ABC Biography: Lulu Briles Cope

Lulu Belle (Briles) Cope

1899 – 1987

Early Life

Lulu Belle Briles was born on November 2, 1899, in Coffey County, Kansas, the daughter of Edward G. Briles and Artie Ricketts Briles.¹²³ She spent her earliest years on a farm five miles west of Burlington, Kansas. The 1900 U.S. Census records her in Pleasant Township, Coffey County, as “Lulu B.” in her father’s household, born in November 1899 in Kansas.⁴

By 1905, the Kansas State Census listed her as “Lula Briles,” age 5, still in Pleasant Township.⁵ When Lulu was eight years old, her family moved to Woodson County, Kansas, where she would live for the remainder of her life.

Education and Early Career

Lulu attended rural schools in Woodson County and graduated from Yates Center High School with the class of 1918.⁶ She taught in one-room schools for four years, a common and important profession for young women of her era, providing education to rural communities.

Marriage to Judge A. Cope

On April 18, 1923, Lulu married Judge A. Cope in Yates Center, Allen County, Kansas.¹²⁶⁷ Their marriage license records Judge Cope as a 35-year-old resident of Yates Center and Lulu as a 23-year-old from Vernon, Kansas. The ceremony was performed in Iola by Probate Judge J.H. Smith.

The couple farmed west of Yates Center throughout their married life. Census records from 1930 show them living in North Township, Woodson County, with Lulu recorded as the wife of “Judge Copy,” age 30.⁸

Family and Community Life

Lulu maintained close ties with her family. In 1940, she and Judge attended her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration in Yates Center, an event attended by all four Briles children and their families.⁹ She also visited her sister, Mrs. Ethel Darby, in Emporia in September 1944¹⁰ and attended the funeral of Darrel Smalling in 1945.¹¹

Following Judge Cope’s death on January 14, 1971,¹¹² Lulu continued living on their farm until the fall of 1974, when she moved into Yates Center.

Later Years and Death

Lulu passed away on October 8, 1987, at the Regency Health Care Center in Yates Center at the age of 87 years, 11 months, and 6 days.¹³¹⁴⁶ She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, one sister, and her husband.

She was survived by several nieces and nephews, along with many other relatives and friends. In her obituary, she included a personal note:

“I have enjoyed living on this earth and hope I have spread a little sunshine on the way, which God has created in all its beauty.”⁶

Her funeral was held on October 10, 1987, at the First Christian Church in Yates Center, with Rev. J. Warren Turner officiating. Burial followed in Yates Center Cemetery.¹⁵

Spouse: Judge A. Cope

Judge A. Cope was born on March 6, 1888.¹¹² He worked as a farmer and lived his entire life in Woodson County, Kansas. He died on January 14, 1971, at age 82 and was buried in Yates Center Cemetery, lot 38, section D.¹²

Historical Context

Lulu’s life spanned nearly nine decades, a period of immense change in rural Kansas. Born at the end of the 19th century, she experienced the transition from horse-drawn farming to mechanization, the hardships of the Great Depression, and the societal shifts of two World Wars. As a rural schoolteacher in the early 20th century, she played a vital role in educating children in sparsely populated areas. Her long marriage to Judge Cope reflected the stability of farm life in the Midwest, where family, community, and church formed the social fabric. In later years, she witnessed modern conveniences and technologies transform small-town life, yet she remained rooted in Yates Center until her passing.

Footnotes

1. Briles, Max, Compiler, editor, Briles Genealogy (Crandall, Kansas: Max Briles, aft 1952), p. 23. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
2. Edmund West, comp., “Family Data Collection — Individual Records,” database online, Ancestry.com. ↩ ↩²
3. “Family Data Collections – Births,” Ancestry.com. ↩
4. 1900 U.S. Census, Coffey County, Kansas, Pleasant Township, ED 432, Sheet 7A, household 124. ↩
5. 1905 Kansas Census, Coffey County, Pleasant Township, page 18, family 130. ↩
6. Obituary clipping, Lulu Belle (Briles) Cope. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
7. Kansas, Central Division of Vital Statistics, Marriage License No. 30153 (18 April 1923). ↩
8. 1930 U.S. Census, Woodson County, Kansas, North Township, ED 104-8, Sheet 1A, household 4. ↩
9. Newspaper clipping, “Celebrated 50 Years of Married Life,” saved by Pauline Briles. ↩
10. “About Town,” The Emporia Gazette, 12 September 1944, p. 5. ↩
11. “The Smalling Services,” The Emporia Gazette, 16 March 1945, p. 1. ↩
12. Find a Grave, memorial for Alvin A. “Judge” Cope (#58184313). ↩ ↩² ↩³
13. Social Security Administration, “Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007,” database online, Ancestry.com. ↩
14. Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry.com. ↩
15. Find a Grave, memorial for Lulu Belle Briles Cope (#58184335). ↩