The majority of the Koopman Papers focus upon the activities of the Modern Woodmen of America, particularly Camp 7660 (Falmouth, Michigan), and include correspondence, by-laws, membership certificates, catalogs, and financial records. The minutes of Camp 10399 of Butterfield are also included. Some Koopman family correspondence and miscellaneous materials complete the collection.
Biography:
The son of John Koopman, Henry J. Koopman was born in Holland in 1865. He immigrated with his family to the United States in 1870, where, after settling in Missaukee County, Michigan, in 1879, his father engaged in mercantile activities and became prominent in local politics. Henry Koopman was a farmer and lumber manufacturer. He married Miss E. F. Uridge and raised three sons and four daughters. In 1907, he became clerk of Camp 7660 of the Modern Woodmen of America, a fraternal beneficiary society incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois. (This information is from the collection.)
According to Michigan Place Names, Henry J. Koopman built a store in Falmouth, Michigan, in 1879, and bought the village plat and its saw, shingle, and grist mill in 1881. Also, a Henry J. Coopman (probably really spelled Koopman and possibly Henry’s father) became the first postmaster of Butterfield, Michigan, in 1895.
