On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894
Who is Mr. and Mrs. Cooley from On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 and what is their importance?
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Mr. and Mrs. Cooley are the traveling companions of the Wilder family on the journey described in the book. Mr. and Mrs. Cooley are entirely dependable and appear to be very typical for the time and place described. They are apparently wealthier than the Wilders, because they have two wagons and teams, and the wagons are apparently purpose-built instead of extemporized. They also have a dog and during the trip make or attempt to make several purchases which the Wilders eschew. In Mansfield, the Cooley family settles near the Wilder family until permanent residences can be arranged. Mr. Cooley quickly apprentices his boys to the local hotel and then locates good farmland. Aside from incidental data, little biographical material is presented for either Mr. or Mrs. Cooley.