Phil Long

Finally, a published story of the life and family of Rosanna Cooper Wilson, granddaughter of early California nineteenth century settler and legend Capt John Bautista Rogers Cooper. The book includes ancestry charts and documents of Rosanna's father, John Baptist Henry Cooper, forgotten mother Maria Eduviges Soto and sisters Delfina, Guadalupe, and Francisca. Rosanna and her sisters were the best kept secret of their father's probate, leaving all of his wealthy estate to his second wife and their children. The book shows altered church documents, suggesting early planning to keep Rosanna and her sisters from any inheritance of what would become a very wealthy estate. The book wasn't written to discredit cheating family members of one of the most powerful and prominent family's in the Monterey area. Author Jeannine Raymond writes a very inspiring story of a woman and the influences that gave her the ability and confidence in becoming a strong, accomplished woman. Rosanna's accomplishments made a difference in the early development of Fresno, a difference that remains today.