I'm looking for Minnie Lilly and have very little to go on. She was born about 1874 in Illinois and married a Brooks. One son from that marriage, Raymond H Brooks, born abt 1890. Her second marriage was to an older man, James Patrick Copeland, formerly of Franklin Co IL and born in TN, who was a newspaper reporter. They had one child, John W, abt 1912. James died and Minnie Lilly became a florist. In 1920, she had one helper plus her son. By 1930, her business had grown to include a greenhouse with 4 helpers. Her son John had become educated, married, worked as a civil engineer for the government, and had a daughter Minnie Lou. I'm impressed by Minnie Lilly's determination and would like to find out more about her, but I do not have a maiden name to work with.
Nancy Jones