Document I.124 · Published Genealogies and County Histories · transcription: verbatim
Records of the Town of Newark NJ 1666-1836 (1864 Newark Historical Society edition; 314 pp; on disk at Books/Newark Town Records 1666-1836.pdf) — 2026-05-23 grep sweep yields 47 Cooper hits across 21 pages. Index page 304 confirms ONLY TWO adult Coopers in Newark 1666-1740: John Cooper (active 1697-1717+, Town Clerk + Constable + Assessor + Freeholder + Rate Maker) + Samuel Cooper (active 1712-1730s+, Ensign → Lieutenant + Assessor + Rate Maker). NO Daniel Cooper anywhere in Newark Town Records 1666-1740. These are the SAME two Cooper-brothers attested at NJA Vol 30 p.108-109 (John d. Nov 1732 testator; Samuel Esq. d. 2 Aug 1737 INTESTATE, widow Experience Cooper administratrix). Result: Hypothesis A (Newark Puritan migration → Daniel Sr) is NEITHER POSITIVELY supported nor disproved by Newark records. Daniel Sr (b. 1695) is NOT himself in Newark records (= not an active adult in Newark, consistent with him being a CHILD of a Newark Cooper if hypothesis A holds). The OPEN question: did Samuel Cooper Esq. have a son named Daniel? Samuel died INTESTATE so no will-body children-list exists; resolution requires Samuel's administration paper at NJ State Archives (= File number TBD) OR Newark First Presbyterian + Mountain Society baptism registers 1690-1700.
Transcription and notes
Source identification
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Records of the Town of Newark, New Jersey, from its Settlement in 1666 to its Incorporation as a City in 1836 |
| Publisher | New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, NJ |
| Publication date | 1864 (= public-domain, NOT under copyright per Internet Archive) |
| On disk | (image held in the family archive) (20.2 MB, 314 pages, text-extractable) |
| Acquired | 2026-05-23 via archive.org https://archive.org/details/recordsoftownofn00newa direct PDF download |
Per memory feedback_use_pdf_py_not_pdftoppm.md |
Searched via pdf.py (not deprecated pdftoppm) |
Search method
Bare-string search for "Cooper" across all 314 pages via pdf.py search "Cooper" --context 70. Returns 47 hits across 21 distinct pages.
Full Cooper-name attestations 1697-1737
John Cooper (active 1697-1717+) — Town Clerk + Constable + Assessor + Freeholder + Rate Maker
| Page | Year | Verbatim context |
|---|---|---|
| 13 (editor's note) | — | "These are from the original record made by John Cooper, Town Clerk" |
| 125 | (1697) | "Item — John Cooper is chosen Constable, for the Year ensuing or until another be sworn." |
| 126 | (1698) | "the Men chosen to make the Rate, are Nathaniel Ward, John Cooper, Thomas Richards, Joseph Harrison" |
| 129 | (1700) | "Eliphalet Johnson, Thos. Davis, Robert Young, Daniel Dod, Nathaniel Ward, and John Cooper, to consider, agree, and put forward the Design abovesaid" |
| 132 | 1703 | "Nathaniel Ward and John Cooper are chosen to make the Rates. Town Meeting, January the first, 1703" |
| 134 | (1706) | "John Cooper and Nathaniel Ward Sen'r, are chosen Rate makers" + "Nath'l Ward and John Cooper are chosen Assessors, for the Town Rate" |
| 135 | (1708-09) | "John Cooper is chosen Town Clerk, for the Year ensuing" + "John Cooper should have a piece of the Parsonage Land for his Improvement" |
| 136 | (1709-10) | "Sarj't Ward and John Cooper are chosen to make said Rate" |
| 137 | (1710-11) | "Sarj't Nathaniel Ward and John Cooper" Assessors + Rate Makers + Salary committee |
| 138 | 1711-1714 | "Sarj't Nathaniel Ward and John Cooper" Rate makers (Mr. Bowers's Salary) + Town committees |
| 138-139 | 1713 | (transition to Samuel Cooper as Rate maker / Assessor) |
| 139 | 1714-1715 | "John Cooper was Chosen Town Clerke by Vote of the Inhabitants" + "John Cooper was then again Chosen Town Clerk and Sworn Truly" |
| 143 | 1719 | "John Ogden and John Cooper are chosen Freeholders, and the said John Cooper is chosen Assessor" + "Doct'r Jacob Arent, John Cooper, Thomas Stagg" |
| 144 | 1719-1720 | "John Cooper was chosen to assess the said Rate" + "John Cooper and Jonathan Crane, were chosen Freeholders for the ensuing Year" + "Was chosen, John Cooper, Assessor, and Jonathan Crane, Collector for the provincial tax" |
| 146 | (1727+) | "John Cooper, Clerk for Strays" |
| 147 | 1736 | "Mr. James Nutman, Mr. Jonathan Pierson, Mr. John Crane and John Cooper" — Newark town committee |
| 288 (index/career roster) | "1712" | Deputies list: "John Cooper, 1712" |
| 289 (career roster) | "1697" + "1706" | Multiple-role lists |
| 290 (career roster) | "1698, 1702, 6, 8, 10, 11" | Assessors and Rate Makers list |
| 298 | (Newark patent/charter signers) | "JOHN COOPER" — among freeholders + inhabitants of Newark named as signatories |
| 304 (full back-index) | — | "Cooper, John, 114, 120, 123, 127, 128, 132" |
Samuel Cooper (active 1712-1730s+) — Ensign → Lieutenant + Assessor + Rate Maker + Freeholder
| Page | Year | Verbatim context |
|---|---|---|
| 138 | 1712 | "John Richards and Samuel Cooper are chosen Assessors, for making of a Rate for the Poor" + "Ensign Samuel Cooper and James Brown, were chosen Rate makers and Assessors" |
| 138 | 1713 | "Samuel Cooper and David Ogden, were chosen Assessors and Rate makers for Mr. Bowers" |
| 139 | 1714-1715 | "Sam'l Cooper was Chosen and Sworn to officiate in the Clerk's absence" + "Lieut. Sam'll Aling & Ensign Sam'll Cooper are Chosen by Vote, to Take Care that the Subscription for Mr. Bowers his Rate is..." + "Sam'l Cooper & David Ogden are Chosen Assessors & Rate Makers" |
| 143 | 1719 | "There was then chosen David Ogden, and Samuel Cooper, Assessors, and Joseph Ball and John Crane, Jun'r, Collectors" |
| 144 | 1720s | "Capt. Ogden and Sam'l Cooper were chosen Freeholders" |
| 145 | 1725-1730 | "Capt. David Ogden and Lieut. Sam'l Cooper, Freeholders" (= repeated multiple years) + "Capt. Ogden, Sam'l Cooper, Nathaniel Johnson, Israel Canfield..." |
| 146 | (1730s) | "Capt. David Ogden and Lieut. Sam'l Cooper, Freeholders" + "Capt. Ogden, Sam'l Cooper, Joseph Tuttle, Israel Canfield, Capt. Wheeler and John Johnson, Fence Viewers" |
| 290 (career roster) | "1712" | Assessors and Rate Makers list: "Samuel Cooper, 1712" |
| 304 (full back-index) | — | "Cooper... Samuel, 124" |
Bottom-line interpretations
1. NO Daniel Cooper in Newark Town Records 1666-1740 (= grep null, fully checked)
Index page 304: "Cooper, John, 114, 120, 123, 127, 128, 132. Samuel, 124. Cornbury, Lord..." — only John + Samuel attested. No Daniel Cooper. This is consistent with two interpretations:
- (a) Daniel Sr was a CHILD of Samuel Cooper Esq. + Experience — = wouldn't appear in town-officer rolls as a young man b. 1695 (would only enter records ~1716+ as an adult). Newark Town Records null on Daniel-name is therefore CONSISTENT with Daniel-Sr-as-Samuel's-son hypothesis A.
- (b) Daniel Sr was NEVER in Newark — = born elsewhere, came to NJ via different route; Newark Cooper men (John + Samuel) are unrelated to Daniel Sr's line.
2. The two attested Newark Cooper men match the two NJA Vol 30 testators
| Newark Town Records | NJA Vol 30 | Match |
|---|---|---|
| John Cooper, Town Clerk + Freeholder + Assessor 1697-1717+ | "John Cooper, of Newark, Essex Co; will of, 1732 Nov 16" (Vol 30 p.108) | Same individual |
| Samuel Cooper, Ensign → Lieutenant + Assessor + Freeholder 1712-1730+ | "Samuel Cooper, Esq., of Newark, Essex Co. Int. Adm'x, Experience Cooper, widow" (Vol 30 p.109, abstract 1737 Aug 2) | Same individual |
Brothers. John d. 1732 had no own sons (per 1732 will body, falsifying earlier Daniel-Sr-father hypothesis). Samuel d. 1737 INTESTATE = no will-body to read for children-list.
3. Hypothesis A status — Samuel Cooper Esq. of Newark is the prime remaining candidate father
If Daniel Sr was born to a Newark Cooper family in 1695, his father is most likely Samuel Cooper Esq. (= John's brother). Samuel: - Was an adult by 1712 (Ensign rank attested) - Was promoted to Lieutenant by 1720s - Held continuous Newark town offices 1712-1730+ (= a respected community leader) - Died 2 Aug 1737 INTESTATE; widow Experience administered - Fellowbondsmen on the administration: Isaac Lyon + Daniel Tichener
The "Daniel Tichener" fellowbondsman at Samuel's 1737 intestate administration is intriguing — Daniel was an unusual given-name in Newark and the Tichener-Cooper family connection through this bondsman role suggests possible kinship-by-marriage or close community trust. The naming-pattern speculation: Samuel may have named a son Daniel after a Tichener kinsman (= would fit Dutch-Reformed naming convention even in English-Puritan Newark).
4. Confirms p.215 chain identification (= Newark John Cooper across 4 documents)
Newark Town Records strengthens the p.215 4-document identification chain. John Cooper of Newark is now primary-source-attested across:
- 2 Sept 1718 — Hanover First Presby founding deed witness (F.162)
- 1697-1717+ — Newark Town Clerk + Constable + Assessor + Freeholder (I.124)
- 25 Mar 1730 — Hanover Twp 1250-acre deed grantee + Joseph Bonnel of Elizabethtown (K.3)
- 16 Nov 1732 — Newark Essex Co. testator; will lists 4 Sergeant sons-in-law + brother Samuel (pr.60 sweep)
Same individual across all 4 documents — primary-source-locked.
Follow-ups
- [ ] ** Pull Samuel Cooper Esq. of Newark 1737 intestate administration paper at NJ State Archives — would name Experience's heirs (= Samuel + Experience's children). HIGHEST PRIORITY** for testing Daniel-Sr-as-Samuel's-son Hypothesis A. NJSA Probate Record Request form; decedent: Samuel Cooper Esq.; County: Essex; Date range: 1735-1740; File number: TBD (look up via NJSA portal Probate Record Search first).
- [ ] ** Search Newark First Presbyterian Church baptism + member registers 1690-1700** for Cooper baptisms — would primary-source-attest any Daniel Cooper born 1690-1700 to John or Samuel.
- [ ] ** Search Mountain Society / Orange NJ Presbyterian Church records 1700-1730** — Mountain Society = early Newark-area Presbyterian congregation; Cooper-family baptisms could be there
- [ ] ** Create stub p.N for Samuel Cooper Esq. of Newark Essex Co. d. 1737** — currently uncataloged person
- [ ] ** Create stub p.N for Experience Cooper** = Samuel's widow
- [ ] ** Investigate Daniel Tichener fellowbondsman** — Newark connection; possible naming-pattern source
Cross-references
- I.123 Holland Society sweep — Holland-origin hypothesis substantial falsification
- F.162 1718 Hanover First Presby founding deed — earlier-attestation of John Cooper of Newark
- K.3 NJSA Early Land Records John Cooper of Newark 1730 — later-attestation of John Cooper of Newark
- p.215 John Cooper of 1718 Whippanong — pre-existing identification target; I.124 confirms 4-document chain
- pr.2 Daniel Sr father search — pr.2 thread substantially advanced
- pr.60 NJA 1670-1817 Cooper-testator sweep — Vol 30 abstracts of John + Samuel