Morris County NJ Court of Common Pleas Minute Book Vol 2-3 (1754-1766) (FamilySearch DGS 7903193), image 66 of 410, printed pp. 117-118 — Tuesday 4 July 1758 General Sessions of the Peace + Inferior Court of Common Pleas at Morristown. 'A Commission from the Honourable John Reading Esq appointing Daniel Cooper Junior Esqr Sheriff of the County of Morris being Read' = the exact moment Daniel Cooper Jr received his Sheriff commission, primary-source-image-verified. John Reading was Acting Governor of NJ 1757-1758 between Belcher's death + Bernard's arrival. Daniel Sr present at same session as Justice of the Quorum. = closes the [I.99](I.99.yaml) Sept 28 1758 attestation by establishing the formal commission date 12 weeks earlier. Final correction to Honeyman [M.24](../M-Societies/M.24.yaml) Sheriff attribution: Daniel Cooper Junior commissioned by John Reading on 4 July 1758, not Daniel Sr.

Transcription and notes

The formal commissioning moment of Daniel Cooper Jr as Sheriff of Morris County, 4 July 1758

This entry catalogs Morris CCP Vol 2-3 image 66 = printed pp. 117-118 = Tuesday 4 July 1758 Morris County General Sessions of the Peace + Inferior Court of Common Pleas at Morristown. The session opens with the present-list (Daniel Sr as Justice, full bench of Judges + Justices), then immediately records: "A Commission from the Honourable John Reading Esq appointing Daniel Cooper Junr Esqr Sheriff of the County of Morris being Read."

Catalog significance:

1. Formal commission date for Daniel Cooper Jr as Sheriff of Morris County: 4 July 1758. Closes the I.99 Sept 28, 1758 Gaol-protest attestation by establishing the prior commissioning date.
2. John Reading as the commissioning authority — Reading was Acting Governor of NJ 1757-1758 between Belcher's death (31 Aug 1757) and Bernard's arrival (mid-1758). His commissioning of Daniel Jr places the appointment in the brief Reading interregnum.
3. Daniel Sr present at the session as Justice — witnessing his son's formal commissioning. Documents the father-son public-office handover.
4. Honeyman M.24 catalog correction finalized — the "Sheriff 1753-1761" attribution to Daniel Cooper Sr is now thoroughly corrected via primary-source evidence. The Sheriff office passed Sr → Jr in 1757-1758. Honeyman conflated father + son.

Source identification

Verbatim — page 117 (left), 15 March 1758 cases (selected)

The left page contains the carry-over civil business from the 15 March 1758 quarterly session:

"March 15, 1758 — [auditors ordered to] dispose of and settle the quotas of Each Creditor in case of Insufficiency and make distribution thereof and that they make their Report thereof to the next term according to Law

[List of debt cases:] John Joline ag Henry Connet — on motion of the atty for the Plantiff the Court orders Judgmt for want of a Plea David Howel ag Henry Burnet — Debt Lx CC rules &c — Dehart John Low ag Zachariah Allerton — Debt L12 CC rules for Body — Ogden Randle Mitchel ag John Wrote — Debt L58-8 nonest — Cotnum Saml Woodruff ag James Davis — Debt L5-16 nonest — Dehart John Cleves ag James Davis — Debt L21-15-5 nonest — Jym John Dehart ag John Allen — Debt L12 nonest — Jpm

Ordered by the Court that the Plantiffs file their Decl[aratio]n in Twenty Days after the Court and that the Defendt plead in Twenty Days thereafter or Judge[ment]; the Plantiffs having served a copy of the Decl[aratio]n on the Sheriff or Defend[an]t in custody as the Rule of the Practice the same is ordered also that Defendts have Twenty Days liberty after the Court for filing Special Bail before the Bail Bonds be put in suit; then the Court adjourned pursuant to ordinance.

per Saml Governer Clk"

Verbatim — page 118 (right), 4 July 1758 session header + commission reading

"At a Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Inferior Court of Common Pleas held at Morris Town in and for the County of Morris on the first Tuesday in July 1758

July 4th the Court met and opened

Present: Jacob Ford } Joseph Tuttle } Judges Robert Gable [Goble]

Joseph Kitchel } Ebenezer Byrum } Justices Daniel Cooper }

A Commission from the Honourable John Reading Esq appointing Daniel Cooper Junr Esqr Sheriff of the County of Morris being Read

The Grand Jury being called sworn and Charge [given] in No 23 withdrew."

Following criminal-bench cases (King's-bench)

"The King ag Benj Fowler — Defendt being called on his Recog[nizance appeared The King ag Jesse Muir — Defendt being called on his Recognizance appeared The King ag Nathaniel Condit — Defendt being called on his Recognizance appeared The King ag John Cox — Defendt being called on his Recognizance appeared"

Civil cases (continuing on page 118)

"George Anderson ag Ebenezer Drake — Debt L30 CC Rules for the Body — Lagrange Barnardus Lagrange ag Ebenezer Drake — Debt L2-3 CC Rules for the Body — Jym The Same ag John Hoyle — Debt L3 CC Rules for the Body — Jym Jacob Houck ag Andres Auble — Case L20 CC agreed — Wm Admrs of George Moschel Deceased ag Joseph Beringer — Case Le CC Rules for the Body — Aaron [Lord?]"

What this source establishes

1. Daniel Cooper Jr's exact Sheriff commission date: 4 July 1758

The phrase "A Commission from the Honourable John Reading Esq appointing Daniel Cooper Junr Esqr Sheriff of the County of Morris being Read" is unambiguous in the clerk's hand. The commission was issued by John Reading at some earlier date (likely days or weeks before) and was read aloud in open court at this 4 July 1758 session = the formal effective date of Daniel Jr's commission. First image-verified primary-source date for the start of Daniel Jr's Sheriff tenure.

2. John Reading as commissioning authority establishes the chronology

John Reading (1686-1767) was President of the NJ Provincial Council during 1757-1758, serving as Acting Governor between: - Governor Jonathan Belcher's death on 31 August 1757 - Governor Francis Bernard's arrival on 14 June 1758 (Bernard sworn in)

Reading exercised gubernatorial powers — including issuing commissions — during this brief interregnum. The 4 July 1758 reading-in-court likely reflects: - Reading issued the commission sometime before Bernard's arrival - The commission was effective on the date issued (likely May-June 1758) - It was read in open court at the next CCP session, which fell on 4 July 1758

This pinpoints Daniel Jr's commission as one of the last gubernatorial acts of John Reading before Bernard's arrival, OR was issued by Reading in late 1757 / early 1758 but only made it to Morristown 4 July 1758.

3. Daniel Sr witnessed his son's commissioning while himself sitting as Justice

The Present list shows Daniel Sr (= Daniel Cooper, third entry in the Justices column) at the session where his son's commission was read. Father-son professional moment in primary source: Daniel Sr — who had himself been Sheriff briefly c. 1753-1757 — witnessed the transition of the office to his son.

4. The Sheriff-handover narrative is now primary-source-locked

Combined evidence: - Honeyman M.24: Daniel Cooper Sr Sheriff 1753-1761 (= Honeyman conflated Sr + Jr) - I.100 (this entry): Daniel Jr commissioned Sheriff 4 July 1758 by Reading - I.99: Daniel Jr functioning as Sheriff by 28 Sept 1758 (Gaol protest) - pr.44 Vol 26 Newspapers: Daniel Jr Sheriff 1768-69 - Img128 + Img129 (1762): Daniel Sr referenced as "Late High Sheriff" past-tense

Reconciled timeline: - ≈ 1753-1757: Daniel Cooper Sr held Sheriff office (= Honeyman's start date for "Daniel Cooper") - 4 July 1758: Daniel Cooper Jr commissioned Sheriff by John Reading (I.100) - 28 Sept 1758: Daniel Jr first documented exercise of office (I.99) - 1758–1769+: Daniel Jr Sheriff (≈ 11-year tenure)

5. Same-bench cohort context

The 4 July 1758 Present list captures the Morris Co. judicial-officer cohort at the moment of Daniel Jr's Sheriff commissioning: - Judges: Jacob Ford, Joseph Tuttle, Robert Goble - Justices: Joseph Kitchel, Ebenezer Byrum, Daniel Cooper [Sr]

Notable: Joseph Tuttle is named as a Judge (= elevation from JP at I.78 1749 to CCP Judge by 1758). Jacob Ford remains a Judge (continuous from I.95 1739 commission). Ebenezer Byrum continues as Justice (per I.78 1749 commission).

What this source does NOT establish

• The exact date John Reading signed the commission — only the date it was read in Morris CCP open court (4 July 1758). The commission instrument itself would name its issuing date (could be days or weeks earlier).
• Daniel Sr's exact Sheriff start + end dates — Img128/129 1762 confirms past-tense Sheriff status; specific dates pre-1758 need Vol 1 Img200-260 image search.
• The commission itself (instrument) — would be in the Morris Co. court loose-paper files at NJ State Archives or Morris Co. Surrogate. Would bear John Reading's signature + seal.
• Daniel Jr's oath of office — taken at this session per standard procedure but the literal oath-administration is not detailed in the minute book entry (would say "after which Daniel Cooper Jr took the Oaths required by law").

Cross-references

• I.99 — Morris CCP Vol 2-3 image 70 = Sept 28, 1758 Daniel Jr functioning as Sheriff (Gaol protest) + receiving tavern license with Daniel Sr as surety. I.99 is the 12-weeks-later follow-up to I.100.
• p.79 Daniel Cooper Jr 1729-1787 — primary people file consolidating Daniel Jr's catalog appearances; I.100 = his Sheriff commissioning record.
• M.24 Honeyman 1912 — "Sheriff 1753-1761" attribution now correctively documented via I.99 + I.100 primary-source evidence.
• I.78 — 1749 Belcher Burlington commission of Daniel Sr as Quorum Justice. The Justice office Daniel Sr continued holding through 4 July 1758 + later.
• I.95 — 1739 Lewis Morris commission of Daniel Sr as Quorum Justice.
• I.97 — Morris CCP Vol 1 image 27 = 1741 Daniel Sr Justice.
• I.98 — Morris CCP Vol 1 image 142 = 1749 Daniel Sr Justice.
• pr.44 — Vol 26 Newspapers 1768-69 Daniel Jr Sheriff endpoint.
• pr.55 — Morris CCP research thread.

Open questions / follow-up

• The Morris Co. court loose-paper file for Daniel Jr's 1758 Sheriff commission — would have John Reading's signature + seal + bond signatures (Daniel Sr possibly co-signed as surety). NJ State Archives Trenton.
• Daniel Sr's exact Sheriff date range — Vol 1 Img200-260 (1751-1753 range) would show his appointment + start of tenure.
• John Reading's Acting-Governor commissioning activity — were other Morris Co. officials also commissioned during his interregnum? Cross-reference NJ Provincial Council minutes 1757-1758.
• Was Daniel Sr's earlier commission as Sheriff still extant in any record? — would document his transition from Sheriff to Justice + back to active Quorum-Justice service.
• Vol 4-6 (1766-1778) Daniel Jr post-1769 activity — did Sheriff tenure continue past 1769? Possible follow-on Sheriff successor naming would appear in those records.