Eight Generations of Cooper Family History

Eight Generations of Cooper Family History

Generation No. 1

1. William Cooper, the last name being spelled variously as "Cowper" or "Couper", is the first verifiable ancestor in our Cooper family line. Born 6th of March, 1625, in the hamlet of Nether on the River Ure, Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England, he married Elizabeth Quiney, (b. 1628, and d. 1698) in 1645. She was the daughter of Richard Quiney, (b. 1602 - d. 1667), and Elinor Sadler, (b. 1606) of Warwickshire, England, in 1645. They had at least two children.

i. William Cooper, b. 1625, d. 1649.

ii. Rachel Cooper, b. abt. 1628.

INTERESTING NOTE: Elizabeth Quiney's uncle, Thomas Quiney, brother to her father, married William Shakespeare's daughter, Judith. John Shakespeare, father of the famous playwright, lived next door to Richard Quiney's family on Henley Street in Stratford on Avon, in England, and the friendship between the two families actually went back to Richard's great-grandfather, Richard Quiney Sr., born about 1500.

SOURCES AND VERIFICATION: Bucks County, Pennsylvania Church Records of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Vol. 2, Quaker Records: Falls and Middletown Monthly Meetings, F. Edward Wright, 1993. Middletown, Richmond, Wrightstown Monthly Meeting, 1680-1870, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, also Quakertown Monthly Meeting, NJ, 1913-1870, page 162. Bucks County, Pennsylvania Deed Records, 1684-1763, page 298, by John David Davis, 1997, by Heritage Books. "Family Name Search - COOPER - Miscellaneous Data From Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from the files of Mildred C. Williams, P. O. Box 776, Newtown, Pennsylvania, states this information is found on page 249 of W. H. Davis's book, "The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, published in 1905. Further verification, page 79, in the Buckman family history of Welcome Claimants - Penn's Colony, Vol. II, published by Genealogical Publishing Company in 1970, written by George E. McCracken. Encyclopedia of World Biography - William Shakespeare. www.william-shakespeare.info, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Quiney.

Generation No. 2

2. William Cooper, (William Cooper, (1),) son of the above William, was baptized on the 16th of August, 1649, in Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England, and died 3rd of February, 1709, in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He married Thomasine Porter about 1672. She was born about 1656, died about 1699 in Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England, and was the daughter of Patrobus Robti Porter and Thomazinae (last name unknown). It is thought Thomasine may have died during the voyage to America, in 1699 on the "Britannia", since no other mention was made of her after their arrival. They had eight known children.

William, and their two oldest children, Elizabeth and Henry, were baptized by Anglican rites. After the baptism of Henry, he became a Quaker and a member of the Masham Monthly Meeting in Yorkshire; some feel through the influence of his wife, Thomasine, who was already a follower of the faith. In the Quaker tradition, they did not have a church, but instead, attended monthly meetings at "Friend's" (as members were called) houses or a general meeting place.

It has been published that either because of the religious persecution and general unacceptance of the Quakers in England at the time, or because he wanted to provide a better life for his children, perhaps both, he made the decision to follow the exodus of pilgrims to a new promised land in America, where William Penn promised freedom of religion in all aspects, temporal and spiritual.

Prior to leaving England, he obtained from the parish clerk of Low Ellington a certificate for the three Anglican baptisms and also a Friends certificate of removal from the Masham Monthly Meeting where he also entered the births of his other children. There are questions as to why the mother of his two oldest children, Elizabeth and Henry, were left blank, while his name is listed as their father. There are theories that perhaps there was another wife prior to Thomasine, but no supporting documentation has been found. There are also questions about a child who was listed as a passenger among his family, Israel Cooper, but is not one of his own. It has been suggested by many that this could be the illegitimate child of his oldest daughter, Elizabeth, who would later marry a much older and wealthy friend of her father's, Henry Huddleston, whose family could be traced back to British royalty. Whether he was illegitimate, or whether Elizabeth was married previously in England with no mention of it in any records, Israel was indeed her son, as baptism and birth records from the Wrightstown Monthly Meeting proves.

William left Liverpool, England, on the 18th of May, 1699, along with his wife, Thomasine, his eight children, Israel Cooper, and approximately 190 other Quakers on the Britannia, a ship chartered on behalf of the Lancaster Quaker Meeting bound for Philadelphia, and commanded by Richard Nicholls. After a short stop in Cork, Ireland, for provisions, the ship would be at sea for fourteen (14) weeks, on a voyage that would normally take eight (8) weeks. It is thought that overcrowding, (the ship's rated capacity was 140 passengers), unfavorable winds, and "dull" sailing characteristics contributed to the sluggish journey. During that time, sickness spread throughout the ship, thought by some at the time to be a type of plague, but now determined to be Typhus, spread by human body lice. When they arrived in Philadelphia on the 24th of August, 1699, they were not allowed to disembark since the city was already under the siege of a Yellow Fever epidemic. They were forced to land across the river in Salem County, New Jersey. It is estimated that fifty (50) people lost their lives during the voyage, and many more succumbed to the illness after disembarkation. It is thought William's wife, Thomasine, was one of those who died during the voyage since no other mention is made of her in the Quaker records, or in William's will of 1709.

The family settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where on September 2, 1699, William asked the Middletown Monthly Meeting to record himself and his eight children in the church birth and death book. The next year, 1700, the Quakers gave permission for the Buckingham Friends to hold a meeting at William Cooper's house, the first gathering of the Buckingham Quakers.

INTERESTING NOTE: From many sources, it has been written that Elizabeth Cooper's husband, Henry Huddleston, has direct blood ties to the royal family in England. Although I can trace the links to the royal family through the Huddleston line to William Huddleston's (1466-1509) marriage to Lady Isabella Neville of Salisbury, who is a direct descendant of the Plantagenet family's Kings of England, John the Gaunt, Chaucer, and to generations before, with William being the five times great-grandfather of Henry, some researchers would still deem the proof of actual bloodlines "probable," "possible," or "unlikely." From what I know with the documentation available, I would consider the family ties to be probable.

Children of William Cooper and Thomasine Porter

i. Elizabeth Cooper, b. 13 Apr. 1673, in Snapt, Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England, died sometime after 1729 in Langhorne, Bucks, County, Pennsylvania. She married (1) Henry Huddleston in 1701, a marriage lasting only five years before his death, leaving her with two small children, William, four years old, and Elizabeth, two years old. She was pregnant at the time of his death, and gave birth to a son she named Henry Huddleston, Jr. Her husband, Henry, Sr., was born about 1660 in England, and died 1706 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They first lived in a home believed to have been built by his father around 1690, William Huddleston, located at 154 West Marshall Avenue in what was then, Four Lanes End, later to become Attleboro and then Langhorne. Around 1704, Henry built another home at 303 Maple Avenue in Langhorne, both homes still standing today. She next married Thomas Davis, born about 1680, and died about 1729, but no other information has been found.

ii. Henry Cooper, born 17 Nov 1674 in Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England, he died 17 May 1709 in Newton, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. From Land Deeds recorded in 1704, Henry's occupation was listed as Blacksmith. Henry married Mary Buckman on 30 November, 1703. She was born 23 November, 1680 in Billinghurst, Sussex, England, and died about 1739 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Mary came to America with her parents, William and Sarah Buckman, aboard the ship "Welcome" with William Penn, arriving at the Delaware River in August of 1682. They lived near William Penn in Sussex, England, and the Buckman family were members of the Society of Friends in England, attending the Shipley meeting. After Henry's death, she married Lancelot Strawn in 1715, ( also spelled Straughan), and was disowned by the Quakers

iii. Jonathan Cooper, (Direct Ancestor) born 11 Jan 1676 in Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England, died 12 Feb 1769 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, married Sarah Hibbs, on 31 May, 1714 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Their marriage intention was presented to the Friends of the Abington Monthly Meeting in Montgomery County. Sarah was born about 1692 in Byberry, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died in 1769 in Byberry, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Sarah's grandfather, William Hibbs, Sr., born 1630 in Dean Forest, Gloucestershire, England, was executed by authorities of King James II of England for his Quaker beliefs on 6 March, 1685/86. More information about Jonathan and Sarah is included in Generation No. 3.

iv. William Cooper, born about 1676 in Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England. Date of death unknown, but his name was on the Certificate presented by his father, William, to the Middletown Monthly Meeting requesting that himself and his children be recorded in the Middletown Birth and Death Records. No other records found.

v. Hannah Cooper, was born 23 June, 1678 in High Ellington, Yorkshire, England according to "England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage and Death Registers, 1578-1837," Public Records Office, RG 6/1447, Entry 681, Page 29. It is unknown why her birth record would say High Ellington, as did Anne's, when all other records state they were from Low Ellington. In her father's Will, she is named as his daughter, Hannah Cooper, so it is possible she never married.

vi. Anne Cooper, born 18 Apr 1681 in High Ellington, Yorkshire, England, died 11 Nov 1760, in Plumstead, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, married Lawrence Pearson on 6 June, 1705 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, after announcing their intention to marry at the Falls Monthly Meeting. Lawrence was born 2 September 1677 in Pownall Green, Cheshire, England, and died 17 March, 1756 in Plumstead, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He came to America with his father, Edward Pearson in 1683 and settled in Bucks County at that time. He has the title of Admiral on the U. S. and International Marriage Record, 1560-1900, but no records of his service have been found.

vii. Abraham Cooper, wasborn 24 Aug 1684 in Richmond Parish, Yorkshire, England, and died Apr 1736 in Warminster, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Abraham was a twin to Sarah Cooper, and the wording in his Will suggests that both may have been mentally impaired. Their father, William, willed to his son, Joseph, the Plantation, all buildings and improvements, with 200 acres of land provided he take care of Abraham, and no money should be paid to Abraham until two years after the father's death. He instructed Joseph that he should provide Abraham with "meat, drink and clothing", and after two years he was to pay Abraham four pounds a year in current money. He instructed that if Joseph wasn't able to care for Abraham, that the Executors should decided the best place to place him.

viii. Sarah Cooper, was born 24 Aug 1684 in Richmond Parish, Yorkshire, England, and died presumably in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, date of death unknown. She was a twin to Abraham Cooper and may have been at least mentally challenged. In her father's Will, he names her as Sarah Bond, so she must have married at some point. From the Minute Book of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions Courts of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1684-1730, an entry says that on the 18th Day of the 5th Month, 1703, Sarah Cooper, daughter of William Cooper, was presented for "committing fornication and bearing bastard child, and we also present Auger, a Negro Slave belonging to Robert Heaton for committing fornication with the said Sarah Cooper." Auger pleaded guilty, and it was indecipherable what pleading Sarah gave, but the Grand Jury found her guilty and said she could pay a fine as the law directed, but she replied that she could not. They were both sentenced to twenty-one lashes on their bare backs, "well laid on". It was likely to be considered a consensual relationship, otherwise, Auger would have been hung. None of her family offered to pay her fine, so they probably allowed her to be publicly whipped and humiliated to save face in the family. There was a Robert Heaton living near the Cooper family in the Middletown Township in Bucks County and is presumed to be the same owner of the slave as noted above. It is not known what happened to the child.

ix. Joseph Cooper, was born 5 Mar 1687 in Richmond Parish, Yorkshire, England, died 14 Sep 1712 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. No other information found.

Sources and Verification: Page 79 in the Buckman Family History of "Welcome Claimants - Penn's Colony, Vol. II" published by Genealogical Publishing Company in 1970, written by George E. McCracken. "Family Name Search" - COOPER - Miscellaneous Data from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from the files of Mildred C. Williams, P. O. Box 776, Newtown, Pennsylvania. American Compendium of Genealogy, "Bucks County, Pennsylvania Pioneers of the Eighteenth Century," Book 1, by Richard T and Mildred Williams, Will-Britt Books, P. O. Box 776, Newtown, PA., 18940. Penn's Colony, Vol. II, "Buckman Family, Bucks County, PA. Church Records of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Volume 2, Quaker Records. Falls and Middletown Monthly Meetings, F. Edward Wright, 1993. Quaker Heritage of Elias Samuel Cooper by John Long Wilson. Reconstructed Passenger List of the Britannia, compiled by Don Hayworth; Revised November, 2012. Wills: Abstracts, Book B: 1699 - 1705: Philadelphia Co., PA. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, volume XXXVII in 1913, page 330. The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Chapter XI, Middletown, Page 1692, History of Bucks County, PA., volume 3 by William H. Davis. Names and Page # Index, Quaker Arrivals at Philadelphia, 1682 - 1750; by Albert Cook Myers; published in Philadelphia, 1902. Minutes from the Wrightstown Monthly Meeting Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Fallsington Friends Cemetery, Fallsington, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. United States and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500's - 1900's, Immigration Ancestors: A list of 2,500 Immigrants to America before 1750, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1964, 75p, Reprinted 1986, Page 23, "Early Friends Families of Upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania, by C. V. Roberts (1925) pp 532-533; England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage and Death Registers, 1578-1837, Public Records Office, RG 6/1447, Entry 681, Page 29; Minute Book of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions Courts of Bucks County, PA., 16-84-1730.

Generation No. 3

3. Jonathan Cooper, (William Cooper (1), William Cooper (2), third child of William Cooper and Thomasine Porter, was born 11th January, 1676, in Lower Ellington, Yorkshire, England, and died 12th February, 1769, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He married Sarah Hibbs, born on 17th of March, 1713, and died the 2nd of December, 1769. She was the daughter of William Hibbs, Jr., 1665-1708, and Hannah Howell, 1667-1737. They had six children.

Jonathan Cooper was twenty-three years old when he arrived in America with his family on the ill-fated ship nicknamed "The Sick Ship", The Britannia.

He is mentioned in several of the Wrightstown Monthly Meetings as being called before the members to answer one infraction or the other. In at least one, dated the seventh day of the 6th month, (year indecipherable), he was accused of having an "unruly" temper and using some "bad and unbecoming" language. In another, dated the 7th day of the 10th month, 1749, he apologizes to the Friends, and evidently to another individual for some transgression, (cannot decipher the copy of the original cursive handwriting), for his conduct to be "evil" and "not agreeable to the good order amongst friends." He goes on to say that he hopes to be more agreeable to (?) and desires to be in unity with the church.

Jonathan wasn't the only one to cause problems within the membership. In the Wrightstown Monthly Meeting Minutes of the 6th day of the 1st month, 1749/50, it states: "One of the overseers reported that Jacob Cooper hath misconducted himself in his marriage and he being here requested further time in order to give the meeting satisfaction." On February 3, 1750, Jacob brought a paper that was read, considered, and accepted, and was under the care of friends as his future life and conversation corresponds with the truth which is ordered to be read at the close of the first day meeting. In the same minutes, Hannah Cooper took the blame for cooking a deer which Joseph Tomlinson had killed. Evidently the deer had been killed unnecessarily.

INTERESTING NOTE: The brother of Sarah Hibbs, William Hibbs, (1700-1789) is the Great-Grandfather of the famed author and playwright, James Fenimore Cooper, who wrote many books and plays, including the classic, "Last of the Mohicans." James Fenimore Cooper would be my 3rd cousin 4 times removed.

Cooperstown, New York, was named for Judge William Cooper, who was James Fenimore Cooper's father. Judge William Cooper was the son of James Cooper, (who descended from a different family line,) and Hannah Hibbs, the daughter of William Hibbs and the niece of Sarah Hibbs, wife of Jonathan Cooper as referenced above. In addition to being a judge, he was a merchant, land speculator, developer and a politician, serving two times in the United States Congress, representing Otsego County and central New York.

The Village where Cooperstown would eventually sit was part of the Cooper Patent, which Judge William Cooper purchased in 1785 from Col. George Croghan. The land amounted to 10,000 acres and was established in 1786 in what was then, Montgomery County, later to become Otsego County. It was incorporated as "The Village of Otsego" on April 3, 1807. The name was changed to Cooperstown in 1812. It is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, The Farmers Museum, The Fenimore Art Museum, Glimmerglass Opera, and the New York State Historical Association.

Children of Jonathan Cooper and Sarah Hibbs

i. Jeremiah Cooper, born 30 November 1716 in Middletown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died in February, 1749, married Rebecca Wildman on 4 June, 1740 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She was born in 1715 in Middletown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

ii. Hannah Cooper, born 29 March, 1719 in Middletown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died 26 May 1792 in Solesbury, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She is buried in the Wrightstown Friends Meeting Cemetery in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She married John Balderston, II, on 21 October, 1737. He was born in 1702 in Norwich, England, and died in July, 1778, Solesbury, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. John came to America about 1727, probably as a "Redemptioner", meaning he most likely paid his passage by promising his professional services for a certain period of time, usually four years, and many times to the Captain of the ship. In John's case, he learned the trade of a worsted weaver in England, a trade he continued to practice once his debt had been paid. He could not marry Hannah unless he, too, became a Quaker, which was not a problem for him since his family had been members of a dissenting faith, the Congregationalists, for several generations. He convinced the Elders of the Gwynedd Meeting in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, of his sincerity and they were allowed to marry, eventually having eleven children.

iii. Jonathan Cooper, born 1 September, 1721 in Byberry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died on 6 May, 1797 in Upper Makefield, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Many family files on Ancestry claim he was married to Sarah Stockdale, but the only record I have found is from the Family Data Collection, compiled by Edmund West in Provo, Utah, stating that he did marry Sarah Stockdale in 1738.

iv. Phebe Cooper, was born 29 January, 1724 in Byberry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and died in April, 1820. No other information found.

v. Jacob Cooper is a difficult one. The records between he and his brother, William, who has the middle name of "Jacob" in most family histories, have been intermixed to the point it is extremely difficult to tell whether they are two separate people, or should be combined as one. According to the original handwritten entry in the U. S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1994, Page 7, Call No. MR Ph47, for the Buckingham Monthly Meeting, the Minutes reflect Jacob Cooper's birth was "the 29th day of the 3rd month 1727." By the Gregorian calendar that was used at the time, that would be 29 May 1727. The Julian calendar would have the month as we know it in March. Whatever the case, this Jacob's parents were said to be Jonathan Cooper and Sarah Hibbs. This should be a reliable record. A Sons of the American Revolution application (SAR) has his name as Jacob, born in 1727 and dying in 1767. SAR Membership 45460.

vi. William "Jacob" Cooper (Direct Ancestor) was born 1 March, 1730 - and died sometime after 23 June, 1775 when he signed his Will in Charleston, South Carolina. (Recorded in Book 1776-1780). I have enclosed his middle name with asterisks because there are questions whether Jacob was actually his middle name, or whether this was another case of information being intermingled with his brother, Jacob. It was not unusual back in the day for names to be used more than once among brothers and sisters, which also makes it very confusing. This William's birth is recorded on Page 6 of the U. S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1994, Wrightstown Monthly Meeting, Call No. MR ph675. Since these are original handwritten entries and specifically say "born" and not baptized, I am satisfied that this is a separate person that the Jacob above. What clouds the picture is why the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution accepted the documents of this William's brother, Jacob, listed above, SAR Membership 45460, when those documents say Jacob, William's brother, was married to Lydia Clark, which was clearly in error. Lydia was born about 1732 in Southington, Connecticut, and died in 1810, Union County, South Carolina. They were married about 1749. More about them in the next generation.

Sources and Verification: Page 79 in the Buckman Family History of "Welcome Claimants - Penn's Colony, Vol. 11" published by Genealogical Publishing Company in 1970, written by George E. McCracken. Family Name Search - COOPER - Miscellaneous Data from Bucks County, Pennsylvania," from the files of Mildred C. Williams, P. O. Box 776, Newtown, Pennsylvania; Middletown Monthly Meeting Minutes, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Friends University, Wichita, Kansas; Ancestry, Family Data Collections, Page 61 of Union County Heritage - South Carolina, published by the Union County Heritage Committee in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Wikipedia - Cooperstown, New York; U. S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1994, Buckingham Monthly Meeting, Page 7, Call No. MR Ph47; U. S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1994, Wrightstown Monthly Meeting, Page 6, Call No. MR Ph675; Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, Membership No. 45460; Family Data Collections, Compiled by Edmund West, Provo, Utah.

Generation No. 4

4. William Jacob Cooper, (William Cooper (1), William Cooper, (2), Jonathan Cooper, (3)) sixth child of Jonathan Cooper and Sarah Hibbs, was born 1st March, 1730, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died sometime after the 23rd of June, 1775 in Union County, South Carolina. He married Lydia Clark sometime around 1749. She was born 1732 in Southington, Connecticut, and died 1810 in Union County, South Carolina. She was the daughter of Abraham Clark and Martha Tyler. They had eleven children.

William Jacob Cooper was a wheelwright by trade. It is uncertain exactly when William Sr. and Lydia made the move from Pennsylvania to South Carolina, but there is a 200 acre land grant record on file in South Carolina in 1771, which may have precipitated the move, and William's Will of 1775 is on file there as well. The tract of land was near Padgett's Creek, a branch of the Tyger River, near Black Rock in the southern part of the present Union County. This area is now a part of the Sumter National Forest.

William served in the Revolutionary War as a soldier in the Militia of the 96th District of South Carolina, serving 439 days as documented by Stub Entries to Indents Issued in Payment of Claims Against South Carolina Growing Out of the Rev. War, by A. S. Salley, Book 1, Page 19. His son, William Hamilton Cooper, was a horseman in Captain Mapp's Company, Captain McBee's Company, Roebuck's Regiment, in 1782 during the Revolutionary War. Son, Stacy Cooper, served as a Private in General Picken's Brigade. It has been published that their son, Jacob, was killed by a Tory during the war.

INTERESTING NOTE: William Hamilton's Cooper's grandson, Dr. Elias Samuel Cooper, b. 1820 - d. 1862, son of Jacob, b. 1787 - 1850, was a surgeon whose techniques at the time were both praised and ridiculed by the medical community. Through the study of cadaver's anatomy, he was able to develop successful surgical techniques unknown at the time for aneurysms, club foot, crossed eyes, among others.

He founded the first medical college in San Francisco, later to be named the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, and died in 1862 after a long battle with Nephritis.

Dr. Cooper's nephew, Dr. Levi Cooper Lane, (b. 9 May, 1828 - d. 19 Feb. - 1902), son of Ira Lane (1805-1853) and Hannah Cooper (1811-1863) was also a famed surgeon. He was the founder of the Cooper Medical College, Lane Hospital, and the Lane Popular and Medical Lectures. In 1908, Cooper Medical College was accepted by Stanford University as their Department of Medicine. As part of the agreement, Stanford University promised to erect a medical library as a memorial to Dr. Lane, and is called the Dr. Levi Cooper Lane Medical Library on the campus of Stanford University, where a bronze bust of him is located in the vestibule.

William Hamilton Cooper's great-grandson, Drury Walls Cooper, (son of Rev. Jacob Cooper 1830-1904 and Mary Linn 1833-1910, son of Jacob Cooper 1787-1850 and Elizabeth Walls 1789-1877, with Jacob 1787-1850 being the son of William Hamilton Cooper,) was a very successful Patent Attorney in New York City. After the Civil War, there was a flurry of patents submitted and almost as many lawsuits requiring legal intervention. Drury was hired by the law firm of Kerr, Curtis and Page in 1892, as a law clerk. He remained with the firm for the next 64 years, during which time the law firm became Kerr, Page, Cooper and Harvard, then to Cooper, Kerr and Dunham. The firm represented such clients as Westinghouse, General Motors, Delco, IBM, Kellogg's and other nationally known companies. Drury represented IBM before the United States Supreme Court in an antitrust action seeking to restrain them from their dominance in the market through their patented Hollerith cards. He served on the Board of Directors of IBM for approximately 40 years.

Children of William "Jacob" Cooper and Lydia Clark

i. Jacob Cooper, born 1753 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died 1 January, 1830 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He married (1.) Mary B. Ely, born 1753 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died in September, 1786, the same month as their only child was born, so most likely it was either during childbirth or from complications. He married (2.) Rachel Stokes, born about 1769, and died about 1829. It has been written that this Jacob was killed by Tory soldiers.

ii. William Hamilton Cooper, born 24 April, 1756 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died 8 August, 1837 in Somerville, Butler County, Ohio, married Mary Hunter on 7 April, 1779, shortly after his parents and other siblings made the move from Bucks County, Pennsylvania to District 96, which would become Union County, in South Carolina. Mary was born in 1759 in District 96, and died 13 November, 1833 in Somerville, Butler County, Ohio. She was raised by her uncle, Ralph Hunter, after having been orphaned at an early age. William and Mary were the grandparents of Dr. Elias Samuel Cooper, and great-grandparents of Dr. Levi Cooper Lane, both who became renowned medical professionals, and whose stories are more detailed in the "Interesting Notes" section that follows after the children are noted. William was a horseman in Captain Mapp's Company, Col. Roebucks Regiment in 1782. He was paid for his service which was rendered in 1782 - paid in 1785, Voucher #1090, South Carolina Service, verified by "Stub Entries to Indents issued in payment of claims against South Carolina growing out of the Revolution, Books O and Q, Historical Commission of South Carolina, published in 1915." William became a successful farmer and merchant, accumulating considerable wealth. He made frequent trips to Charleston in a large wagon loaded with cotton, tobacco and other produce, and purchased good in the city to be sold at his store. Because his farm was located adjacent to Padgett's Creek, which was known for its rich soil, cotton became the main crop, requiring slave labor to tend the fields. The Quakers were opposed to slavery and many felt they had no choice but to move away from the area. After much discussion in their Cane Creek Monthly Meetings, it was decided that they should move to the northwest and the exodus of Quakers began, not only from South Carolina, but also from Georgia. By 1810, the majority of members from the Cane Creek Meeting had moved to Butler County, Ohio, where they resumed their meetings. William left the farm near Padgett's Creek at the end of March, 1807, with his family in a train of large wagons, following the Wilderness Trail through Cumberland Gap, where Daniel Boone had cleared passage in 1775. They covered 500 miles in 45 days, arriving in Butler County on May 13, 1807, according to researchers. He brought with him a considerable amount of money for land purchases, and according to a McBride Plat Map from 1836, he owned 330 acres, his son Jonathan owned 163 acres, and son-in-law Jonathan Cook, husband of his daughter, Lydia, owned 117 acres. He and Mary are buried in the cemetery at Somerville, Butler County, Ohio.

iii. Stacy Cooper, (Direct Ancestor) born 6 June, 1757 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died 16 November, 1821, in Union County, South Carolina, married (1.) Tabitha Pearson in 1785, born 28 September, 1765 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died about 1799 in Union County, South Carolina. He married (2.) Elizabeth Townsend in 1799, born 1779 in Union County, South Carolina, and died in December, 1857 in Union County, South Carolina. More information about Stacy is in Generation No. 5.

iv. Nathan Cooper, born 1759 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died in 1844 and is probably the "N. C. 1844" carved into a rock tombstone marking a grave in the Phillips-Cooper Cemetery in Black Rock, Union County, South Carolina. He married (1.) Sarah Minton who was born about 1762, date of death unknown. He next married (2.) M. Keziah, said to be born about 1759, date of death unknown.

v. Samuel Cooper, born 1761 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died 2 June, 1794 in Union County, South Carolina, married Elizabeth Worley, born about 1763 in Union County, South Carolina.

vi. Jeremiah Cooper was born 1763 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 1795 in Union County, South Carolina, as a bachelor. It is interesting that in his Will dated 11 June, 1794, Recorded in Will Book A, Page 32, he gave 150 acres of land and 10 pounds of sterling money to Mary Runnels. The only person by that name found is the mother-in-law of Jeremiah's nephew, Jesse Cooper, the son of his brother, Stacy. Runnels is her maiden name, and she was married to Benjamin Darby, Jr. They were the parents of Jesse Cooper's wife, Rebecca Darby. Could this be another Mary Runnels who was possibly more than a friend? If not, why would he use her maiden name instead of her married name and why would he leave the land to her instead of her husband, or his nephew? He was a large landowner and in addition to leaving Mary Runnels 150 acres of land, he left his brother Joseph, 290 acres, brother David, 600 acres, and left his cousin Jeremiah Phillips 1000 acres, all in addition to other valuables.

vii. Jonathan Cooper, born in 1765 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died in 1766 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as an infant.

8. Sarah Cooper, born in 1767, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died 29 December, 1842 in Union County, South Carolina, is buried in the Cooper-Phillips Cemetery in Black Rock, South Carolina, along with her husband, Peter Phillips, who was born 1762 in Milford, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 12 Oct. 1820 in Black Rock, Union County, South Carolina. According to the U. S. War of 1812 Service Records, Roll Box 164, Microfilm Publication M602, he served in Captain Cox's Company as a Private in the North Carolina Militia. According to a manuscript by his grandson, Rev. Charles William Pressley Phillips, that was published as part of a story called "The Peter Phillips Family", story number 503, Page 228, in the book "Union County Heritage - South Carolina", Mannie Lee Mabry, Editor, he states that Peter Phillips joined the services at the age of twenty as "part of the Colonies struggle for independence from the British Government under King George III of Great Britain." If so, that would make him a Revolutionary War soldier, and not a soldier of the War of 1812, yet no other document was found to verify either claim.

ix. David Cooper, born 1769 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 1839 in Union County, South Carolina. His estate was settled in the year of his death, but no other information was found.

x. Joseph Cooper, was born 1771 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and died about 1809. No other information was found.

xi. Hannah Cooper, born 6 January, 1773 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died 14 May, 1830 in Paulding County, Georgia, married Jonathan (John) Lee, born 25 November, 1770, Union County, South Carolina, and died 23 November, 1823 in Goshen Hill, Union County, South Carolina.

Sources and Verification: Stub Entries to Indents Issued in Payment of Claims against South Carolina Growing Out of the Rev. War, by A. S. Salley, Book 1, Page 19; Union County Heritage - South Carolina, published in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Mannie Lee Abry, Editor, Pages 61 and 228; Pennsylvania Revolutionary War Battalions and Militia Index, 1775 - 1783, Vol. 1, Page 673; Web: South Carolina Find A Grave Index, 1729-2012; U.S. Sons of the American Revolution Membership Application, 1889-1970, Vol. 228, SAR #45460; Various family histories published on Ancestry.com; 18th Century Literature, Americana and tagged American history, Elias Samuel Cooper, medicine, rare books on July 10, 2013; U. S. War of 1812 Service Records, Roll Box 164, Microfilm Publication M602.

Generation No. 5

5. Stacy Cooper, (William Cooper (1), William Cooper (2), Jonathan Cooper (3), William Jacob Cooper, (4), third child of William Jacob Cooper, and Lydia "Lydie" Clark, was born on the 6th of June, 1757, in South Carolina, and died on the 16th of November, 1821 in South Carolina. He married (1) Tabitha Pearson, b. 1765 - d. 1799, and (2) Elizabeth Townsend, b. 1779 - d. 1857.

Stacy Cooper settled on the old road leading from Adam's Ford on the Tyger River (and Cook's Bridge), to Black Rock, to Roger Potts', Daniel Lipham's and Bookston's Ferry on the Enoree River, after his parents, William Jacob Cooper and Lydia Cooper made their move from Pennsylvania to Union County, South Carolina in, or prior to the year of 1771. Other neighbors were James Townsend, Gabriel Phillips, Ralph Hunt, Richard Minton, Jonathan Whitten, and some Clarks. This southern part of the present Union County is now a part of the Sumter National Forest.

Stacy served as a Private in General Pickens' Brigade during the American Revolution.

His first wife, Tabitha Pearson, daughter of Enoch Pearson and Tabitha Jacocks, was a second cousin to his second wife, Elizabeth Townsend, daughter of James Townsend and Martha Cook. Tabitha died in 1799 and is believed to be buried in the old Pearson Cemetery at the junction of Highways 921 and 922, south of Union, South Carolina. Stacy is thought to be buried in the old Cooper Cemetery near Black Rock. Elizabeth lived many more years after Stacy's death, and moved to Paulding County, Georgia, with her son, Moses, his family, and her granddaughter, Charlotte. She died in 1857 and was buried in the New Hope Cemetery, north of Dallas, Georgia, in Paulding County, Georgia. According to a document published by Sankofagen Wiki, Elizabeth Townsend Cooper owned eleven slaves at the time of her death as indicated in a January 4, 1859 document from the Elizabeth Cooper Estate Papers, Paulding County, Georgia. Using their description in parenthesis, a "boy" named Isaac was sold to Berry Flanning, a "girl" named Lotty and her three children were sold to B. F. Wright, Perlina (gender description not noted) was sold to M. Pickett, a "girl" named Lizy was sold to G. W. Miller, a "boy" named Benjamin was sold to Garrett Gray, a "girl" named Sarah was sold to B. F. Wright, a "woman" named Rachel was sold to A. C. Sanders, and a "man" named Jerry, was sold to George M. Lewis.

INTERESTING NOTE: Stacy Cooper's second cousin was Judge William Cooper, (1754-1809,) son of English Quaker parents, James Cooper, (1729-1795) and Hannah Hibbs. Judge William Cooper was the grandson of Sarah Hibbs' brother, William Hibbs. He married Elizabeth Fenimore on December 12, 1774, and when asked by his future father-in-law how his daughter was to be supported at William's young age, William answered that he was poor and "she must shift for herself." During the early 1780's, Cooper became a storekeeper in Burlington, New Jersey, and by the end of the decade, he was a successful land speculator and wealthy frontier developer in what is now Otsego County, New York. Shortly after the American Revolutionary War, William Cooper became the owner of several thousand acres of land along the headwaters of the Susquehanna River. He encouraged the settlement of this tract as early as 1786, and by 1788, William had selected and surveyed the site where Cooperstown would be built. He moved his family from the comparative civilization of New Jersey to a log-house in the wilderness of central New York, where they remained until William began construction of a mansion completed in 1799, which he named Otsego Hall. After 1791, when Otsego County was split off from Montgomery County, New York, Cooper was appointed County Judge of the first Court of Common Pleas for Otsego County, and was Representative from New York in the Congress, elected as a Federalist to the 4th United States Congress for the sessions March 4, 1795 - March 3, 1797, and the 6th United States Congresses March 4, 1799 - March 3, 1801. There he served as Federalist Judge and local squire, with large political and social ambitions, and was one of the wealthiest landowners of the early republic. After his death, the village was renamed Cooperstown in his honor. For Eighth Generation descendants, Judge William Cooper would be the second cousin four times removed.

Judge William Cooper's son, James Fenimore Cooper, (1789-1851), second cousin once removed of Stacy Cooper, was a world-famous author, the most renowned of his books being "Last of the Mohicans." It is thought that the basis for the book was James' experiences growing up with the Indian population during the early days of settlement in Otsego County, later to become Cooperstown. He wrote many others, but none compared to the popularity of "Last of the Mohicans." For Eighth Generation descendants, James Fenimore Cooper would be third cousin four times removed.

Children of Stacy Cooper and Tabitha Pearson

i. William Cooper, born about 1786 in Union County, South Carolina, date of death unknown. No other records found

ii. Hannah Cooper, born about 1790 in Union County, South Carolina, date of death unknown. No other records found.

iii. Samuel Cooper, born about 1791 in Union County, South Carolina, date of death unknown. No other records found.

iv. Margaret Cooper, born about 1794 in Union County, South Carolina, and died about 1826. No other records found.

Children of Stacy Cooper and Elizabeth Townsend

i. Jesse Cooper, was born 6 August, 1800 in Union County, South Carolina, and died 16 March, 1867, in Paulding County Georgia. He married Rebecca Darby, daughter of Benjamin Darby, Jr., and Mary Runnels. Rebecca was born 13 January, 1800 in Union County, South Carolina, and died 16 August, 1872 in Paulding County, Georgia. Both are buried in the New Hope Cemetery in Dallas, Georgia. b. 1800 - d. 1872. Their oldest son, William Darby Cooper, became an active minister in the Mormon faith and moved to Utah, where he married two sisters, Lydia Rochester and Hannah Rochester. He died in Utah about 1865, leaving two wives and children.

ii. Aaron Cooper, born about 1802 in Union County, South Carolina, died 10 December 1832 in Union County, South Carolina. It has been said that he married a woman named Elizabeth, last name unknown, born about 1804. No other information was found.

iii. Moses Cooper, (Direct Ancestor), was born in 1806, Union County, South Carolina, and died 11 August, 1861 in Warrenton, Virginia. He was in battle with the 7th Georgia Regiment in the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) and is thought to have died from disease, most likely gangrene, brought on by injuries suffered in the battle. He is buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Warrenton, Virginia. He married Sarah Jane Neighbors, in 1838 in Union County, South Carolina. She was born 19 September,1807 in Union County, South Carolina, and died 07 December, 1884 in Paulding County, Georgia. She is buried in the New Georgia Cemetery, Paulding County, Georgia. More information about the Moses Cooper family follows in the next generation.

iv. Eli Cooper, was born in 1809, Union County, South Carolina and died 1855 in Paulding County, Georgia. He married Caroline Hogan, who was born 22 June in South Carolina, and died 21 Sep, 1909 in Paulding County, Georgia. Their third son was named Oliver Perry Cooper, and in the book "Paulding County - Its People and Places" by Judge W. A. Foster, he tells this story on the Introduction page. "The stories of Uncle Jim Cooper, Uncle Perry Cooper, Uncle Henry Hay, Uncle John Shed, Uncle Bill Ike Fain (all were Uncle or Aunt, black, white, if you loved them in those days). What a treat for all of us who were privileged to sit and listen to those brave souls on the rare occasions when they chose to talk. Uncle Hay got his stiff leg from a Yankee bullet at Petersburg not long before the hostilities were over. Uncle Perry, said by comrades-in-arms to have been one of the best soldiers in the Army, never got a scratch - except from briars of blackberry bushes. They told that the Confederates were beating a tactical retreat one day and the Yankees were in close pursuit when Uncle Perry spotted a patch of ripe blackberries and stopped to eat a few. One of his comrades hollered at him and said 'Hurry, Cooper, before the Yankees shoot your ___ off!' His reply was 'If I don't eat, I'll have no use for it anyway!" He reminds me of so many other Coopers I have known.

v. John Calhoun "Jack" Cooper, was born 1811 in Union County, South Carolina and died 16 August, 1848 in Union County, South Carolina. He married (1.) a Miss Jenkins, no other information known about her, and married (2.) Sarah Ann Phillips, his second cousin, the daughter of Peter Phillips and Sarah Cooper. Sarah was born 6 February, 1823 in Union County, South Carolina, and died 6 March, 1882, Hubbard, Hill County, Texas.

Sources and Verification: 1790 United States Federal Census - Union, South Carolina, Series M637, Roll 11, Page 40, Image 43, Family History Library Film No. 0568151; 1800 United States Federal Census - Union District, South Carolina, Roll 50, Page 232, Image 459, Family History Film No. 181425; 1810 United States Federal Census - Union, South Carolina, Roll 61, Page 538, Image 0181420, Family History Film No. 00428; 1820 United States Federal Census - Union, South Carolina, Page 159, NARA Roll M33_121, Image 284; American Genealogical - Biographical Index (AGBI), Vol. 34, Page 207, "Heads of Families at the First United States Census, South Carolina, by the US Bureau of the Census, Washington, 1908, (150p) :90; Family Data Collections - Deaths, Edmund West, comp., Provo, Utah; Millenium File - Heritage Consulting, Provo, Utah; Georgia Genealogical Magazine, No. 55-56 - South Carolina Marriages, 1641-1965 (database online); Sankofagen Wiki - Elizabeth Cooper Plantation, Paulding County, Georgia; Union County Heritage, submitted by Ruenelle Cooper Moore, Mannie Lee Mabry, Editor, published by the Union County Heritage Committee in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, "Paulding County - Its People and Places" by Judge W. A. Foster.

Generation No. 6

6. Moses Cooper, (William Cooper (1), William Cooper (2), Jonathan Cooper (3), William Jacob Cooper, (4), Stacy Cooper, (5)) was the third child of Stacy Cooper and his second wife, Elizabeth Townsend. He bought and sold land in Union County, South Carolina, some located on Hamsworth Branch and the Mitchell Creek waters of Fairforest, and Sugar Creek. On the 9th of March, 1850, Moses applied for a Letter of Dismissal for himself and his wife, Jane, to the Putnam Baptist Church, also known as Fairforest Baptist Church, which was granted them.

By 1853, Moses and his family had moved from South Carolina and settled on Pumpkinvine Creek, in Paulding County, Georgia, losing their youngest son, William, during the journey. His brothers, Jesse and Eli, with their families, also made the move to Paulding County.

Moses enlisted in the Confederate Army on May 31, 1861, and served in the 7th Georgia Regiment, Company "C", along with his sons, James and John. Nathan, joined the following year, on May 1, 1862. Moses is thought to have been wounded in the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, and died on the 11th of August, 1861, probably of Gangrene. He is buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Warrenton, Virginia.

James served as a Sergeant upon enlistment, and was then promoted to 1st Lieutenant and later to Captain. On the July and August, 1864 Company Muster Roll, he is listed as present, but under arrest. He was dismissed as Captain on August 12, 1864, and faced a General Court Martial on August 21, 1864. He enrolled in the Confederate Army again on September 1, 1864 as 1st Lieutenant, but was listed as Absent Without Leave on September 16, 1864. The last entry is listed on a Company Muster Roll for January and February, 1865, where he was stated as having deserted on September 16, 1864. He became a Teacher and an ordained Minister of the Church of Christ. He and his family moved to Indian Territory, (now Bryan County, Oklahoma) around 1890. He, and several members of his family are buried near Caddo, Oklahoma.

Nathan joined the Confederacy the following year, on May 1, 1862. He served as a Private in Company "E", 56th Georgia Infantry. The Company Muster Roll covering the period April 30 to October 31, 1863, lists him as Absent Without Leave. His name appears on a Roll of Prisoners of War record, stating that he was captured by the Army of Tennessee at Champions Hill, Mississippi, on May 16, 1863, and was sent to Memphis, Tennessee, on May 25, 1863. His name then appears on an undated Roll of Prisoners of War record, from Camp Morton, Indiana. On an undated Roll of Prisoners of War, he is said to have been paroled at Fort Delaware, Delaware, on July 3, 1863. He appears on a Roll of Deserters from the Rebel Army, having been received on June 18, 1864, and discharged on June 19, 1864. It says he took the Oath and had orders to remain north of the Ohio River during the war. From a Register of Prisoners of War, it shows he was received at the Military Prison in Louisville, Kentucky, having been captured in Paulding County, Georgia, and shows the same discharge date with his Oath, as was listed on the Roll of Deserters from the Rebel Army, listed above. His Oath of Allegiance to the United States, describes him as being 6 ft. tall, dark hair, dark complexion and hazel eyes. He became a successful businessman and politician in Paulding County, Georgia, serving as Sheriff of Paulding County from 1882 - 1886.

John's military history is covered in his following biography.

Children of Moses Cooper and Jane Neighbors

i. James Neighbors Cooper, born 31 January, 1839 in Union County, South Carolina, died 12 Mar, 1901 in Bryan County, Oklahoma. He married Lucy Ann Hitchcock, born 20 Jan, 1846 in Paulding County, Georgia, and died 6 Jun, 1917 in Bryan County, Oklahoma. James joined the Confederacy on 31 May, 1861, with his father, Moses, and brother, John. All were assigned to the 7th Georgia Infantry, Co. "C", "Paulding County Volunteers."

ii. Nathan Cooper, born 10 September, 1840, Union County, South Carolina, died 24 June, 1898, Paulding County, Georgia. He married Martha Francis Cone, born 18 April, 1843 in Georgia, and died 4 Feb, 1923 in Paulding County, Georgia. He joined the Confederacy a year after his father and brothers, on May 1, 1862, and was assigned to Company "E", 56th Georgia Infantry. Records show he was captured at Bakers Creek, Champions Hill, Mississippi on 16 May, 1863, with more information about his military record in the previous generation. Nathan was a land buyer and developer, and served as Sheriff of Paulding County for a term. His wife, Martha Francis Cone, filed for a Confederate Widow's Indigent Pension in 1904, stating that he died insolvent and she was elderly and of failing health with no means of support other than her children.

iii. John F. Cooper, (Direct Ancestor) was born 24 June, 1842 in Union County, South Carolina, and died 17 June, 1912 in Marion County, Alabama. He married Mary Catherine Wheat, born 18 August, 1844 in Georgia, and died 26 Feb, 1922 in Liberty Hill, Franklin County, Alabama. More information about John follows in the next generation.

iv. Mary Jane Cooper, born 7 Nov, 1846, Union County, South Carolina, died 01 July, 1922 in Atlanta, DeKalb County, Georgia, married Nathaniel Thomas Bullock on 27 December, 1865 in Paulding County, Georgia. According to one of his relative's posting, he was a Confederate Soldier, enlisting in the Paulding County Militia in the spring of 1864 when he was sixteen years old, and in April, 1865, joined General Wofford's Command in Atlanta. He was a member of Company "H" in A. B. Johnson's Regiment and was discharged on May 28, 1865. I have not been able to find documents to verify this service. He had several occupations in his lifetime as a farmer, owner of a dry goods store, banker and real estate developer. Both are buried in the Dallas City Cemetery in Paulding County, Georgia.

v. Sarah Cooper, born 17 Feb, 1848, Union County, South Carolina, married William Berry Cole of Paulding County, Georgia. Family records say she died in 1907, but there are several confusing documents that will take more time to sort out. She is in the 1850 and 1860 United States Census Records for Paulding County, still living at home with Moses and Jane. An 1870 United States Federal Census has her still in Paulding County, married to William Cole, with two children, Mary - 6 years old, and Thomas - 2 years old. The 1880 Census says she is widowed at that point, with only Thomas, now 12 years old, living in the home with her. Skipping ahead, she is 82 years old in the 1930 United States Census, and living with her son, Thomas, and his family in Paulding County, Georgia. There is a grave stone in the White Oak Cemetery, Dallas, Georgia with her date of birth, and said she died February 10, 1933. In the meantime, there is a gravestone in the New Georgia Baptist Cemetery bearing the name of W.B. Cole, with the birthdate generally attributed to William, and a death date of 2 September, 1907, but buried next to him is Annie Cole, born 8 October, 1845 and died 10 March, 1909. It is said they married in 1874, 6 years before the 1880 Census record that has Sarah "widowed." William and Annie are on the 1900 United States Census record together in Paulding County. A divorce is possible, but nothing was ever said about it in family records. As I said, this one will take more time to sort out.

Sources and Verification: Union County Heritage - South Carolina, published in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company, Winston - Salem, North Carolina, Mannie Lee Mabry, Editor, Page 61; Military Records from the Georgia Department of Archives and History, 330 Capitol Avenue, S.E., Atlanta, Georgia, 30334; Correspondence from Nancy C. Baird, Chairman of the Research Committee, Fauquier Historical Society, Inc., P. O. Box 675, Warrenton, Virginia, to Greg Moore, 4885 S. Darlington I-L, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74135-7230, dated September 30, 1990; U. S. Federal Census Records for Union County, S. C., and Paulding County, Georgia, for the years of 1850 - 1930, Web: Georgia, Find A Grave Index, 1728-2012; Georgia Deaths Index; Paulding County, Its People and Places, Author Judge W. A. Foster, Jr., published by W. H. Wolfe Associates, Roswell, Georgia; Web: Find A Grave Index for Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma; Alabama Deaths Index; Georgia Deaths Index; Oklahoma Deaths Index; Georgia Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books 1867-1869; Alabama Confederate Pension and Service Records, 1862-1947; U. S. Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958; American Civil War Soldiers; U. S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, Cooper, Yates, Chocktaw, Cherokee and Sephardic in GA., TN., AL., (from DNA Consultants.com) submitted by Belva Harris Cawthorn.

Generation No. 7

7. John Cooper, (William Cooper (1), William Cooper (2), Jonathan Cooper (3), William Jacob Cooper (4), Stacy Cooper (5), Moses Cooper (6)) was the youngest son of Moses Cooper and Sarah Jane Neighbors. He moved from Union County, South Carolina, to Paulding County, Georgia, with his family somewhere around 1853. On April 1, 1866, he married Mary Catherine Wheat, born 18 August, 1844, died 26 February, 1922, daughter of James Owen Wheat and Jane Keys. His son, Nathan Samuel, (my grandfather), said John was musically inclined, and taught him to play several musical instruments.

John, the youngest son of Moses Cooper and Sarah Jane Neighbors, was nineteen years old when he joined the Confederacy with his father, and brother, James. Fighting with the 7th Georgia Infantry, Company "C", his Regiment participated in many of the major battles, including the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), where his father lost his life, the Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, the Seven Days Battle, the second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), Antietam, Battle of Fredericksburg, where he was wounded, the Siege of Suffolk, Virginia, Gettysburg, the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, the Siege at Chattanooga, Tennessee, an engagement at Wauhatchie, Tennessee, the Knoxville Campaign, Dandridge, Tennessee, the Wilderness Campaign, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, Virginia. On April 3, 1865, he was captured by forces under Major General Rerrero at Bermuda Hundred Defenses, Virginia, and was taken from Petersburg to City, Point, Virginia, on April 11, 1865. General Robert E. Lee had already surrendered his Confederate Army to General Grant at the Appomatox Courthouse on April 9, and the requirement for the prisoner's freedom was to sign the Oath of Allegiance to the North, requiring them to never take up arms against the North again, which John, and several more soldiers refused to sign. They were sent to a Union prison at Hart's Island, New York, where John stayed until June 15, 1865. Even though John could read and write, he did not correct the mispelling of his name on the document which was spelled "Couper", and signed his name with an "X", perhaps his last act of defiance in the war. He is described as being six feet tall, fair complexion, dark hair and gray eyes.

John, Mary, and their children moved from Paulding County, Georgia to a farm near Village Springs, east of Birmingham, in 1886. He died on July 4, 1905, and was buried in Gregg's Graveyard, Glen Allen, Alabama, in Marion County, Alabama.

John and Mary had seven children.

i. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Cooper, born January, 1869 in Georgia, died 29 January, 1910, married George Washington McBrayer on 22 October, 1884. He was born November, 1853 in Mississippi, and died 6 August, 1926 in Franklin County, Alabama.

ii. Moses H. Cooper, born 1869 in Georgia. No other records found.

iii. Benjamin Franklin Cooper, born 22 Jul, 1873, Paulding County, Georgia, died 12 December, 1943 in Haleyville, Winston County, Alabama, married Melvina Bryant on22 March, 1896, Cullman, Alabama. She was born 2 March, 1878 in Morgan County, Alabama, and died 19 May, 1961 in Haleyville, Winston County, Alabama.

iv. Martha Cooper, born26 February, 1874 in Paulding County, Georgia, and died 29 May, 1951. No other verifiable records found

v. Mary Ella Cooper, born 17 December, 1878 in Paulding County, Georgia, died 29 June, 1955 in Ethridge, Lawrence County, Tennessee. She married Andrew Jackson Hall, who was born 4 May, 1853 and died 5 May, 1929. They are buried in the Ethridge Cemetery, Ethridge, Lawrence County, Tennessee.

vi. Nathan Samuel Cooper, (Direct Ancestor), born 23 September, 1881 in Paulding County, Georgia, died 26 July, 1968 in Russellville, Franklin County, Alabama. He married Mary Lounie (Lounia?) Gilliland, born 27 Jun, 1888 in Coosa County, Alabama, died 24 January, 1947 in Russellville Hospital, but lived in Phil Campbell, Alabama. She was the daughter Henry Franklin Gilliland and Martha "Mattie" Antheny Collier. More information on the Nathan Cooper family in the next generation.

7. James "Jim" Henry Cooper, born 10 February, 1884 in Paulding County, Georgia, died 09 June, 1933 in Phil Campbell, Alabama, married Zuma (Zummia) B. Johnson, born 1893 in Georgia, and died 25 June, 1959 in Phil Campbell, Alabama. She was the daughter of Vasco Balboa Johnson and Mary Emma Fountain.

Sources and Verification: "Union County Heritage - South Carolina", published in cooperation with Hunter Publishing, Mannie Lee Mabry, Editor; Military Records from the Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Georgia; Personal papers written by Nathan Samuel Cooper (13363736) in the possession of Shirli "Sherry" Bruce, The Villages, Florida; Correspondence and research by Greg Moore, Tulsa, Oklahoma; 1850 United States Federal Census - Union County, South Carolina; 1860, 1870 and 1800 United States Federal Census - Paulding County, Georgia; 1900 United States Federal Census - Jefferson County, Alabama; Index of Vital Records for Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1959; Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama - Alabama Confederate Pension Records (Auditor Files) 1881-1943, Collection # SG022987, Folder # 16; Georgia Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869.

Generation No. 8

8. Nathan Samuel Cooper, (William Cooper (1), William Cooper (2), Jonathan Cooper (3), William Jacob Cooper (4), Stacy Cooper, (5), Moses Cooper, (6), John Cooper, (7) was an intellectually gifted man who had little formal education, but made up for it with a voracious appetite for learning. It was his custom to walk a mile into the little town of Phil Campbell, Alabama, in the morning to get "The Birmingham News", and back again in the afternoon for "The Birmingham Post-Herald." He enjoyed talking with people, and corresponded with many pen pal friends in overseas countries. He was fascinated by anything supernatural, and subscribed to a publication named "Fate," which shared stories of the paranormal, and UFO's. Nathan was a handsome man, six feet tall, dark hair, with light blue eyes, and towered over his diminutive wife, Mary Lounia "Lounie" Gilliland, with whom he eloped. When he moved her away from her family, her parents never forgave him for it and it would be seventeen years before she saw them again, according to family stories that have been handed down. Their child-bearing years were fraught with heartbreak, as six of their thirteen children were either stillborn, or died young.

Nathan was a farmer, but according to his children, never stayed in one place long enough to raise a crop. It came to be expected that he would move them to another house at least once a year. He provided for his family by "bottoming" chairs, which meant going into the woods and cutting white oak saplings of just the right size, stripping the bark away, and cutting the wood into long, thin strips which he soaked in water to keep them pliable until he could weave the strips into a latticework pattern on the backs and bottoms of straight-backed wooden chairs, which everyone had in those days. When his wife, Mary Lounie Cooper, died in 1947, he moved in with my mother and father and built a little shed next to the house. In the little shed, he had a lathe, and made wooden chair legs, baseball bats, and used it to cut the oak strips which made his job of bottoming chairs much easier and faster.

He was a talented musician, and could play several instruments as well as build them. I remember coming home from school one day to see about a dozen college students from Georgia, sitting on every spare space of our front porch listening attentively while Granddaddy played his different instruments, singing along as he played. I often wondered if this was the beginning of the Foxfire visits conducted by Georgia students which led to a very successful series of books about life in the old days. Before his wife, Mary Lounie Cooper died, she made butter and churn dashers for extra money. Her children say she was a petite woman, about 5'1", and loved pretty things around the house. She embroidered her own pillowcases and bedspread, and each night would remove the top pillowcases and bedspread and fold them neatly until she made the bed the next morning. She always had some fruit and candy hidden away and was always willing to share it with anyone she wished. She told people that in order to have it, she had to hide it from Nathan, who would have eaten it all in a day had he known where it was. Mary Lounie Gilliland Cooper passed away on the 24th of January, 1947, at the Russellville Hospital, in Russellville, Alabama, of Acute Virulent Mastoiditis, according to her death certificate.

Nathan was known to have a weakness for children in need, and would always give them a few coins or buy them candy. He was also known to have bursts of temper if he hurt himself or snagged his clothing on anything, resulting in many pieces of his attire being whacked off with his pocket knife, rather than take the time to unhook the offending fabric.

Children were fascinated by his ability to "throw his voice", and called the little voice answering back, "Whicker Bill." He would study the leftover coffee grounds in his cup and claimed he could tell "fortunes" by them. Raw garlic, he had been told, was good for one's health, so he ate several cloves each day, giving off a distinctive aroma in close conversation.

Nathan wrote poetry, some examples existing today with family members. He taught himself the Pittman method of shorthand, and took great delight in challenging his grandchildren, who had been taught the Gregg's method in school. He developed a form of calligraphy he called "Speedwriting", which he would teach in classrooms and would sell a few writing pens to students as his only form of payment.

I am so thankful to have spent a great deal of time with "Granddaddy", as we called him prior to his passing away. I regret that the years from my birth to sixteen years of age were spent pretty much taking him for granted. There were six of us living in a four-room house, and I think all of us were more focused on grabbing some private time wherever we could find it. I know he talked about his family, and I know I must have listened, because I helped him go back to that person or that memory when he was in the nursing home where both of us looked forward to our "together" time at the end of my work day. Hanging on the wall behind me now, is a framed handwritten narrative of our family history that Granddaddy was still writing before he passed away at the Burns Nursing Home in Russellville, Alabama, on the 26th of July, 1968, of Congestive Heart Failure.

He was a man of character, talent, and compassion. Add to that, temperamental, inquisitive, creative and humorous, and you have a truly unique individual whose memory alone will warm the hearts of all who knew him.

Children of Nathan Samuel Cooper and Mary Lounie Gilliland

i. Rosie Bell Cooper, born 3 September, 1907 in Shawmut, Chambers County, Alabama, died 1910 in Shawmut, Chambers County, Alabama. My grandfather was talking about her one day and I asked him what happened that she died so young. He said "she starved to death", and he was so pained by the memory that I didn't question him more. Perhaps she had a digestion or intestinal problem that doctors didn't know about back then. Certainly it wasn't for lack of food.

ii. Sadie May Cooper, born 16 June, 1909 in Shawmut, Chambers County, Alabama, and died in 1909. It isn't known what happened to her.

iii. Wesley Samuel Cooper, born 1910 in Shawmut, Chambers County, Alabama, and died 1910. His sister, Marie Cooper Rains, said he was found dead in bed, and would be called "crib death" in today's terms.

iv. Marie Myrtle Cooper, was born 13 November, 1911, Shawmut, Chambers County, Alabama, died 12 Oct, 1991 in Russellville, Alabama. She married Luther Martin Rains, born 09 November, 1903 in Cullman County, Alabama, and died 04 August, 1980 in Russellville, Franklin County, Alabama. Marie was the first of the children to survive and always said if they hadn't moved from Shawmut, she would have died too, thinking it was some environmental issue that caused the deaths of her younger siblings. Marie was always one of the most outgoing of the sisters, and was an avid family photographer. She inherited the love of family history from her father and was the contributor, along with her daughter, Myra Rains Carter, of many of the pictures included with this history. Her husband, Luther, served in the U. S. Army and was injured during his service when his legs were run over by a tank, resulting in many months of hospitalization. Marie and Luther are buried in the Cullman City Cemetery, in Cullman, Alabama.

v. Ledger Wheeler Cooper, was born b. 18 March, 1914 in Alabama, and died 16 February, 1990 in Franklin County, Alabama. He married Dora Myrtle Pounders, who was born 08 March, 1912 in Alabama, and died 01 July, 1984 in Franklin County, Alabama. Ledger was a farmer in his younger years, but battled diabetes most of his life, finally losing both legs as a result of the disease. He was a quiet man, and to my knowledge, was the only one of the family who did not participate in the family sing-a-longs, or play a musical instrument. He, and his wife, Dora, are buried in the Shady Grove Cemetery, Phil Campbell, Alabama.

vi. Thelma Ruth Cooper, born 15 September, 1915 in Alabama, died 17 August, 1993 in Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama. She married Clyde J. Lawler, who was born 02 January, 1914 in Franklin County, Alabama, and died 24 June, 1992 in Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama. Thelma and Clyde lived in Flint, Michigan for most of their married life, and like her brother, Ledger, was one of the quieter ones of the family. She was an accomplished seamstress, and made everything from draperies to wedding dresses.

vii. Alice Annette Cooper, was born in Alabama on 31 August 1917, and died 18 May, 2006 in Montevallo, Alabama. She married Ernest Holcomb, who was born about 1914, and died 4 February, 1963 in Alabama. Ernest and Alice shared the same personality traits of patience with calm demeanors, which came in handy with their large family. Ernest passed away when many of their children were still quite young, leaving the responsibility of raising them to Alice. By that time the older children were able to help her, and she is to be credited with raising an outstanding family who put a great deal of importance on being good citizens and caring for each other to this day.

viii. Mattie Pauline Cooper, born 6 June, 1921 in Alabama, and died 31 March, 2008 in Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, was usually the life of the party, the center of attention, and the person who made everyone smile. She never failed to gather people around her piano for a sing-along whenever the family was together. She married Robert Bankston, born 18 June, 1922 in Franklin County, Alabama, and died 1 November, 2012 in Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama. Robert was a successful businessman, owning a fleet of 18-wheel semi trucks, an occupation picked up by his sons. They are buried in the Liberty Hill Baptist Cemetery in Phil Campbell, Alabama.

ix. Lillie May Cooper, was born 28 April, 1923 in Alabama, and died 3 May, 2004 in Phil Campbell, Alabama. She married Silvie Trapp, who was born 22 September, 1919, and died 18 January, 2010 in Phil Campbell, Alabama. Lillie May and Silvie lived in a small community outside Phil Campbell, called Trapptown, for most of their lives where they raised cotton and chickens. Lillie May would be the first to call herself a "country girl", and when one went to their house, it was like a home away from home. As a young child I remember going there and playing in the corn crib with my cousins, picking fresh peaches off their trees, swimming in a pond next to Silvie's parents house, and learning to drive a tractor while sitting on my Uncle Silvie's lap. I remember picking cotton in their fields and how Silvie would bring ice-cold soft drinks to pass around in the heat of the afternoon and how he would let us ride on top of the cotton in a wagon as he drove to the gin. Lillie May always enjoyed being around her sisters and brothers, and never passed on an opportunity to get together.

x. Calvin Coolidge Cooper, (My Dad) was born 19 May, 1925 in Alabama, and died on 24 Dec, 1992 in Phil Campbell, Alabama. He married my mother, Tressie Ellen Weeks, on August 6, 1945. She was born 29 Apr, 1930 in Phil Campbell, Alabama, and still lives as I write this on May 21, 2014. My Dad was the first boy to come along in the family after four girls in a row, so perhaps that's why his sisters called him my Grandfather's favorite. According to them, he was able to get away with just about anything and was the "spoiled" one. His sister, Pauline, told the story that my father, when he was small, always liked to stir a little baking soda into sorghum syrup to watch it change colors, then he would eat it with cornbread. She, and her sister Lillie May, were trying to punish my Dad because he wouldn't clean up his mess when my Grandfather came through and got him by the arm, saying "Come on, son, let's get away from these Demons of Hell!" My Dad was a self-taught musician, the same as his father, and could play the guitar, mandolin, piano and some fiddle. I believe the difference in whether you call it a violin or a fiddle is the manner in which it is played, and their manner of playing was of the old-time mountain music. He was a singer, and sung in many southern gospel quartets over the years, and was also a songwriter. His music was published in the Vaughn songbooks as well as the Stamps songbooks, both of which were used at the Sunday night singings at various churches. My Dad was actually a very good cook, but only when he was in the mood to do it, then if you didn't compliment him enough times or often enough, he assumed you didn't like it. He was always happiest when his children came home to visit, and since I was usually the one who traveled the greatest distance, he would watch for me from his recliner next to the window and as soon as my car came to a stop, he was already out the door to hug me, take me by the hand and say "Come on, Daughter. I want to show you my garden." I barely had time to hug everyone else before he was showing me his fruit trees, the towering tomato plants that he would put on tall stakes and drive into the ground, rows and rows of other vegetables, and that was only the garden he kept at their house. He usually had two or three more on other people's land, or would tend someone else's garden for half the produce. He was a tinkerer, just like his Dad, and would spend hours in his little workshop in the basement of their house. My Mom is 84 years old now and for her age, is fairly healthy. While others of her years have not lived as long a life, are confined to wheelchairs or walkers, she still goes dancing every chance she gets, gets full makeup on every morning with every hair in place, is ready to go anywhere, anytime with just about anybody, and walks as often as she can. She's a great cook, and won a trip to the national finals in Atlanta for her Pecan Pie in the Crisco American Pie Contest in 1990. She has two freezers full of food that also holds several casseroles, pies and cakes that she keeps handy in case someone is sick, or has a death in the family. My father is buried at Liberty Hill Baptist Cemetery, in Phil Campbell, Alabama.

xi. Junior Curtis Cooper, was born 2 July, 1927 in Alabama, and died in 1930 in Franklin County, Alabama, from Measles and Colitis, according to his sister, Marie Cooper Rains.

Sources and Verifications: 1900 United States Federal Census, Precinct 23, Jefferson County, Alabama, Roll 20, Page 2B, Enumeration District 0089, FHL microfilm no. 1240020; 1910 United States Federal Census, Langdale, Shawmut and River View, Chambers County, Alabama, Roll T624_5, Page 8A, Enumeration District 0034, FHL microfilm 1374018; 1930 United States Federal Census, Jones Chapel, Cullman, Alabama, Roll 11, Page 17B, Enumeration District 0019, Image 960.0, FHL microfilm 1912779;

Alabama Deaths and Burial Index, 1881-1974, FHL Film 1912779; United States Social Security Index, 1935-Current, No. 421-16-5275, Issue State - Alabama, Issue Date, before 1951; United States World War 1 Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Franklin County, Roll 1509385; Web: Alabama Find A Grave Index, Liberty Hill, Franklin County, Alabama, Death Date 26 July, 1968; Web - BillionGraves.com Burial Index; Preserved family documents provided by Nathan's daughter, Marie Cooper Rains, and by the great-great grandson of James Neighbors Cooper, Greg Moore, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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