What's Going On?

Hello, one and all. I hope everyone is enjoying Spring. It's a nice one here in Minnesota. The temperatures have been in the 70's, the Mighty Mississippi River high waters are going down and it's Spring Break for many.

When looking at the Dates To Remember for March, I noticed I forgot to do posts for a few people. My bad. I'll correct that error at this time. Other birthdays in March are as follows. Mildrew Lowry (daughter of Jesse and Mary Lowry)was born in 1888, but the exact date is unknown at this time. Nashrum Cooley (son of Lacy Cooley)was born in 1869 but his exact date unknown. On March 8th, Matthew H.(great-great grandson of Edward Johnson) was born in 1973. In 2000, De Bry Tae Kenneth (great-great-great-great grandson of Lacy Cooley) was born on the 24th, and Unruly Cooley's grandmother Josephine Robnett Colbert was born on the 26th in 1893!

There are so many branches of the tree with so many stories. The biggest surprise for me was learning about McKinley Cooley at Selma University. It's safe to say he is one of the first Cooleys to attend college. As cousin Kevin shared with me in a message, "You have rendered me speechless!" Learning Cousin "Mack" went to a historically Black college, in the early part of the last century, left ME speechless. It fills me with a great sense of pride and respect for family history. I feel like throwing my fist in the air and saying, "Right on, McKinley Cooley!" I'm still checking into McKinley's story and I'll do a follow up posting about him later.

McKinley Cooley

There are many branches to this Cooley Family Tree. Today is the birthday of McKinley "Mack" Cooley. The question is; who is this Cooley and where does he fit into the family? He is the son of Seward Cooley, who is the son of Lacy Cooley. That's the man that started it all. Seward is one of the older brothers of George Cooley, who is the father of Edward Cooley, who is the father of Veltirea Cooley, who is the mother of Vicki, who is my mother. WHEW!!! Trying to explain the lineage can be a bit much to write. Let's get back on track with the man of the day. McKinley is the first Cooley to attend college. The 1920 Census for Valley Creek, Alabama list "Mack" as a pupil at Selma University. I checked online for more information about Selma University. What I've learned I'll share with you.

Selma University was founded in 1878, by the Reverends William H. McAlpine, James A. Foster and R. Murrell. The purpose was for preparation of better leaders for the churches as preachers and in classrooms as teachers.

In 1881, the school was incorporated by an act of the legislature under the name of Alabama Baptist Normal and Theological School of Selma. On May 14, 1908, the name was officially changed to Selma University. One of the oldest historically black colleges in America, Selma University is today a primarily Christian Bible college, but it also offers degree programs in Business Administration as well as Biology. Masters degrees are offered in two Theology fields.

I know McKinley Cooley attended this institution. What I don't know is, what path he took once he left college? I will continue my search for more information about him. On this day we honor McKinley "Mack" Cooley, born one hundred and thirteen years ago.