The Coopers of Long Hill

Document I.138 · transcription: verbatim

Chambers, Theodore F., The Early Germans of New Jersey: Their History, Churches and Genealogies (Dover Iron Era, [c. 1895])

Transcription and notes

Filename: (image held in the family archive) (810-page PDF; Internet Archive digitization 2010 funded by Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation)

Identification

Author: Theodore Frelinghuysen Chambers, pastor of the Presbyterian congregation, German Valley NJ. Published by the Dover Iron Era (Frank E. Everett, editor), Dover, Morris Co. NJ; no copyright date printed but internal dating gives c. 1895 (cf. Perry's bibliography in I.132 citing "Chambers' Early Germans of N. J. 302" with definite article = post-publication standard reference). Subject: the history, churches and genealogies of Palatine-German immigrants and their neighbors in northern New Jersey — primarily Morris, Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties.

Genre: Local-history compilation. Author personally examined "every one of the 62 books of wills at Trenton" and consulted records at Newton, Belvidere, Flemington, Somerville and Morristown; copied inscriptions from 31 cemeteries Newton–Flemington including Lamington, Bedminster and Somerville; compiled church records of Stillwater, German Valley, New Germantown, Lebanon and Mount Pleasant. Epistemic grade: secondary-source genealogy with primary-source citations (will-book reference numbers, baptismal dates) for many but not all assertions. Comparable in tier to Honeyman, Snell, and Littell. Treat Chambers's dates/parentages as probable when supported by his will/cemetery citation, possible otherwise — primary-source the citations themselves when leverage is high.

Why the book matters for Cooper research: Chambers's catchment region (Morris Co. centered on Chester / Roxbury / Washington / German Valley) is the same region as our fam.2 Roxbury Long-Island-derived Cooper family and overlaps geographically with Daniel Cooper Sr's [p.1] Long Hill Passaic Valley line to the immediate east. The book's main "COOPER" entry (book pp. 302–303 = PDF pp. 417–418) gives a compact early-Cooper genealogy of the fam.2 line with five Miscellaneous entries — one of which is Daniel Cooper Sr himself.

Data from the document — main COOPER entry (book pp. 302–303 / PDF pp. 417–418) [verbatim]

JOHN, of Lynn, came over from England, in 1635, in the "Hopewell," aged 41, with wife Wibroe and children, Mary, aged 13 ; John, 10 ; Thomas, 7 and Martha, 5. He was from Olney in Buckinghamshire. He was one of the 20 heads of families, who formed the association for the settlement of Southampton in 1639. He was made a freeman of Boston, 6 Dec., 1636 ; one of the elders of the church, when it was organized at Lynn, and, in 1638, owned 200 acres in that town. He was not the same as John Cooper of New Haven in 1638, because that John Cooper had no son Thomas, while we can trace at Southampton every one of the children of Thomas the son of John. Three daughters m. Thomas Topping, John Topping and James or John White. (Savage's Geneal. Dict.).

JOHN, 2d, son of John 1st, was b. 1625, d. 1677, m. Sarah and had ch.: Samuel, James and Thomas.

JAMES, son of John 2d, was b. 1650, d. c' out 1722 ; had ch.: Nathan, James, Elisabeth, Richard, Susannah, and Hannah, who married Thomas Stephens.

NATHAN, prob. son of James, m. 8 Oct., 1717, Mary Miller, purchased 600 acres at Roxiticus, Morris Co. ; first settled on the James Frost farm ; had ch. :

I. MARY, bap. East Hampton, 1724. II. NATHAN, b. Feb. 22, 1725, bap. East Hampton, Mar. 7, 1725, d. Dec. 30, 1797, m. Mehitable Seward, (dau. of Obadiah), in 1748 ; she d. April 15, 1812, (her will prob. April 30, 1812) ; Nathan's will was dated, Roxbury, Dec. 28, 1797, prob. Feb. 1, 1798 ; had six children : (I). ABRAHAM, b. Feb. 18, 1762, d. Sept. 13, 1818, m. Nancy Wills in 1799 ; she d. April 24, 1856 ; will dated Sept. 8, 1818, prob. Oct. 5, 1818 ; res. at Chester, N. J. ; had two children : 1. Beulah Ann, m. Henry Seward from Goshen. 2. Gen. Nathan A., b. April 29, 1802, d. July 25, 1879, m. 1843, Mary Henrietta Liddell ; had ch. : (1). Anna E. (2). Abram W. (3). Beulah S. (4). Mary L. (5). Tillie R. (6). Laura H. (7). Nathan A. (II). NATHAN, m. Elisabeth Wills ; res. next to the old place ; had one child, Sarah, who married in New York. (III). SAMUEL, m. first, ___ ; second, Betsey Brown, sister to Stephen and Nathan Brown ; res. between Chester and Peapack ; had ch. : Mulford, thrown from a horse ; Samuel, m. Temperance Crammer ; Obadiah ; Daniel ; Charlotte ; Elisabeth, m. a Bunn ; Mehitable, m. a Bunn ; Mercy, m. Peter Bunn ; Abide, m. a Van Dike ; Mary, m. a Hunt ; Harriet, m. Daniel Losey. (IV) – (VI). Names unknown. III. ELISABETH, bap. at East Hampton, 1734. IV. HANNAH, bap. 1728. V. JAMES, prob. s. of Nathan, gave a mortgage, 1770, to Wm. Allen on 96 acres in "Breeches Tract," next to Moses Cooper. VI. MOSES, prob. s. of Nathan.

Miscellaneous — DANIEL COOPER, of Passaic Valley, was b. at sea, 1 May, 1695, m. first, Grace Runyon and afterwards five other wives ; had ten children ; bought lot No. 2, 500 acres, of the Berkeley tract. Letters of adm. of the est. of SAMUEL, deceased, were granted, 22 Aug., 1737, to his wife Experience. JOHN, whose will, Newark, 16 Nov., 1732, prob. 11 March, 1737, names wife Hannah and sons-in-law Jonathan, Thomas and Daniel Sergeant, brother Samuel, sisters Sarah Woodruff, Mary Ward and Elisabeth Fraysey.

Catalog-defining cross-links

Chambers individual Catalog match Notes
John Cooper (1594–c.1662) "of Lynn" / Olney Bucks → Hopewell 1635 → Southampton LI 1639 fam.1 Long Island English-colonial Cooper + fam.12 Long Island Southampton Cooper kindred Cf. Perry I.132 pp. 10/16/19; Howell, Seversmith I.21.
John 2d (1625–1677) m. Sarah fam.1 line
James (1650 – c. 1722) fam.1 line matches Seversmith I.21
Nathan (m. Mary Miller 8 Oct 1717, bought 600 ac Roxiticus) = Nathan Cooper I p.462 Nathan Cooper I + p.463 Mary Miller Cooper Chambers attests 8 Oct 1717 marriage date + 600-acre Roxiticus purchase (cf. G.188 "1,600-acre tract" — possibly different transactions); attests "first settled on the James Frost farm"
Nathan II (22 Feb 1725 – 30 Dec 1797) m. Mehitable Seward 1748 p.461 Nathan Cooper II + p.464 Mehitabel Seward Cooper Chambers gives "bap. East Hampton, Mar. 7, 1725" (NEW datum: bap. = East Hampton LI, not Southampton); Mehitable will prob. 30 Apr 1812 (matches catalog)
Abraham Cooper (18 Feb 1762 – 13 Sep 1818) m. Nancy Wills 1799 p.468 Abraham Cooper 1762-1818 Will dated 8 Sep 1818 prob. 5 Oct 1818; res. Chester NJ
Nathan III m. Elisabeth Wills p.465 Nathan Cooper III 1751-1834 Chambers says one child Sarah (m. in NY) — does not match L.117's 1834 will children — possible different Nathan; flag for resolution
Samuel m. Betsey Brown p.472 Samuel Cooper 1740-1825 Chambers explicitly identifies Samuel m. Betsey Brown as Nathan II's SON (III in his enumeration) — conflicts with v227 catalog finding that p.472 is Nathan II's brother per chronology. Chambers's reading puts the L.116 Samuel × Betsey Brown family into Nathan II's children, supporting L.117's tree. Reconciliation needed: either Chambers is wrong, or Samuel-1740 was Nathan II's son (= b. when Nathan II was 15 = impossible) or there is a third Samuel. Most likely Chambers has conflated Samuel-1752 (= Nathan II's son per G.188) with Samuel-1740-of-Betsey-Brown (= per L.116).
Mehitable Cooper m. a Bunn p.471 Mehitable Cooper Bunn 1782-1861 child of Samuel × Betsey Brown
Elisabeth Cooper m. a Bunn p.474 Elizabeth Cooper Bunn 1785-1859 child of Samuel × Betsey Brown
Daniel Cooper of Passaic Valley b. 1 May 1695 at sea p.1 Daniel Cooper 1695-1795 NEW DATA: "b. at sea" (= birth at sea during transatlantic crossing). Also: "five other wives" (vs catalog 6-wives tradition); "bought lot No. 2, 500 acres, of the Berkeley tract" (= primary-source-supports the I.129 1899 500-acre Lord-Stirling-deed land claim — 1895 attestation 4 years EARLIER than I.129).
Samuel Cooper d. 1737, wife Experience, adm. 22 Aug 1737 p.497 Samuel Cooper Esq. of Newark (NEW stub) = pr.2 Hypothesis A/B candidate; brother of p.215 John of Newark per Chambers's John 1732 will
John Cooper of Newark, will 16 Nov 1732 prob. 11 Mar 1737 p.215 John Cooper of Whippanong Chambers's account matches the K.4 / NJA Vol 30 p.108 will body fully

Net catalog impact — REVISED 2026-05-27 v231 per Littell-derivation finding

Chambers's Daniel-Sr "Miscellaneous" entry is DERIVATIVE of I.4 Littell Passaic Valley Genealogies (1851) p. 90. The "b. at sea / 1 May 1695 / lot No. 2 Berkeley tract 500 acres" phrasing appears verbatim in Littell 44 years earlier. Chambers's text reproduces Littell's content; does NOT add independent attestation tier earlier than 1851.

  1. Daniel Cooper Sr "b. at sea, 1 May 1695" — NOT NEW datum; previously catalogued at I.4 Littell 1851 tier (= p.1 "Origin confirmation" section). Chambers's 1895 reproduction does not advance the catalog's understanding of this claim. Primary-source test still pending: 1694-1696 transatlantic ship passenger lists.

  2. "Lot No. 2, 500 acres, of the Berkeley tract" — NOT NEW datum; previously catalogued at I.4 Littell 1851 tier. Chambers's 1895 reproduction does not advance the catalog's understanding of this claim. Primary-source test still pending: NJSA Early Land Records search for "Berkeley tract Lot 2" / "Daniel Cooper" conveyance — cross-reference pr.65.

  3. "Five other wives" (= six total) = matches the I.36 House of Cooper 1946 6-wives tradition. The 5-or-6 count enumeration historically varied across sources; Chambers's 1895 "five other" (= 6 total) is the earliest written attestation of the 6-wife claim found in the catalog. ** INDEPENDENT of Littell** — Chambers may have been working from a different source for this count (Littell's narrative does not give an explicit total-wife count).

  4. Samuel Cooper d. 1737 + John Cooper of Newark 1732 in Chambers's "Miscellaneous" = primary-source-confirms catalog finding that these were close-kin Newark Coopers, and that Chambers's source (= NJA Wills) gives them as a unit (brothers per John's will). Reinforces pr.2 Hypothesis B framing of John + Samuel of Newark as a 2-Cooper-brother Newark cluster.

  5. Daniel Sr is listed UNDER the fam.2 "COOPER" entry as a "Miscellaneous" note = Chambers, writing in 1895 Morris County, treated Daniel Sr of Passaic Valley as a "Miscellaneous" Cooper distinct from the main Nathan I / Nathan II Roxiticus Cooper family. No claim of kinship between Daniel Sr and fam.2 Nathan Cooper I. This is the catalog's first 1890s-attestation that the Long Hill Coopers and the Roxiticus Coopers were treated as distinct families by a contemporary Morris-County-Presbyterian-pastor researcher.

  6. "Nathan, prob. son of James, m. 8 Oct., 1717, Mary Miller" = primary-source-supports [p.462] Nathan I = son of James (1650 – c. 1722) (= fam.1 patriarch). Chambers's "prob." flags this as not absolutely certain; supports L.117's tree.

Data from the document — Cooper individuals named in OTHER family sections [verbatim]

Page 152 (PDF p. 221) — DUFFORD section

Witness list for John Budd → Jacob Tefort (Dufford) lease, 20 May 1747, 200-ac Long Valley (Washington Twp Morris) tract:

The witnesses are Nathan Cooper; Andreas Kiliau ? and Johannes Heger are in german.

→ Nathan Cooper = either Nathan I (would be ~51) or Nathan II (= 22). Either possible; Chambers does not specify.

Page 199 (PDF p. 296) — Settlers from Southold and Southampton

Among these settlers were then or very soon afterwards to be found the families among others, of Brown, Baker, Case, Corwin, Cooper, Corey, Cramer, Dickerson (or Dickinson), Haines, Horton, Howell, King, Moore, Overton, Paine, Salmon, Scudder, Swezey, Terry, Tuthill, Vail, Wells, Wiggins, Wines, Youngs and others.

Page 204 (PDF p. 303) — Settlers from Southampton

Nathan Cooper came from Southampton, L. I., and purchased 600 acres in Roxiticus. He was the great-grandfather of General Nathan.

Elias Howell removed from Southampton to New Jersey and died on the way. His son Elias bought 200 acres of Nathan Cooper at Milltown in Chester township, 1822. […]

Miss Phebe Jagger also taught for a time a private school on the Cooper estate. […]

→ The "great-grandfather of General Nathan" = Nathan Cooper I (= [p.462]); the great-grandfather statement places Gen. Nathan A. Cooper 1802-1879 as a 4th-generation descendant of Nathan I (Nathan I → Nathan II → Abraham → Gen. Nathan A.).

Page 205 (PDF p. 306) — Iron Mines (Chester area)

In 1881 this track was extended a mile and a half through the village to the Swayzie, Leek and Cooper mines.

→ "Cooper mines" near Chester = Cooper-family-owned ore tract; could be Gen. Nathan A.'s land or a related descendant's.

Page 244 (PDF p. 359) — AYERS / AYRES section

Isaac, prob. b. 1737 ; d. 7 June, 1794, at 57 ; m. first, Johannah Coe, 8 Feb., 1769 ; d. 10 April, 1770, at 24 ; second, Mary Cooper, 27 Dec., 1770 ; d. 30 June, 1809, at 63 ; had ch. : Samuel, b. 29 Oct., 1773 ; Mary, b. 19 Oct., 1776 ; m. John Briant ; Anne, b. 8 July, 1779 ; Stephen Cooper [Ayres], b. 16 May. 1782 ; Enos, b. 17 May, 1785 ; Isaac, b. 11 April, 1791 ; d. 30 Jan., 1807.

→ Mary Cooper (b. ~1746, d. 30 Jun 1809 at age 63) m. 27 Dec 1770 Isaac Ayres of Morris Plains. Their son Stephen Cooper Ayres b. 16 May 1782 = matronymic naming (Cooper = mother's surname). This Mary Cooper is a NEW Cooper-name individual in the catalog — possible relation to fam.2 or Daniel Sr's family; her age suggests b. ~1746 = generation-equivalent to Nathan II's children but could also be Daniel Sr's daughter.

Page 279 (PDF p. 394) — BUNN section

Jacob Bunn (VI) m. Elisabeth Cooper, (3. Samuel), b. 1785; had ch.:

  1. Samuel, m. ___ Dota ; rem. Canistear, Steuben Co., N. Y. ; has children : Seward, Dota, Eliza, Amelia, Emma, Elisabeth.
  2. Martin, unmarried.
  3. Nathan.
  4. Abraham.
  5. George Washington, m. Catherine M. Eich.
  6. Emaline.
  7. Mary E., b. 1812, May 28, m. 1836, Morris C. Bunn, 5. Lawrence II ; removed, 1851, to Wyoming, Pa.

→ Elisabeth Cooper b. 1785 m. Jacob Bunn = [p.474 Elizabeth Cooper Bunn 1785-1859]; "(3. Samuel)" notation = "child #3 of Samuel" (the Samuel m. Betsey Brown from main Cooper entry). Their son Samuel went to Canistear (= Canisteo), Steuben Co. NY = same county as Cooper's Plains village = the Frederic Stephen Cooper / Chris Cooper line. NEW data: 7-child enumeration of Jacob Bunn × Elisabeth Cooper.

Page 303 (PDF p. 418) — end of COOPER section, beginning of CORWIN

(Cooper section ends as transcribed above.)

Page 312 (PDF p. 427) — CRAMER section

(IV). Isaac, b. 1777, July 12, d. 1841, Jan. 14. m. Jane Cooper.

→ Isaac Cramer (s. of Morritz Cramer, of Hunterdon Co. → Mendham Morris by 1808). His wife Jane Cooper = NEW Cooper-name individual; possibly fam.2 by geographic proximity.

Page 328 (PDF p. 443) — DICKERSON section

PHILEMON DICKERSON, b. England, 1598, d. 1672 […] Philemon shipped, 10 May, 1637, as a passenger in the "Mary Anne," named as a servant of Benj. Cooper, husbandman, of Brampton, Suffolk Co., England, "desirous of passing to Salem in New England, there to inhabit" […]

→ Benj. Cooper of Brampton, Suffolk Co., England = 1637 passenger-list identification; one of the earliest English Cooper attestations recorded in NJ genealogy. NOT Daniel Sr's grandfather (would be 1-3 generations too early) but could be a paternal-line ancestor of one of the New England → NJ Cooper lines.

Page 338 (PDF p. 453) — DRAKE section

[aa] Simeon, b. ___, m. Mary Terry, had Esther (brought up by J. I. Cooper) and Simeon.

→ "J. I. Cooper" = John I. Cooper (= John I. Cooper m. Prudence Terry, per p. 525 — see below). Adopted his wife's niece Esther Drake.

Page 362 (PDF p. 479) — FISHER section (of Pottersville)

REV. GEORGE [Fisher], son of George […] m. first, Hannah Hiles (sister to John Pace's wife) ; second, Sarah C. Cooper, b. 8 June, 1797, d. 24 Nov., 1868. He had 9 children by each wife.

→ Sarah C. Cooper (1797–1868), 2nd wife of Rev. George Fisher of Tewkesbury Twp; primary-source 1797-1868 birth/death dates. Cooper-family-of-origin not stated. Could be fam.2 or another local Cooper.

Pages 419–420 (PDF pp. 540–541) — HORTON section

David Cooper Horton (s. of Caleb & Julia Terry) = Horton with Cooper middle name = NOT a Cooper-surname individual.

Page 422 (PDF p. 543) — HOWELL section

  1. Phineas, b. 5 Nov., 1742, m. the widow Roberts and rem. to New Jersey ; had ch. […] (6). Harriet, second wife of Abram Cooper, of Oxbow, N. Y. ; (7). Susannah, first wife of Abram Cooper.

→ Abram Cooper of Oxbow NY (= Jefferson Co. NY area). Married 2 Howell sisters successively (Susannah first, Harriet second). Out-of-scope (NY line) but Cooper-name catch-all candidate.

Page 475 (PDF p. 598) — RUNYON section

WILLIAM, b. 12 March, 1750. d. 1831, m. Mary Poland (2d w.) d. 1814 ; had ch.: 1. Elisabeth, b. 18 Dec., 1785, d. 6 April, 1823, m. John Boyle ; 2. Anna, m. Henry Cooper ; 3. Robert, went West ; 4. Richard B. […]

→ Anna Runyon (dau. of William Runyon × Mary Poland, granddau. of Hugh Runyon × Anna Savidge) m. Henry Cooper. Connects fam.2 / Roxbury Cooper to the Hugh Runyon line. Note: Runyon = same surname as Daniel Sr's first wife Grace Runyon (=[p.148]). Possible cross-thread.

Page 485 (PDF p. 608) — SEWARD section

OBADIAH, 2d, son of Obadiah, rem. to Roxbury twp., Morris Co. […] He had children, probably : Eliacum, b. 1724 ; Mehitable, m. 1748, Nathan Cooper (s. of Nathan) ; John, b. 22 March, 1730 ; Lydia, b. 1735, d. 22 Dec., 1775, at 20 ; Isaac (?).

→ Mehitable Seward (dau. of Obadiah Seward II) m. Nathan Cooper II in 1748 = [p.464] × [p.461] marriage primary-source-corroborated.

Page 486 (PDF p. 609) — SEWARD section continued

DANIEL [Seward] […] (II). Henry, b. 1792, d. 27 Aug., 1871, at 79, m. Beulah Ann Cooper (dau. of Abraham), b. 1799, d. 9 Nov., 1885, at 86 ; had ch.: 1. Nathan ; 2. Henry ; 3. William.

→ Beulah Ann Cooper 1799-1885 = daughter of Abraham Cooper 1762-1818 ([p.468]) × Nancy Wills. Married Henry Seward (1792-1871). Three sons: Nathan, Henry, William. NEW Cooper-name primary-source-attested dates.

Page 496 (PDF p. 619) — SKELLINGER section

III. ABRAHAM [Skellinger], b. at Easthampton, L. I., m. Mary Scott, b. June 31, 1753, d. June 25, 1815 ; (she married 2d hus. Ashley Cooper) ; had ch.: (I). Samuel […] (II). Mary […] (III). William […] (IV). Temperance […]

→ Mary Scott (b. 1753, d. 1815) had 2nd husband Ashley Cooper. NEW Cooper-name individual. The given name "Ashley" is notable — Ashley as a first name is unusual for the period in NJ-Cooper context.

Page 525 (PDF p. 648) — TERRY section

IV. PRUDENCE ("Dency"), m. John I. Cooper.

→ Prudence ("Dency") Terry, dau. of Richard Terry of Chester NJ × Mary Horton, m. John I. Cooper. The "I." middle initial is unusual and distinctive. Likely fam.2 — possibly a son of one of the Nathan Cooper II line.

Page 570 (PDF p. 693) — WILLS section (Job Wills's children)

V. NANCY, m. Abraham Cooper, of Chester. […] X. ELISABETH, m. Nathan Cooper (s. of Nathan).

→ Nancy Wills m. Abraham Cooper = primary-source-confirms p.468 marriage. Elisabeth Wills m. Nathan Cooper s. of Nathan = matches Nathan III × Elisabeth Wills from main Cooper entry.

Page 623 (PDF p. 752) — Methodist circuit-riders appointed to Flanders Circuit

[…] 1786, John McCloskey, Ezekiel Cooper ; 1787, Simon File, Cornelius Cook […]

→ Bishop Ezekiel Cooper (1763–1847, Maryland-born), Methodist circuit-rider and later 5th elected Methodist Episcopal Bishop. Out-of-scope for Daniel-Sr line but appears in catalog name-roster as a distinctive named-individual.

Page 633 (PDF p. 766) — Lists of Names — Persons Naturalized

October 8, 1750 — George Cooper, Philip Cooper, Theophilus Bindur and Hendrick Christopher Easter.

→ Two German-immigrant Coopers naturalized 8 Oct 1750 in NJ. Names suggest Palatine origin. NEW name-roster individuals.

Status

[verbatim] — All bullets above either quote Chambers's text directly or transcribe it closely. Cross-reference summary at top is interpretive; verbatim source text follows.

Follow-up