| Life Story |
Roy Cookingham worked as a weaver for TKWM around 1907 to 1908.
Roy Emery Cookingham was born in Primghar, Iowa on 5 October 1887 to John J. and Esther Cookingham. He was the eldest of four children, with two younger brothers, Harry and Gordon and a sister, Leila. The family moved frequently in Roy’s early years, and by the time Harry was born in 1892, they were living in Kalama, Washington. By 1900, the Cookingham family had moved to Brownsville, Oregon, where John worked as a painter.
Around 1907, at the age of 20, Roy appears in the Salem city directory as an employee of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. No address is listed for him, and no other family members are recorded in Salem at the time. His tenure at the mill seems brief, and by 1910, Roy had left the family home. The rest of the family was living in Mohawk, Lane County, Oregon, but Roy is notably absent from the 1910 Federal Census, leaving a gap in his public record.
Roy remerges in 1914, living in Portland and working at the Portland Woolen Mills. His WW1 draft registration from that year reveals a significant detail: Roy was financially responsible for his mother and younger sister, suggesting that his parents had separated. This responsibility would shape much of Roy’s adult life.
In 1919, Roy’s father passed away in Portland. His obituary listed all the children as Portland residents, but made no mention of Esther, Roy’s mother. By 1920, Roy was still working as a weaver, and in 192, he briefly shifted industries, taking a job at the G.M. Standifer Construction Corporation in Vancouver, Washington, a shipbuilding company that closed later that year. Roy then returned to the woolen mill trade, a profession he would remain in for decades.
The 1930 census shows Roy still employed at Portland Woolen Mills and living with his aging mother, Esther, now 68. Also in the household were the three children of his sister Leila Moore. Leila, who had married at 20, was now 29 and living separately with her husband in Portland. The couple eventually divorced in 1942. Roy’s brother Harry had died in 1936.
Throughout the 1940s, Roy continued working as a weaver. By 1950, at age 64, he was still employed part-time and living with Esther and his now remarried Sister. Esther passed away in Portland on 24 Oct 1957, at the remarkable age of 97. Roy himself died on 20 June 1962, at age 74. He never married and had no children. His brother Gordon died in 1966, and sister Leila passed away in 1982. |
| Census Records |
1900 Roy Cookingham. Age 12. Born Aug 1887 in Iowa. Residence Amelia St, North Brownsville, OR. Single, son of HOH. Father born in NY, NY. Mother born in Iowa. Student. Household members: John J. Cookingham, age 49, HOH, painter; Esther Cookingham, age 40, wife; Roy Cookingham, age 12, son; Harry Cookingham, age 8, son; Gordon Cookingham, age 3, son; Leila Cookingham, age 2 mos. daughter.
1910 Unable to locate
John W Cookingham (Father). Age 59. Born about 1851 in New York. Married, HOH. Married 26 years. Rents home in Mohawk, Lane Co, OR. Father and Mother born in New York. Painter. Household members: John W. Cookingham, age 59, HOH; Esther A. Cookingham, age 49, wife; Harry J. Cookingham, age 19, son; Gordon L. Cookingham, age 13, son; Leila M. Cookingham, age 10, daughter.
1920 Roy E. Cookingham. Age 32. Born about 1888 in Iowa. Single lodger on Chenago St, Portland, OR. Father born in New York. Mother born in Kansas. Weaver, woolen mill. Household members: Clayton J. Winn, age 34, HOH; Lois C. Winn,, age 26, wife. Eight lodgers including Roy Cookingham. Four others worked in a woolen mill.
1930 Roy E. Cookingham. Age 42. Born about 1888 in Iowa. Single, HOH. Rents home at 616 Syracuse St, Portland, OR. Father born in New York. Mother born in Iowa. Weaver, woolen mill. Household members: Roy E. Cookingham, age 42, HOH; Esther Cookingham, age 68, mother; Delberta Moore, age 6, niece; Dale Moore, age 2, nephew (sister Liela’s children).
1940 Roy Cookingham. Age 52. Born about 1888 in Iowa. Single, HOH. Rents home at 7335 N Princeton St, Portland, OR. Weaver. 7th grade education. Household members: Roy Cookingham, age 52, HOH; Esther Cookingham, age 77, mother.
1950 Roy E. Cookingham. Age 64. Born about 1886 in US. Single, never married, brother-in-law of HOH. Residence 6624 N Atlantic, Portland, OR. Weaver working 26 weeks. World War 1 or 2 vet – no. Household members: William T. Baskill, age 68, HOH, barber; Leila M Baskill, age 49, wife; Esther Cookingham, age 88, mother-in-law; Roy E. Cookingham, age 64, brother-in-law. |
| City Directories |
1905 Roy Cookingham, laborer, Brownsville, OR
1907/08 Roy Cookingham, weaver TKWM. No residence stated. Salem, OR
1921 Roy E Cookingham, Leader GMSC Corp, r411½ Main. G.M. Standifer Construction Corporation (Ship builder) Vancouver, WA
1925 Roy Cookingham, weaver, r 503 Alta. Portland, OR
1937 Roy Cookingham, textilewkr, h 8928 N Jersey apt 5. Portland, OR
Esther (wid John W) r 2928 N Jersey apt 5. Portland, OR
1938 Roy E Cookingham, finisher, PWM, r7411 N Princeton. Portland, OR
1955 Roy Cookingham, weaver, Portland Woolen Mills, r 6624 Greeley Portland, OR
1960 Roy E Cookingham, no occ, r 6624 N Greeley Ave. Portland, OR |
| Newspapers |
Oregonian, 11 Jun 1919 p. 17 – John W. Cookingham (father) obituary. Died 10 June in Portland at age 68. Father of Roy Emery, Harry J, Gordon L and Leila C Cookingham, all of this city. No mention of wife.
Oregonian, 1 Jun 1925 p. 11 – Thornton Toole, Roy Cookingham and Walter Bugby were arrested early yesterday at Philadelphia and Jersey Streets charged with violating the prohibition law.
Oregonian, 26 May 1934 p. 6 – Roy Cookingham found his brother Gordon Cookingham, 37 of 9308 N Ivanhoe St, in his basement with a skull fracture. Gordon had been drinking the night before and could have fallen or was robbed and pushed down the stairs to the basement. He has a good chance of survival.
Oregonian 28 May 1936 p. 17 – Harry J Cookingham obit. Of 7003 SE Mall St. Wife Lina Cookingham, father of Mrs. Kamie Belfils or Portland, Mrs. Ruby Wettland of Walla Walla, WA; son of Mrs. Esther Cookingham, brother of Roy and Gordon Cookingham, sister Mrs. Leila Moore of Portland. Interment Lincoln Memorial Park.
Oregon Daily Journal 20 Jul 1941 p. 36 – Miss Delberta Esther Moore, daughter of Leila M Moore, married Glen E Brown on 29 Jun 1941. Her uncle Roy E Cookingham gave her away.
Oregonian 23 Jun 1962 p.21 – Roy E Cookingham died 20 Jun 1962. Services 23 Jun, 11 Am at the Litle Chapel of the Chimes, 430 N Killingsworth. Interment Lincoln Memorial Park. |
| Public Records (All found in Ancestry.com) |
1887 Iowa Birth Record. Ray (sp) E. Cookingham born 5 Oct 1887 in Primghar, Iowa. Father John W. Cookingham. Mother Esther Knapp Cookingham.
1914 WW1 Draft Card. Roy Emory Cookingham, age 30, born 5 Aug 1887 in Iowa. Weaver, Portland Woolen Mills. Single. Claims exemption due to partially supporting his mother and sister.
1941 WW2 Draft Card. Roy Emory Cookingham, age 54, born 5 Aug 1887 in Primghar, Iowa. Residence 7406 N Ivanhoe (crossed out), 6624 Greenley Ave, Portland, OR. NOK Mrs. Esther Cookingham 7406 N Ivanhoe, Portland, OR. Occupation Portland Woolen Mills, N Crawford, Portland, OR. 5’5”, 178 lbs. blue eyes, brown hair.
1962 Oregon Death Certificate. Roy Emory Cookingham died in Portland, OR on 20 Jun 1962 at age 74 of congestive heart failure. SSN 542-03-0804. Lived in Portland since 1917. Retired weaver. Born 5 Aug 1887 in Iowa. Never married. Father John W Cookingham. Mother Esther Knapp. Informant Leila Boskill (sister). |
