The Coopers of Long Hill

Document I.109 · Published Genealogies and County Histories · transcription: verbatim

Morris County NJ Court of Common Pleas Minute Book Vol 4-6 (1766-1778) (FamilySearch DGS 7903185), images 333 + 362 — July Term 1772 + September Term 1772 sealing-dockets at Morristown. Both pages record 'Robert Gaston v Jno. Burwell' Sum [Appeal] from Jus. [B/D]. Cooper Judg by Default for $10 proc = some Cooper-family Justice rendered the appealed-from judgment; cursive reads 'B' but the BENJAMIN-AS-JP reading is REJECTED per absence of contemporary documentation (no newspaper, no political-backlash record, no commission instrument names Benjamin as JP). Most parsimonious reading: systematic clerk-hand pattern (D→B letter-swap) referring to Daniel Cooper Sr or Jr in Justice capacity. Img333 also shows Benj Cooper Esq v David Day = Benjamin as private litigant (clear full-name + Esq title, unambiguous identification) appealing from Justice Bowers's $9.16 judgment. Plus the case caption documents Robert Gaston (Benjamin's brother-in-law) appealing from a Cooper-family JP judgment = family-network legal entanglement regardless of which Cooper served as JP.

Transcription and notes

2026-05-19 LATEST: Benjamin-as-JP reading REJECTED — see "Verdict" section below

The "Justice B. Cooper" cursive captions at Img333 + Img362 (and the parallel hits at I.103 Img094 + I.110 Img380) were briefly read as evidence that Benjamin Cooper served as Justice of the Peace 1768-1772. That reading is REJECTED following the maintainer's skeptical point: contemporary newspapers (J.131-J.134) + secondary sources (Craddock, Mellick, Honeyman, Stryker, SAR, Littell, Tuttle) are ALL silent on Benjamin as JP. A sitting-JP-convicted-of-counterfeiting story in 1773 would have been irresistible news; the silence across every contemporary record is decisive.

Most parsimonious reading: "Justice B. Cooper" across the 4 Vol 4-6 records = systematic clerk-hand pattern (D→B letter-swap) referring to Daniel Cooper Sr or Jr in Justice capacity, not Benjamin. The Daniel-line had documented JP/Judge tenure: Daniel Sr per I.101 (CCP Judge from 1760, with prior JP commissions), Daniel Jr per I.108 (JP attested 1777). The cursive 'B' is most likely a D-form variant in this clerk's hand.

Entry's primary catalog value

With the JP-Benjamin reading retired, what this entry documents:

  1. Robert Gaston v John Burwell appeal flow — Daniel Sr's son-in-law (Rosanna's husband) pursuing a $10 proc debt appeal at Morris CCP across two terms, the lower-court judgment having come from a Cooper-family JP (likely Daniel Sr or Jr). Family-network dynamics regardless of which Cooper rendered the underlying judgment.
  2. Benj Cooper Esq v David Day (Img333) — Benjamin Cooper as PLAINTIFF appealing from Justice Bowers's $9.16 judgment in his favor. Unambiguous full-name + Esq title in same clerk's hand on same page; contrasts with the abbreviated "Jus. B. Cooper" caption elsewhere. The clerk consistently writes the FULL name when meaning Benjamin = strong internal evidence the "B. Cooper" abbreviation refers to a different person (Daniel Sr/Jr).
  3. Benjamin's pre-counterfeiting commercial activity — David Day owed him $9.16; same David Day appears in other Morris CCP records, suggesting an established Cooper-Day creditor-debtor relationship.

Source

Verbatim — Img333 printed p. 220 (July Term 1772, left page near bottom)

"William Mills v David Day — Sum Justice Bowers — Judg by Default for Debt £10.0.10 19 [?] for with Costs No.15.4 pro

Robert Gaston v Jno. Burwell — Sum Jus. B. Cooper — Judg by Default for $10 proc with Costs — 15.4 Do

Samuel Oliver v John Stephens — Sum Justice Broadwell — On Trial, the Court on hearing the Allegations of both parties give Judg for £[].[].4 Money at eight shillings the [ounce?] with Costs of said [_]"

Verbatim — Img333 printed p. 221 (July Term 1772, right page top)

"Joseph Riggs v Wenezer Collins — Sum Justice Fitchel — the Plff being called appeared, the Defend made Default, Judg by Default for £[1].17.9.16.8, Executiona[?] Cost

Benj Cooper Esq v David Day — Sum Justice Bowers — Judg by default for $9.16 money for with Costs

Jacob Guard v Daniel Brown — Sum Just. Bowers — Judg by Default $9.8.6 with Co[sts]

Jacob Ford Esq v Jacob Miller — Sum [Just. Bowers?] — Judg for £1.4 with Cost. Silas Drake v [_] — Sum Just. Bowers ... Sum Just. Grandine ... Joshua Douglass — ordered that this cause be put off to next term"

Verbatim — Img362 printed p. 278 (September Term 1772, left page near bottom)

"Wm Mills v David Day — £10.0.0 Jus. Bowers

Robert Gaston v Jno. Burwell — $10 prov, Jus. B. Cooper

Benj Cooper [Sen?] v David Day — Jus. Bowers"

Verdict

The unambiguous Cooper-family appearances on these two pages:

  1. Img333 — "Benj Cooper Esq v David Day": Benjamin Cooper as plaintiff, appealing from Justice Bowers's $9.16 judgment. Full name + Esq title; identification = certain.
  2. Img362 — "Benjm Cooper Esqr v David Day" ( RESOLVED 2026-05-19 LATEST via 8x zoom): cursive clearly reads Esqr (= Esquire), NOT Sen (Senior). Same Benjamin = same person as Img333 "Benj Cooper Esq v David Day"; same David Day defendant; case continues across both 1772 terms. No new catalog person Benjamin Cooper Jr implied.
  3. "Robert Gaston v Jno. Burwell — Jus. B. Cooper" (both Img333 + Img362): appeal from a Cooper-family Justice's $10 proc lower-court judgment. Justice identity = REJECTED-as-Benjamin per the silence-of-contemporary-newspapers argument; most likely Daniel Sr or Jr per the clerical-pattern reading.

The case bench appearances of Benjamin in his Plaintiff role are NOT in tension with the JP-rejection: Benjamin was clearly an active "Esq" (= property-owning gentleman + Hibernia Iron Mines proprietor) operating as creditor in Morris CCP, but the "Esq" title in his case-captions reflects his commercial/social status, not a magistrate commission.

Open: who was the "Jus. B. Cooper" in the Gaston-Burwell appeal?

Possibilities, ranked by parsimony: 1. Daniel Cooper Sr or Jr — clerical D→B letter-swap; most likely given documented Daniel-line JP/Judge tenure. Would require Robert Gaston (son-in-law of Daniel Sr) appealing from a judgment by his own father-in-law (Sr) or brother-in-law (Jr). 2. A separate Bowers/Beane-family Justice "B." Cooper not yet identified — very unlikely; no catalog evidence. 3. Benjamin Cooper (the rejected reading) — would require explaining the universal silence of contemporary press + secondary sources on Benjamin-as-JP.

Resolution path: image-zoom the cursive B/D form on all 4 hits + compare to other clearly-D-form letters by the same clerk + check NJ Provincial Council minutes 1766-1772 for any Cooper JP commissions.

Benj Cooper Esq v David Day (Img333) — Benjamin as creditor

Same Img333 page: "Benj Cooper Esq v David Day — Sum Justice Bowers — Judg by default for $9.16 money for with Costs" = Benjamin appealing from Justice Bowers's $9.16 judgment in his favor. Documents an established Cooper-Day creditor-debtor relationship. David Day appears elsewhere in pr.55 records as Morris Co. litigant + later Esqr/Justice.

Robert Gaston v John Burwell continuation (Img362)

Sept Term 1772 entry shows Gaston-Burwell case rolling forward + Benj Cooper Sen[?] v David Day continuing. Outcome unresolved by end of Sept 1772 session.

What this source does NOT establish

Cross-references

Open questions / follow-up