Page 14 - North Haven Magazine Issue 12 Winter 2020

T Thehe C Cooperooper er available, to be as accurate in her depictions as possible. She then hand
The Cooper
stitches every costume and adds tiny accessories to complete their looks. Ma-
bel crafts many dolls, her research going back to medieval times. I’ve included
below some of her more recent ancestors, and her notes about each one.
Doll Collection

– A Unique Family Tree
by Susan A. Iverson Abigail Goodyear Cooper, 1745
ears ago, the North Haven Historical Society was “Abigail was a great granddaughter of Stephen Goodyear – dep-
Ygifted a collection of “fashion” dolls dressed in uty governor of the New Haven Colony for fourteen years. Ste-
clothes from many different historical eras. These phen married the Widow Lamberton after the first Mrs. Good-
dolls depicted the ancestors of Mabel Cooper Paige, year went down with the Captain Lamberton and many of New
or Nana Paige, as her notes are labeled. Mabel tells Haven’s best, on the “Great Shippe”.
the stories of her family through their clothing, but
also through the notes she made while crafting each
costume. Mabel’s words are a humorous, whimsical
commentary on each ancestor’s place in history, but
also gives us a glimpse into her own thoughts on the Abigail Goodyear Cooper was married to Justus Cooper Senior of Ridge Road.
times she lived in. Mabel begins by explaining the She and her husband lived in the little red homestead (no longer standing)
purpose of her collection: “This is not a doll collec- on the west side of the street. Mabel’s historical reference above shows us her
tion, although I did start one some years ago. Instead, pride in her ancestry, being descended from some of the early leaders of New
… I discovered that I wasn’t interested in dolls, any- Haven.
way, but in what they wore…” She goes on to say that
early men weren’t interested in fashion – they just Julia Gorham Cooper at 11 years
wanted to stay warm. But women were the ones who of age, 1812
used clothing “to set off their beauty and make them-
selves more desirable”. “John Howland, the large young man who fell overboard from
the Mayflower, and Elizabeth Tilley, the bookworm, were wed.
She decides to start at the very beginning of human Their daughter Desire married John Gorham and in due course
history -here is what she has to say about Eve, the first of time, here is my own grandmother. I remember her as a
woman, and the evolution of the dolls – homely old lady in dark calico and a blue and white checked
homespun apron of mornings and a white apron after dinner.
Eve, 4004 BC And I remember her delicious pies. When my mother tactfully
hinted that pies were not the most nourishing of food for a four-
year-old, Grandmother assured her that “a good pie never hurt
anybody.”

Julia Gorham was married to Justus Cooper, Junior and lived in the Cooper
House, still located on the east side of Ridge Road. She and Justus had two
sons, Levi and George.

Bessie Coe Cooper, 1865
“Here Bessie is modelling a treasured muslin dress bought in
New York – her father’s last gift to her before his death. Moth-
er’s (Bessie is Mabel’s mother) hoops are very conservative. In
a Godey’s magazine of 1869, the question was asked if hoops
would still be worn and the answer was that such an economi-
cal and healthful fashion would never go out. Besides, the light
work of making them brought five to ten dollars a week to many
women.”
“Even Eve, embarrassed as she was at finding herself covered
with blushes and nothing but, took time out to find the pretti-
est leaf in the Garden, and that was the first apron. How she
kept it on is a $64.00 question.”

“One day when I had taken from my 'Treasure Chest'
my grandmother’s wedding gown, and my mother’s and
my own, the thought came to me that it might be fun
to dress some dolls as we three girls were dressed on our
wedding days.”
And so, the genealogical work begins. She makes pat-
terns, researches period clothing, even sketches how
she believes each person would look in her clothes.
Mabel uses fragments of ancestors’ clothing, whenev-

14 North Haven Magazine - Winter 2020