Document A.150 · partition abstract · transcription: verbatim
Abstracts of Partitions and Divisions of Morris County Estates, pp. 10–11 — the Orphans' Court partition of Daniel Cooper, Jr., 1787–1789. His five heirs, named.
- repository
- Published abstract volume, held by the maintainer
- collection
- Abstracts of Partitions and Divisions of Morris County Estates
- identifier
- Pages 10–11. The abstract's own citations: I:48, 56, 63 and Court Minutes; Doc. 1:67 — Map.
- date
- 1787-03
What is transcribed: The complete Daniel Cooper, Jr. entry across pp. 10–11. The neighbouring Benjamin Ladner and Abraham Pierson entries are page context only and are not transcribed.
People named
| As written | Role | Identified as | What this document says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Cooper, Jr. | deceased | Daniel Cooper Jr 1729–1787 | residence: Longhill, Morristown, Morris Co., New Jersey |
| [the widow] | spouse | ||
| Joseph | child | ||
| Daniel | child | ||
| Sarah | child | ||
| Mary | child | Mary (Cooper) Crane 1759–1831 probable | |
| Catharine | child | Catherine (Cooper) Ludlow 1754–1783 probable | |
| Silas Condict | commissioner | ||
| Aaron Kitchel, Esq. | commissioner | ||
| Capt. Peter Layton | commissioner |
What this document records
It names the heirs
THIS IS THE HEIR LIST THE CATALOG HAS NEVER HAD. Daniel Cooper Jr Daniel Cooper Jr's children were known only from [A.9]'s collective "children of son Daniel" and the 1792 codicil's Lydia and Mary Crane. ⇒ this partition names five heirs outright: sons Joseph and Daniel, daughters Sarah and Mary, and daughter Catharine, deceased, whose own heirs take her share. And it was on disk the whole time — uncatalogued, in Death/Partitions/.
It explains the intestacy
WHY [A.10] RECORDS HIM AS INTESTATE. "March 1787 papers were filed which the court judged not to be either a proper will or codicil." ⇒ he did leave testamentary papers; the Orphans' Court refused them. That is a different fact from dying without a will, and it is the kind of thing an administration abstract never says.
The homestead is named
"Lot one was the homestead at Longhill, Morristown." ⇒ the family seat is stated in a court record, not inferred from neighbours. The widow relinquished everything except lot one and asked that her whole third be taken in that piece.
It confirms the sussex tract
IT CORROBORATES [A.64] FROM THE MORRIS SIDE. "The Sussex County tract had been a partnership; only one half belonging to the Estate." ⇒ the Newton Twp. tract [A.64] shows him holding tenant-in-common was half-owned, and Catharine's heirs took an equal one-fourth part of the land in Sussex County. Two independent county records, agreeing.
The mine tract
A Mine tract in Somerset, also a partnership, one fifth belonging to the estate — "Neither of which had 'actually been surveyed'." Sons Joseph and Daniel took undivided half parts of that fifth; daughter Mary took 1/18th.
It conflicts with p79s child list
THE PARTITION AND Daniel Cooper Jr's RECORDED CHILDREN DO NOT AGREE, AND NEITHER SIDE IS DISCARDED. Both have Catharine and Mary. The partition adds Joseph, Daniel and Sarah, none of whom Daniel Cooper Jr lists. Daniel Cooper Jr lists Peter, William, John, Stephen, Ann and Lydia, none of whom the partition names. A partition divides REAL ESTATE among heirs at law, so a child already provided for by deed, or one who had released their share, can be absent — and the abstract is a summary, not the file. Not resolved here; argued on Daniel Cooper Jr.
Catharine married john ludlow
"Daughter CATHARINE, deceased wife of JOHN LUDLOW, leaving heirs." ⇒ she predeceased the 1787–89 partition and left children. This is the Catharine the catalog has as Catherine (Cooper) Ludlow Catherine (Cooper) Ludlow Jr — and it matters for a long-running confusion: [A.8] establishes Daniel Sr had no daughter Catharine, and the Ludlow connection there runs through daughter Agnes. ⇒ Catharine is Daniel Sr's GRANDdaughter, not his daughter, which is consistent with both documents rather than in conflict.
Transcription and notes
Provenance, what the abstract explains about the intestacy, the Sussex corroboration and the
conflict with [p.79]'s recorded children are all in the source: and coverage: headers and
are not repeated here.
Verbatim — page 10
DANIEL COOPER, JR., deceased (Orphans' Court, March 1787, September 1788 and July 1789). March 1787 papers were filed which the court judged not to be either a proper will or codicil. The widow relinquished her right to anything other than lot one, and wished her entire one third to be in that piece. Lot one was the homestead at Longhill, Morristown.
The Sussex County tract had been a partnership; only one half belonging to the Estate. The Mine tract in Somerset was also a partnership;
(margin: I:48, 56, 63)
Verbatim — page 11
DANIEL COOPER, JR. (Continued)
only one fifth belonging to the Estate, "Neither of which had 'actually been surveyed'." Each of the heirs was to receive parts of these outlying tracts – with the widow excepted as above stated.
The heirs were two sons, JOSEPH and DANIEL who were to have undivided half parts of the one-fifth part of the Mine tract and part of the homestead tract. Daughter SARAH was to have part of the homestead; Daughter MARY part of a 100 acre tract in the Great Swamp and 1/18th part of the Mine Tract; Daughter CATHARINE, deceased wife of JOHN LUDLOW, leaving heirs who were to have part of the 100 acres in the Great Swamp and an equal one-fourth part of the land in Sussex County. Commissioners: Silas Condict, Aaron Kitchel, Esq. and Capt. Peter Layton.
(Court Minutes; Doc. 1:67 – Map.)