The Coopers of Long Hill

Document I.103 · Published Genealogies and County Histories · transcription: verbatim

Morris County NJ Court of Common Pleas Minute Book Vol 4-6 (1766-1778) (FamilySearch DGS 7903185), image 94 of 669, July Term 1768 — 'Wilson petitioned as above & John Wilson principal Daniel Cooper & Benjamin Cooper Suities &c' = first image-verified primary-source attestation of Benjamin Cooper (Daniel Sr's son, age 27) in Morris CCP court records, jointly with father Daniel Sr as sureties for John Wilson's tavern-license recognizance bond. 5 years before Benjamin's 1773 counterfeiting trial. Also surfaces a NEW lead: 'Appeal from Justice B. Cooper Judgt' = possibly Benjamin Cooper acting as a JP in 1768 (cursive B/D ambiguity; needs image-zoom).

Transcription and notes

Multiple corrections to this entry (chronological):

2026-05-19 evening: NOT the earliest Benjamin Cooper court appearance — earlier hits at Img212 (Dec 1763 Benjamin v Hathaway, age 22) + Img229 (1764) per I.105.

2026-05-19 late evening (intermediate state, now superseded): the "Justice B. Cooper" reading was briefly reversed from "clerical error" to "real Benjamin as JP" after 3 additional "B. Cooper" hits surfaced in Vol 4-6.

2026-05-19 LATEST (current): "Justice B. Cooper" reading REVERTED to clerical pattern (D→B), NOT a Benjamin-as-JP datum. See Section 3 below for full discussion. Decisive negative evidence: ZERO catalog sources outside Morris CCP minute books mention Benjamin as JP — contemporary 1773-74 newspapers + political-backlash records would have emphasized "sitting JP convicted of counterfeiting" if it had been true. Conclusion now matches p.2 Benjamin Cooper.md "JP reading REJECTED" section.

First image-verified father-son joint surety transaction (Daniel Sr + Benjamin together)

This entry catalogs Morris CCP Vol 4-6 image 94 = printed pp. 150-151 = July Term 1768 General Sessions of the Peace + CCP at Morristown.

Catalog significance:

  1. First image-verified primary-source court appearance of Benjamin Cooper (Daniel Sr's son, age 27 in 1768), 5 years before his 1773 counterfeiting trial per I.22 Craddock / pr.44 Vol 18 NJ Council.
  2. First image-verified father-son joint financial transaction between Daniel Sr and Benjamin — they co-surety John Wilson's tavern-license recognizance bond.
  3. New lead: "Appeal from Justice B. Cooper Judgt" — possibly Benjamin Cooper acting as JP in 1768. Image-zoom verification of cursive 'B'/'D' needed.

Source

Verbatim — page 150 right, July Term 1768 tavern-license session

"[Nathl] Drake petitioned as before &c. Nathl Drake Principal, Benjamin Pitney & John Carl Sureties enter into Recog. &c.

[John] Wilson petitioned as above & John Wilson principal, Daniel Cooper & Benjamin Cooper Suities &c.

[John] Hunting petitioned as above. John Hunting Principal, Moses Peirson & David Beeman Sureties enter into Recog. &c.

[John] Woolley petitioner as above & John Woolley Principal, Thomas Thompson & James Ennis Sureties &c.

J. Self & J. Bishop Appellts — Appeal from Justice B. Cooper Judgt to [next term] / £15.10 Debt & Cost. Jno Wart appears for the Appellies. Mr D. Ogden appears for the Appellant at whose request this Cause is put off. Ordered that this appeal be heard the first day of next Term.

Then the Court adjourned to 6 o'clock tomorrow morning.

July 6th 1768 the Court met according to Adjournment Present as before:

Thomas [Heney/Keney] petitioned as above granted &c. Thos Heney Principal, John Armstrong & Joseph Stit enter into Recog &c."

What this source establishes

1. Benjamin Cooper's first primary-source court appearance

Age 27, jointly with his father Daniel Sr, as surety on John Wilson's tavern-license recognizance bond. The clerk's hand unambiguously names "Daniel Cooper & Benjamin Cooper Suities" — both first names + Cooper surname clearly written.

Catalog impact: Benjamin Cooper's pre-1773 court presence is now image-verified. The catalog had effectively zero primary-source-image attestations of Benjamin before this entry — most Benjamin content came from secondary sources (I.4 Littell, I.22 Craddock, I.36 House of Cooper, M.24 Honeyman).

2. Father-son joint financial transaction

Daniel Sr + Benjamin co-suretying John Wilson's bond = primary-source attestation of the father-son economic partnership 5 years before the counterfeiting trial. The earlier (1758) father-son surety was Daniel Sr + Daniel Jr (per I.99); this is now extended to Daniel Sr + Benjamin in 1768.

3. RESOLUTION REVERTED 2026-05-19 LATEST: "Justice B. Cooper" = LIKELY systematic clerk-hand pattern (D→B), NOT a Benjamin-as-JP datum

After the maintainer surfaced 3 additional "B. Cooper" hits and I initially reversed to "real Benjamin as JP," the maintainer raised a critical skeptical question: if Benjamin had been a sitting JP convicted of counterfeiting in 1773, contemporary newspapers + political-backlash records would have emphasized that biographical detail. They don't.

Catalog search for "Benjamin Cooper" + "Justice" / "JP" / "magistrate" / "former Justice" across:

ZERO catalog sources outside Morris CCP minute books mention Benjamin as JP. A sitting JP convicted of counterfeiting would have been irresistible news for 1773-74 papers + the political backlash critique. The silence is decisive.

Most parsimonious reading: the 4 "Justice B. Cooper" / "Jus. B. Cooper" cursive hits across Vol 4-6 1768-1772 records = systematic clerk-hand pattern (one specific clerk's "D" reads as "B" to modern eyes, consistently). The "B. Cooper" → "D. Cooper" reading is reinforced by:

  1. No newspaper documentation of Benjamin as JP (= conclusive negative evidence)
  2. No commission record in NJ Provincial Council minutes (= no commission instrument on disk; would need to be there for a real JP)
  3. All 4 "B. Cooper" hits come from the same minute-book volume (Vol 4-6) and likely same clerk = letter-form consistency across records, not multiple-witness corroboration
  4. The Img380 "Benjn Cooper Esq" attestation is clearly written full-name + Esq title (= unambiguous Benjamin); contrasts with the abbreviated "B. Cooper" elsewhere — the clerk consistently writes the FULL name when meaning Benjamin
  5. "Justice [B/D]. Cooper" in the 4 hits is likely referencing Daniel Cooper Sr or Jr as Justice — Daniel Sr was Judge of CCP (1760-1774 per I.101), Daniel Jr transitioned from Sheriff (1758-1770) to Esq commissioner roles then JP by 1777 per I.108. Either could be the underlying "D. Cooper" reference.

Final verdict (REVERTED to original 2026-05-19 evening reading): "Justice B. Cooper" = clerical pattern, NOT a Benjamin Cooper JP datum. The Img094 1768 "Appeal from Justice [B/D]. Cooper" remains an open identification — likely Daniel Sr or Jr in a Justice capacity.

This adjacent finding now reads: "J. Self & J. Bishop Appellts Appeal from Justice [D./B.] Cooper Judgt to Henry Judgt £15.10 Debt & Cost" = appeal from a JP-level £15.10 judgment, JP identity ambiguous between D. Cooper (Daniel Sr or Jr) and the unlikely B. Cooper reading.

Cross-references

Open questions / follow-up