Document A.60 · administration · transcription: verbatim
Administration of George Cooper of Morris Twp., intestate, January 1802 — NJSA File 1103N, recorded Liber 39 fol. 535. Inventory $3,249.31.
- repository
- New Jersey State Archives
- identifier
- Wills File 1103N; recorded Liber 39 of Wills, folio 535
- date
- 1802-01-09
What is transcribed: The published abstract, and the manuscript file's bond, inventory and letters.
People named
| As written | Role | Identified as | What this document says |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Cooper | deceased | George Cooper 1745–1801 probable | residence: Township of Morris, Morris Co., New Jersey death: before 9 Jan 1802 |
| Daniel C. Cooper | administrator | ||
| John G. Cooper | administrator | ||
| Benjamin Ludlow | bondsman | ||
| Henry King | bondsman | ||
| John Williams | appraiser | ||
| Joseph Bloomfield | official | ||
| Jabez Campfield | official | ||
| Hynno[?] | enslaved | ||
| Stacy | enslaved | ||
| Gin[?] | enslaved | ||
| [an unnamed girl] | enslaved |
What this document records
It states no kinship
THE FILE NAMES NO RELATIONSHIPS, AND THIS MATTERS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION. It is an intestate administration — bond, inventory, letters. The administrators Daniel C. Cooper and John G. Cooper are styled only "of the County of Morris", never "sons". ⇒ the identification of the decedent as George Cooper George Cooper, son of Daniel Sr, and of the administrators as his sons, rests entirely on external evidence ([G.122], [I.65]) and on nothing in this file. Recorded plainly because a pulled manuscript feels like confirmation and here it is not.
The estate was large
Inventory $3,249.31, taken 8 January 1802 — a substantial working farm: oxen, 11 milch cows, 35 sheep, wagons and a sleigh, some 28 tons of hay, potash kettles, a still with barrelled spirits and cider, promissory notes and cash.
Four enslaved people
THE INVENTORY OPENS WITH FOUR ENSLAVED PEOPLE, VALUED BEFORE THE LIVESTOCK — a man "Hynno"[?] at $250, a man "Stacy" at $250, an unnamed "Negro girl" at $187.50, and a fourth recorded as "Gin"[?] at $187.50. Two of the four names are uncertain readings and one person is not named at all. Recorded because this inventory is their only record.
Transcription and notes
Provenance, the fact that the file states no kinship, and the four enslaved people are all in
the source: and coverage: headers and are not repeated here. The identification is
argued on [p.80], and rests on evidence outside this file.
Verbatim transcription — Calendar of Wills entry
1802, Jan. 9. Cooper, George, of Morris Twsp., Morris Co. Int. Adm'rs—Daniel C. Cooper and John G. Cooper. Fellowbondsmen—Benjamin Ludlow and Henry King; all of said Co. Lib. 39, p. 535.
1802, Jan. 8. Inventory, $3,249.31; made by Benjamin Ludlow and John Williams. File 1103 N.
Data from the document
- Decedent: George Cooper of Morris Twsp., Morris Co. NJ
- Status: Intestate ("Int.")
- Date of administration grant: 9 Jan 1802
- Date of inventory: 8 Jan 1802 (the inventory predates the formal administration grant by one day — typical for filed inventory taken shortly after death + accepted at grant of letters)
- Administrators (joint): Daniel C. Cooper + John G. Cooper (both of Morris Co.)
- Fellowbondsmen: Benjamin Ludlow + Henry King (both of Morris Co.)
- Inventory appraisers: Benjamin Ludlow + John Williams
- Inventory total: $3,249.31 (= a substantial estate; for context, the A.15 Nathan Cooper Sr Roxbury 1798 inventory totaled £229 + £2.16.0 'desperate money' = roughly $610 + dispersed money)
- Probate filing references: Lib. 39 p. 535 (administration); File 1103 N (probate file)