and shows a little girl and dog on the porch of the house.

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SUBSERIES I.B. PEOPLE (1890s – 1930s)

One (1) Folder, seven (7) photos

Subseries Scope and Content Summary: This subseries consists of seven (7) photos of people posing or engaged in various activities such as horseback riding and fishing. The black and white photos range in size from 4×5”to 6×8”. The photos include: a very dark 4×5” photo of an unidentified woman on horseback (fair condition-some creases); 3×6” photo of two unidentified women on horseback riding along a path near a fence and meadow (blurry); 4×5” photo identified as the lily pond at the San Diego Exposition in June 1936—shows a woman (unidentified) near the pond and states “M. Schwan took this one” (this photo is in good condition); 4×5” photo identified as a “playing fountain in front of tropical garden June 1936 San Diego fair”—shows an unidentified woman sitting near the fountain (this photo is in good condition); 3 ½”x4” photo of nine (9) unidentified men and women seated in tiers of two on a hillside (fair condition-some spots, yellowing and creases); 5×4” photo of four unidentified boys posing with toy guns and baseball bats with a dog in the yard of a house (fair condition-lots of creases); and a 6×8” photo of eleven men, women and children with fishing rods and the caption on the reverse of “Arthur Ellis-teacher at Santa Cruz High 1899-1901”(blurry, bur otherwise good condition—likely a print or enlarged scan or the original).

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SUBSERIES I.C. TIN TYPE (1890s – 1900s)

One (1) Folder, One (1) Photo

Subseries Scope and Content Summary: This subseries consists of one approx. 3×2” tin type photo of three women and one man posing in a studio. While the individuals are unidentified, they may be Cooney family members and perhaps the Cooney daughters. The man wears a suit and top hat and is posed sitting on a rock amongst driftwood. One woman wearing a hat bedecked with flowers kneels and looks at the man, while two other women pose with their hands on the man’s shoulders behind him. The photo is set against a backdrop that looks like the ocean and a floor that resembles sand.

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SERIES III.POSTCARDS (1900s)

Six (6) cards, One (1) Folder

Series Scope and Content Summary: This series consists of six (6) postcards 3×5” in size. The postcards are of places such as Mission Dolores in San Francisco, CA; a Southern Pacific Train identified as “Big Engine S.P.R.”; unidentified individuals in a boat and an automobile on an unidentified flooded street; a postcard with the caption “boating on San Fernando St. near Vine St. March 7-1911”; postcard of two women horseback riding addressed to Miss J.E. Cooney dated 1907; and a card with French verse with the title St. Tharsicius.

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SERIES III. YALE BINDER SCRAPBOOK (1890s – 1900s)

One (1) Box, One (1) Scrapbook

Series Scope and Content Summary: This series consists of one (1) approx. 9×6” book entitled “The Mysell Rolling Company No. 62 Yale Binder.” Inside the binder are approx. one-hundred pages or more containing photos pasted or glued to pages of paper; some pages are double sided ad feature up to three approx. 3×4”-5×7” photos. About half of the pages are one-sided and feature photos ranging in size from 4×4” to 6×5” in size along with phrases or quotes such as “If ever words as so sweet, what, what is song/When lips we love the melody, prolong!” and poems such as “The sky was blue on the summer sea/The depths were cloudless overhead/The air was calm as it could be;/There was no sight or sound of dread”. The photos are of individuals or groups of individuals posing or engaged in various activities such as horse-back riding. About half the photos toward the front of the book are unidentified, undated or un-captioned. Photos towards the rear of the book have some identification. Some examples of photos with captions include: “ A. Oliver, M. Gillman, A ride out of to San Jose Canyon (?) Canyon ? ‘07”; “Returning from the ‘Laura Ellis Rancho’ better known as the Hotel Del Monte Rancho ’07 C. Chandler”; and “Santa Cruz Cliff Drive”; “Santa Cruz Beach Wharf about 1890” (poor condition); “A Custom house of the Frontier, Mexico”; “On the Sand in Front of the Casino-‘07” and much more. Some identified individuals include: “ Junior Class of 1900–S. Robinson; E. Wiggs; E. Ellis (teacher); H. Clements; Herbert Bias; J. Cooney;” and more. There are some fascinating photos of woman standing next to what appears to be a whale skeleton in this book (some water damage to these photos, otherwise they are in fair condition). This item should be handled with care. The majority of the pages are coming out of the book, and several photos and pages are completely loose from the book.

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