Document F.155 · Church and Vital Records · transcription: verbatim
NJ Return of Births, 1870, entry #27 — Vivia A Cooper, female, b. 2 May 1870, Wyoming Co., Pa.; parents Robt. M & Phebe Cooper; residence 'Settlement Quaker'.
Transcription and notes
Source
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Document type | Return of Births |
| State | New Jersey |
| Period | (header reads) "from the [blank] day of 187[blank] to the [blank] day of 187[blank]" — = a manuscript births register for an unspecified NJ Township + County |
| Township / County | (top-of-page header is partially blank; needs return to image for clearer read) |
| Entry # | 27 |
| Page no. | 482 (= cursive page label upper-left of the photographed page) |
| Local file | (image held in the family archive) |
| Date acquired | 2026-05-21 |
Verbatim — entry #27
(per cursive transcription)
| Column | Value |
|---|---|
| No. | 27 |
| Date of Birth | May 2, 70 (= 2 May 1870) |
| Name of Child | Vivia A |
| Place of Birth | Wyoming Co. Pa. |
| Sex of Child | Female |
| Names of Parents | Robt. M & Phebe Cooper |
| Occupation of Parents | do (= ditto from row above — likely "Farmer" by inference) |
| Residence of Parents | Settlement Quaker[per user 2026-05-21 correction: NOT "Settlement Branch" as previously read] |
Adjacent entries (for context)
| # | DOB | Name | Place | Sex | Parents | Occ. | Residence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Mar 1, 70 | Florinda | Washington | Female | Olef & Catharine Willson | Labor | Washington |
| 26 | Feb 28, 71 | Elijah | do | Male | Chas & Rebecca Willson | do | do |
| 27 | May 2, 70 | Vivia A | Wyoming Co. Pa. | Female | Robt. M & Phebe Cooper | do | Settlement Quaker |
| 28 | Oct 1, 70 | Josephine | Settlement Quaker | do (female?) | Jesse & Amanda H. Willson | Farmer | do |
| 29 | Mar 3, 71 | Edward H | Pennington | Male | Almond & Mary Dunn | do | Pennington |
| 30 | July 21, 70 | Wilson | Greens Villa | Female | M. Adams & Jane Wright | English | Allamuchy |
| 31 | Jan 16, 70 | no name | Great Meadows | (Female) | Eliza I. Schaddinge | — | Great Meadows |
| 32 | Oct 16, ? | Honora | Den Ville | (Female) | Aldis & Rachel ___ | Labor | Denville |
| 33 | Jan 22, ? | no name | Long Bridge | Male | — Mortha Stackhouse | — | Long Bridge |
The mix of place names (Washington Twp / Allamuchy / Pennington / Great Meadows / Long Bridge / Denville / Greens Villa) suggests this is a NJ multi-township Return of Births — possibly Warren Co. or Sussex Co. The "Settlement Quaker" residence + the nearby "Great Meadows" (= F.154 Phebe's birthplace) + "Allamuchy" suggest Warren Co. NJ(covers both Great Meadows + Allamuchy).
Key findings
1. Date + place of birth PRIMARY-SOURCE-ATTESTED
- 2 May 1870(= the most reliable date — primary register source)
- Wyoming Co. Pa.= consistent with D.295 1870 federal census (= family residing in Washington Twp Wyoming Co PA on 22 June 1870 with newborn daughter "Vivia"/"Iva" age 1/12)
2. Disagreement with G.164 Find A Grave
Find A Grave #33947865 records the same child as "Agatha V Cooper b. 7 Mar 1870 Allamuchy NJ" — both date (Mar vs May) and place (NJ vs PA) DIFFER. Per memory feedback_findagrave_certainty.md Find A Grave = medium tier, primary-source vital register = higher tier. Resolution: birth = 2 May 1870 Wyoming Co PA per primary source.
3. Family name "Vivia" — corroborated
D.296 1880 census records her as "Vivia" age 10 = same name as this birth register. Catalog name standardization: Agatha Vivia Cooper(or Vivia Agatha Cooper) — formal "Agatha" on stone; family/everyday "Vivia" in records of life.
4. Residence: "Settlement Quaker"
Per user 2026-05-21 correction "(2) Vivia birth cert: it says 'Settlement Quaker' not 'Settlement Branch'". = a community known as "Quaker Settlement" — possibly Wantage Twp Sussex Co. NJ "Quaker Settlement" (= historic Quaker community in northern NJ), or possibly a different "Quaker Settlement" in Warren Co or NE PA. Needs research follow-up.
Note: but Vivia was BORN in Wyoming Co. PA (= place-of-birth column) while the PARENTS' RESIDENCE is listed as "Settlement Quaker" — could mean the Cooper family was nominally Quaker-Settlement-NJ-resident but the mother went to Wyoming Co PA for the birth (= visiting family? mid-migration?). OR could mean the Cooper family was actually living in Wyoming Co PA but registering the birth back in NJ where they retained township ties.
5. NJ filing of PA-occurring birth
This is a New JerseyReturn of Births recording a Pennsylvania-occurring birth. = consistent with the family being NJ residents who happened to be in PA at the moment of birth — or NJ post-relocation reporters re-registering an earlier PA birth. The "Settlement Quaker" residence in NJ supports the family-was-NJ-resident interpretation.
Cross-references
- p.210 Agatha V / Vivia A Cooper — subject
- p.165 Robert M Cooper — father (named "Robt. M")
- p.170 Phoebe A Schenck Cooper — mother (named "Phebe")
- D.295 — 1870 PA census (= 1-month-old daughter "Vivia"/"Iva" attested)
- D.296 — 1880 NJ census (= "Vivia" age 10)
- G.164 — Find A Grave memorial "Agatha V" 1870-1895 (= different date/place — see §"Disagreement")
- F.154 — Phoebe Schenck Cooper PA death cert 1932 (mother's parents)
Open follow-ups
- Identify "Settlement Quaker"— research NJ Quaker Settlement locations: Wantage Twp Sussex (= most famous), or possibly Hardwick / Pequest Twp Warren. Pull NJ Quaker Friends Meeting records for Cooper-name in 1860s-1870s.
- Identify NJ township issuing this Return of Births— page header partially blank in current photograph; re-photograph or re-acquire to read township + county labels.
- Other NJ Returns of Births— same register may have entries for Minnie M Cooper (b. 1872) + Bertie (1875) + Lizzie (1879). Pull adjacent volumes 1872-1881.
People named in this source (moved from header)
- p.210 Agatha V / Vivia A Cooper(2 May 1870 PA – 1895) — subject. Name as written: 'Vivia A'
- p.165 Robert Marshall Cooper — father, name as written: 'Robt. M'
- p.170 Phoebe A. (Schenck) Cooper — mother, name as written: 'Phebe'
Interpretation — relocated
What this entry concluded now lives in p.210 (p.210 Agatha V Cooper.md). An entry holds verbatim source content and navigational pointers; the reasoning belongs with the person, family or thread it is about. Moved 2026-08-03.