In support of Flag Day 1956, our chapter placed a plaque on the grave of Pharaba Jane Vaughan Cooper who is buried at the Manatee Village Burying Grounds. Pharaba is the daughter the Revolutionary soldier John Daniel Vaughan.
Pharaba lived until she was 87, passing away in 1899; both she and her husband are buried in the Manatee Village Burying Grounds. The Burying Grounds is the oldest established cemetery in Manatee County. Used by the residents of the Village of Manatee, it was established in 1850 for the pioneer settlers of what became the City of Bradenton.
Pharaba Jane Vaughan Cooper was born on Sept. 27, 1812, on Amelia Island to John Daniel Vaughan and Rhoda Effingham. She married James C. Cooper when she was 16 and moved to Manatee County after 1866. Pharaba was known to entertain and host numerous parties and was described as a “charming hostess who made her home a delight for family guests.” She was described as being of medium height and very erect of stature. She always dressed neatly in black with an attractive neck arrangement — usually a piece of lace pinned with a lovely cameo pin.
John Daniel Vaughan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, March 13, 1763. He entered military service at age 14, although he gave his age as sixteen in order to secure enlistment under existing army regulations. He enlisted in January 1777, as a private in Captain Wiley’s company, Colonel Michael Jackson’s regiment and was honorably discharged in 1783. Following the Revolution, he rendered service in the Indian Wars in Captain Pierce’s regiment commanded by Colonel Hamar in the year 1785 and was honorably discharged in 1786. In 1797, Lt. Vaughan received from the Spanish Government a grant of 250 acres of land on Amelia Island. He also received one hundred acres bounty land for services in the Revolution and a grant for service in the Indian War. John died April 16, 1860, and is buried on Amelia Island, FL. John D. Vaughan’s monument lies in a wooded family plot on the south end of Amelia Island. The chapter placed a plaque on the monument.