The Coopers of Long Hill

Document I.65 · Published Genealogies and County Histories · transcription: verbatim

Biographical and genealogical history of Morris county, New Jersey (1899) — Daniel Cooper Sr. dedicated biography p. 414 + Cross family chapter p. 326+

Transcription and notes

Source-discipline finding — Daniel Cooper biography is essentially copied from Littell 1851

The Daniel Cooper Sr. biography on Biographical 1899 p. 414 is near-verbatim to I.4 Littell 1851 p. 90. Comparison:

Element Littell 1851 (I.4 p. 90) Biographical 1899 p. 414 Independent?
Born at sea, May 1 1695 "It is said that he was born at sea on their voyage, and that the father never arrived" "It is said that he was born at sea, May 1, 1695" NO — derived
Parents emigrated Holland → New York 1695 "The parents of Daniel Cooper emigrated from Holland to New York, in the year 1695" "The parents of Daniel Cooper emigrated from Holland to New York in the year 1695" NO — derived
Marriage to Grace Runyon "married, 17th April, 1726, Grace Runyon" "In 1726, when twenty-nine years old, he married Grace Runyon" NO — derived (date dropped, age added)
Passaic Valley removal "removed to Passaic Valley, Morris County, in March, 1782" [= 1732 per typo correction] "removed to the Passaic valley, Morris county, in 1732" NO — derived (typo corrected in 1899)
Berkley tract Lot 2 "bought lot No. 2 of the Berkeley tract, containing 500 acres" "bought lot No. 2 of the Berkley tract, containing five hundred acres" NO — derived
10 children (Catherine, Daniel, Agnes, Peter, John, Benjamin, Rosannah, George, Providence, Anne) Same list with full birth dates Same list, no individual birth dates NO — derived (1899 condenses Littell)
6 wives (Grace Runyon, Jane Westbrook, Grace Manning, widow Fanny Jones, Barbara Margaret Gibbs, Hannah Martin) Same list Same list (Margaret = Margaret in 1899; spelling "Gibbs" vs "Gibbs") NO — derived
Death "one day over 100 years" "He died, 2d May, 1795, aged 100 years" "He died May 2, 1795, one day over one hundred years from his birth" NO — derived

Per user's catalog discipline directive 2026-05-10: "Don't assume any one source is correct until we have corroboration from another source" — Biographical 1899's Daniel Cooper biography does NOT count as independent corroboration of Littell. They are one source-family.

What Biographical 1899 adds vs Littell

Biographical 1899's Cross-family chapter (pp. 325-340 area) has substantially more genealogical detail on the Cross family than Littell's brief mentions:

  1. Deborah Oldfield maternal lineage for Anna Cross — Rev. John Cross m. Deborah Oldfield → daughter who became wife of Daniel Cooper [= Daniel Jr's 2nd wife Anna 'Nancy' Cross per Littell I.4]. Deborah was granddaughter of John Oldfield of Jamaica Long Island; her sister Mrs. Keziah Ludlow widow m. Rev. Timothy Jones (first pastor of First Presbyterian Church Morristown). NEW vs Littell which only says "Nancy Cross, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Cross".
  2. Joseph Cross b. 6 Dec 1773 identified as son of Robert Cross + Mary Lefferty, grandson of Rev. John Cross + Deborah Oldfield; m. Mary Cooper. Candidate-match for Polly Cooper's 1st-husband Cross per I.4 Littell p. 92 + Craddock framework per project pr.12 Benjamin daughters per Littell.md.
  3. John G. Cooper Esq. = fourth child of George Cooper son of Daniel Sr — extends Littell I.4 p. 92's George Cooper entry (which listed children: Daniel C. of Dayton OH; Bryan Lafferty; Mary; John G. born 24 Mar 1780 d. 24 Oct 1822; Fanny). 1899 adds: John G. Cooper m. Eleanor Perrine; their son George went to Michigan, was state treasurer.

Source identification

Verbatim — Daniel Cooper biography (p. 414, full text)

"DANIEL COOPER. The parents of Daniel Cooper emigrated from Holland to New York in the year 1695. It is said that he was born at sea, May 1, 1695. In 1726, when twenty-nine years old, he married Grace Runyon. He removed to the Passaic valley, Morris county, in 1732. Here he bought lot No. 2 of the Berkley tract, containing five hundred acres. His children were: Catherine, Daniel, Agnes, Peter, John, Benjamin, Rosannah, George, Providence and Anne. He had six wives,—Grace Runyon, Jane Westbrook, Grace Manning, widow Fannie Jones, Barbara Margaret Gibbs and Hannah Martin, widow of Colonel Ephraim Martin. He died May 2, 1795, one day over one hundred years from his birth. John G. Cooper, Esq., fourth child of George Cooper, son of Daniel Cooper (ancient worthy), lived in the valley where his father did. He married Eleanor Perrine, and their son George went to Michigan, and was treasurer of that state."

Verbatim — Cross family p. 326 (Anna Cross + Joseph Cross extracts)

"The Cross family trace their ancestry back to the days of the persecution of the Huguenots in France, the name at that time being De Crosse. Those who fled from France went to the north of Ireland, dropping the 'De' and finally the termination 'e.' The earliest American ancestor of this branch of the family was Rev. John Cross, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He was the first minister of the gospel known to have labored in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and preached to the people of that neighborhood from 1732 until 1741."

"The Rev. John Cross was united in the holy bonds of matrimony to Deborah Oldfield, and they became the parents of four children. One daughter married a McEowen; another became the wife of Daniel Cooper; William married Miss Brewster, and Robert married Mary Lefferty. The Oldfield family, to which Mrs. John Cross belonged, lived on Long Island as early as 1651. She was a granddaughter of John Oldfield, of Jamaica, Long Island, and her sister, Mrs. Keziah Ludlow, a widow, married Rev. Timothy Jones, the first pastor of the First Presbyterian church at Morristown, New Jersey."

"Robert Cross, a son of the Rev. John Cross, wedded, as before stated, Mary Lefferty, who was born January 19, 1734, and they became the parents of eleven children, viz.: Bryan, who was born June 6, 1756, and died unmarried; William, who was born September 23, 1757, and was twice married; Catharine, who was born January 9, 1759, and became the wife of Joseph Boyle; John, born September 10, 1760; Martha, who was born April 16, 1762, and became the wife of Samuel Annin; Robert, who was born February 13, 1764, and married Elizabeth Crowell; Mary, who was born October 27, 1765, and died unmarried; John Lefferty, who was born February 9, 1768, and wedded Mary Kirkpatrick; Henry, who was born July 10, 1770, amd died March 10, 1771; Joseph, who was born December 6, 1773, and married Mary Cooper; and James, who was born August 11, 1775, and married Gertrude Wyckoff."

Cross-references

Open questions / follow-up

Status notes