Document A.58 · probate abstract · transcription: verbatim
NJ Archives Vol. XXXIV — the abstract of Daniel Cooper of Newton Twp., Gloucester Co., will 15 February 1768, proved 18 June 1776. A West Jersey man; NOT Daniel Cooper Sr of Long Hill.
A.58: NJ Archives Vol. XXXIV — the abstract of Daniel Cooper of Newton Twp., Gloucester Co., will 15 February 1768…People named
| As written | Role | Identified as | What this document says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper, Daniel | testator | ||
| Mary | spouse | ||
| William | child | ||
| James | child | ||
| Joshua | child | ||
| Daniel Cooper | grandchild | ||
| David Branson | executor | ||
| Jacob Spicer | executor | ||
| James Gill | witness | ||
| Samuel Spicer | witness | ||
| Aquilla Jones | appraiser | ||
| Joseph Cooper | appraiser | ||
| David Hurley | mentioned | ||
| William Harry | mentioned | ||
| Jack | enslaved | ||
| Will | enslaved | ||
| Rose | enslaved |
What this document records
He is not our daniel
THIS IS THE ENTRY'S PURPOSE: TO SAY WHO THIS MAN IS NOT. He is of Newton Township, Gloucester Co. — West Jersey, the southern Quaker Cooper country — and his land runs with the Spicer family. ⇒ not Daniel Cooper Sr Daniel Cooper Sr of Long Hill, Morris Co. That refutes [L.85], an Ancestry tree identifying "Daniel Cooper 1698-1795, son of Daniel × Sarah Spicer" as the same man as ours, and closes the Camden Quaker hypothesis in [pr.2]. See [fam.3] and Daniel Cooper.
The death date settles it
AND THE COMPLETED ABSTRACT MAKES THE REFUTATION DECISIVE RATHER THAN INFERENTIAL. The will was proved 18 June 1776, the inventory taken 15 March 1776, and the executors' account rendered 17 April 1777. ⇒ he died in 1776. [L.85] has him living to 1795 — nineteen years later, and the same year Daniel Cooper Sr Daniel Sr died, which is presumably how the conflation started. The earlier version of this entry could only argue that "Vol. 34's date range argues against 1795". It no longer has to argue: the volume states the probate.
A grandson named daniel
THE WILL NAMES A GRANDSON DANIEL COOPER — contingent heir if both sons die in their minority. So there were at least three Daniel Coopers in this one West Jersey family across three generations, which is worth knowing before matching any "Daniel Cooper" of that region to anybody.
The estate was large
Inventory £1,399.1.9 — substantial, and four to five times the neighbouring Waterford Benjamin Cooper's £307.15.0 on the same page.
The executor died first
The 1777 account was rendered by David Hurley, executor of David Branson, who was executor of Daniel Cooper — i.e. one of the named executors predeceased the settlement.
Transcription and notes
Provenance, the fact that this Daniel is a WEST JERSEY man and not [p.1], and the 1776
probate that settles it are all in the source: and coverage: headers and are not repeated
here.
Verbatim — the complete abstract (PDF pp. 105–106)
Completed 2026-09-01 from the volume PDF, replacing a truncated screenshot reading. OCR corrections in brackets.
1768[?], Feb. 15. Cooper, Daniel, of Newton Township, Gloucester Co., yeoman; will of. Son, William, £5 [OCR: "55"]. Son, James, my plantation on the southwest side of Newton Creek, which I bought of William Harry, and his wife; also ½ of my cedar swamp at Long-a-coming; also my negro men, Jack and Will. Son, Joshua, plantation where I live, on the Delaware River; also 14 acres of meadow, which I bought of Thomas Spicer; also my other meadow of 20 acres, which I bought of Samuel Spicer; also ½ of my cedar swamp at Long-a-coming, when he is 21. Wife, Mary, my household goods, and negro wench, Rose, and the profits of the plantation where I live, till my son, Joshua, is 21. Rest of estate to be sold, and the interest of the money to be paid to my wife, and, after her death, the money is to be paid to my sons, James and Joshua, and, if they die in their minority, then to my grandson, Daniel Cooper. Executors—friends, David Branson and Jacob Spicer, and my son, James. Witnesses—James Gill, Jacob Spicer, Samuel Spicer. Proved June 18, 1776.
1776, March 15. Inventory, £1,399.1.9, made by Aquilla Jones and Joseph Cooper.
1777, April 17. Account by David Hurley, the Executor of David Branson, who was Executor of Daniel Cooper.
Lib. 18, p. 187; Lib. 18, p. 207.
The OCR renders the date header as "1?;6S, Web. 15". The year is read as 1768 from the entry's placement in the volume's chronological run and from the 1776 probate; the digits themselves are not legible in the text layer, so if the year ever matters, read the page image.