Dr. J. O. Cooper, engaged In the practice of medicine in Jefferson City, was born March 19, 1884, at Cooper Hill, Osage county, Missouri, the place of his birth having been named in honor of the family of which he is a representative. His parents, Thomas McCuin and Martha Jane (Cox) Cooper, were also natives of Missouri, the former born in Gasconade county and the latter near Cooper Hill in Osage county. Thomas M. Cooper was a farmer throughout his active life and was also prominent in public affairs. He served as notary public for thirty years and was deputy sheriff in Gasconade county and also collector in that county. He filled the office of postmaster at Useful, Missouri, and during the Civil war enlisted from Gasconade county on the Union side. becoming first sergeant of Company I, Ninth Missouri Regiment. He was captured by Price at Mount Sterling, Missouri, and afterward taken to Jefferson City, where be was released. His life was indeed a busy, active and useful one and he passed away June 27, 1918.
Dr. Cooper, having completed a high school course in Osage county, became a student in the Barnes University of St. Louis, where he pursued his medical study, winning his professional degree upon graduation with the class of 1907. He at once entered upon general practice in Osage county and a little later removed to Franklin county, while subsequently he cpened an office in the city of St. Louis. He practiced during the greater part of the time in Osage county, however, up to the year 1917, when America entered the World war and he rook up duty as a member of the exemption board. On the 20th of September, 1919, he opened an office in Jefferson City, where he has since engaged in general practice and has won a substantial measure of success.
Dr. Cooper belongs to the Masonic lodge and to the Modern Woodmen of America, while his political endorsement is given to the democratic party. He is fond of all outdoor sports and is particularly a devotee of the national game of baseball. His connections professionally are with the County Cole Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical and the Southern Medical Associations and through the proceedings of these bodies he keeps in close touch with the trend of modern scientific thought and investigation along the lines of medicine and surgery.